Metafields

Add internal fields to entries for admin and operational purposes.

Metafields are internal fields that attach to form entries for administrative purposes. They’re visible only to admins and are perfect for tracking status, adding notes, or storing computed values.

What Are Metafields?

Metafields are a separate form attached to your main form that:

• Store data that respondents shouldn’t see
• Can be edited by admins
• Have their own workflows
• Appear in the entry detail view

Common Use Cases

Status Tracking

Track processing status:

• “New”, “In Progress”, “Completed”
• Review status
• Approval workflow states

Internal Notes

Add information for your team:

• Admin comments
• Processing notes
• Follow-up reminders

Computed Values

Store calculated data:

• Scores or ratings
• Categorization
• Derived values from workflows

Integration Data

Store external system information:

• CRM record IDs
• Payment transaction IDs
• API response data

Setting Up Metafields

Enable Metafields

1. Go to your form in the admin
2. Open the form builder
3. Click Metafields tab
4. Click Enable Metafields

This creates a linked metafields form.

Add Metafields

1. In the Metafields tab, click Add Field
2. Choose a field type
3. Configure the field
4. Save your changes

Available field types:

• Text, Textarea, Email, URL
• Number, Date, Time, DateTime
• Select, Multiselect, Radio
• Toggle
• Hidden

Configure Field Properties

Metafields support:

• Labels and descriptions
• Default values
• Required validation
• Conditional logic
• Custom validation rules

Using Metafields

Viewing Metafields

In the entry detail:

1. Scroll to the Metafields section
2. View all metafield values
3. Values are shown alongside entry data

Editing Metafields

1. Open entry detail
2. Click Edit Metafields
3. Update values
4. Save changes

Editing metafields can trigger workflows.

Metafields in Entry Table

Show metafields in the entry list:

1. Go to Views settings
2. Add metafield columns
3. Filter and sort by metafield values

Metafield Workflows

Metafields have their own workflow capabilities.

Metafield-Specific Triggers

• Metafield Updated - When any metafield changes
• Specify which metafields to watch

Workflow Steps

Metafield workflows can:

• Update main entry values
• Send notifications
• Make API calls
• Create entries in other forms

Example: Approval Workflow

Trigger: Metafield "status" updated
↓
Condition: status = "approved"
├─ True: Send approval email
└─ False: (end)

Referencing Metafields

In Workflows

Reference metafield values:

entry:current.metafields.answers.status
entry:current.metafields.answers.reviewer_notes

In Conditional Logic

Metafields can be used in conditions:

• Show/hide main form fields based on metafield values
• Validate based on metafield status

In Templates

Include metafield values in emails and templates:

Status: {{ entry.metafields.answers.status }}
Notes: {{ entry.metafields.answers.notes }}

Metafields vs. Regular Fields

Best Practices

Naming Convention

Use clear prefixes:

• status_* for status fields
• internal_* for internal data
• computed_* for calculated values

Default Values

Set sensible defaults:

• “New” for status fields
• Current date for date fields
• Empty for optional notes

Validation

Keep validation appropriate:

• Don’t require fields that aren’t always needed
• Use conditional required based on workflow stage

Documentation

Document your metafields:

• What each field is for
• Who should edit them
• When they should be updated