--- title: "How do I create, edit, or remove metadata fields?" date: "2025-04-18T06:31:04+00:00" summary: image: type: "page" url: "/acquia-dam/how-do-i-create-edit-or-remove-metadata-fields" id: "88d1ccb9-9297-4d28-88e8-f4a68c563c44" --- Table of contents will be added Every asset in your Acquia DAM is assigned one [metadata type](/acquia-dam/what-are-metadata-types "What are metadata types?") during the upload process. The metadata type determines the combination of [metadata fields](/acquia-dam/what-are-metadata-fields "What are metadata fields?") available. Metadata fields and [dependent metadata fields](What-are-dependent-metadata-fields) assist users in searching for assets in your site. You can create metadata fields, editing existing fields, and choose to have fields display in the [refine search](/acquia-dam/what-are-metadata-fields "What are metadata fields?") so users with [permission for an asset group](What-are-asset-group-permissions) can quickly find what they're looking for. Metadata fields can also be required, meaning certain users can't view those assets until the required fields are completed. Access to view and edit metadata is based on permissions. Enable the Edit Assets' Metadata, Type and Preview for the asset group for users to view and edit metadata, metadata types, and previews. Create metadata fields ---------------------- Metadata types are [created](/acquia-dam/how-do-i-create-metadata-types "How do I create metadata types?") before metadata fields. To create metadata fields: 1. Go to the **Admin app**. 2. Click **Metadata types** under Search Settings in the left navigation. 3. Click **Edit Fields** for the metadata type. 4. Click **Create field** to add a metadata field that doesn't currently exist. To select an existing field, click the Add Existing Field dropdown and choose a field. 5. Name the metadata field and [avoid using certain characters](Are-there-good-and-bad-characters-for-filenames) that can cause errors. Then select a field type. 6. Click **Create**. ![Form for creating a field with "Display Name," "Key," and "Choose field type" options. Buttons for "Create" and "Cancel" are visible.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/cb6b05a7-9bd0-44eb-ada5-1f671fad7ab0/web/ka0Pb000000DTqb00N6g00000WDN1a0EM6g000005LvpG.png) After you have created a metadata field, you will see additional settings to configure for the field. Configure permissions for editing or for how users can see the field when searching. Fields are permissioned based on a user's role, not on the metadata type. To configure field settings: 1. Click **View** and determine the users who can see the metadata field. Options include no, which means no one will see it; yes, which means everyone will see it; or permissioned, which allows you to select the [roles](How-do-I-create-roles) that will be able to see it. 2. Click **Edit** and determine the users who can edit the field. 3. Click **Required** and determine if the field is required. 4. Click **Quick Search** and determine if the field will be searched when using the [quick search](How-do-I-search-for-assets). 5. Click **Sort** and determine if the field should display in the sort options in search results. 6. Click **Predictive Search** and determine if the field should display for [predictive searches](/acquia-dam/there-predictive-search "Is there a predictive search?"). 7. Click **Search Filter** and determine if the field can be used in the [Refine Search area](/acquia-dam/how-do-i-refine-searches "How do I refine searches?"). 8. Click **Selected in Advanced Search** and determine if the field can be a selected option in the [advanced search](How-do-I-perform-an-advanced-search). 9. Enter any help text to display if users hover over the Help icon. In the asset uploader, help text is limited to 400 characters. If the text is more than 45 characters, it will display as a tooltip. If it's fewer than 45 characters, it will display as a line below the metadata field. 10. Click **Save**. ![Form interface for configuring metadata fields, showing options for view, edit, search, and sort settings. Includes save and remove buttons.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/8bccf344-5567-4c40-9b5f-956e935469af/web/ka0Pb000000DTqb00N6g00000WDN1a0EM6g000005LvpD.png) If your site has dependent fields for dropdowns, click Edit to [create list values](What-are-dependent-metadata-fields) that display as dependencies. ![Form interface for "Asset Type" configuration with drop-down list, showing nine values. Dependencies option set to "No."](https://acquia.widen.net/content/12a4bd57-8d7e-4092-bb26-bf8210b266a3/web/ka0Pb000000DTqb00N6g00000WDN1a0EM6g000005LvpI.png) Edit metadata fields -------------------- If there has been a change to your metadata, the fields can be edited. To edit metadata fields: 1. Go to the Admin app. 2. Click **Metadata types** under Search Settings in the left navigation. 3. Click **Edit Fields** for a metadata type, then make any updates needed. The display name, adding or deleting values to controlled vocabulary fields, requiring a field be completed, adding to the sort option and setting as refined filters, if appropriate, can all be updated. 4. Click **Save**. Reorder how metadata fields display ----------------------------------- To see all of your available metadata fields easily, you can reorganize the order in which they are displayed by dragging and dropping the gray bar with the field name into the preferred order. Original metadata fields you've selected as dependent fields can also be reordered by dragging and dropping so they appear after the parent fields. Note that this reordering only affects the Asset Details and Batch Edit pages. Other places where metadata fields are listed, such as the Refine Search area, may not reflect this order. ![Interface for editing product metadata, showing fields like Asset Type, Product Description, SKU, and others with visibility and editability options.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/7c6047ca-93f4-4595-9845-e34498059208/web/ka0Pb000000DTqb00N6g00000WDN1a0EM6g000005LvpK.png) Remove metadata fields from metadata type ----------------------------------------- If a metadata field is no longer needed in a metadata type, you can remove it. To remove a metadata field from a metadata type:  1. Go to the **Admin** **app**. 2. Click **Metadata types** under Search Settings in the left navigation. 3. Click **Edit Fields** for a metadata type. 4. Find and expand the correct metadata field in the list – in the example below, Display Name. 5. Select **Remove**. 6. If you want the field removed from multiple metadata types, review the other types and remove the field.   ![Interface for editing metadata types, showing settings like object type, field type, and display options. Includes save and remove buttons.](https://acquia.widen.net/content/f90f76d3-0b60-4add-9cf2-4b1956650b0e/web/ka0Pb000000DTqb00N6g00000WDN1a0EM6g000005LvpM.png) Delete metadata fields ---------------------- DAM admin accounts are responsible for preparing metadata fields for deletion. However, DAM Customer Support handles the final deletion step. Consider exporting a list of assets that currently have values for the field for record-keeping before preparing the field for deletion. Complete these steps before submitting your request to the support team: 1. Ensure the metadata field is no longer in use in [metadata importer](/acquia-dam/how-do-i-import-metadata "How do I import metadata?") field mappings. To do this, access the Admin app. Select Auto-import mappings under Search Settings in the left navigation. 2. Remove or separate any [dependent fields](/acquia-dam/what-are-dependent-metadata-fields "What are dependent metadata fields?") from the metadata field to be deleted. To do this, follow the Edit metadata fields steps described earlier. 3. Remove the metadata field from all metadata types. To do this, follow the Remove metadata fields from metadata types steps described earlier. 4. Ensure that you do not remove the Original Filepath field. This field must remain on the site. If you do not want your users to access it, you can change the field permissions so that only administrator accounts can access it. 5. Contact DAM Customer Support with the exact name of the metadata field you want deleted. Note that this action is permanent, and the field cannot be recovered once deleted. Required metadata fields ------------------------ If the [mandatory required metadata setting](/acquia-dam/how-do-i-make-required-metadata-fields-mandatory-uploads "How do I make required metadata fields mandatory for uploads?") is turned on, required metadata fields must be completed before uploading files. If the setting is turned off, required fields do not have to be completed before uploading files.  View assets with empty required metadata ---------------------------------------- With permission, users can see assets with empty required metadata. You can [enable](/acquia-dam/how-do-i-enable-application-permissions-roles "How do I enable application permissions for roles?") the Access Assets with Empty Required Metadata [permission](What-does-each-permission-mean) for users to see assets that have metadata fields that aren't completed even if assets have been [released](How-do-I-release-and-unrelease-assets). As an admin, you can see assets with empty required metadata through an admin task [alert](/acquia-dam/admin-what-alerts-or-email-notifications-can-i-get "As an admin, what alerts or email notifications can I get?") in your user profile or in the [Asset-Related Tasks queue](/acquia-dam/what-asset-related-tasks-are-admin-dashboard "What asset-related tasks are on the Admin dashboard?") on the Admin dashboard. In the alert, click Assets w/ Empty Required Fields. On the Admin dashboard, click the Assets With Empty Required Metadata queue. Click View for the corresponding asset group to see assets without required metadata, then click an asset's thumbnail to complete the required metadata.