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Introduction to Custom Fields in Shack Locations

Written by Steve Burge Steve Burge
Published: 24 March 2021 24 March 2021
Introduction to Custom Fields in Shack Locations

Shack Locations is the best way to create a location-based directory in Joomla. You can create advanced directories with custom maps, markers, infoboxes and hundreds of locations.

In this guide, we'll show you how to add details to your locations using custom fields.

By default, a location page will display the following information:

  • The Google map of the location
  • The "Get Directions" search box of the location.

However, with custom fields, you can add a lot of extra, helpful information. For example, you can add these details using fields:

  • The URL of the location's website
  • The email address of the location
  • An image for the location.

You can display this additional information with Shack Locations custom fields. I will walk you through them in this blog post. For my demonstration, I will use the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City.

What is Shack Locations?

Shack Locations is the best way to create a location-based directory in Joomla.

With Shack Locations, you can create advanced directories with custom maps, markers, infoboxes and hundreds of locations.

You can add details to your locations using custom fields. And, you can give your users the ability to search and filter through the locations.

Example of map directory created with Shack Locations

Video Guide to Custom Fields

Introduction to custom fields in Shack Locations

Take a look, at my demonstration page of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City:

moma location map by default

As you can see on my screenshot, by default, the MOMA location page displays:

  • The Google map of the MOMA location
  • The "Get Directions" search box of the MOMA location.

What if you would like to display some more useful information for your MOMA location viewers?

For example, you would like to display the following useful information about the MOMA:

  • The URL of the MOMA website
  • The MOMA contact email address
  • The image of MOMA main entrance
  • What type of museum MOMA is
  • What type of audience MOMA is suitable for.

You can achieve this with the following custom fields in your Shack Locations:

  • "Link", to display the URL of the MOMA website
  • "Email", to display the MOMA email address
  • "Image", to display the image of MOMA main entrance 
  • "Select List", to display what type of museum MOMA is
  • "Multi Select", to display what audiences MOMA is suitable for.

You would start this process by going to the "Location Types":

go to location types

You will be taken to the "Location Types" screen. You would click on the title of your location type. For my demonstration, I clicked "Museums":

click on the title of your location type

On the opened "Location Type" screen, you would click the "Custom Fields" tab:

click the custom fields tab

Now you can start creating your required custom fields. 

As we discussed earlier, the first custom field on your list was a field to display the URL of MOMA website. This is exactly what the "Link" custom field is for.

You would click the "Link" button:

click the link button

You would enter "Museum Website" in the "Name" and "Label" fields.

Next, you wanted to create a custom field to display the MOMA email address. Here the "Email" custom field comes in handy. So, you would click "Email":

enter museum website name and label click email

You would enter "Contact Email" in the "Name" and "Label" fields. Next on your list is to add the image of the MOMA main entrance. You would click "Image":

enter contact email name and label click image

You would enter "Museum Main Entrance" in the "Name" and "Label" fields and click "Select List":

enter museum main entrance name and label click select list

You would enter "Type of Museum" in the "Name" and "Label" fields. In the "Options" field, you would enter, each on its own line:

  • "Art"
  • "History"
  • "Science"
  • "Others".

Then you would move on to the last field - the type of audience. You click "Multi Select":

enter name and label click multiple select

For this custom field, you would enter "Type of Audience" in the "Name" and "Label" fields. In the "Options" field, enter, each on its own line:

  • "Children"
  • "Adults"
  • "Whole Family"

enter name and label

Now is a good time to save your custom fields. You click "Save & Close".

Good job! You now have the required custom fields. But they are empty.

Let's fill them in with the information you would like those fields to display in our MOMA location page.

To do that, you would go to "Locations" > MOMA and click the "Custom Fields" tab:

click the custom fields tab

Here you would fill in all of your newly created custom fields:

fill in the custom fields with required information

Excellent! You save your changes. When you check the MOMA location page again, you will see the custom fields at work:

final result

What's Next?

What's Next?

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About the author

Steve is the CEO of Joomlashack. Originally from the UK, he now lives in Sarasota in the USA. Steve has been involved with Joomla since 2006.