🔐 Account type(s) with default permissions to manage this: Administrator
💻 Tier(s) this is available for: Foundation, Essential, Pro
Custom Fields lets your district create and manage its own data fields for Forms in Ellevation, so you can collect the information your program needs without waiting for Ellevation to add it. This article covers creating, managing, and archiving custom fields, and how to alias an existing field name within a form template.
In this article:
- Access the Custom Fields Page
- Create a Custom Field
- Manage Existing Custom Fields
- Understand the 10-Field Limit
- Archive a Custom Field
- Alias a Field Name in a Template
- What Custom Fields Cannot Do
Access the Custom Fields Page
Custom fields are created and managed from a single page in Ellevation. From there, you can create new fields, manage existing ones, and see how many of your active field slots are in use.
To open the Custom Fields page, navigate to Data Management > Custom Fields.
ℹ️ Note
Access to the Custom Fields page is limited to specific account types, and a district must have Forms (aka Compliance) to use it. If you don't see the Custom Fields page under Data Management, check with your Ellevation Administrator.
Create a Custom Field
When your district needs to collect information that does not already exist in Ellevation, you can create a custom field from the Custom Fields page. Once created, the field is immediately available to add to your form templates in the Form Template Builder.
To start a new field, click + Add Custom Field in the top-right corner of the Custom Fields page. After you create it, the field appears on the Active tab.
When you create a field, you define three things:
- Field name: what the field will be called in Forms and in the Student List.
- Field type: how educators enter or select a response. Choose from the five input types listed below.
- Answer options: for single-select and multi-select fields, the list of options educators will choose from.
The five available input types are:
- Free text: an open text response. There is a 2,000-character limit.
- Single-select: the educator chooses one option from a defined list.
- Multi-select: the educator chooses one or more options from a defined list.
- Yes/no: a two-choice response.
- Date: a calendar date.
⚠️ Warning
A field's input type cannot be changed after the field is created. Choose the input type deliberately, because the only way to change it later is to create a new field with the correct type.
Manage Existing Custom Fields
From the Custom Fields page, you can view every custom field your district has created, including its field name, input type, answer options, and active status. What you can change about a field depends on whether it has already collected data.
To open a field for editing, click the three-dot menu to the right of the field in the list, then select Edit. The same menu also includes an Archive option, covered in Archive a Custom Field below.
Edit a Field Before It Has Collected Data
Before a custom field has collected any data, you can still change it freely. You can edit the field name and edit the answer options.
Edit a Field After It Has Collected Data
Once a custom field has collected data, its definition is protected to keep historical data meaningful. After a field has collected data:
- You can add new answer options.
- You can retire (soft-delete) existing answer options. Removing an answer option makes it no longer available for selection in new responses. Historical data (all previous selections of that option) remains in completed forms data.
- You cannot rename the field.
- You cannot change the input type. The input type is locked from the moment the field is created.
Understand the 10-Field Limit
Each district can have up to 10 active custom fields at a time. When you reach the limit, the Custom Fields page prevents you from adding more and explains why. The limit keeps the field catalog focused and easier to navigate, since every custom field adds another option educators parse through in the Student List.
If you need a slot, you have two options: archive a custom field you no longer need, or alias an existing Ellevation field instead of creating a new one.
💡 Quick Tip
Aliasing an existing field does not use one of your 10 custom field slots. If the data point you need already exists in Ellevation under a different name, alias it in the template builder rather than creating a custom field. Reserve custom fields for data that does not exist anywhere in the catalog.
Archive a Custom Field
When your district no longer needs a custom field, you can archive it to free up a slot. Archiving removes the field from active use: it can no longer be added to new templates or collect new data. Archiving means "stop collecting." It does not delete anything you have already collected.
ℹ️ Note
You cannot archive a field that is currently in use in any template. Ellevation blocks the action and shows you which templates are preventing it, with a hyperlink directly to that template, so you know where to go and what to resolve first. To archive the field, remove it from the relevant templates.
After you archive a field, previously collected values remain visible in:
- Completed and saved forms.
- The Student List and Student List filters.
- Review-only form contexts.
⚠️ Warning
You cannot reactivate an archived field yourself (this is to keep the field catalog stable). Only archive a field if you no longer plan to capture this data in Forms. If your district archived a field by mistake, or needs one reactivated for another reason, reach out to Ellevation for help.
Alias a Field Name in a Template
Aliasing displays a district-specific label for a field within a form template, without changing the field's underlying identity in Ellevation. Aliasing happens at the template level, not the catalog level. Use an alias when your district uses different terminology than Ellevation's default field name. If you need to collect something that does not exist in Ellevation at all, create a custom field instead.
A quick rule: if the field already exists in Ellevation, alias it. If it does not, create it.
ℹ️ Note
For a field you alias going forward, the Student List displays the field's original Ellevation name, not the alias. Your alias still applies within the template. This affects newly aliased fields only; aliases already applied in the Student List are not changed.
What Custom Fields Cannot Do
A few actions are outside the scope of Custom Fields:
- Custom fields cannot be added to the Export Wizard.
- Custom field names and answer options cannot be translated.
- Custom fields cannot be made visible to other districts. They are specific, visible, and usable only to the district that creates them.
- Custom fields do not replace rich fields such as test scores, services, and accommodations. Those remain in the Ellevation catalog and are still available.