# Special columns for APEX Standard Reports


[![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1692190760029/155ceb68-bdad-430f-a2c7-14ff8fc5b896.jpeg)](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_33EF80fk9sM/TBW23Sp6qAI/AAAAAAAADw4/kQUdxW8a5Kw/s1600/std_col_tasks.jpg)
I was testing APEX 4.0 on [http://apex.oracle.com](http://apex.oracle.com) and I noticed that on Standard Reports you can add 2 types of "special" columns: Derived Column and Column Link. At first I thought this was a new APEX 4.0 feature, but then tested on a copy of 3.x noticed it was there as well! <span style="font-style:italic;">I apologize if this is old news to people but I found it to be a pretty neat feature.</span>

The interesting thing about these columns is that you can add Derived Column and Column Link columns and it does not modify your existing SQL.

The only difference I can tell about these 2 column types is that Derived Columns don't contain the following attributes: List of Values, Tabular Form Attributes, and Column Link