Edit a custom field group

How to rename, reorder, add, or remove fields after the group is already in use

The edit screen is the same editor you used to create the group, pre-populated with the current definition. You change fields, adjust locations, rename the group, flip Publish / Draft, or move the whole thing to Trash. Saves update the field definition for every post that already has values — with one big caveat: renaming a field's internal name orphans its existing values.

What is this for?

Edit is for ongoing maintenance of a field group after authors are already filling in values on posts. Typical reasons to edit:

• Add a field — authors need to start collecting a new value (for example, a new "Brew method" field on every product page).
• Rename a label — the visible label needs tweaking ("Subtitle" → "Tagline") without breaking the shortcode.
• Reorder fields — group the inputs on the edit screen more logically for authors.
• Change a group's location — previously only on Pages; now also on Blog posts.
• Flip Publish / Draft — temporarily hide a group from author screens without deleting it.
• Move to Trash — soft-delete the whole group when it is no longer needed. Post values stay in storage until the group is permanently deleted from the Trash tab.

Good use cases

Example 1: Acme Coffee Roasters adds a Brew Method field to an existing Product Specs group. Marketing realized every coffee page should also mention how to brew it. Open Custom → Fields, click Product Specs. In the field list, click Add New Field. Label: Brew method. Name: brew_method (auto-generated). Type: Select. In the choices textarea, one per line:

pour_over : Pour over
french_press : French press
espresso : Espresso
cold_brew : Cold brew

Set the field to Required. Drag the row to position 4 so it sits between Tasting Notes and Weight. Click Update item. Authors now see a new "Brew method" dropdown on every Page edit screen. Existing pages show an empty dropdown until an author fills it in.

Example 2: Acme Coffee Roasters renames a field label without breaking the shortcode. The "Weight" field's visible label feels too bare; marketing wants "Net Weight (grams)". Open the group, find the Weight row, click Edit (pencil icon), change the Label to Net Weight (grams). Leave the Name weight exactly as it was. Click Update item. The author edit screen shows the new label; the shortcode [custom_field name="weight"] on public pages keeps working because the internal name did not change.

Example 3: Acme Coffee Roasters unpublishes a WIP group without deleting it. Acme is drafting a new "Shipping & Returns" group but it is not ready for author use. On the edit screen, change Status from Publish to Draft. Click Update item. The group stays in the list (with a Draft badge) and the fields disappear from every Page edit screen. Authors stop seeing the half-built fields. When you are ready, flip back to Publish and save again.

What NOT to use this for

• Do not rename a field's Name (slug) after authors have filled in values. The Name is the key used in [custom_field name="..."] and in storage. Renaming orphans every stored value under the old name. The Label is safe to rename; the Name is not.
• Do not change a field's Type after data is in place. A Text → Number switch does not re-coerce existing text values; they stay in storage and may render blank or cause display glitches. Add a new field with the correct type and migrate manually.
• Do not untick a location expecting the data to be deleted. Unticking a location hides the group from future author edit screens, but the stored values on posts already filled in stay in the database. To actually remove values, delete the whole group (not recommended unless you are confident nothing relies on the shortcodes).
• Do not use Move to Trash as a quick toggle. Trash is for groups you intend to remove. For temporary hide, use Draft — Move to Trash breaks live shortcodes immediately and restore puts the group back into Draft (not Publish), requiring an extra step.
• Do not edit the group while two admins are working on it simultaneously. There is no lock or conflict warning. The last save wins and the other admin's edits are silently overwritten. Coordinate over chat first.

How this connects to other features

• Pages / Blog / Events / Custom Objects — unticking a Locations checkbox removes the group from future author edit screens for that post-type but leaves stored values intact. Re-ticking the location makes the fields visible again and the old values re-appear.
• Custom Fields list — the list shows every group with its Status, field count, author, and dates. Clicking a row title opens it in this edit screen. Use the list's row-level Trash / Restore actions if you do not need the full editor.
• Shortcodes — the [custom_field name="..."] shortcode on public pages only resolves while the group Status is Publish. Flipping to Draft or Trash stops the shortcode from resolving; visitors see an empty string where the value used to render.

Before you start

• You are signed in to SGEN as an Administrator.
• You know which field group you want to edit (open the Custom Fields list if you are not sure).
• If you are renaming a field, you know whether it is the Label (safe) or the Name (dangerous — orphans data).
• If you are changing a field's Type, you have a plan for the existing values: migrate them manually, export them first, or accept that they will render blank.

Where to go

1. Open the left navigation.
2. Select Custom → Fields.
3. On the Custom Fields list, click the title of the group you want to edit, or hover the row and click the Edit link.

Steps — Edit a field group

1. Open the group

On the Custom Fields list, click the group's title. The editor loads with every field, location, and status as they were last saved. The breadcrumb shows Dashboard / All Fields / Edit.

2. Change what you need

• Rename the Title — updates the list and the section heading on author edit screens.
• Add a field — click Add New Field and fill in Label / Name / Type / options. New fields appear on author edit screens on the next open.
• Rename a Label — click the pencil icon on a field row, change the Label. Safe — does not affect shortcodes or stored values.
• Reorder — drag a field row by its handle to a new position. Affects the visible ordering on author edit screens; does not affect shortcode rendering on public pages.
• Remove a field — click the trash icon on a field row. The field disappears from author edit screens. Stored values on existing posts stay in the database but are no longer accessible through the shortcode.
• Change Locations — tick or untick Page / Blog / Events / Custom Objects to add or remove the group from those post-type edit screens.
• Change Status — switch between Publish and Draft.

3. Save

Click Update item at the top of the sidebar. The page reloads with the changes applied. The sidebar's Modified timestamp updates to now.

Move to Trash

If the group is no longer needed:

1. Click the Move to Trash link in the sidebar below the Update button.
2. Confirm in the dialog.
3. The group moves to the Trash tab on the Custom Fields list. Public shortcodes stop resolving immediately.

To recover a trashed group: open the Trash tab on the Custom Fields list, hover the row, click Restore. The group comes back in Draft status — you need to open it and flip Status back to Publish before it goes live again.

What success looks like

• The Custom Fields list shows your changes — renamed title, updated status, current field count.
• The Modified timestamp in the sidebar reflects the save time.
• Author edit screens for the ticked post-types show the updated fields on the next open.
• Public pages using [custom_field name="..."] shortcodes continue rendering stored values, assuming the field Name was not renamed.

What to do if it does not work

• My rename broke the public page. You probably renamed a field's Name (slug), not just its Label. Rename the Name back to its original value and save. The stored values come back through the shortcode.
• Existing authors still see the old Label. They need to close and re-open the post edit screen — SGEN caches the inline field renderer per tab.
• Move to Trash accidentally. Open the Trash tab on the list, click Restore on the row, then open the restored (now Draft) group and flip Status to Publish. Save.
• "Oops, something went wrong!" on Update. Reload the edit screen and try again. If it persists, another admin may have moved the group while you were editing — reload the list to check.
• The Update button saves, but the fields I added do not appear. Hard-reload the author edit screen (Ctrl+Shift+R) to flush the cached field renderer.

Next step