Custom Field Settings

Each custom field has a set of properties that not only affect the values that can be stored in the field but also influence its behavior. For default custom fields, these properties are pre-defined. When you add a custom field, you define these properties in the settings.

When you set these properties on the Fields List tab, you set the default behavior for the custom field. Properties for default values and empty values can be set independently on a per-project basis.

Settings for Simple Types

Simple types store data as a string, date, period, integer, or float. Use the following settings to configure fields with simple types.

Field	Description
Field Name	Stores the name of the custom field. Field names cannot contain the special characters `<`, `>/`, or `:`. We also advise against using quotation marks (`"`) in field names. This character breaks references to field names in the programming language for workflows. If you want to offset words in a field name, use single quotation marks (`'`) instead. You can have multiple fields in your YouTrack installation that share the same name as long as each field is assigned a unique type. Single-value and multi-value fields are considered to be separate types. For example, you can have one Assignee field that stores single values with the `user` type, a second Assignee field that stores multiple values as a `user` type as well, a third Assignee field that stores single values from an enumerated set, and so on.
Type	Determines what type of data is stored in the field. For enumerated field types, the type is set when the field is created and cannot be changed. Simple types can be converted to another type that stores similar data. For more information, see Change Field Type. When you select an enumerated type, additional settings that define the selected type are displayed. For more information, see Settings for Enumerated Types.
Aliases	Assigns the field one or more keywords that you can use as a substitute for the field name in search queries and commands. For example, the aliases for the default Assignee field are `for` and `assigned to`. This lets you use `for: me` as a search query instead of `Assignee: <your full name>`.
Can be empty	Determines whether the field can store an empty value. For fields with simple types, this option is always enabled.
Empty value name	Assigns a value to show by default in the empty field. This lets you reference the empty value in search queries and commands. When you edit an existing field, use the Empty Value setting to update this property.
Make private	Restricts the visibility of the field to users with permission to view private fields. For more information, see Private and Public Issue Fields.

Settings for Enumerated Types

Enumerated types store one or more values from a predefined set of values. These fields store references to an enum, group, user, ownedField, state, version, or build. Use the following additional settings to configure fields with enumerated types.

Setting	Description
Multi-value	Enables the option to store multiple values in the field. This option is not available for fields that store a state type. When you edit an existing field, use the Single value and Can specify multiple values toggle to update this property. Use caution when switching from Multi-value to Single value in fields that already store issue data. In issues that currently store multiple values, only one of the values is kept. Other values are deleted permanently. This operation cannot be reversed.
Set of Values	Assigns a default set of values that can be stored in the custom field. New set — creates a custom field with an empty set of values. You can add values to the set after you create the custom field. Existing set — attaches an existing set of values to the field. When you select an existing set of values, you can set the default value to use for this field. This option is not visible for fields that store a `group` type. For these fields, the set of possible values is taken from the list of groups in YouTrack.
Default Value(s)	Assigns a default value to the field. This setting is only available when you select an existing set of values. If the Multi-value setting is enabled, you can select one or more default values.
Can be empty	Determines whether the field can store an empty value. You can only disable this option when a default value has been set. When you edit an existing field, use the Can be empty and Cannot be empty toggle to update this property.
Empty value name	Assigns a value to show by default in the empty field. This lets you reference the empty value in search queries and commands. If the Can be empty option is disabled, this setting is disabled as well.

Conditional Settings

A condition for showing a custom field can be set up on a per-project basis. Conditional settings are only visible when you view or edit a custom field on the Fields in Projects tab of the Custom Fields Settings page.

Use the following settings to set the condition for showing a custom field in a specific project.

Setting	Description
Show only when	Determines which field is used as a condition for showing the custom field. The selection is limited to custom fields that store an `enum`, `state`, `ownedField`, `version`, or `build`.
is set to	Determines which values from the field must be selected for the conditional custom field to be shown.

To learn more about these settings, see Conditional Custom Fields.

Last modified: 21 September 2022