CMS: Changing a Field Type in a Collection

In this article

Effects of changing a field type
Changing a field type in your CMS collection
FAQs

Change the type of data you can store in a CMS (Content Management System) collection field by changing the field type. Keep in mind that changing the field type of a field that is connected to page elements can disconnect the elements on your live site.

Important:

You cannot change the field type for 'Primary' fields, 'System' fields, 'Digital asset' fields' or fields in collections that are added to the translation manager in Wix Multilingual.

Effects of changing a field type

Consider the effects of changing a field type to ensure your live site content remains connected and functioning as expected. Since field types determine the type of data you can keep in each field, changing them can disconnect any of their connected page elements. This can result in page elements displaying no content at all or not working as expected.

Other problems that can occur as a result of changing a field type:

If you have dynamic pages that use the field as a filter, the links to the pages may no longer work.
If you have a dataset that uses the field to filter or sort content, the connection may break between the elements and the collection.

In your collection, if you have fields with values that do not match the field type, a Warning icon

appears to let you know. If available, you can click to convert the value so it matches the correct field type format.

A screenshot showing the warning message you see in your collection fields if the data doesn't match the field type.

Tips:

If the field type you want to change is connected to elements on your site, rather than changing the field type, consider creating a new field instead. You can paste your existing field's data to the new field. This ensures page elements connected to the existing field remain intact.
Keep in mind, if you make a mistake and need to revert your collection to a previous version, you can do so with Backups.

Changing a field type in your CMS collection

In your CMS collection, you can change a field's field type to control the kind of data it can store.

To change a field type:

Go to CMS in your site's dashboard.
Click the relevant collection.
Click the Manage Fields icon or click Manage Fields.
Click the relevant field.
Click Change type next to the field type.
Select the new field type and click Change Field Type.

A screenshot of choosing from the available field types.

(Optional) Edit the Field name and Help text.
Click Save.
Click the Yes, change field type checkbox then click Confirm.

FAQs

Click below for answers to frequently asked questions about changing field types.

What content can I store in each field type?

The field type you choose determines what kind of content you can store in the field. Choose from the following CMS field types:

Essentials:
- Text: Store plain text for use with titles, descriptions, and other text-based content.
- Rich Text: Create and manage text using formatting options, directly in your CMS.
- Rich Content: Create and manage content with rich text formatting, media embeds, and other advanced features directly in your CMS.
- URL: Store web addresses for use with creating hyperlinks and navigational links. You can use the following formats only: http://, https://, ftp://, mailto:, sms:, tel:
  Note: Web addresses must be in the format http:// or https://. Entries that start with www. are automatically converted to http://.
- Email: Store email addresses. This field ensures the address is in a valid format so links work correctly. You can connect it to buttons to allow visitors to send emails with one click.
- Number: Store numerical data for various purposes (e.g. quantity, price, dimensions).
- Boolean: Store binary "true" or "false" values that appear as checkboxes in the collection fields.
- Color: Save HEX numbers that represent colors. You can use the colors in connected text elements, buttons, and section backgrounds.
Organization & Reference:
- Reference: Create a relationship between content items by referencing another content item.
- Multi-Reference: Create many relationships between content items by referencing multiple other content items. Those references can also be linked to multiple sources.
- Tags: Manage and categorize content items using keywords or descriptive labels.
- Category: Assign items to categories for organizing and filtering content. Categories are managed in category collections and create automatic two-way connections. When you add a 'Category' field, Wix automatically creates an 'Assigned Items' field in the connected category collection and a hidden 'Primary Category' field in your items collection. Learn more about using category collections.
Media:
- Image: Store image files such as JPG, PNG, and GIF file types.
  Tip: You can add images to fields by pasting their image URLs in the fields.
- Media Gallery: Store multiple images or videos in each field.
- Video: Store single video files for each item using file types such as AVI, MPEG, MOV and more.
- Audio: Store single audio files for each item using file types such as MP3, WAV, FLAC, and more.
- Document: Store single document files for each item such as PDFs, CSVs, and more. Tip: You can add documents to fields by pasting their document URLs in the fields.
- Multiple documents: Store multiple document files for each item. You can also add multiple documents to fields by pasting their URLs in the fields.
- Digital asset: Store one secured file per item for delivery to customers after purchase. Only available in catalog collections, where it can be mapped as the digital file for sale. Learn more about the 'Digital asset' field type.
Time and location:
- Date: Store date values associated with content items.
  Note: The Include time field checkbox has been replaced by the 'Date and Time' field type. If you previously enabled Include time field for a 'Date' field, it was automatically converted to 'Date and Time'. No action is needed, and your existing data was kept.
- Date and Time: Store both date and exact time values associated with content items.
- Time: Store time information for associated items independently of the date.
- Address: Store structured data for physical addresses such as street names, city, state or province, postal code, and country.
Javascript (Velo code):
- Object: Manage complex and structured data using custom objects or data structures. You can use the object field type to store and organize multiple related pieces of data as a single unit.
- Array: Input and manage multiple values within a single field. You can use the array field type to handle a collection of related data, such as a list of options, tags, or other sets of related values.

Learn more about supported field types and their limitations.

Can I change the field type for all fields in my collection?

Can I revert my collection to a previous version if I make a mistake?

Can I choose field types when importing a CSV file to a collection?

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