# Standardize metadata using metadata forms
Metadata forms let you define structured templates that capture specific information about a table. A form is a set of typed fields (text, numbers, dates, booleans) that you design to match the information you want to track. For example, you might create a form called "Data Retention Policy" with a string field for retention period, a date field for next review date, and a boolean field for whether the data contains PII. When the form is attached to a table during curation, the person curating the table fills in the field values. Unlike free-text descriptions, form fields are structured and searchable, so you can later filter the catalog to find all tables where "Contains PII" is true, or where the retention period is "90 days."
The **Metadata forms** page in the admin portal shows all forms in the domain. The table shows each form's name, description, status (enabled or disabled), and when the metadata was last updated. You can search for forms using the search bar at the top.
## Create a metadata form
Each metadata form has two names. The **display name** is what people see in the admin portal and when the form is attached to an asset. The **technical name** is used when working with APIs. The technical name cannot be changed after creation, so choose it carefully.
**To create a metadata form**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose **Create Form**.
1. For **Display name**, enter a human-readable name (for example, "Data Retention Policy" or "Access Control Policy").
1. For **Technical name**, enter an API-friendly name (for example, "DataRetentionPolicy"). This name must be 1 to 64 characters and can contain letters, numbers, spaces, dashes, and underscores.
1. For **Description**, enter a description of what this form captures. This field is optional.
1. Choose **Create Metadata Form**.
The form detail page opens. Forms are created in an **Enabled** state by default. If you want to finish adding fields before making the form available, turn off the **Enabled** toggle before creating the form.
**Note**
The technical name cannot be changed after creation. If you need a different technical name, you must delete the form and create a new one.
## Enable or disable a metadata form
Each form has a **Disabled/Enabled** toggle on its detail page. When a form is enabled, it can be attached to assets during metadata curation. When disabled, it cannot be attached to new assets.
**To enable or disable a metadata form**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose the form you want to enable or disable.
1. On the form detail page, toggle the **Disabled/Enabled** switch.
## Add a field to a form
The form detail page has a split layout. The **Fields** panel lists the fields in the form, which you can drag to reorder. The **Field details** panel shows the properties of the selected field or the inline editor for adding a new field.
**To add a field to a form**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose the form you want to add a field to.
1. In the **Fields** panel, choose **Create field**. A **New Field** entry appears and the field editor opens.
1. For **Display name**, enter a human-readable name for the field (for example, "Access Level"). This field is optional.
1. For **Technical name**, enter an API-friendly name (for example, "access\_level"). This field is required.
1. For **Description**, enter a description of what this field captures. This field is optional.
1. For **Field type**, choose one of the following types: **String** (free-form text), **Integer** (a whole number), **Long** (a large whole number), **Float** (a number with decimal places), **Double** (a large number with decimal places), **Boolean** (a true/false value), **Date** (a calendar date), or **Business glossary** (a term from a glossary).
**Note**
When you choose **Business glossary** as the field type, you select which glossary to use for this field. When someone later applies this form to an asset, they pick a term from that glossary as the field value instead of typing free-form text. This is useful when you want to standardize how people classify assets, for example by choosing a compliance category or a data domain from a controlled vocabulary. Only enabled glossaries appear in the list of available glossaries. For more information about enabling glossaries, see [Enable or disable a glossary](catalog-iam-glossaries.md#catalog-iam-enable-disable-glossary).
Before saving, you can configure the following additional settings for the field:
+ **String length** (String fields only) - Set the minimum and maximum character length.
+ **Searchable** - Under **Search filters**, select this if you want the field's values to appear as filter options in catalog search.
+ **Required** - Under **Requirement options**, choose **Required** if this field must be filled in whenever the form is attached to an asset. The default is **Optional**.
When you are done, choose **Add field**.
## Edit a field
**To edit a field**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose the form that contains the field.
1. In the **Fields** panel, choose the field you want to edit.
1. In the **Field details** panel, choose **Edit**.
1. Update the field properties.
1. Choose **Save**.
## Delete a field
**To delete a field**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose the form that contains the field.
1. In the **Fields** panel, choose the field you want to delete.
1. In the **Field details** panel, choose **Delete**.
1. Confirm the deletion.
## Delete a metadata form
Before you can delete a metadata form, you must first disable it and detach it from all assets where it is currently used.
**To delete a metadata form**
1. Navigate to Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio and choose **Domain management** to open the admin portal.
1. In the left navigation pane under **Catalog**, choose **Metadata forms**.
1. Choose the form you want to delete.
1. Toggle the **Disabled/Enabled** switch to disable the form.
1. Detach the form from all assets where it is currently attached.
1. Choose **Actions**, then choose **Delete**.
1. Confirm the deletion.
**Note**
You cannot delete a metadata form that is still enabled or still attached to assets.