Type¶

ExpressionEngine includes the following types of fields for use in your Category fields:

1. Text Input: This is a single input line for text. It is the type of field you might use for a title, name, or other short information.
2. Textarea: This is a standard text entry box with multiple lines. This is often used for the body text of entries.
3. Select Dropdown: This creates a standard HTML <select> drop-down list. You can define the contents of the list manually or pre-populate it from another field.

Name¶

This is the descriptive name for the field. This is a required field and it may contain spaces or punctuation. Unlike the Field Name, the label does not need to be unique within the system, so you can use the same descriptive label on multiple fields in different field groups. The label is what will be displayed next to the field on the entry form in your PUBLISH page.

Short name¶

This is the internal or “short name” for the field. This is a required field and must be a single word with no spaces or punctuation. The field name must be unique within the system, which means that you cannot have two field groups each containing a field with the field name of “body”. The short name is typically used as the variable name in your Channel Entries Tag

Require field?¶

You may determine whether this field is required. If the field is required and the user leaves it blank, upon submission they will receive an error message prompting them to correct it.