XWiki Properties Metadata
Last modified by Eleni Cojocariu on 2026/03/19 07:53
Reference
When defining Class Properties and selecting the XWiki Properties (Data types) for the XWiki Property, you have the possibility to configure the Property Metadata:
| Metadata | Input form | Description | Supported Data Types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disabled | Checkbox | Prevents this field from being editable in Pages using this Class. | All |
| Name | TextArea | Specifies the internal identifier of the field used in code and queries. | |
| Pretty Name | TextArea | Specifies the user-friendly label displayed in the UI for this field. | |
| Hint | TextArea | Provides a short helper text to guide users when filling this field. | |
| Custom Display | TextArea | Allows to define a custom template or renderer for displaying this field. | |
| Validation Regular Expression | TextArea | Specifies a regex pattern to validate the field's value. For example, for an "Email" data type, it's set automatically to ensure a valid email format. | |
| Validation Message | TextArea | Defines the error message displayed when the field value does not match the validation regular expression. | |
| Size | TextArea | The size of the corresponding form element when editing. | All except for Computed Field and Boolean |
| Use Suggest | Checkbox | This property works only with the input "Display Type": it enables a dynamic suggestion list to appear as the user types in the text input, allowing them to select from the suggested values. | All except for Computed Field, Date, Boolean, Number |
| Multiple Select | Checkbox | If checked, it allows to select multiple values. Else it only allow to select one value. | Static List, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Allow Large Strings | Checkbox | Allow to store values with more than 255 characters. The "short" value limit has been increased to 768 characters. | Static List, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Rows | TextArea | Specifies the number of visible lines in the text area. | TextArea |
| Editor | Dropdown (---, Wiki, Plain Text, WYSIWYG) | Indicated which editor should be used to manipulate the content of the property. This setting overwrites the preferred editor configured in the user profile. | TextArea |
| Content Type | Dropdown (---, Wiki Syntax, Velocity Code, Plain Text, VelocityWiki) | Indicated what kind of content this field contains (wiki, plain text, etc.). | TextArea |
| Restricted | Checkbox | This property is only taken into account for executable content and indicates if the content of the property should be executed in a restricted context (in which all dangerous macros like script macros are forbidden). | TextArea |
| Display Form Type | Dropdown (---, radio, checkbox, select) | Specifies how the field is displayed in forms.
| Boolean |
| Display Type | Dropdown (---, input, select, radio, checkbox) | Specifies how the field value is displayed on the page.
| Static List, Boolean, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Multiselect separators (for editing) | TextArea | Allows specifying operators used to separate multiple values within a single string when editing. By default, the accepted separators are "|", ",", and space (" "). For example, if you enter "Foo|Bar|Baz", it will be treated as three values: Foo#, Bar, and Baz. | Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Join separator (for display) | TextArea | Allows specifying a string used to join the selected values in the list. For example, if this property is set to "+++" and the selected values are Foo, Bar, and Baz, the resulting output will be: Foo+++Bar+++Baz. | Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Sort | Dropdown (---, none, id, value) | Allows to sort the options by the value selected in the dropdown. | Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Free text | Dropdown (---, discouraged, forbidden, allowed) | Allows users to enter custom text not in the predefined values when used with an input "Display Type". Works as follows:
| Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Relational Storage | Checkbox | Allows multi-value fields to store each value as a separate database record instead of a single string separated by the "Multiselect separators (for editing)" . This causes the field to return an array of values in code rather than a single string. The advantage is that individual values can include spaces and separator characters without being split incorrectly. | Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Cache | Checkbox | Allows to control whether objects of this class should be cached. | Static List, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Default value | TextArea | The value selected by default. | Static List, Boolean, List of Groups, Database Tree, Access Right Levels, Page, List of Users, List of Groups, Database List |
| Hibernate Query | TextArea | Allows entering queries used by the Query API to filter or fetch objects. | Database Tree, Page, Database List |
| XWiki Class Name | TextArea | Specifies the Class from which to fetch Objects. | Database Tree, Page, Database List |
| Id Field Name | TextArea | Specifies the property that stores the unique identifier of each Object. | Database Tree, Page, Database List |
| Value Field Name | TextArea | Database Tree, Page, Database List | |
| Parent Field Name | TextArea | Specifies the property used to determine parent-child relationships in the hierarchical list. | Database Tree |
| Values | TextArea | The "Multiple Separators (for editing)" must be used to separate the different values. Example: value1=Text displayed for value1|value2=Text displayed for value2|value3|value4.Note that if "Free text" is properly set, users might also be able to enter a custom value. | Static List |
| Number Type | Dropdown (---, integer, long, float, double) | Allows storing numeric values. Each type allows entering in the "Number" property only values of the selected type from the dropdown. However, for float or double, integer values are automatically converted on save (e.g., 10 becomes 10.0). Long is recommended for whole numbers, and double for numbers with a fractional part (decimal/fractional numbers). | Number |
| Uses List | Checkbox | Allows the property to store multiple values instead of a single one. | List of Groups, List of Users |
| Storage Type | Dropdown (---, Hash, Clear) | Specifies how the field value is stored in the database. | Password |
| Encryption/hash algorithm | TextArea | Specifies the encryption or hash algorithm used to securely store the field value. | Password |
| Empty is today | Checkbox | When checked, an empty date field is automatically set to today's date. | Date |
| Use Date Picker | Checkbox | Enables a visual calendar picker to select the date instead of typing it manually. | Date |
| Date Format | TextArea | The default value is dd/MM/yyyy HH:mm:ss | Date |
| Script | TextArea | Allows attaching a script to the field to compute, validate, or modify its value dynamically. | Computed Field |
FAQ
Why are some property metadata fields pre-filled when selecting a data type ?
Some Property metadata fields are automatically pre-filled, selected, or checked (advanced pickers) when you choose a specific data type to help enter valid values.
