# Custom fields — Academium SMS

[View the HTML page](https://academium.com.ng/sms/features/custom-fields/)

> Add your own fields to the student admission, employee and parent forms in SMS: text, dropdowns, dates, tick boxes and more, laid out where you want them and shown on staff and parent lists.

Custom fields

## Ask what your school needs to know.

Every school records something the standard forms do not ask: a blood group, a pickup person, a house, a hostel preference. Add it as a field of your own and it appears on the form beside everything else.

[Download to get started](https://academium.com.ng/downloads?product=sms) [All SMS features](https://academium.com.ng/sms/features)

A fictional field definition.

Where they appear

## On the forms your staff already use.

A custom field belongs to one of three forms: the student admission form, the employee form or the parent form. It sits in its own section on that form, in the order you choose.

-   **Kept up to date.** Employee custom fields can be filled in when staff are added and changed later from their record.
    
-   **Per branch.** Each branch defines its own fields, so one campus can ask for something another does not.
    

Fictional fields on each of the three forms.

Seven kinds of answer

## The right kind of answer for each question.

Choose what the field accepts, so answers come back in a form you can use.

-   **Text and long text.** A short answer such as a nickname, or a longer note such as allergies.
    
-   **Dropdown.** Type the choices separated by commas, such as “A+, A−, B+, O+”, and staff pick one, so the same answer is always spelled the same way.
    
-   **Date, number and email.** For a date of baptism, a locker number or a second email address.
    
-   **Tick box.** For a yes-or-no answer, ticked or unticked by default.
    

Fictional fields of different kinds across the three forms.

Layout

## Placed where you want it.

Set each field’s position in the order, how wide it is on a twelve-column form, a default answer, and whether it is marked as required.

Placing a fictional field on the employee form.

On the list

## See the answer without opening a record.

Turn on “Show on table” and the field becomes a column on the employee or parent list.

-   **Switch a field off.** Deactivate a field you no longer need without deleting it, and switch it back on later.
    
-   **Separate permissions.** Viewing, adding, editing and deleting custom fields are separate permissions.
    

Fictional staff with a custom blood group column.

FAQs

## Custom fields questions

Adding your own fields in SMS.

[Still have a question?](https://academium.com.ng/main/page-contact)

### Which forms can have custom fields?

The student admission form, the employee form and the parent form.

### Can we hide built-in student fields instead?

Yes. School settings has a Student fields page for choosing which built-in fields appear and which are required.

### What is the difference between deactivating and deleting?

A deactivated field stops appearing on forms and can be switched back on. Deleting removes the field.

## Collect what your school needs.

Download Academium SMS and set up your school, try a demo, or start in free mode.

[Download to get started](https://academium.com.ng/downloads?product=sms) [Explore other features](https://academium.com.ng/sms/features)