Field types

Every field has a field type. It decides what the field looks like in the layout (input form), how you enter a value and what is stored in the end. The pages here describe the field types from the point of view of data entry.

Which field gets which field type, and how it is configured, is decided by the administration. That is covered in the setup section under Configuring field types .

Catalogue

The groups follow the selection offered when you create a field.

Text

Field type	Input	Page
Text	Single-line or multi-line text box, optionally with suggestions	Text
Formatted text	Text box with a toolbar for bold, italic, lists, links	Formatted text
Link	Web address with validation, an open button and an optional preview	Link

Numbers and dimensions

Field type	Input	Page
Number (decimal number, integer)	Number field with formatting, optionally with a choice of unit	Number

Date and time

Field type	Input	Page
Date	Year, month, day or calendar; partial dates possible	Date
Time	Clock face or typing	Time
Date and time	Calendar and clock face for a point in time	Date and time

Selection

Field type	Input	Page
Select list	List with search, one value or several	Select list
Selection tree	Values with levels, as an expanded tree with checkboxes	Selection tree
Hierarchical select list	The same values with levels, as a drop-down list with tree or list view	Hierarchical select list
Switch	Yes or no, as a slider or checkbox	Switch

Links, authority data, addresses

Field type	Input	Page
Authority record	Search in the authority data library and the sources	Authority record
Address	Selection from the address book	Address
Object	Selection of another object, for example a group of objects, a template or a publication	Object
Geolocation	Place search, map or coordinates; map preview in the field	Geolocation
Plan	Placement on a wall or a plan, set in the wall planner	Wall planner

Address, authority record and geolocation do not store text but a reference to an entry in the respective library, and object stores a reference to another object. If the entry is corrected there, the correction applies to every object.

Files and media

Field type	Input	Page
Image	One image on the object, with preview and image studio	Image
File	Any file: document, audio, video, panorama, 3D model	File
3D	A 3D model you can rotate in the field	3D

Any number of files on an object are not kept in a field but in a file area. See File library .

Calculated, JSON, custom code

Field type	Input	Page
JSON	Several entries in one field, as tabs or a table	JSON
JSON schema	Input form generated from the schema	JSON schema
Virtual field	None. The value is calculated from other fields	Virtual field
Template field	A custom display set up by the administration	Template field

No input form yet

Some field types appear in the selection when you create a field with the addition “no input form yet”. A field of this kind shows the stored value in a locked text box. It can be read, filtered and exported, but not edited in the layout.

Field type	Use instead
Keywords (`keywords`)	Select list with multiple selection, or Authority record for a maintained vocabulary
Audio, video, panorama (`audio`, `video`, `panorama`)	File . The file field recognises the kind by itself and plays audio and video in the file dialog
Older number fields (`zahl_formatiert`, `zahl_labeled`)	Number

The values are already in the same form as with the replacement field type. The administration can switch the field type without losing any values.

Saving and annotations

The same applies to every field type: there is no save button, a field saves when you leave it and shows the result through its colour. Comment, source, colour and “uncertain” are attached to every field regardless of its field type. See Saving and Field metadata .

Field types with their own saving behaviour (formatted text, JSON, date and time) describe it on their page.

Raw value and formatting

Every field type stores a raw value: a number in the base unit, a date as YYYY-MM-DD, an address as a reference. In gallery, table and kanban and in the export you can show a formatting instead of the raw value, for example “Number with unit” or “Domain only”. Which formattings exist is listed on the page of each field type.

You choose the formatting in the field selection of the view settings and per column in the Excel export . If the field name is followed by something in brackets, such as “Maße (kurz)”, the column shows a formatting; without brackets it shows the raw value.

In Word templates, $o outputs the raw value and $fmt the formatting; in loops over several objects, use ffmt(). See Output formatters in templates .