Workiva Support Center

Custom field groups are used to sort, organize, and structure the custom fields in your workspace. By creating fit-for-purpose field groups, you can easily manage and modify multiple custom fields at once. Additionally, custom field groups can reduce visual clutter by ensuring each file in your workspace only displays the specific fields necessary for that work.

Note: This feature is currently only available as part of an Early Adopter Program. If you're interested in using custom fields within your workspace, contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss program participation.

Requirements

• This article assumes you have previously created custom fields in your workspace. Learn more about custom fields.
• The Custom Field Admin role is required to modify custom field groups and definitions. This also applies to API users.
• Owner or Editor permissions are required to manage a file's custom field values.
• Owner permissions are required to manage a file's custom field group.
  
  

Create custom field groups

The first step in managing custom field groups is to create the group within your workspace and assign the relevant fields to it. In subsequent steps, we'll apply these groups to individual files in your workspace.

To create a custom field group:

1. From the Custom Fields screen, click the Create > Create custom group button.
2. Enter the details of your new custom field group.

   Group name	The group name or "title" as it appears in your workspace.
   Group ID	The field's unique identifier; primarily used programmatically or via API.  Supported characters: Letters Numbers Periods Underscores Hyphens Please note that once a group is activated for the first time, the ID can't be changed.
   Objects	Determines which Workiva objects (such as a document or section) that this group may apply to.
   Description	A brief description of the custom field group's purpose. This helps clarify which fields belong in this group.

3. Click Save and add custom fields.
   
   

   Note: If you prefer to add custom fields later, simply click Save to finish.

4. On the left side, select each custom field that belongs to this group, then click Add.

Apply field groups to individual files

Now that you've created field groups and sorted your custom fields into them, you must assign these groups to individual files in your workspace. This tells Workiva which custom fields should display for that particular object.

To apply a field group:

1. From the Files  screen, select a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.
2. Click on the Properties dropdown menu at the top of the screen, then select the first item in the list (i.e., a Document, Spreadsheet, or Presentation).
3. In the Document Properties window, select the Custom Field Groups tab on the right side.
4. Select which groups apply to this document or section, and click Save Changes.

View a field group

The field groups applied in the previous step will now appear in the Custom Fields panel of that file. The default field group is always displayed here, but you can minimize it and select an alternative one.

To view a field group:

1. From the Files  screen, select a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.
2. Select the Custom Fields icon from the right-hand panel.
3. Flip between object types (such as a Document or Section) using the tabs at the top.
   
4. Minimize the default field group, then expand the specific group you'd like to use.

Manage field groups

You can edit existing field groups and the fields assigned to them through the Manage groups section of the Custom Fields screen.

Additional resources

• Import and export custom fields
• Create custom fields