Fields are the columns of your library and the metadata on every photo. Nothing is hardcoded: what a photo record holds is entirely your decision.
What you start with
A fresh install has Location (text), People (tags), Album (tags), Year (number), Date taken (date) and Tags (tags). They are a starting point for a family archive, not a recommendation. Rename or remove any of them.
The four switches
Every field has four checkboxes, and they are the part people skim past and then wonder about.
| Column | The field is a column in the library table, and can be sorted on. Six or seven columns is about the readable limit. |
|---|---|
| Filter | The field appears as a filter dropdown — in the library toolbar, in the display builder, and optionally to visitors. |
| On page | The field is listed on the single item page. |
| Caption | The field can be ticked as a caption line in a display. |
Field types
| Type | Holds | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Text | One line of text | Included in search. Suggests values you have used before. |
| Number | A number | Sorts and filters numerically, not alphabetically. Use it for years, not for “1994–95”. |
| Date | A date | Sorts and filters by date. Years before 1800 are refused, which catches a year typed as two digits and saved as 0025. |
| Tags | Many values per photo | Stored as a taxonomy, so each value gets its own archive page. |
| Long text PRO | A paragraph | Not sortable, not filterable. For notes and provenance. |
| Link PRO | A URL | Rendered as a link on the item page. |
| Yes / no PRO | A switch | Drives the download field. Filterable. |
| Single choice PRO | One value from a list | Stored as a taxonomy, but one value only. Good for a category. |
Tags or single choice?
Both become taxonomies and both get archive pages. Tags allow many values per photo; single choice allows exactly one and replaces rather than adds when you bulk edit. If a photo could plausibly have two of something, use tags.
Preset options
For a tags or single-choice field you can list preset options, one per line. They appear in the dropdown wherever the field is edited. Values you have already typed appear as suggestions anyway, so presets matter most on a brand-new field where nothing has been typed yet.
Adding, reordering, deleting
Click + Add field, type a label, and leave the key blank to have one made from the label. The key is permanent — it is what the database, the CSV columns and the shortcode attributes use. The label can be changed whenever you like.
Reorder with the arrows. Order controls the library columns, the upload panel, the item page and the display builder, all at once.
Deleting a field hides it; the values stay. Add a field back with the same key and everything is there again. To actually remove the data, clear the field across every photo with the bulk editor first, then delete the field.
Changing a type does not convert the data. Text saved in a field switched to number is still text. Export to CSV, fix the column in a spreadsheet, and import it back.
Fields with a Pro type when Pro is off
A field keeps its type and its stored data whether or not the code for that type is loaded. With Pro inactive, a long-text field behaves as text and a single-choice field behaves as tags; nothing is rewritten, nothing is lost, and everything returns when Pro comes back.