How custom fields and field visibility work

The short version

Custom fields let you capture information that MapleGather doesn’t include by default. Each field has visibility settings that control who sees and edits it: everyone, members themselves, admins only, or only specific admins with the right permission. A field’s visibility is set when the field is created and can be changed at any time.

How it works

Custom fields extend the standard record

Every member record includes standard fields: name, email, phone, address, date of birth, and pronouns. Custom fields let you add anything else your org tracks — professional credentials, dietary preferences, committee assignments, donation preferences, t-shirt sizes, and so on.

Your org can create as many custom fields as needed. For a complete list of field types and their settings, see Member database custom field settings reference. Fields are defined once and appear on every member record in the order you choose.

Three visibility toggles control access

When you create or edit a custom field, you set three switches:

• Member can edit — the field appears on the member’s own profile in the portal, and the member can update it.
• Others can see — the field value is visible to other members in the directory.
• Use in signup form — the field appears on the public signup form so new members can fill it in when they register.

These switches are independent. For example, you can let members edit a field without showing it to others in the directory.

All-off means admin-only

When all three visibility switches are off, the field is admin-only: only admins can see and edit it. This is the right choice for internal notes, financial classifications, compliance data, or any information that members shouldn’t see about themselves or others.

RBAC categories add another layer of access control

For sensitive admin-only fields, you can assign an RBAC category (such as Sensitive, Finance, or Governance). When a field has a category, only admins whose role includes the matching permission for that category can see the field at all — even on the admin view. Other admins don’t see the field or its value.

When a category is assigned, the Others can see switch is automatically turned off, because a categorized field can never be member-visible.

Field order and the signup form

Fields appear on member records and signup forms in the order set in Settings → Member fields. You can drag rows to reorder them. Fields marked Use in signup form appear in signup order (required fields first by convention).

What happens when you change a field’s type

Changing a field’s type — for example, from Short text to Number — is allowed when the change is compatible with existing values (widening). A warning appears before you save. The change is reversible within 48 hours from the Recently deleted section if something looks wrong.

Narrowing a field type (making it more restrictive) when existing values would be invalid is blocked. MapleGather shows which records are affected before letting you proceed.

What happens when you delete a field

Deleting a field removes it from all member records. Values are recoverable for 48 hours from the Recently deleted accordion on the field list. After 48 hours, values are permanently gone.

A field that’s referenced by a membership-level signup form can’t be deleted until you remove it from those forms first.

Why it works this way

Separation of admin and member views

Members have a right to see their own information, but not everything admins track internally. The three-switch access model lets you be precise: some fields are for members to manage themselves, some are for admin reference only, and some are shared.

RBAC categories for sensitive data

Not all admins need access to all fields. A finance chair may need to see billing notes; a committee coordinator may not. RBAC categories enforce that separation without requiring separate databases or custom software.

48-hour recovery window

Deleting a field is a significant action. The recovery window is a safety net for mistakes — accidental deletions, wrong-field deletions, or cases where you realize after the fact that the values were still needed.

Edge cases and boundaries

• A field assigned to an RBAC category is never visible to members, regardless of the Others can see setting.
• If a member completes a signup form that includes a required custom field, that field has a value from the start. If you later remove the field from the signup form, the existing values on records are unaffected.
• File and image fields export as secure download URLs (valid for 24 hours), not as the files themselves.
• Custom field values are included in exports only when the admin’s role permits seeing the field. Admin-only category fields appear in the export column selector only for admins with the matching category permission.

Put it into practice

• To create or edit fields, go to Settings → Member fields.
• To see which fields are admin-only, look for the ones where all three visibility switches are off.
• To restrict a sensitive field to specific admins, assign it an RBAC category.
• See Member database custom field settings reference for a complete description of every setting.