How fields work | Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base](/storage/branding/01M3N8PQ7PSDNQBBKKJM6XGW03.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.districtcms-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Fields & content structure](/articles?category=21) › 4. How fields work How fields work =============== Updated 5 days ago · 3 min read Search Search Overview -------- A content type is a list of fields. **Article** collects a subtitle, a banner image, news categories and its page components because someone added those fields to it. Changing what a type collects means changing its fields. > **⚠️ Important:** This is administrator work. Content editors hold no field permissions at all, so they cannot add, change or remove a field, and they will not see these screens. --- Where fields live ----------------- Go to **Structure**, then **Content types**, and press **Manage fields** on the type you want. Five tabs run across the top of that screen, and each one answers a different question. Tab What it controls Edit The type's name, description and publishing defaults. Manage fields Which fields the type has. This is where you add and remove them. Manage form display How the fields appear on the editing form, and in what order. Manage display How each field is meant to be output on the finished page. Manage permissions Not individual fields. This is a shortcut into the site's main Permissions screen, filtered down to just this content type: who can create, edit, delete and view it, and who can move it through its moderation states if it has any. ![The Manage fields screen for the Article content type, with its Edit, Manage fields, Manage form display, Manage display and Manage permissions tabs outlined.](/storage/U5c69VbcZVhf4kEcf1hXSY5SoZyA6wT7k5HL1Ovt.png) --- More than content types ----------------------- Content types are the obvious place, but they are not the only one. Fields also belong to: - **Media types**, which is why an image has alt text and a document has a title. These carry the same five tabs, including their own filtered Manage permissions screen. - **Block types**, such as the hero, the site alert and the acknowledgement covered in [**The homepage hero, site alert and footer acknowledgement**](/articles/the-homepage-hero-site-alert-and-footer-acknowledgement). These also carry all five tabs. - **Site components**, the building blocks covered in [**Site components overview**](/articles/site-components-overview). Each component type is a small bundle of fields of its own, and there are far more of them than there are content types. Components only carry four tabs; there is no Manage permissions screen for them, since access to components is controlled by the content type they sit on rather than by the component itself. Otherwise the screens work the same way in each case. Only the starting point changes. --- What adding a field does, and does not do ----------------------------------------- This is the part that surprises people, so it is worth saying plainly before you start. - Adding a field gives editors somewhere to enter the information. That works straight away. - Whether it then appears on the page depends on the content type. Content type What visitors see Article and Event Each has its own page template, written to output particular fields. A field the template does not mention stays invisible to visitors, however you set it up under **Manage display**. Landing page There is no template of its own, so the page shows whatever **Manage display** is set to show. A new field is added there automatically, so it appears on the page as soon as it holds something. > **⚠️ Important:** If a new field on articles or events needs to be seen by the public, that is a change to the site's templates and needs a developer. Plan for it rather than discovering it after the field is full of content. Related articles ------------------ - [ What each content type can do → ](/articles/what-each-content-type-can-do) - [ Adding a field to a content type → ](/articles/adding-a-field-to-a-content-type) - [ Controlling how a field appears → ](/articles/controlling-how-a-field-appears) - [ Removing or changing a field → ](/articles/removing-or-changing-a-field) Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Fields & content structure ](/articles?category=21) On this page **Need additional help?** Submit a support request through the [**support portal** ](https://doghouse.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)or email © 2026 [Doghouse SaaS](https://doghouse.agency) [Glossary](/articles/glossary)