Metadata fields
Metadata fields represent data relevant to a contract but not present in the contract body text itself. They allow you and your company to enrich your contracts with useful internal contract data, such as contract types or CRM Deal IDs, and can be further used for workflow automations.
Any company user with access to the specific document can create and manage metadata fields locally from the data fields sidebar. Metadata fields can be used in drafts, templates, pending, fully signed contracts, AI imports, and static uploaded contracts.
Follow these steps to create and use your metadata fields:
Create a metadata field from the sidebar
Open the document.
Click the Data fields icon on the right-hand sidebar.
Click the Add fields button at the top of the sidebar.
Click the blue Create new field button at the bottom of the list.
Type a unique name for your field, select the Field type, and click Create.
Keep the new field in the right-hand sidebar. As long as it is not inserted into the document text, it functions as a metadata field and will be displayed with a grey icon.
Filter metadata fields
You can view all active metadata fields in the document you work on from the Data fields section of the sidebar:
Click the Filter icon at the top of the data fields sidebar.
Select to show Fields not in document body from the dropdown list to view all available metadata fields within that specific document:
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn a metadata field into a data field and vice versa?
Yes. To turn a metadata field into a data field, drag and drop the field from the right-hand Data fields section of the sidebar directly into the document body. The grey highlight of the field's name will change to blue which indicates that it is now an active data field. To reverse this action, delete the field from the document body, and it will revert back to a metadata field in your sidebar.
Can I assign metadata fields or make them required?
No. Because metadata fields are not part of the visible document body, they cannot be assigned to collaborators or signees, and they cannot be marked as required. If you need a required or assigned field, you must drag it into the document body to convert it into a standard data field.
What makes a good metadata field?
A great example is the "Contract Type" (e.g., Sales Agreement, NDA, Employment Contract). Tracking this allows you to easily filter your documents and understand your contract volumes. Before creating a new company template, ask yourself what internal tracking information you need to store, and create metadata fields to store those specific data insights later when it is used to create contract drafts.
Helpful guides: