Create, view, edit, and delete custom fields

With custom fields, you can add valuable information to a component that’s not available using Compass’s default fields. With custom fields, you can describe and classify a component in a way that’s relevant to your team’s needs.

You can create new custom fields to show them on selected component types. You can also edit a custom field’s details, and update its component types to choose which components the custom fields appear on.

Custom field types

A custom field type defines the type of data the field can contain. You must set a type for the custom field when you’re creating it. You can't change the type afterward.

Text

A text field appears as a text box on a component and accepts plain text strings. People generally use the text field to convey descriptive details about the component.

Some examples of text custom fields are:

• Business unit = [Finance | Support | Operations]
• Primary office = [Sydney | London | San Francisco]

Checkbox (Boolean)

A checkbox field represents a component's property that can either be:

• true or false
• on or off
• yes or no

The custom field appears as a single checkbox on a component. It stores a boolean value depending on its selection state. Checkboxes are deselected (false) by default.

Some examples of checkbox custom fields are:

• Public facing = [True | False]
• Zero downtime = [True | False]
• Third-party provided = [True | False]

Number

A number field accepts any integers and decimals. This is a numbers-only field. It appears as a single-line text box, where you can enter numbers as free-form text using numerical characters.

Some examples of number custom fields are:

• Recovery Time Objective (hours) = 2.5
• Recovery Point Objective (hours) = 4

User

A user field lets you search and choose one user from your Atlassian site. This person can be any user from your Atlassian site, irrespective of their access to Compass.

An example of using the user custom field is assigning a person with a particular role or responsibility towards the component, such as an architect or a product owner.

Dropdown - Single select

A dropdown menu with multiple options appears on a component and accepts one selection. The options you can enter are plain text strings with a maximum character length of 80.

Dropdown - Multi-select

A dropdown menu with multiple options appears on a component and accepts up to 10 selections. The options you can enter are plain text strings with a maximum character length of 80. You can enter a maximum of 25 options via the UI, but you can add more options via the API.

Create a custom field

You can create new custom fields from the Custom fields page in Compass settings.

Before you begin

Before creating a new custom field, check if:

• a default Compass field meets your needs and use that field instead
• an available custom field is suitable; if there’s one, show it on additional component types

Create a new custom field

To create a custom field:

1. Select Settings () from Compass’s main navigation.
2. Select Custom fields from the side navigation.
3. Select Create custom field.
4. Choose a Custom field type.
   • You must set a custom field's type when creating it. You can’t change the type afterward.
5. Enter the Custom field name and Description.
   • The custom field’s name appears as the field's title on components.
   • The description appears on the Custom fields page but not on components where the field appears.
6. Choose the Component types you want to show the custom field on.
   • You must select at least one component type.
   • You’ll see the custom field on all components of the type or types you select here.
7. Select Create. You’ll see the new custom field on the Custom fields page and on the Custom fields card on a component's Overview page.

View available custom fields

To view all available custom fields:

1. Select Settings () from Compass’s main navigation. You’ll go to the Custom fields page.
2. View all custom fields available on your Compass site on the Custom fields page.

Edit a custom field

To edit a custom field:

1. Select Settings () from Compass’s main navigation. You’ll go to the Custom fields page.
2. Locate the custom field you want to edit.
3. Select More actions () > Edit.
4. Edit the details you want to change.
5. Update the component types to show or hide the custom field on specific component types. Learn how showing or hiding custom fields on components works
6. Select Save.

Show or hide a custom field on components

You can update the component types on an existing custom field to show or hide the custom field from specific component types. Updating component types work differently depending on the situation:

• Add a component type for the first time — We’ll show the custom field on all components of the new component type you selected.

• Remove a component type — We’ll hide the custom field from all components of the component type you deselected. We don't delete the custom field or its values from Compass. You can add the component type to the custom field to get the data back on those components.

• Add a component type you'd removed earlier — We’ll show the previously hidden custom field again on all components of the component type you selected. Any custom field values that previously existed also appear again on those components.

To show or hide a custom field on components:

1. Select Settings () from Compass’s main navigation. You’ll go to the Custom fields page.
2. Locate the custom field for updating the component types.
3. Select More actions () > Edit.
4. Select one or more Component types that you want to show the custom field on.
5. Deselect any Component types you want to hide the custom field on.
6. Select Save.

Delete a custom field

To delete a custom field:

1. Select Settings () from Compass’s main navigation. You’ll go to the Custom fields page.
2. Locate the custom field you want to delete.
3. Select More actions () > Delete. A confirmation dialog appears.
4. Select Delete.