Each record stored in MetaLocator has multiple fields. Some of these fields are System Fields, provided by MetaLocator, like address, city, state and so forth and others can be provided by you as needed. Fields can also be created on the fly when the Import system finds columns it does not recognize.
To create a new Field, click New under Data > Fields.
Choose your options and save the Field. This Field will now be displayed on the Record Editor. It will also be recognized as an existing Field when you import data.
Name: This is the name of the field. These should be safe for use as database column names, or they will be made safe. This means you should not use special characters or spaces. You can change what the end user sees by manipulating the appropriate Language file.
Table: If your account includes multi-table access, you can also choose which table this field will be created in.
Standard Field Types
Text: This is the default field type. When output, it is displayed just as it is imported.
Integer Numeric: These expect whole number numeric values, and the underlying database field is created as numeric.
Decimal Numeric: These expect whole decimal numeric values, and the underlying database field is created as numeric.
Dropdown List: This is also a text field, but when presented as a data entry field to an administrator or as a data entry form element to the end user in the Record Form Layout, it is displayed as a drop-down list with a fixed set of choices.
List of Checkboxes: This field will display a series of checkboxes according to the values provided in the "List Values" box. For a single checkbox, enter the number 1 in the "List Values" box. That will store a 1 in the field when the box is checked.
Date: This is a date field, which can be used to search with the Date search control
Hyperlink: This field should contain full URLs like 'https://www.metalocator.com'. It should not include HTML.
Email: This field expects an email address and will output as a mailto link by default.
Image: This field accepts an Image URL. MetaLocator will render this as an HTML image tag, using the data provided in this field as the src attribute.Image
Gallery: This field accepts multiple images and allows you to display a responsive image gallery.
HTML: This field will be treated as raw HTML code and it will be output without any formatting added.
Dynamic Field Types
Hours: This expects hours data formatted according to these instructions.
Email Form: This field will create a link to an email (Lead generation) form. If populated with an email address, the form will deliver to that email address, and optionally an admin. If empty, it will create a link to a form that delivers email to the account administrator's email address.
Territory Fields: These fields store territory specifications for your location records. See our Territory Tutorial for more information on using these fields.
External Key: See this document for more details.
Field Details
Field Length: Here you can control the length of the underlying database field. (Text fields only)
Admin Filter: This enables the field to be used as a filter under Data > All Records. This also exposes the field for use during bi-directional deletes on the Import Options screen.
Visitor Field: Setting Visitor Field to "yes" indicates that this field will be displayed on the Form Layout which allows visitors to submit data to your locator.
Ordering/Priority: Controls the sort order of the fields when displayed in various contexts.
List Values: A comma-separated list of values used only when the Field Type is a list type field. E.g. Red, Green, Blue
Parent Field: The field's parent field. This allows the Search Form to filter subsequent drop-down lists in a chained manner. For example, the State field's Parent is Country, and the State field's Child is City. When the end user chooses a value from the Country drop-down on the Search form, the State field will be filtered to show only those States that are contained within that Country. Similarly, when the user chooses a State, the list of Cities will be filtered to show only those cities within the user's chosen State.
Child Field: See above