Removing or changing a field | 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. Removing or changing a field Removing or changing a field ============================ Updated 5 days ago · 3 min read Search Search Overview -------- Removing a field is the one job on these screens that destroys something. A field holds every value editors have ever entered in it, and deleting the field deletes those values with it. > **⚠️ Important:** Deleting a field cannot be undone, and there is no trash to fish it back out of. The confirmation window says the action cannot be undone, but it does not spell out that the content goes too. It does. --- Before you delete anything -------------------------- Work through these in order. The first two take minutes and the third saves arguments later. 1. Check what is in the field. If the content type has items using it, that content is about to disappear. 2. Export or copy anything worth keeping. Once the field is gone there is nothing to export. 3. Ask whether hiding it would do instead. Moving the field to **Disabled** on **Manage form display** takes it off the editing form and leaves every value untouched, which is reversible. See [**Controlling how a field appears**](/articles/controlling-how-a-field-appears). > **💡 Tip:** Hiding is almost always the right first move. It answers the immediate problem, which is usually that editors are confused by a field nobody uses, without throwing anything away. --- Deleting the field ------------------ 1. Go to **Structure**, then **Content types**, and press **Manage fields** on the type. 2. Press the arrow beside **Edit** on the field's row and choose **Delete**. 3. A window asks whether you are sure. Read its **Configuration updates** list, which names every display the deletion will change. 4. Press **Delete**. ![Animation: opening the arrow beside Edit on the Subtitle row of Manage fields, pressing Delete, and the confirmation window appearing with its Configuration updates list. It stops before Delete is pressed.](/storage/lgURNEpjozjBrntMgVDlBdEgFmTkmiOVV8SwfXRn.gif) The field disappears from the type, from both display screens, and the stored values are removed. --- What you cannot change ---------------------- A field's *type* is fixed once it has been created. You can rename it, rewrite its help text, make it required, allow more values, change its widget and change its format. You cannot turn a plain text field into a date field, or a link into a reference. **Change field type** is only offered while you are first adding a field, before it is saved. Where you genuinely need a different type, the route is: 1. Add a second field of the right type beside the first. 2. Move the content across, by hand if there is little of it. 3. Hide the old field, and delete it once you are satisfied nothing was lost. > **💡 Note:** Give the replacement its own name rather than trying to reuse the old one. It keeps the two apart while you are moving content across, and it avoids any question of the old field still being cleared away in the background. Related articles ------------------ - [ How fields work → ](/articles/how-fields-work) - [ 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) 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)