Managing Catalogs : Catalog Settings : Administering Catalog Fields : Adding Fields
   
Adding Fields
To store information in addition to, or different from the default settings, you can add fields to the catalog, either by activating them from the list of fields that Cumulus supports or by defining a custom field.
In any catalog, you can additionally update fields stemming from catalog templates. This is useful if the definition of a field in a template was changed, e. g. by adding more values to a string list. See Updating Fields With Modified Definitions From Catalog Templates.
To add a record or category field:
 
1. Make sure the collection window is the active window in Cumulus.
2. Select  Cumulus /  Edit > Preferences.
3. Click Catalog Settings.
The Catalog Settings window is displayed. Select the catalog you want to edit under Catalogs.
4. Click Record Fields or Category Fields. This displays a list of the current record or category fields included in the catalog.
5. Click the Add Field button. This opens the Add Field dialog.
This dialog displays all fields provides by Cumulus that can be added to the selected catalog, i.e. all fields that have not yet been added to it.
NOTE: For fields stemming from Catalog Templates – and for such fields only! – you can decide whether to display the fields that have not yet been added to the catalog, or all fields contained in the templates, by activating the Show all fields from catalog templates option.
The display of available fields is organized in two tabs, Modules and Fields.
• The Modules tab presents the fields sorted by their sources and provides the sections Catalogs, Catalog Templates, Modules and Languages.
– Catalogs expands to a list of all available catalogs. Clicking the plus sign in front of a catalog’s name displays all fields of that catalog that are not included in the catalog you want to edit. Either select the name of a catalog to add all contained fields, or select the individual fields you want to add.
When a field from an existing catalog is added, all field-specific settings from the source catalog are preserved.
NOTE: If the catalog that you are editing is listed itself, this catalog contains table fields (e.g. Asset Usage History). Table fields introduce a second level into the catalog, as they themselves contain fields. The fields contained in a table field can also be contained in the top level of the catalog, or in any other table field. At any level of the catalog – top level or table field level – all fields are listed which are contained in this catalog, but not in the current level.
– Catalog Templates expands to a list of all available catalog templates. Clicking the plus sign in front of a catalog template’s name displays either the fields of that catalog template that are not yet included in the selected catalog, OR all fields from that template, depending on the state of the Show all fields from catalog templates option. For adding fields, make sure the option is not activated.
Either select the name of a catalog template to add all contained fields, or select the individual fields you want to add.
– Modules expands to a list of all Cumulus modules that provide fields. Clicking the plus sign in front of a module’s name displays the fields supported by the respective module that are not included in the selected catalog. Either select the name of a module to add all fields supported by that module, or select the individual fields you want to add.
– Languages expands to a list of all languages configured for string field values. Clicking the plus sign in front of a language name displays the fields that support values in the respective language that are not included in the selected catalog. Either select the name of a language to add all respective fields, or select individual fields to be added.
Additionally, all language independent fields that are not included in the catalog are listed and can be added.
• The Fields tab displays a list of all the fields that are not yet included in the catalog. For fields stemming from catalog templates, it depends on the state of the Show all fields from catalog templates option whether all these fields are displayed, or just the fields that are not yet included in the catalog.
A third tab, the Custom Field tab, enables the definition of your own custom fields so you can store information in addition to fields that Cumulus supports. (For details, see Creating a Custom Field.)
6. Select the field(s) you want to add.
7. Click OK. This brings you back to the fields list.
8. Click Apply to save your changes.
If you want newly added fields to be shown in a view, you must customize the corresponding view set and add this fields.
TIP: Copying String List Fields From One Catalog to Another
Copying a string list field with predefined values from one catalog to an other catalog would result (correctly) in having identical fields (same GUID, same list of values) in each of the two catalogs. However, if you then change the values of that string list field in one of the catalogs, but not in the other one, you end up having two seemingly identical fields (same GUID) in 2 different catalogs, but which in fact are not identical, because they have different list values. This could yield unwanted results in certain circumstances, e.g when you add such a field to a metadata template. (For details see String List Fields with Different Values.)
Therefore, make it a rule to copy string list fields from one catalog to an other only if you really want to have identical fields. And if for any reason you must change the field list definitions later, make sure to modify them the same way in all catalogs that contain the field in question.
On the other hand, if you want to have similar fields (as opposed to identical fields), i.e. fields with more or less different string list values in different catalogs, don't copy a field from one catalog to an other, but rather create a new field in the second catalog, thus ensuring that each of the fields has its own GUID.
Even then you may end up having (different) fields with identical names in different catalogs, which is confusing enough. Try to avoid this annoyance by giving your fields names that are truly unique and descriptive for all concerned catalogs.
Updating Fields With Modified Definitions From Catalog Templates
The Add Field dialog can as well be used to update a catalog, or multiple catalogs, with modified field definitions derived from catalog templates. Especially if you want to update field definitions in multiple catalogs in a consistent way, it is strongly advised to first modify the field definitions in a catalog template, then import the modified field(s) from the template into the catalogs.
To update record or category fields from a catalog template:
 
1. Make sure the collection window is the active window in Cumulus.
2. Select  Cumulus /  Edit > Preferences.
3. Click Catalog Settings, then select the catalog you want to edit under Catalogs.
4. Select the Record Fields tab or the Category Fields tab.
5. Click Add Field. The Add Field dialog is displayed.
6. Make sure the Show all fields from catalog templates option is activated (checked).
7. Select the Modules tab and expand the Catalog Templates node and, if necessary, the respective template node(s).
8. Select the fields that you want to update, or select an entire template.
9. Click OK. You will be prompted to confirm the update of the catalog fields.
10. In the Preferences dialog, click OK or Apply to finally make the changes take effect.