Text field

A Text field is a free-text box. A submitter types a value, and you can constrain its length, allowed characters, and patterns, and reshape its case and spaces when the submission is saved.

When to use it

Campaign names, product names, or any identifier a person types.
Free-form descriptions that are not drawn from a controlled list.
Codes or slugs where you want length, character-set, or pattern rules.

Do not use a Text field when the value should come from a fixed list. Use a Dropdown field backed by a picklist instead, so submitters pick rather than type.

How a value is produced

When a submission is saved, Terminus Hub turns what the submitter typed into the stored value in this order:

Takes the typed value, or the Default value if the field was left blank.
Trims leading and trailing whitespace, including non-breaking spaces.
Applies Transform case.
Applies Transform spaces.

Validation runs against the trimmed text the submitter typed, before any transforms apply. Length, allowed and disallowed characters, and patterns are all checked at that point. If Require unique values is on, uniqueness is checked against the final stored value.

Settings reference

Setting	Default	Description
Default value	Empty	Pre-fills the field for a new submission.
Transform case	None	None, lowercase, or UPPERCASE. Applied on save.
Transform spaces	Keep spaces	Keep spaces, Remove all spaces, Replace with underscore (_), Replace with dash (-), or Replace with custom character. Applied on save.
Custom space replacement	Empty	Shown when Transform spaces is Replace with custom character. The text that replaces each space, up to 5 characters. Left empty, spaces are removed.
Minimum length	Empty	Minimum character count after trimming, 0 to 1000.
Maximum length	Empty	Maximum character count after trimming, 0 to 1000.
Allowed character types	Empty	Any of Lowercase (a-z), Uppercase (A-Z), Numeric (0-9), Space, Dash (-), Underscore (_). When set, only these categories are allowed.
Allowed custom characters	Empty	Extra characters allowed on top of Allowed character types, for example `@` and `.`. Type a character and press Enter.
Disallowed characters	Empty	Characters that are always rejected. Takes precedence over the allow settings.
Patterns	None	Rules the text must meet. Click Add Pattern, choose Contains, Starts with, Ends with, Excludes, or Regex, enter the pattern value, and optionally a validation message.
Require unique values	Off	When on, the stored value must be unique across records.

Required is in the field’s General section, with the settings every field shares. See Fields.

Suggestions

The Suggestions section, below the text settings, offers values as the submitter types. Suggestions are hints: the submitter can still type a value of their own.

Setting	Default	Description
From picklist	None	A picklist whose option codes are suggested as standard values. Only single-level picklists are listed: a static picklist with no parent or child picklist, or an automated picklist with one level.
Suggest from past entries	Off	Suggests this field’s values from approved records, account-wide, showing up to 10 of the most recent matches. Once a picklist is chosen, the switch reads Also suggest past entries, and picking the first picklist turns it on. See Letting submitters enter new values.

Both sources match the typed text anywhere in the value, ignoring case. When both are on, the form lists the picklist’s values first under Standard values, then past entries under Used before, and leaves out a past entry that matches a picklist code in any letter case.

Example

A campaign_name field in a Campaign URL Builder model:

Setting	Value
Required	On
Transform case	lowercase
Transform spaces	Replace with underscore (_)
Require unique values	On

A submitter types Black Friday 2026. On save, Terminus Hub trims it, lowercases it to black friday 2026, then replaces spaces with underscores. The stored value is black_friday_2026. That transformed value is what downstream computed fields, such as a UTM campaign parameter or a short URL, build on.

Gotchas

Transforms apply on save, not as you type. The submitter still sees their original input in the form. The transformed result is what gets stored.
Validation sees the text before transforms. A pattern that requires an underscore will not match a value the submitter typed with a space, even when Replace with underscore (_) would later produce one.
Only Regex patterns are regular expressions. Contains, Starts with, Ends with, and Excludes match the text literally. Write a validation message for each pattern so submitters know what to fix.
Regex uses JavaScript syntax. Anchor with ^ and $. Escapes from other regex flavors, such as \A and \z, are not valid. A pattern that is not a valid regular expression shows “Not a valid regular expression.” under it, and the field cannot be saved until you fix it.

Dropdown field: when the value should come from a fixed list.
Letting submitters enter new values: a hands-on walkthrough of Suggest from past entries.
Concatenation field: when the value should be built from other fields, including Text fields.
Fields

Fields

Picklists

Settings and limits

When to use it

How a value is produced

Settings reference

Suggestions

Example

Gotchas

​When to use it

​How a value is produced

​Settings reference

​Suggestions

​Example

​Gotchas

​Related

When to use it

How a value is produced

Settings reference

Suggestions

Example

Gotchas

Related