Custom fields let you collect data that Element451 does not track by default. Every custom field has a scope, which determines where its value is stored. Contact custom fields are scoped to the person: one field, one value per contact. Application custom fields are scoped to a single application, so the same field can hold a different value on each application a student submits.

This matters whenever the data belongs to the application rather than to the person. A student who applies for Fall and then reapplies for Spring has one contact record but two applications. Term-specific essay responses, per-application consent, program-specific answers, and reviewer notes all belong to a particular application. Stored as a contact custom field, the second application overwrites the first. Stored as an application custom field, both values coexist and stay attached to the application they came from.

Application custom fields are created in Field Management alongside contact custom fields, and offer the same field types and validation options. For background on how applications are stored on a contact record, see The Element451 Data Model.

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Both types are created in the same place and behave the same way on a form. The difference is where the value is stored, and that difference drives everything else.

Navigate to Data + Automation > Field Management. Application custom fields have their own section, listed separately from Contact Custom Fields.

You can edit, reorder, and delete application custom fields from the same section. Reordering controls the sequence staff see when selecting fields in other modules.

Creating a field does not put it in front of applicants. To collect a value during the application, add the field to an application form.

In an application form builder, the Add Field sidebar shows two separate custom field sections: Contact Custom Fields and Application Custom Fields. Select the field you want from the Application Custom Fields section and place it on the form as you would any other field.

Values submitted through an application form are stored on that application, not on the contact.

Application custom field values appear on theApplication Sidebar of the student profile, inside a collapsible section within the selected application's fields. Expand the section to see the values.

The sidebar lists only the custom fields actually present on the application you are viewing, not every application custom field in your instance. This keeps the sidebar focused: if an application has five of your twenty fields, you see those five. Switching to a different application shows that application's own fields and values.

Each field renders according to its type, so a text field is an input, a boolean is a toggle, and a date opens a date picker. Authorized staff can edit values inline, and changes save back to that application only.

Editing follows the application card access model:

Application custom fields are available across the automation layer, so you can filter and act on application-specific data.

Application custom fields are available as filter criteria wherever you use Segments/Segment Filters (Segments, Rules, Workflows, IA Rules, etc.). Look for them under Application (All Properties) when building a filter.

Workflows include an Update Application Custom Field action, which sets the value of an application custom field. It works the same way as Update Contact Property, except the write is scoped to a single application.

The action needs an application in context to know which application to write to, so it is available on workflows triggered by application-based events such as App Started or Decision Released. The triggering application receives the value; the contact record and the student's other applications are unaffected.

Application custom fields are available as tokens in emails and SMS sent from workflows and rules. The token resolves to the value on the application that triggered the communication, so a student with two applications receives the value tied to the relevant one.

Application custom fields are available in the Import + Export module.

In an export, application custom fields appear in the field picker and can be scoped to a specific application, so the exported column reflects one application's value rather than being flattened to the contact. This matters for a student with multiple applications: without scoping, there would be no way to tell which application a value came from.

Imports follow the same pattern, letting you bulk-update application custom field values against the correct application.

Administering application custom fields is governed by its own permission, Administer Application Custom Fields, separate from Administer Custom Fields. This permission included in the Element451 Administrator system permission group and be added to your custom groups.

Staff who can create and edit contact custom fields do not automatically gain access to application custom fields. Grant the permission explicitly to the roles that should manage them. See Permission Groups Overview for how to configure permissions for a group.