Custom Fields | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

What You’ll Learn

In this section, you will learn:

• Standard field types that can be used for Custom Fields
• Additional custom field configuration options
• How to create a custom field

Standard Field Types

Each field is defined as a Type. The Yext platform has several standard field types that you can use when creating a Custom Field. These include types like:

• Multi-Line Text
• Photo Gallery
• URL

For a full list of available field types, visit our Field Types reference documentation.

Yext will continually add more Standard Field Types for Custom Fields based on usage patterns. You can also define your own field type through Custom Field Types, which we’ll get to soon.

Additional Custom Field Configuration Options

When you define a custom field, the most important thing you define is its type – which as covered above can either be a Standard type defined by Yext or a Custom Type defined by You. You cannot change a field’s type after you create it.

After that, there are a few other options that you have:

• Field Name: This is what users will see when editing the field in the Graph so it’s important that you name it something that people will understand. You don’t want to use code names or abbreviations if they don’t make sense to others. We also index the field name for Search so the algorithms can try to understand what data it is storing to provide the best results. You can change a Field’s name after creation.

• ID: This is how the field will be referenced via the API. While you can change this, doing so could break integrations so please be careful!

• Field Settings: This is the field’s type and the validation as covered above. You cannot change a field’s type after creation but you can update the validation in most cases. For types that aren’t already a List (like the Gallery, Text List or Entity Relationship field types), you can also choose to make the item a List here.

• Alternate Language Behavior: If you are storing multiple language profiles for an entity, this setting allows you to control whether the values of this field can be modified or inherited by alternate language profiles. This will default to Primary Only. You can learn more about this in the Help Center , or in our Multi-Language Profiles Module .

• Field Availability: If you’re ready to add this custom field to an entity type, you can select one or more types here. If you want to keep it in a “draft-like” mode, you can set it to No Entity Types.

• Custom Field Permission Group: Custom Field Groups allow you to group custom fields together for permission purposes. Once fields are in a group, you can assign permissions on that group using Custom User Roles. You can learn more about this in the Users & Custom Roles module .

• Tooltip Description: Optionally, you can add a description of the field that will appear as a tooltip to users on Entity Edit. You can use this to help guide other users in the account so they understand what the field is or best practices on how to fill it out.

How to Create a Custom Field

There are 2 ways to create a custom field from Yext Content:

• From Configuration > Fields
• From Configuration > Entity Types > Edit Fields screen via the Add Field modal

You can choose which way makes the most sense for you, but there is a key difference in the two methods. If you choose to create a field from the Custom Fields screen, you cannot set properties that are specific to a field on a given Entity Type, which includes Field Sections and whether the field is Required or Visible on Add for a given Type. You’ll learn more about how field sections work in the Field Sections Module . If you create a field in the Custom Fields screen UI, the field will automatically be placed in “Other Fields”. You will need to go into the “Entity Type > Edit Fields” screen for each relevant Entity Type to move the field into an existing section or create a new section. Once you do this, you can also set whether the field is Required or Visible on Add. For that reason, many people find it easier or faster to create the field via “Entity Type > Edit Fields” screen if you are adding a new field for a specific Entity Type. On the flip side, if you are creating a field for multiple Entity Types, and you are okay with the field going into “Other Fields”, then it is easier to add a field to multiple types via the Custom Fields screen.

Adding a Field via Custom Fields screen

Recommended for adding new fields to multiple types at once

1. Navigate to Content > Configuration > Fields. This is your home base for Custom Fields. Click “+ Add Field” to get started.

2. Select the type from the list of Standard and Custom Field Types. This cannot be changed later. Once selected, the relevant information for that field will populate on the page.

3. Enter the field’s name. Remember to make this something that is clear and obvious to other users.

4. Enter the field’s ID. Remember that you can change this later but do so carefully as you don’t want to break any integrations or Search experiences.

5. Set the Field Availability. You can easily add or remove it from Entity Types later from the Custom Field > Edit Field screen or from the Manage Entity Types > Edit Fields on Type screen.

6. Optionally, enter any additional validation or set the options if an option field. You can also choose to “Make it a List” if you’d like.

7. If applicable, add the field to a Custom Field Permission Group.

8. Set the Alternate Language Behavior. This can be changed later.

9. If applicable, add a Tooltip description to make it easy for other users of the platform to understand what the field is or best practices for filling it out.

10. Click “Save Field” or “Save and Add Another” if you have more fields to add.

Adding a Field via Entity Type > Edit Fields screen

Recommended for adding new fields to a single type

1. Navigate to Content > Configuration > Entity Types and click to “Edit Fields” on the relevant Entity Type.

2. Choose which Field Section you want to add the field to. If you’re not sure, add to “Core Information” and you can always move it around later. Click the “+” below the field section and select “Add Field”.

3. A modal will appear that will allow you to browse through all existing built-in or custom fields. You can search for the field by name or browse by Field Type. If a field already exists that suits your needs, you can add that field here. Otherwise, you can click the link below the search bar to “+Create Custom Field”

4. Select the type from the list of Standard and Custom Field Types. This cannot be changed later.

5. Enter the field’s name. Remember to make this something that is clear and obvious to other users.

6. Enter the field’s ID. Remember that you can change this later but do so carefully as you don’t want to break any integrations or Search experiences.

7. Optionally, enter any additional validation or set the options if an option field. You can also choose to “Make it a List” if you’d like.

8. If applicable, add a Tooltip description to make it easy for other users of the platform to understand what the field is or best practices for filling it out.

9. If applicable, add the field to a Custom Field Group.

10. Set the Alternate Language Behavior. This can be changed later.

11. Click “Create Field”.

12. If you want to add an additional field, repeat steps 3-11. When you’re done adding or selecting fields, click the “Add Fields” button to exit the modal. You can then rearrange fields within a section or move fields to new sections, which we’ll cover in-depth in the Field Sections Module . Don’t forget to click “Save” to finish updating your entity type.