Edit, archive or restore a custom field

Rename a custom field, change its default or behaviour, take it out of use by archiving it, or bring an archived field back, after checking what the change affects.

In the sidebar, open Settings, then choose Custom Fields under Records & Fields. The page address is /settings/org/custom-fields.

Before you start

• Your role needs permission to update custom fields. Without it, rows open with View instead of Edit and nothing can be changed. Archiving and restoring each need their own permission; without it the Archive or Restore button is greyed out.
• A field's subject, type and key are fixed for life (the drawer marks them Immutable after create). To change those, archive the field and create a new one.

Steps

1. Find the field in the list and press Edit on its row, or click the row. The drawer opens with the field's name as its title.
2. Under Basics, change Display Name, Sort Order or Description.
3. Under Default value, change what new records start with.
4. For a Select field, add or rename choices under Select options. Existing choices keep their key, so records already using them are unaffected. Switch a choice's Active off to hide it from new picks while records that use it keep it.
5. Under Behavior, switch Visible, Editable, Applicable, Searchable, Exportable or Reportable on or off. Advanced settings holds the list, Portal visible and Template merge choices.
6. Press Save mutable changes.

To take a field out of use, press Archive on its row or at the bottom of the drawer. Nova shows an impact summary with Records with values, Historical touches, Capability impact (the behaviours that are on), and for a Select field the Used option keys. Read it, then confirm with Archive. To bring a field back, set the Lifecycle filter to Archived only or All definitions, press Restore on its row or in its drawer, and confirm.

What you see

• Markers at the top of the drawer show the subject, type and lifecycle status, and Required if the field is required.
• Immutable after create lists the parts you cannot change. The option-changes line reads Managed after create when a Select field's choices can still be added to or renamed.
• An archived field disappears from records and pickers but keeps every value already saved, so restoring it brings the data back.

If something looks different

• The row says View: your role cannot update custom fields.
• Every field in the drawer is greyed out and Save mutable changes is off: the field is archived. Press Restore, then edit.
• The impact summary fails to load: refresh the page and try again. Archiving still works without it.

Open Custom Fields