Custom fields and values
Custom fields let you decide what every record of a kind holds. Give characters an allegiance and a height, creatures a habitat and a lifespan, events a death toll, and chapters a point of view, the weather and the time of day. Each field belongs to one kind of record and appears on every record of that kind. Custom values are the project's own lists of location types, entry tags and kinds of relationship.
How do I turn custom fields on for a kind of record? #
Custom fields are off for every kind of record until you need them, so pages never show an empty Attributes section. Open the project's Settings, choose Custom fields, pick the tab of the kind you want, for example Creatures, and turn on Show on pages at the top of the tab. There is a tab for each kind whose module is on. A kind that is off shows a crossed-out eye beside its tab name and Hidden on pages above its fields.
You can add and edit the fields of a kind while it is off, and switch it on when they are ready. A project that already had fields for a kind keeps that kind switched on. Switching a kind off hides its Attributes card or tab, its list filters and columns, its fields in the creation form, quick look and storyline field changes. Nothing is deleted: the fields and every value stay saved and come back as they were when you switch the kind on again. If the kind has fields, you are asked first. Collection records have no switch, because their fields are the collection.
How do I add a custom field? #
Open the project's Settings and choose Custom fields. The page has a tab for each kind of record whose module is on: characters, creatures, organizations, locations, places, entries, events and chapters. Pick the tab, type a name in Field, choose a type from the row of icons, and select Add field. If the kind is shown on pages, the field appears on every record of that kind straight away.
You can also get there from a record. On its Attributes card, Manage fields (the sliders icon) opens the right tab; when a kind has no fields yet, the card offers Add fields instead. From the characters list, open its menu and choose Character settings.
Fields belong to the project, so two projects in the same account can describe their worlds in entirely different ways. A kind of record can have up to 50 fields.
If you set a Default value, every record of that kind already in the project gets it, and every new one starts with it.
Where do the fields appear? #
| Record | Where its fields are |
|---|---|
| Character | The Attributes tab of the character page |
| Creature, organization, location, place, entry, event | The Attributes card beside the record, under its details |
| Chapter | The Details tab of the panel beside the chapter text, on a wide screen |
| Collection record | The Attributes card beside the record; each collection has its own fields, edited in Settings → Collections |
Field types #
| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Text | A short answer: a title, an eye colour, the weather |
| Long text | A paragraph of plain notes |
| Rich text | Formatted notes |
| Number | Age, height, a lifespan in years, a death toll |
| Yes / no | Alive, extinct, knows the secret |
| Colour | A house colour or a banner |
| Tags | Several labels at once |
| A value from a list | One choice from options you define: a house, a time of day, a diet |
| Radar chart | Several scores drawn as one chart: strength, cunning, charm |
| Date on the world calendar | A date on your world's timeline |
| Image | A picture from the project's images |
| Link to a record | Another record in the project: a chapter's point-of-view character, a creature's homeland |
For A value from a list, type each choice in New option and select Add. The first option becomes the default, and you can mark another one as the default instead.
For Radar chart, add up to twelve options, set a Maximum value and, if you like, a Default score every option starts with.
How do I fill in a field? #
On a record's Attributes card, select Edit attributes (the pencil). Every field turns into an input, and what you type is saved as you go, like the rest of the page. Select Done to see the values again. A field with nothing in it shows a dash.
A value that does not fit the field is refused with a message instead of being saved: a word in a Number field, or a choice that is no longer on the list.
On a character, the Attributes tab works the same way, and each Radar chart has its own chart you edit directly.
Can I filter a list by a custom field? #
Yes. Every list — characters, creatures, organizations, locations, places, entries and events — offers its kind's Text, Long text, Number, A value from a list and Yes / no fields under More filters. A text filter finds records whose value contains what you type; a number or a list filter matches the value exactly. No on a yes/no filter also finds records where the field was never set.
On the characters list, the Columns table view shows every custom field as a column, and you can sort by text, number, yes/no and date columns.
Can a field change over time? #
Yes, with the timeline module on. A storyline event on any record can change its custom fields from a date onwards: a creature's habitat after the great flood, a character's rank after the war. Add the change under Field changes when you create the storyline event. Quick look shows the values as they are at the project's current date.
Can I change a field's type after creating it? #
No. A field's type is fixed once it exists. Create a new field of the type you want, move the values across, then delete the old field. Use as a template for a new field starts the new one from the old one's settings.
Renaming and deleting a field #
Rename field changes the label everywhere. The values already on your records are untouched.
Deleting a field removes it from every record of its kind, and the values stored in it go with it.
Custom values #
Custom values are the project's own vocabularies. Each one belongs to a list, chosen under Appointment: location types, entry tags, character relations or rule categories.
To add one, open Settings → Custom values, type the Value, choose its Appointment, pick a colour if you like, and select Create. Character relations you add here are offered when you link two characters and in the family tree settings. Location types are offered on the map and in the locations list. Rule categories group your world rules.
The table lists every value with its list and when it was created. Search it, or narrow it to one list, to find a value quickly. Delete a value you no longer need from its row.
Tips #
- Give chapters a Link to a record field for the point of view, and A value from a list for the time of day. The chapter's panel then answers "whose scene is this, and when?" at a glance.
- Use A value from a list instead of Text for anything you will filter by, such as a house, a faction or a species. A list cannot be misspelled, so the filter finds every match.
- Set the Default value before you add a field to a kind that already has many records. They all start with it, and you only change the exceptions.
- A Radar chart field shows a character's strengths at a glance.
- Save a project as a template to reuse its custom fields, for every kind of record, and its values in your next book.
Related #
- Characters — where custom fields appear on each character sheet.
- Locations, places, organizations, creatures, events and entries — the records whose Attributes card holds their fields.
- Chapters — where a chapter's fields sit beside the text.
- Search and filters — narrow any list by its fields.
- Templates — carry your fields and values into a new project.