ACF Field Types Reference
Overview
When you build a CMS-powered page in Flowmo, every piece of dynamic content is represented by a field. Each field has a type that determines what kind of data it holds and how it exports to WordPress as an Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) field. This reference covers every field type available in Flowmo, what it maps to in ACF, and the options you can configure for each one.
Prerequisites
- A Flowmo project with at least one CMS collection created.
- Basic familiarity with the CMS panel in the right sidebar.
Available Field Types
When you click + Field inside a collection, Flowmo asks you to choose a Type from a searchable dropdown. Here is the complete list of field types, organized by category.
Content Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | ACF Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | text | text | Single-line plain text. Best for headings, names, short labels. |
| Textarea | textarea | textarea | Multi-line plain text. Use for longer descriptions that do not need formatting. |
| WYSIWYG | wysiwyg | wysiwyg | Rich text editor with formatting toolbar. Exports with full ACF WYSIWYG settings (visual + text tabs, full toolbar, media upload enabled). |
| Number | number | number | Numeric value. Good for prices, quantities, ratings. |
| URL | url | link | A web address. Exports as an ACF Link field with return_format: "url". |
Choice Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | ACF Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkbox | checkbox | checkbox | Multi-select checkboxes. |
| Boolean (Toggle) | boolean | true_false | On/off toggle. Exports with a toggle UI (ui: 1) and labels "On" / "Off". |
| Radio | radio | radio | Single-select radio buttons. |
| Select | select | select | Dropdown selector for single-choice values. |
| Range | range | range | Slider input for choosing a numeric value within a range. |
Media Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | ACF Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image | image | image | Image upload. Exports with return_format: "array", preview size "medium", and accepts all media library files. |
| Video | file | file | File upload designed for video assets. Maps to the ACF File field. |
Date & Time Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | ACF Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | date | date | Date picker. |
| Time | time | time | Time picker. |
Appearance Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | ACF Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color | color | color_picker | Color picker value. |
WordPress Page Meta Fields
These field types map to built-in WordPress post/page properties. They are not exported as ACF custom fields -- Flowmo handles them automatically through WordPress core data.
| UI Label | Internal Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Page Title | page-title | The post/page title (post_title). |
| Page Description | page-description | The meta description. |
| Page Content | page-content | The main post content (post_content). |
| Page Image | page-image | The featured image (post thumbnail). |
| Page URL | page-url | The full permalink. |
| Page Slug | page-slug | The URL slug. |
| Page Author | page-author | The display name of the post author. |
| Author Avatar | page-author-avatar | The author's Gravatar/avatar image. |
| Author Bio | page-author-bio | The author's biographical info. |
| Page Date | page-date | The publish date. |
| Page Excerpt | page-excerpt | The post excerpt. |
Archive & Taxonomy Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Archive Title | archive-title | The title of the current archive page. |
| Archive Description | archive-description | The description of the current archive. |
| Term Name | term-name | The taxonomy term name. |
| Term Description | term-description | The taxonomy term description. |
| Term Image | term-image | An image assigned to a taxonomy term. |
| Term Link | term-link | The URL of the taxonomy term archive. |
| Term Post Count | term-count | The number of posts in a taxonomy term. |
Utility Fields
| UI Label | Internal Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Search Field | search | Creates a search input. Not exported as an ACF field -- handled by WordPress search functionality. |
Step-by-Step: Adding a Field to a Collection

- Open the CMS panel in the right sidebar.
- Click the name of your collection to expand it.
- Click + Field in the upper-right of the collection's content area.
- In the popover that appears, fill in:
- Field Name -- a descriptive label (e.g., "Price", "Subtitle"). This becomes both the label in WordPress and the sanitized field name.
- Field Type -- select from the searchable dropdown. You can type to filter (e.g., type "img" to quickly find "Image").
- Click Add Field.
Configuring a Field
Click any field row to expand its inline editor. You will see these sections:
Name
The display label for the field. This is also used to generate the ACF field name (lowercased, spaces replaced with underscores, non-alphanumeric characters stripped).
Type
Change the field type at any time using the same searchable dropdown.
Connection
This controls how the field connects to your design elements:
- Click Attach Selected to link the currently selected canvas element to this field.
- Choose a connection type from the dropdown:
| Connection Label | Value | What It Binds |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | auto | Flowmo automatically detects whether to bind text, image, or link based on the field type. |
| Text/Content | text | The element's text content. For WYSIWYG fields, pulls HTML. |
| Image | image | The element's background image, fill URL, or source URL. |
| Video | video | Video source. |
| Href | href | The element's link (href attribute). |
| Alt | alt | The element's alt text attribute. |
| Name | name | The element's name attribute. |
| ID | id | The element's ID attribute. |
| Background | background | The CSS background or background-image property. |
| Color | color | The CSS color property. |
| Attribute | attribute | A custom HTML attribute (you specify the attribute name, e.g., data-custom). |
| Visibility | visibility | Conditionally show or hide the element. Choose "Show when true" or "Hide when true". |
More Options (expandable)
Click More options to reveal additional settings:
- Placeholder -- placeholder text shown in the WordPress editor when the field is empty.
- Default Value -- the initial value for new entries. If left blank, Flowmo auto-detects a default from the attached element's current content (text, image URL, or link).
- Required -- check this to make the field mandatory in WordPress. Exports as
required: 1in ACF.
ACF Export Details
When you publish your project, each field type exports with specific ACF configuration:
Text fields include maxlength, placeholder, prepend, and append properties.
Textarea fields add rows and new_lines settings on top of the text properties.
WYSIWYG fields export with tabs: "all" (both Visual and Text tabs), toolbar: "full", and media_upload: 1.
Boolean fields export as true_false with toggle UI enabled (ui: 1), default labels "On"/"Off", and a default value of 0.
Image fields export with return_format: "array", preview_size: "medium", library: "all", and optional dimension constraints.
URL/Link fields export with return_format: "url".
Tips
- Use Page Meta fields for built-in WordPress data. If you need the post title, date, or featured image, use the corresponding Page field type rather than creating a custom Text or Image field. These map directly to WordPress core data and do not require ACF.
- The "Auto" connection type works well for most cases. It looks at the field type and automatically binds the right property. Only switch to a specific connection type when you need explicit control (e.g., binding a Text field to an element's
hrefinstead of its text content). - Field names are sanitized for ACF compatibility. Your label "Hero Image!" becomes the ACF name
hero_image. Names must start with a letter, contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores, and duplicates within the same group get an automatic suffix (e.g.,title,title_2). - You can attach multiple elements to a single field. This is useful when the same data appears in multiple places on the page (e.g., a title in both the hero and the breadcrumbs).
Common Issues
Field not appearing in WordPress after export?
Page Meta fields (Page Title, Page Date, etc.) and the Search Field are intentionally skipped during ACF export because they use built-in WordPress data. Only custom field types (Text, Image, Number, etc.) generate ACF fields.
Field shows as "text" in ACF when I expected a different type?
If Flowmo does not recognize the field type, it defaults to text. Double-check that you selected the correct type from the dropdown.
Image field not loading in WordPress?
ACF image fields require a return_format. Flowmo sets this to "array" automatically. If you imported an older project, re-export to ensure the format is set correctly.
Default value is empty even though my element has content?
Auto-detection of default values only works when an element is attached to the field. Make sure you have clicked Attach Selected and that the canvas element has visible content (text, a background image, or an href).
Related Articles
- ACF Repeater Fields -- Learn how to create repeating data groups.