Field and Template Properties

In addition to the drag-and-drop template designer, users can create or modify fields and templates from field and template properties.

Note: In most cases, users with the Manage Templates and Fields privilege should use the template designer to create and modify fields and templates. Users without this privilege, but with the necessary field and template access rights to modify field and template definitions, cannot use the template designer and so should use these instructions instead. In addition, if a field has already been added to a template or applied to an entry, it should be modified using these instructions.

Before creating a new template or field, you should first consider its purpose: what type of information it will store, in what format will it be stored, and how will that information be used in the future. This will help you determine how to configure the field, and will ensure that you are capturing the correct information without storing extraneous information. See Best Practices for Fields and Templates for more information.

Creating or Modifying a Field Definition

  1. Open repository management by selecting the app picker and then selecting Repository Administration.
  2. On the left, under Metadata, select Fields.
  3. In the web client, select the Add button (The Add button, a dark gray plus sign.). To modify a field, click the name of an existing field to modify it.
  4. In the Name option, type a name for the field.
  5. Optional: In the Description option, type a description for the field.
  6. In the Type option, select the field type. For more information about available field types, see Field Types.

    Note: If you are modifying an existing field, be aware that changing a field type from a less restrictive type to a more restrictive type can lead to data loss.

  7. List fields only: To specify list items, type the items you want to include in the Enter new list items option, and then click Insert. You can You can sort the list items manually by selecting an item and clicking Up or Down, or automatically by selecting Ascending or Descending. To allow users to select a blank value, select Add blank to the list.
  8. Text and List fields only: In the Character limit option, specify a maximum width for the field.
  9. Optional: In the Default value option, specify a default value for the field. You can also use tokens to create a dynamic default value.
  10. Optional: To allow users to store multiple values in the field, select Allow multiple values.
  11. Optional: To make the field required, select Required for all templates. This will prevent users from saving a document with this field until the field has been filled in.
  12. Optional: To index the field, select Indexed.
  13. Optional (Number, Date, and Date/Time fields only): In the Field Format option, select the format you want to use, or type a custom field format. For more information about field formats, see Custom Field Display Formats, below.
  14. Optional (Number and Text fields only): In the Constraint option, select an example constraint, or type a custom regular expression constraint and constraint violation message. For more information about field constraints, see Custom Field Constraints, below.
  15. In the Templates tab, you can view the templates to which the field belongs. To add the field to a template, see Creating or Modifying a Template Definition, below.
  16. To configure alternate template names for different languages, you can do so in the Language tab. See Languages, below, for more information.
  17. When you are finished, save your field definition.

Creating or Modifying a Template Definition

  1. Open repository management by selecting the app picker and then selecting Repository Administration.

  2. On the left, under Metadata, select Templates.
  3. In the web client, select the Add button (The Add button, a dark gray plus sign.) to add a new template. To modify a template, click the name of an existing field to modify it.
  4. In the Name option, type a name for the template.
  5. Optional: In the Description option, type a description for the template.
  6. Optional: To assign a color to the template, click the drop-down menu next to Color and choose a color. This color will be displayed alongside documents and folders that have been assigned this template.
  7. To add an existing field to this template, click the Insert button and select the field from the list.
  8. To create a new field for use with this template, click the Add button (The Add button, a dark gray plus sign.). The Add Field dialog box will open. Add the field, following the instructions in Creating or Modifying a Field, above, starting from step 3.
  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until you have added all the fields you want. To rearrange fields, select a field and click the Move Up or Move Down buttons. To remove a field, click Remove.

    Note: If you remove a field from an existing template, that field and all of its values will be removed from all the documents and folders that have been assigned that template. This cannot be undone.

  10. If you want to add dynamic fields to the template, you can do so in the Dynamic Fields tab. See Dynamic Fields for more information.
  11. If you want to add multi-value field groups to the template, you can do so in the Multi-Value Field Groups tab. See Multi-Value Field Groups for more information.
  12. To configure alternate template names for different languages, you can do so in the Language tab. See Languages for more information.
  13. When you are finished, save your template definition.