Where do I create and manage new custom fields?

New custom fields are created and managed in your PhotoDeck administration area under My images & videos / Manage custom fields . Note that only the account owner can create these fields.

Which custom field types are available on PhotoDeck?

PhotoDeck supports three types of custom fields: Single choice, Multiple choice and Free text. Single and Multiple choice fields are used for controlled vocabulary and are searchable; Free text allows unconstrained text but is not searchable.

How do I add custom field data to my files?

After creating and activating a custom field for a specific media library, you can tag files by selecting one or more files in your administration space. The custom fields will appear under the Custom fields section, allowing you to edit data for single or multiple files at once, or via Automations.

Custom Fields

What is this for?

In professional Digital Asset Management (DAM), essential metadata like titles and keywords are just the starting point. PhotoDeck’s Custom Fields are the powerful, flexible tool that allows you to add specific, proprietary data to your files, transforming a simple collection into a highly structured, searchable, and efficient library. This is crucial for matching your unique needs and internal workflows.

For photo agencies, this feature turns your online archives into a highly effective licensing portal and archive. For marketing and corporate teams, it ensures brand consistency and compliance by enforcing a tagging structure and making it impossible for stakeholders to use the wrong asset.

Effortless asset discovery with tailored filters

Go beyond basic search functionality. Custom Fields allow you to convert your internal categorization logic into intuitive dropdown filters on your public and private websites. This dramatically improves the user experience by letting clients and colleagues quickly narrow down vast collections based on criteria that matter most to them.

Use Case for Agencies: If you license images where location is a key factor, create a “Geographical Region” or “City” custom field with predefined values. Clients can select the required area from a dropdown, instantly eliminating irrelevant results and significantly accelerating the path to purchase.
Use Case for Corporate DAM: Manage files for multiple global brands or product lines. Create a “Brand” or “Subsidiary” custom field. Team members can instantly filter the entire library to view only assets approved for their specific brand, ensuring adherence to brand guidelines.

Ensure data integrity with controlled vocabulary

Inconsistent tagging is the enemy of efficient DAM. By utilizing Single choice or Multiple choice fields, you enforce a controlled vocabulary. You define a list of acceptable values (tags), forcing users, whether you or your team, to select from that list. This eliminates typos, prevents redundant tags (like “Horizontal” vs. “Landscape”), and guarantees high-quality, reliable metadata across every asset.

Use Case for Compliance: For assets requiring specific legal information, create fields like “Authorized uses” or “RGPD consent”. Using a controlled list ensures every asset is correctly tagged, minimizing legal risks and making it easy for users to filter out images they shouldn’t use.

Flexible data display and internal annotation

Not every piece of information needs to be a search filter. With Free text fields, you can attach critical, unconstrained notes that are viewable alongside the media. Furthermore, you have complete control over how custom metadata is displayed on your website, allowing you to integrate technical or contextual data directly into the image layout, or keeping some data to the library back-end.

Use case for teams: Attach internal notes like “Sourced from” or “Contact person”. This data is immediately available to your internal team without confusing the front-end website’s users.

Custom Fields can complement the standard metadata (title, description, keywords…) and let you add custom data to your files. They also allow to enrich the search feature with new drop-downs fields that are specific to your needs.

This feature is not available on all plans. You can compare plans under Avatar / Subscription & add-ons.

Custom field metadata editor for an image — Editing different types of custom fields for an image

Adding and activating a new custom field

Add and edit fields under My images & videos / Manage custom fields.

Give the field a short name, keeping in mind that name will be displayed to users in the search forms.

Custom fields are created at the account level, but they can be activated/deactivated for specific media libraries.

Similarly, custom metadata can be activated, or left inactivated, on the front-end website(s). This lets you keep some metadata private (visible in your administration space but not on your website).

You can create up to 64 custom fields.

Only the account owner can create custom fields.

Custom field types

PhotoDeck supports different types of custom fields:

Single choice : this option lets you create predefined values (tags) for the field (for example years, product lines, property names…). When tagging files, you will chose among these values, ensuring a controled vocabulary. These fields are searchable and, when searching, the user will chose among those tags from a drop-down list.
Multiple choice : like above, but a file can be tagged by multiple values for this field (for examples, for different kinds of approved uses). This type of fields is also searchable and on search forms, a single tag can be seleted in a drop-down list.
Free text : unconstrained text. This lets you add free-form text to this field, for any file. Text fields can be displayed next to the images on the website but are not searchable.

Form to edit a custom field — Single choice and Multiple choice custom fields let you pre-define values (tags) that can be then applied to your files.

You can create up to 250 tags for every custom field of type Single choice or Multiple choice.

Deleting custom fields and tags

When deleting a tag (an option within a custom field), the tag is removed from all files that might be tagged with this value.

Similarly, when deleting a custom field, that field’s data are removed from all files in the account.

Tagging files with custom fields

Once custom fields have been created, files can be tagged with them. Under My images & videos, when selecting one or more files from a media library for which custom fields are active, these fields will appear under Custom fields.

Like for the standard metadata, custom fields can be edited for single files, or multiple files at a time, as well as via Automations.

Displaying custom fields data on your website

Gallery display styles define what custom fields metadata are displayed next to the files and their location in the layout. By default, they are displayed with the other metadata, but the display style editor gives you great flexibility in their presentation and lets you display them anywhere in the image layout. Please refer to the documentation on the gallery display styles.

Searching with custom fields

Search form including custom fields on a website — Drop-down filters for custom fields in the search on the front-end website

Under My images & videos, the Single choice and Multiple choice custom fields you have defined will automatically appear as search filter options.

The Single choice and Multiple choice fields that are active for a website (as specified in the field’s settings) will also be automatically included in the website’s search feature as drop-down dialogs. In addition, to show custom fields on images without making them available as search filters, you can disable custom fields search altogether on the website via its search settings under My website / Setup / Website search.

FAQ

Where do I create and manage new custom fields?
New custom fields are created and managed in your PhotoDeck administration area under My images & videos / Manage custom fields. Note that only the account owner can create these fields.
Which custom field types are available on PhotoDeck?
PhotoDeck supports three types of custom fields: Single choice, Multiple choice and Free text. Single and Multiple choice fields are used for controlled vocabulary and are searchable; Free text allows unconstrained text but is not searchable.
How do I add custom field data to my files?
After creating and activating a custom field for a specific media library, you can tag files by selecting one or more files in your administration space. The custom fields will appear under the Custom fields section, allowing you to edit data for single or multiple files at once, or via Automations.