Skip to main content
A Tagged URL field builds a campaign destination automatically: it takes a base URL and appends query parameters whose values come from other fields on the same record. Use it for UTM tagging so utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign are governed by your model instead of typed by hand.
A Tagged URL field is computed. Submitters do not type into it. They fill in the source fields, and the tagged URL updates live in a preview as they go.

​
What you’ll build

A Campaign URL Builder taxonomy with a base URL field, fields that supply each UTM value, a Tagged URL field that joins them, and (optionally) a Short URL field that shortens the result.

​
Steps

1

Create the base URL field

In your governance model’s fields, create a field named destination_url of type URL. This is the landing page the campaign points at. To reject http://, set its Allowed protocols to https only.
2

Create the fields that supply each UTM value

Create one field per parameter value. A typical setup:
  • utm_source: Dropdown backed by a Sources picklist.
  • utm_medium: Dropdown backed by a Mediums picklist.
  • utm_campaign: a Concatenation field that joins parts like goal, country, and date into one campaign string.
3

Create the Tagged URL field

Create a field of type Tagged URL. In its settings:
  • Set Base URL field to destination_url.
  • Under URL parameters, click Add parameter once per UTM key. Each row has a Key, a Value field, and an Encode checkbox.
Add three rows: utm_source from utm_source, utm_medium from utm_medium, and utm_campaign from utm_campaign. Leave Encode checked.
4

Add the fields to a taxonomy

Add the base URL field, the three value fields, and the Tagged URL field to the taxonomy that builds your campaign links. Publish a revision so submitters get them. See Publish a revision.
5

Optionally shorten it

To hand out a short link instead of the long tagged URL, add a Short URL field and set its Destination URL field to your Tagged URL field. The short link redirects to the fully tagged URL. See the Short URL field reference.

​
Worked example: Campaign URL Builder

A submitter fills in the source fields:
  • destination_url = https://shop.acme.example/deals
  • utm_source = newsletter
  • utm_medium = email
  • utm_campaign = awareness-us-black_friday_2026
The Tagged URL preview shows:
If the submitter leaves utm_source blank, that key is dropped entirely. The output is just ?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=..., never utm_source= with an empty value. If destination_url already carries a query string such as ?ref=partner, it is preserved and the UTM keys are appended after it.

​
Encoding

Each parameter row has an Encode checkbox, checked by default. Checked, the value is URL-encoded when the link is built: a utm_campaign value of black friday 2026 is written as black+friday+2026, and other reserved characters are escaped the same way. Put plain, human-readable values into the source fields and let the field handle escaping. Uncheck Encode when the value must reach the URL exactly as typed: ad platform macros such as {campaignid} or {{campaign.id}}, or a value that is already encoded. Be careful with raw values. An unencoded &, =, or # changes the structure of the URL, and Terminus Hub does not check raw values for you.

​
Set a parameter’s source per taxonomy

When one Tagged URL field is shared by several taxonomies, a parameter can take its value from a different field in each. For example, utm_campaign might come from a campaign-name field in one taxonomy and from an event-name field in another.
1

Leave the parameter open on the field

In the Tagged URL field’s settings, set the parameter’s Value field to Set per taxonomy. A parameter with a source here uses it in every taxonomy; one set per taxonomy waits for each taxonomy to decide. The status line under the row shows how many taxonomies still need a source.
2

Decide in each taxonomy

Open the taxonomy, select the Tagged URL field, and switch to the Taxonomy settings tab. Under Parameters, each parameter’s Value from is one of:
  • Shared: use the source set on the field. Available only when the field has one.
  • This taxonomy: pick a field placed in this taxonomy as the source. Available only for a parameter set per taxonomy.
  • Not used: leave the parameter out of URLs built in this taxonomy. Works for any parameter.
These choices save immediately.
3

Publish

Publish checks every taxonomy that places the field. A parameter set per taxonomy that is neither bound nor marked not used blocks publish with “<key> has no source in <taxonomy>. Bind a field or mark it not used.” A parameter with a shared source cannot be rebound in a taxonomy. To give it a different source somewhere, clear the shared source on the field first.

​
Carry a stable ID with Bind to Terminus ID

By default a parameter carries the source field’s value: for a dropdown, the selected option code. When the source is a single-select dropdown backed by an automated picklist, a Bind to line appears under the row with two choices: Field value or Terminus ID. Choose Terminus ID and the parameter carries the Terminus ID of the record behind the selected option instead. Use it for utm_id: bind it to a dropdown that picks from your Campaigns taxonomy, and every URL built for that campaign carries the same ID, even after the campaign is renamed. Publish rejects Terminus ID on any other kind of source field.

​
Gotchas

  • Blank values are dropped, not rendered empty. A parameter whose source field is empty is left out of the URL. If a key must always appear, make its source field required.
  • Encode is on unless you turn it off. With Encode checked, never enter already-encoded values into the source fields, or they will be double-encoded. Uncheck Encode for those instead.
  • Each key must be unique within the field. A duplicate key shows “Must be unique” when you save the field, and publishing a model that contains one fails.
  • Multi-select dropdown values join into one parameter. If a parameter’s source is a multi-select dropdown, all selected codes are joined with that dropdown’s separator into a single value. One parameter cannot expand into several key= pairs.
  • A shared source must be in the taxonomy. If a taxonomy places the Tagged URL field but not the parameter’s shared source field, publish still succeeds, but the editor warns “Value will be blank here” and the parameter is left out of that taxonomy’s URLs.
  • Tagged URLs can chain. A Tagged URL field’s Base URL field can be a URL field, another Tagged URL field, or a Short URL field, so you can layer them. If the base has no value, the tagged URL renders empty rather than raising an error.
  • The field is computed. Submitters cannot edit the tagged URL directly. They change the inputs; the URL recomputes. To change the output, change a source field or the field’s configuration.