--- title: "Create a Data Field" canonical: "https://hub.freewheel.tv/space/OS/114327592/Create%20a%20Data%20Field" format: markdown --- Data field restrictions Changes to picklist data fields are generally applied to existing campaigns. For more information, see Changes to Custom Picklists Are Applied to Existing Campaigns . Newly created picklists are only available for campaigns created after the picklist was created. For all other data field types, newly created data fields and edited data fields are only available for campaigns created after the data field was created or edited. Start the Data Field Creation Process All data fields begin in the same way, by opening the  Manage Data Fields and Templates  page for the desired entity and starting the data field creation process from there. To start the data field creation process, do the following: Navigate to the  Administration  >  Data Fields and Templates  page. Expand the schema table as necessary in order to reach the entity for which the data field will be created. For the desired entity row, click the value in the  Schema  column to open its  Manage Data Fields and Templates  page. By default, the  Manage Data Fields and Templates  page opens on the Data Fields tab. On the Data Fields tab, click the  Create Data field  button On the Create Your Custom Field or Formula page , enter the following information: Field Name Description Name Enter a name for the data field.  Reference Code Enter a reference code for the data field. Schema Level Select the schema level of the data field, which defines what type of objects the data field can be applied to and where the data field can appear. The possible values are: Order : The data field contains information that applies to all Cost Lines in an order. For example, vendor selections, buyer- or seller-related information, currency, and so on. Cost Line : The data field contains cost- or finance-related information for a line item. Media Line : The data field contains information about the media being run or the units being bought. Ad Unit : The data field contain format and ad-specific information. Ad Placement : The data field contains technology assignment details that are used in the Ad Server grid. This type of data field can only be added to External Integrations templates. (Optional) Required (Optional) Select whether or not the data field is required. If a data field is required, it must be filled out before the next step of the campaign management workflow can proceed. For example, if a required data field is added to the Schedule grid, a Cost Line cannot be committed if it does not have a value for that data field. Field Type Select the type of the data field : Calculated Formula Concatenated Formula Currency Date Number Percentage Picklist Text Conversion Rate Depending on the selected field type, follow one of the options below to continue: Create a calculated formula data field Create a concatenated formula data field Create a picklist data field Create a currency, date, number, or percentage data field Create a Calculated Formula Data Field To create a calculated formula data field , do the following: Start the data field creation process (see above). For Field Type , select Calculated Formula . Define the calculated formula: Field Name Action Select a Field Add a field to the calculated formula builder: Click the downward-facing triangle icon (▾) to open the dropdown list of available fields. The list of available fields depends on the value of the Schema Level field ( Order , Cost Line , Media Line , or Ad Unit ), because some fields are only available at certain schema levels.  Click on the name of a field to select it.  Click the Add Field Button to add the selected field. Only one field can be added at a time. Calculator Interface Use the added field(s) and the calculator interface to define the desired formula. Fields in the formula builder cannot be moved (by dragging and dropping the field), but they can be deleted and re-added after moving the cursor to a new position in the formula builder. Formula Output Configuration Select a display format for the formula: Money Number Percentage Decimal Places Select the number of decimal places that are displayed, from 0 to 16. Click  Finish to create the data field as a draft and to return to the Manage Data Fields and Templates page. Save the draft data field by clicking Save . The new data field is created as a draft in the Data Fields grid and must be saved before it can be used or kept. Any changes to the Data Fields grid that are not saved are lost when navigating away from the Data Fields tab. Create a Concatenated Formula Data Field To create a concatenated formula data field , do the following: Start the data field creation process (see above). For Field Type , select Concatenated Formula . Define the concatenated formula: Field Name Action Select a Delimiter Select the character or symbol to separate the different fields in the concatenation formula. Optional Multiple Delimiters Optional: Select Multiple Delimiters to use multiple types of delimiters in the concatenation formula. Select Fields for Your Formula > Add a field Add a field to the concatenated formula builder: Click  Add a Field to open the dropdown list of available fields. The list of available fields depends on the value of the Schema Level field ( Order , Cost Line , Media Line , or Ad Unit ), because some fields are only available at certain schema levels.  Click on the name of a field to select it.  Click anywhere outside the dropdown list to add the selected field. Only one field can be added at a time. Optional Position Optional: Change the order of the concatenated formula fields by doing one of the following: Drag and drop a field into the desired order Select a field and use the up (↑) and down (↓) arrows above the formula builder to re-order the field Optional Use Shortcode Optional: Select  Use Shortcode to use the pre-defined short code of the field (if any) in the concatenation formula, instead of the full name of the field.  Only applies if Multiple Delimiters is selected Delimiter Select the specific delimiter used after the field in the concatenation formula. Optional Empty Value Code Optional: Enter a default string (like "N/A") that is used when a field in the concatenation formula is empty. Only applies if one or more data fields have been added to the formula builder Select Date Format Select how any date fields will be displayed. For more information, see Concatenated Formula Date Format Options . Optional Manual Entry   Choose whether or not users can manually edit values created by the concatenated formula. If Manual Entry is enabled, users can manually edit values created by the concatenated formula. If Manual Entry is not enabled, users cannot manually edit values created by the concatenated formula. Click  Finish to create the data field as a draft and to return to the Manage Data Fields and Templates page. Save the draft data field by clicking Save . The new data field is created as a draft in the Data Fields grid, and must be saved before it can be used or kept. Any changes to the Data Fields grid that are not saved are lost when navigating away from the Data Fields tab. Concatenated Formula Date Format Options The following table is a list of the available date format options: Option dd: Two-digit day of the month MM: Two-digit month MMM: Three-letter abbreviation of the month yy: Two-digit year yyyy: Four-digit year Example If the date is August 31, 2024 dd-MM-yy 31-08-24 dd-MM-yyyy 31-08-2024 dd-MMM-yy 31-Aug-24 MM-dd-yy 08-31-24 MM-dd-yyyy 08-31-2024 yy-MM-dd 24-08-31 yyyy-MM-dd 2024-08-31 yyyy-MMM-dd 2024-Aug-31 yyyy-MM 2024-08 yy-MM 24-08 yy 24 yyyy 2024 Create a Picklist Data Field To create a picklist data field , do the following: Start the data field creation process (see above). For Field Type , select Picklist . Define the dropdown list, either through a CSV import or manually: Option Action Define the dropdown options through a CSV import To define dropdown options through a CSV import: Create a CSV or Excel file that lists the values as rows in the same column (for example, column A). If short codes are included, the short codes should be in a separate column (for example, column B). Do not include a header row. Click the Import .CSV button. Select the desired file. Define the dropdown options manually To define dropdown options manually: In the dropdown builder, click  Add a record . For Value , enter the desired value. Optional: For Shortcode , enter a short code for the value. Optional Postion Change the order of the dropdown options by doing one of the following: Drag and drop a field into the desired order Select a field and use the up (↑) and down (↓) arrows above the dropdown builder to re-order the field Customize the dropdown list settings: Setting Name Action Multi-select Not enabled by default Choose whether or not users can select more than one dropdown value: If Multi-select is enabled, users can select (or enter, if Free-Form Text is enabled) more than one value. If Multi-select is not enabled, users can only select one value. Free-Form Text Not enabled by default Choose whether or not the dropdown list includes a free-form text option: If Free-Form Text is enabled, users can enter a free-form text value, instead of selecting a value from the list of pre-defined options. If Multi-select is also enabled, users can enter multiple free-form values, in addition to selecting multiple pre-defined values. If Free-Form Text is not enabled, users can only select a value from the list of pre-defined options. Once a free-form value has been created, it cannot be edited, only deleted and re-added. Free-form values are not saved as new, pre-defined dropdown options: For example, if there is a Cost Line-level picklist data field called Market and New York City is entered as a free-form value for a particular Placement line on the Schedule grid, that value of New York City is not saved as a dropdown option that can be selected by other Cost Lines.   If a user wants a free-form value to be available for future campaigns, the only way to add a new pre-defined dropdown option is by directly editing the picklist data field, on the  Administration  >  Data Fields & Templates  >  Data Fields  tab. Auto-generate Adserver Placements Only applies if the Schema Level is not Ad Placement Not enabled by default Choose whether or not the data field creates new Ad Placement lines, when selected on the media schedule. If Auto-generate Adserver Placements is enabled; Multi-select is enabled; and the data field is added to a schedule template: If multiple values in the dropdown list are selected when creating a Schedule grid line and the Schedule grid line has an assigned Ad Server provider, when the line is committed, each selected dropdown value automatically generates a unique Ad Placement line. If Auto-generate Adserver Placements is not enabled, Ad Placement lines are not generated based on the dropdown list. Click  Finish to create the data field as a draft and to return to the Manage Data Fields and Templates page. Save the draft data field by clicking Save . The new data field is created as a draft in the Data Fields grid and must be saved before it can be used or kept. Any changes to the Data Fields grid that are not saved are lost when navigating away from the Data Fields tab. Create a Currency, Date, Number, Percentage, or Text Data Field To create a currency , date , number , percentage , or text data field, do the following: Start the data field creation process (see above). For Field Type , select Currency , Date , Number , or Percentage . Depending on the selected data field type, add any additional required information: Data Field Type Action Currency For Decimal Places , select the number of decimal places that are displayed, from Currency Defined to 16. Currency Defined means that the number of decimal places is 0 to 3, depending on ISO standards. Date No additional action required. Number For Decimal Places , select the number of decimal places that are displayed, from 0 to 16. Percentage For Decimal Places , select the number of decimal places that are displayed, from 0 to 16. Text For Character Limit , enter the character limit of the text field. The minimum character limit is 1, and the maximum character limit is 2,500. Click  Finish to create the data field as a draft and to return to the Manage Data Fields and Templates page. Save the draft data field by clicking Save . The new data field is created as a draft in the Data Fields grid and must be saved before it can be used or kept. Any changes to the Data Fields grid that are not saved are lost when navigating away from the Data Fields tab. Create a Conversion Rate Data Field To create a conversion rate data field , do the following: Start the data field creation process (see above), making sure that Schema Level is Media Line . For Field Type , select Conversion Rate . Define the conversion rate: Field Name Action Unit Type From Select the unit type to convert from. Unit Type To Select the unit type to convert to. Click  Finish to create the data field as a draft and to return to the Manage Data Fields and Templates page. Save the draft data field by clicking Save . The new data field is created as a draft in the Data Fields grid, and must be saved before it can be used or kept. Any changes to the Data Fields grid that are not saved are lost when navigating away from the Data Fields tab.