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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.

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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.

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How a value is produced

When a submission is saved, Terminus Hub turns what the submitter typed into the stored value in this order:
  1. Takes the typed value, or the default_value if the field was left blank.
  2. Trims leading and trailing whitespace.
  3. Applies transform_case.
  4. 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 unique is on, uniqueness is checked against the final stored value.

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Settings reference

SettingRequiredDefaultDescription
default_valueNoNonePre-fills the field for a new submission.
min_lengthNoNoneMinimum character count after trimming, 0 to 1000.
max_lengthNoNoneMaximum character count after trimming, 0 to 1000.
allowed_character_typesNoNoneAny of lowercase, uppercase, numeric, space, dash, underscore. When set, only these categories are allowed.
allowed_custom_charactersNoNoneExtra characters allowed on top of allowed_character_types, for example ["@", "."].
disallowed_charactersNoNoneCharacters that are always rejected. Takes precedence over the allow settings.
patternsNoNoneA list of { type, value, message } rules. type is one of contains, starts, ends, excludes, regex.
transform_caseNononenone, lowercase, or uppercase. Applied on save.
transform_spacesNononenone, remove, replace_dash, replace_underscore, or replace_custom. Applied on save.
custom_replacementWhen transform_spaces is replace_customNoneThe text that replaces each space. Up to 5 characters.
uniqueNofalseWhen true, the stored value must be unique across records.
The required flag lives on the field itself, not inside settings.

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Example

A campaign_name field in a Campaign URL Builder model: 
name: campaign_name
type: text
required: true
settings:
  unique: true
  transform_case: lowercase
  transform_spaces: replace_underscore
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 utm_campaign or a short_url, build on.

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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 transform_spaces: replace_underscore would later produce one.
  • patterns are typed, not raw regex. Only the regex type treats value as a regular expression. contains, starts, ends, and excludes are literal string matches. Every pattern needs a message.
  • replace_custom needs custom_replacement. You cannot save the field with transform_spaces: replace_custom and no custom_replacement.