Curriculum: Custom types and fields
This guide explains how custom types are structured in Curriculum, what the General and Custom fields tabs contain, and how to add your own field to an object such as a module.

Video
This video explains how custom types are structured in Curriculum, what the General and Custom fields tabs contain, and how to add your own field to an object such as a module.
The article below is AI generated based on the video.
How custom types are structured
Every object in Curriculum (course/module, study, assessment, person, and so on) is built from a main custom type plus a number of additional sections (sub-types). Each of these has its own list of fields.
Administrators can add their own fields to any of them. A common example is a Teaching language dropdown on a module, which is used as the example throughout this guide.
Where to find custom types
Go to Administration -> Objects -> Custom types and fields.
The page lists all object types, each with its technical code (for example Course module, Assessment assessment, Academic year academic-year). Under every object you see its custom types: the main type first, followed by the additional sections.
- Use the search box and the Active filter at the top right to find a type quickly.
- Click + Add to create a new custom type for an object.
For example, Course (module) contains:
- Course
module: the main type, holding the core module fields. - Additional sections such as Additional
additional, Adhoc offering, Applicant, Appraisal, Bibliography, Capacity, Delivery, Description, Division, Document, Education week, Effort and more.
Inside a custom type
Click a custom type to open it. Every type has four tabs: General, Custom fields, Sections and Export types. Use the dropdown at the top right to jump straight to another custom type of the same object (for example from Course to Additional, Delivery or Effort).
General tab
Settings for the type as a whole: labels (EN / NL / SV), Sequence, Comments, Message within changes, Create possible, Action after create (for example Start process in popup on the main Course type), Delete possible, Approve automatically, Visible during search and Generate code.
Custom fields tab
The list of fields in this type, with the columns Name, Labels, Type, Subtype, Pattern, Visible, Read only, Required, Editable, Security, Sequence and Section.
- Fields shown in bold have been added for your environment (for example
reasonForCreatinganddeliveryModeson Course -> Additional). - Fields shown in grey are system fields (for example
academicYearId,changeType,created,entity,id,valuesandversion). - The main Course type holds the core module fields, such as
startDate,endDate,code,contactHours,englishName,facultyId(ENTITY -> Faculty),organisationIdandpublicationDate.
Add a new custom field
In this example, a dropdown field Teaching language is added to the Additional section of a course.
- Go to Administration -> Custom types and fields and open Course (module) -> Additional.
- Open the Custom fields tab and click + Add.
- Enter the Name: the technical name, written in camelCase without spaces (for example
teachingLanguage). - Enter the Labels users will see, per language (EN: Teaching language; NL and SV as needed).
- Choose the Value type. The options include Element, Entity, Entity Reference, Enumeration, Minutes, Number, Reference and String (the default).
- For a dropdown based on a reference list, choose Reference. A required Subtype field appears: select the reference list to use (here Teaching language). Reference lists are maintained under Administration -> Reference types.
- Adjust the other settings if needed (see the next section). Visible is switched on by default.
- Click Save. The message The data has been saved appears and the field is added to the list with Type REFERENCE and Subtype Teaching language.
Field settings
The Add/Edit field dialog contains the settings below. Descriptions in italics are taken from the on-screen hints.
| Setting | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Technical name of the field (required). |
| Labels | Label per language (EN, NL, SV). |
| Value type / Subtype | Data type of the field. Subtype is required for Reference (the reference list). |
| Used in pages | Shows where the field is used. |
| Filter | Expression field. |
| Required | Makes the field mandatory. |
| Default value | Only possible for required fields. |
| Visible | Shows the field; on by default. |
| Searchable | Toggle. |
| Sequence | Display order of the field. |
| Value display | Dropdown. |
| Edit in report / Hide in history | Toggles. |
| Condition / Formula | Expression fields. |
| When to generate | Dropdown. |
| Unique value / Block duplicates / Allowed to create / Read only | Toggles. |
| Editable | When the field may be edited. Default is Always (some system fields use New). |
| Security | Optional security setting for the field. |
| Maximum number of characters | Limit for text input. |
| Regenerate code | Toggle. |
| Multiple values / Copy to future years / Ignore in year copy | Toggles. |
| Describe on export | Toggle. |
| Display on general | Toggle. |
| Display code and name / Filter field | Toggles. |
| Section | Section of the page the field is placed in. |
| Tooltip display type | On mouse-over or Small text beneath label. |
| Tooltip text | Tooltip per language (EN, NL, SV). |
| Export inverse as | Includes extra property to the export message with the reversed values. |
See the result on the module
- Go to Faculties, select a faculty and open the Modules tab.
- Open a module (for example SJ101 Introduction to Journalism).
- Open the tab that shows the Additional section. Depending on your configuration this may be called something else, for example Extra.
- The new field Teaching language appears as a dropdown with the values from the reference list (for example Dutch, English, French and Swedish).


