---
title: "Managing custom fields for roles and circles"
description: "Administrators create, edit, hide, reorder and delete custom fields in Structure settings, so role and circle pages carry the information their organisation needs."
category: structure-governance
section: chart-and-circles
tags: [admin]
type: Tutorial
lastUpdated: 2026-08-05
locale: en
canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/manage-custom-fields-for-roles-and-circles
---

# Managing custom fields for roles and circles


## Managing custom fields for roles and circles

A custom field is a field you define once and that then appears on **every** role, or on **every** circle, in your organisation. You define custom fields in **Structure settings**, on the **Governance fields** page. You need administrator rights.

This article covers defining the fields themselves. To fill in a value on a particular role or circle, see [Editing governance fields for roles and circles](/structure-governance/how-to-edit-core-and-custom-governance-fields-for-roles-and-circles).

## Where do I find custom fields?

1. Open the **Structure** app.
2. Click **Structure settings** at the bottom of the left sidebar.
3. Select **Governance fields**.

The page has two tabs, **Roles** and **Circles**, each listing the fields shown on that kind of page.

![The Governance Fields page in Structure settings, Circles tab, listing Purpose, Domains, Accountabilities, Policies and Strategy with their Kind, Type and Requires proposal columns](/images/structure-governance/manage-custom-fields-for-roles-and-circles/01-governance-fields-settings.png)

The **Kind** column tells you which fields you may delete:

- **Core** fields are Purpose, Domains, Accountabilities and Policies. They are built into the product. You can rename them, hide them and reorder them, but you cannot delete them or change their type.
- **Custom** fields are the ones you create. Everything on this page applies to them.

## How do I create a custom field?

1. Open the **Roles** or **Circles** tab, depending on where the field should appear.
2. Click **Create new field**.
3. Enter a **Field name**.
4. Choose a **Field type**.
5. Check the **Entity type**. It is pre-filled from the tab you started on.
6. Add a **Description** if the name alone will not be clear. You have 500 characters.
7. Leave **Require proposal to edit** off, or switch it on to make the field governed.
8. Click **Save**.

![The Create a new custom field dialog, with Field name, Field type, Entity type set to Circle, Description with a 500 character counter, and a Require proposal to edit switch](/images/structure-governance/manage-custom-fields-for-roles-and-circles/02-create-a-new-custom-field.png)

**Note:** a field belongs to roles **or** to circles, never to both. If you want the same information on both, create the field twice, once on each tab.

**Note:** when **Require proposal to edit** is on, members can no longer type a value straight into the field. The value changes only when a governance proposal is adopted. This is how the four core fields already behave.

Under **More options** you will find the **Field key**, the technical identifier used by exports, imports and the API. It is generated from the name, you can edit it while you are creating the field, and it cannot be changed afterwards.

## Which field type should I choose?

| Type | What the field holds |
|---|---|
| **Select** | One value, chosen from options you define |
| **Multi-select** | Several values, chosen from options you define |
| **List** | A free-text list of items, like Domains and Accountabilities |
| **Textarea** | Long free text |
| **Boolean** | Yes or no |
| **Number** | A number, with an optional minimum, maximum and step |

**Select** and **Multi-select** need at least one option before you can save. Each option has a **Label**, which members see, and a **Value**, which is stored.

## How do I edit, hide or reorder a field?

Every row has an actions menu at its right end.

- **Edit** opens the field, where you can change its name, its description and its type. Only compatible types are offered, existing values are converted automatically, and the conversion cannot be undone. The type cannot be changed at all while a proposal that references the field is still open.
- **Hide** removes the field from role and circle pages without losing anything. As the setting says, stored values are preserved and reappear when you turn it back on. A hidden field is marked **Hidden** in the list, and **Show** puts it back.
- **Drag** a row by the handle on its left to reorder it. Core and custom fields share one order, and that order is the order they appear in on every role or circle page.

## How do I delete a custom field?

1. Open the row's actions menu and select **Delete**.
2. Read the count in the confirmation, then click **Delete**.

![The Delete Strategy confirmation dialog, warning that deleting removes the value from one item and that past proposals and change history stay readable](/images/structure-governance/manage-custom-fields-for-roles-and-circles/03-delete-field-confirmation.png)

**Warning:** deleting a field clears its value from every role or circle that had one, and this cannot be undone. The dialog tells you how many items are affected. Past proposals and change history stay readable. If you only want the field off the page, hide it instead.

Two situations stop a deletion, and both are recoverable:

- **An active proposal references the field.** The dialog lists the proposals so you can open them. Resolve or withdraw them, then delete.
- **The field requires a proposal to edit.** Turn off **Require proposal to edit** first, or choose **Hide instead** to keep the field and its history.

Core fields cannot be deleted in any situation.

## What's next?

- [Editing governance fields for roles and circles](/structure-governance/how-to-edit-core-and-custom-governance-fields-for-roles-and-circles)
- [How do I edit a role or a circle?](/structure-governance/how-to-edit-a-role-or-a-circle)
- [Managing chart highlights as an administrator](/structure-governance/manage-highlights-as-an-admin)
- [Managing custom fields for members](/administration-security/manage-custom-fields-for-members)