Create and edit schema field groups in the UI ui-create-and-edit

In Experience Data Model (XDM), schema field groups are reusable components that define one or more fields that implement certain functions such as personal details, hotel preferences, or address. Field groups are intended to be included as part of a schema that implements a compatible class.

A field group defines which class(es) it is compatible with, based on the behavior of the data that the field group represents (record or time series). This means that not all field groups are available for use with all classes.

Adobe Experience Platform provides many standard field groups that cover a wide range of marketing use cases. However, you can also create and edit your own custom field groups to define additional concepts related to your business within your XDM schemas. This guide provides an overview of how to create, edit, and manage custom field groups for your organization in the Platform UI.

Prerequisites prerequisites

This guide requires a working understanding of XDM System. Refer to the XDM overview for an introduction to the role of XDM within the Experience Platform ecosystem, and the basics of schema composition for how field groups contribute to XDM schemas.

While not required for this guide, it is recommended that you also follow the tutorial on composing a schema in the UI to familiarize yourself with the various capabilities of the Schema Editor.

Create a new field group create

To create a new field group, you must first select a schema that the field group will be added to. You can choose to create a new schema or select an existing schema to edit.

Once you have the schema open in the Schema Editor, select Add next to the Field groups section in the left rail.

In the dialog that appears, select Create new field group. Here you can provide a Display name and Description for the field group. When finished, select Add field groups.

The Schema Editor reappears, with the new field group listed in the left rail. Since this is a brand new field group, it currently does not provide any fields to the schema, and therefore the canvas remains unchanged. You can now start adding fields to the field group.

Filter field groups filter

The list of available field groups is pre-filtered based on how they were created. The default setting displays the field groups defined by Adobe. However, you can also filter the list to show those created by your organization. Select the radio button to choose between the Standard and Custom options. The Standard option shows entities created by Adobe and the Custom option displays entities created within your organization.

Edit an existing field group edit

NOTE

Only custom field groups defined by your organization can be fully edited and customized. For core field groups defined by Adobe, only the display names for their fields can be edited within the context of individual schemas. They are indicated in the Schema Editor by a padlock icon ( ). See the section on editing display names for schema fields for details.

Once a custom field group has been saved and used in a schema for data ingestion, only additive changes can be made to the field group thereafter. See the rules of schema evolution for more information.

To edit an existing field group, you must first open a schema that employs the field group within the Schema Editor. You can select an existing schema to edit, or you can create a new schema and add the field group in question.

Once you have the schema open in the editor, you can start adding fields to the field group.

Add fields to a field group add-fields

To add fields to a custom field group, start by selecting the plus (+) icon next to the schema’s name in the canvas.

An Untitled Field placeholder appears in in the canvas, and the right rail updates to show controls to configure the field’s properties. See the guide on defining fields in the UI for specific steps on how to configure different field types.

Under Assign to, select the Field Group option, then use the dropdown to select the desired field group from the list. You can start typing in the name of the field group to narrow down results.

Under Assign to, select the Field Group option, then use the dropdown to select the desired field group from the list. You can start typing in the name of the field group to narrow down results.

Once the field is added to the schema, it is assigned to the selected field group. Continue to add as many fields as required to the field group. When finished, select Save to save both the schema and the field group.

If the same field group is already employed in other schemas, the newly added fields will automatically appear in those schemas.

Next steps next-steps

This guide covered how to create and edit field groups using the Platform UI. For more information on the capabilities of the Schemas workspace, see the Schemas workspace overview.

To learn how to manage field groups using the Schema Registry API, see the field groups endpoint guide.