You created a custom field, but it is not appearing where you expected it: on a form, on a record page, in the portal, or in the Custom Fields list. Start with the most likely causes below. Each section explains what to check and how to fix it.
Scope
These checks apply to custom fields on any record type in any Console, including custom object fields. They cover Console forms, page layouts, a record page's Custom Fields tab, portal forms and pages, and the Custom Fields list. If the field is missing from a query, see Query Types and Field Selection.
Before you start, note the field's name, the record type it belongs to, and exactly where you expected to see it.
1. The Field Is Not on the Form or Page Layout Being Used
Why it happens. Creating a custom field makes it available to forms and page layouts for its record type, but it does not add the field for you. Each form or layout shows only the fields selected in its field groups, so a field can appear on one form and be missing from another. A record's Custom Fields tab works differently: it shows every field that already has a value, even when no layout includes that field. That includes a value added through an import instead of a form. If you can see a value on a record but cannot edit it, check the form used to edit that record. This rule is not limited to custom fields. Built-in fields, such as a phone or fax number, a mobile number, and contact roles in the Console or the portal, work the same way.
Check. Open the form or page layout used by the screen where the field is missing. Review Selected Fields in each field group. If the field should appear in both the Console and the portal, check the Console form and the portal form separately. A section available in one place, such as a photo option under a contact's Basic Information in the Console, does not necessarily exist in the other. If more than one form exists for the same record type, confirm which one is active for the screen you are testing, because the field only appears when the form in use includes it. If you are following steps that mention specific fields, such as steps from a recording or an older article, first confirm that your own layout includes those fields. Layouts can differ between Rhythm accounts, and a reimport can also change which manually added fields remain on a form, so check the form again afterward. If a Console or commerce rule depends on a built-in field such as an organization's type, make sure that field is on the organization's Console form and visible on its record page, so staff can find and maintain it easily.
Fix. Edit the field group, tick the field in the list of available fields, and save the form or layout. Custom fields are grouped separately from built-in fields, so reviewing a record type's form setup is also a quick way to tell which fields are built in and which are custom. For a contact field, for example, open Contacts › Forms in Contacts & Organizations setup, edit the form used in the Console or the portal, add a Field Group component if the layout does not already have one, then drag the field onto it. For a custom object's expanded record view, open System & Security › Custom Objects, select the object, open its Layouts tab, edit the layout, add the field to a field group, and save. That layout controls the expanded view the same way a page layout controls any other record page. For a submission space, use Submissions & Reviews Application › Setup › Submission Page Layouts › [page layout]. If you only need to change a value and cannot wait to update the layout, a mass update can set it directly while the field stays off the form; see Update Records in Bulk. If a stored value is already wrong, you can temporarily add the field, correct the value, and then remove the field again if you do not want it to stay on the layout. See Page Layouts and Web Forms.
2. The Record Has No Value in the Field
Why it happens. A record's Custom Fields tab shows only fields that have a value. Rhythm leaves an empty field out entirely. If no custom field has a value, the tab says "This record has no custom field values to display." A field created manually, whether it is a custom field or a custom object, is not filled by import logic unless that import explicitly maps to it. It can stay empty even after an import fills other fields. An incomplete or malformed import file can also leave individual fields unwritten on some records, even when the import reports success.
Check. Edit the record using a form that includes the field, then check whether the field is empty. If the field shows a value in a query but appears empty here, or the other way around, the value usually was never written to the record itself, even though the query result is correct. Comparing the two can point to a bad import rather than a display problem. If the field's type was changed after values were saved, also check the audit history for that change, because old values are not converted to the new type.
Fix. Enter a value and save the record. The field then appears on the tab. As a temporary step, resaving the record can also repopulate a custom field's display when the underlying value is present but not showing. If that does not hold, a mass update is the more reliable way to set the value again.
3. The Field Belongs to a Different Record Type
Why it happens. Every custom field belongs to exactly one record type. A field on organizations does not appear on contacts, memberships, or registrations, and a field on memberships does not appear on membership applications. Values are not shared between record types.
Check. Find the field in the Custom Fields list for each application's setup area. The list where the field appears tells you its record type. The field's identifier, shown by the hash icon, also starts with that record type.
Fix. Create a separate custom field on the record type where you need it. If both fields must hold the same information, you need to keep their values in step. See Custom Fields Explained.
4. The Page Was Open Before the Field Was Saved
Why it happens. While you work, the Console keeps a copy of the custom field setup. If a form was already open before you created or changed the field, such as in another browser tab, that page may not include the field yet.
Check. Check whether the page has been open since before you saved the field.
Fix. Reload the page in your browser. On the Custom Fields list, you can also use the refresh icon in the list header.
5. The Field Is Inactive
Why it happens. An inactive field does not appear in dropdowns, and the Custom Fields list hides it by default. Records keep any values they already have. Other selectors that let you choose an item work the same way, such as a parent picklist or a reference to another record. An inactive item usually drops out of the list, but if a record already has an inactive item selected, that selector can keep showing the record's current choice while leaving other inactive items out.
Check. On the Custom Fields list, click (show all) in the list header. The link appears only when the record type has inactive fields. Inactive fields appear in muted text.
Fix. The field form does not include an active or inactive setting. Contact Rhythm Support if you need the field made active again.
6. The Field Is Hidden from Portal Members
Why it happens. Each field has a portal access setting: members can change it, only see it, or never see it. A new field starts with "members can change it". A field set to "never see" does not appear on portal pages.
Check. First rule out cause 1 for the portal form. The portal access setting is not shown on the field form in the Console.
Fix. Contact Rhythm Support with the field's identifier and the portal page where you expected to see it.
7. A Child Picklist Shows No Choices
Why it happens. A child picklist offers only the values mapped to the selected parent value. If a parent value has no child values mapped, the child field has no choices when that parent value is selected.
Check. Open the child field and review Field Value Mappings for the parent value in question.
Fix. Select the child values that belong with that parent value and save. If you replace the parent field that drives this relationship, you usually do not need to recreate the child fields. Instead, update each child field's Field Value Mappings to point at the new parent field. See Custom Fields.
8. The Record Type Has a Very Large Number of Custom Fields
Why it happens. The Custom Fields list, and a custom object's Custom Fields tab, load only the first batch of fields that Rhythm returns. When a record type has more fields than one batch holds, the rest are not shown, and nothing indicates that more fields exist. The filter box searches only the fields that were loaded.
Check. You know the field exists, for example because it appears on a form, but you cannot find it in the list even after clicking (show all).
Fix. Contact Rhythm Support.
Other Things to Rule Out
- Table/List is missing from the type selector. That type is available only when custom objects are switched on for your Rhythm account.
- A field is missing from the parent picklist choices. In Select Parent Picklist:, only Picklist and Radiobuttons fields of the same record type can be parents.
- Some built-in sections are fixed and cannot be changed. The address block on the Profile 360 screen and the Contact Social Lookup component that draws a contact's Basic Information are built-in components. You cannot place another field inside them, and you cannot remove one of their own fields, such as Mobile Number, from that section.
- A built-in field is not offered on every form. Organization Type, for example, is not offered on the default portal contact profile form, the Contact Update Profile Form (Portal), even though it is available on Console organization forms.
- A custom object without a matching web component falls back to its default page layout. If Web Components is off for the object, or its tag does not match a deployed component, the Console shows the object's default page layout instead. A section built only in the intended custom component does not appear.
- The email fields on a contact form are separate from portal sign-in. Adding or removing them in Contacts & Organizations setup changes only what that form collects. It has no effect on how members sign in to the portal.
- A value in the Custom Fields tab does not automatically appear on a 360 layout. Add the same field to the 360 layout if you want it shown there directly, the same way you add it to a form.
- Renaming a choice in a list field does not update existing records. Records keep the old label or value until someone resaves them, so a record may show a blank or outdated choice in the meantime.
- A required custom-object field can block a save even when you cannot see it. If a table's custom object has a required field that is missing from the layout you are using, such as in the portal, the save can fail with a validation error for a field that is not shown. Add the field to that layout, or make it optional, so people can complete the row.
When to Contact Support
Contact Rhythm Support if none of the checks above explains the problem, or if the fix needs Support, as in causes 5, 6, and 8. If you need a new capability rather than a fix to something broken, use the blue Submit Your Idea button in the Console instead. Product teams review those ideas and use them to gauge interest. To report a problem, include:
- the field's name and identifier, using Copy ID to Clipboard from the hash icon on the Custom Fields list;
- the record type and the application whose setup area holds the field;
- exactly where you expected to see it: the form, page layout, or record page name, and whether in the Console or the portal;
- an example record where it is missing;
- when you created or last changed the field, and the checks you have already done.