Fields and Attributes

Entities are created with a default set of system fields, which provide the basic structure for data management. You can enhance entities by adding custom fields of various types or modifying existing ones. Field customization is available for both predefined entities (such as Product) and custom entities created by users.

For detailed information about each data type and its specific configuration options, see Data Types.

Field Types and Restrictions

Field modification restrictions apply based on field origin:

• Predefined fields in predefined entities cannot be deleted
• Default fields (like Name, Description) in any entity cannot be deleted
• System fields (like ID, Created At, Created By, etc.) cannot be modified in any entity

The Fields panel in an Entity record displays all fields contained within the entity, providing a comprehensive view of the entity's data structure.

UI Display: It is up to Layouts settings how the field (either custom or predefined) will look like in the UI. Layouts control field positioning, visibility, presentation in forms and lists, and overall user interface appearance.

Access Control: Field-level access permissions can be configured through Roles.

Creating Fields

Required Fields

When creating a new field, the following fields must be configured:

Code, Type, Entity values cannot be changed after field creation.

Configuration Options

Additional configuration options are available when creating fields.

The following options are available for all or most field types:

• Required: Field must be filled in.
• Read-only: Field is not editable in the UI.
• Non Comparable: Field is excluded from comparison operation.
• Uninherited: Field value is not inherited in entity hierarchies.
• Tooltip: Enables contextual help for the field, supporting text and links. Can be localized — see Labels.
• Create no record activity: Changes in this field are not displayed as Activity.
• No recording as modification: Changes to this field will not update the Modified at timestamp.

For detailed information about configuration options specific to each data type, see Data Types.

The Relation management panel is available for Link and Multiple Link field types. This panel provides additional configuration options for managing relationships between entities, including:

• Entity selection: Choose which entity to link to
• Relationship configuration: Set up how the relationship behaves
• Display options: Configure how related records appear in the interface

For detailed information about configuring relationships and using the Relation management panel, see Fields and Relations.

Field Behavior and Validation

Fields can be configured with various behavior controls and validation rules to ensure data quality and user experience:

• Type-specific options: Each data type includes built-in configuration options (e.g., validation rules, display formats, behavior settings). See Data Types for advanced configuration details.

• Custom field behavior: Use UI Handlers to dynamically control field visibility, requirements, and behavior based on conditions.

• Data quality rules: Apply comprehensive data quality validation through the Data Quality module, which provides advanced validation, cleansing, and monitoring capabilities.

Fields vs Attributes

While this article focuses primarily on fields, it's important to understand the distinction between fields and attributes in AtroCore:

Fields are standardized data points that are consistent across all records within an entity. They provide uniform and constant information such as name, description, and other essential data that applies universally to all records of that entity type. Fields ensure consistency and facilitate efficient data management and retrieval.

Attributes are dynamic characteristics that can vary between individual records of an entity. Unlike fields, attributes are not automatically applied to all records - they can be selectively assigned to specific groups or individual records as needed. This makes attributes ideal for describing characteristics that vary across records, such as size, color, or functionality.

For detailed information about attributes and their management, see Attribute Management.