Skip to main content
A field is one piece of campaign metadata in a governance model, such as Campaign Name, Source, or Short URL. Think of fields as the columns of your taxonomy: you define each field once, then place it into one or more taxonomies, where it becomes a column people fill in. Every field has a type, chosen when you create the field. The type decides how the value is captured, which settings you can configure, and whether the field is entered by a person or computed by Terminus Hub. The type cannot be changed after the field is created, so pick it deliberately.
Fields split into two groups. Entered fields are filled in by whoever makes a submission. Computed fields are generated by Terminus Hub from other fields or from system rules, so submitters never type their value directly.

​
Field type matrix

There are 13 field types. Four are always entered, eight are always computed, and Short URL depends on its slug mode. Short URL is listed as both because of its slug mode. With Auto-generated, read-only the slug is generated for you and the field is computed. With Auto-generated, editable or Entered manually, submitters can type or change the slug, so the field behaves as an entered field. See the Short URL page.

​
Browse the field types

Text

Free text with optional length, character, and case rules.

URL

A web address; the base for Tagged URL and Short URL.

Date

A calendar date rendered in a format you control.

Dropdown

A choice from a picklist, with optional cascading.

Concatenation

Joins other fields together with a separator.

Auto-fill

Derives a value from other fields, with transforms and conditions.

Tagged URL

A base URL with query parameters appended.

Short URL

A short redirect link over a destination URL.

QR Code

A QR code generated from another field.

Auto Number

Sequential numbers, padded to a fixed width.

Random

A random string of a length you set.

Constant

A fixed value, identical on every record.

Terminus ID

A unique identifier generated per record.

​
Settings shared by every field

Beyond the type-specific settings, each field has a few shared settings in the General section of the field editor. Field handle, Prefix, and Suffix sit under Additional options.
  • Name. The display name. Required, and unique within the governance model.
  • Description. Help text shown to submitters under the field.
  • Required. A required field left blank fails validation. New fields start with Required on. Computed fields are always required, and the toggle is locked.
  • Field handle. A stable reference for the field. See Field handle.
  • Prefix and Suffix. Literal text wrapped around the value. Not available on URL, Tagged URL, Short URL, QR Code, or Terminus ID fields.

​
Field handle

Every field has a handle: a lowercase, identifier-safe name such as launch_date. The editor describes it as “A stable reference for integrations and the API.” Auto-fill expressions use handles to refer to other fields, as in {{ launch_date }}.
  • It is generated on save. A new field shows Generated on save until you save it. Terminus Hub builds the handle from the name: it lowercases it, turns accented letters into plain ones, turns every run of other characters into a single underscore, adds an f_ prefix when the result does not start with a letter, and adds _2, _3, and so on if the handle is already taken. For example, Launch Date becomes launch_date.
  • Renaming a field does not change its handle. References keep working when you rename.
  • You can override it. Open Additional options, then click the pencil next to the handle. A handle must start with a lowercase letter, use only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores, be at most 64 characters, and be unique within the governance model. Liquid keywords such as if, and, or true are rejected.
  • Changing a handle is a breaking change. The editor warns: “Changing the handle is a breaking change. Integrations or forms that use the old handle will stop resolving after you publish.” Update every Auto-fill expression that uses the old handle before you publish.
  • An existing handle cannot be cleared. Only new fields get a generated handle.

​
Reusing a field across taxonomies

A field is defined once and then referenced into a taxonomy, where it gets a position (its column order). Open a field inside a taxonomy and use the Taxonomy settings tab to change how it behaves there:
  • Required in this taxonomy makes the field mandatory in that taxonomy only. Overrides can only tighten: a field that is already required stays required.
  • Option filter (dropdown fields) limits which picklist options are offered.
  • Parameters (Tagged URL fields) picks a source for each parameter the field left open, or marks a parameter as not used. See Set a parameter per taxonomy.
See field reference overrides for the override rules and option filtering.

​
Cross-field references stay in one model

When a field references another field (Concatenation, Auto-fill, Tagged URL, Short URL, QR Code, or a cascading Dropdown), the referenced field must live in the same governance model. A reference to a field in another model is rejected. Deleting a field removes it from every taxonomy that uses it. If another field still references it, publishing is blocked until you update that reference.