How are API Labels generated on fields or on an option within a field?

When a field is created, the default is to use the name of the field, using a lowercase letter on the first word, removing spaces, and then setting each additional word to uppercase. If numbers are included after a space, the space will be replaced with an underscore.

Here are a few examples of how that may translate:

• A field titled "Description" will have an API label of description.
  • In this case, the first letter is set to lowercase.
• A field titled "Catalog Activation Date" will have an API label of catalogActivationDate.
  • In this case, the first letter is set to lowercase, the spaces are removed, and following words maintain their initial capitalization.

Gadgets must all have a unique API label - any gadgets that have the same label will display the same data in both, and must both be the same type of gadget in order to display correctly. In some cases, an institution may have multiple fields with the same title, but use a different API label for each one in order to tell them apart in the database. 

For example, an institution may have a section that repeats a field, such as "Award" based on the number of awards present on the form. Rather than using the label of award for each one, using award1, award2, award3, etc would be recommended.

If you do not want to use a default label for any item, you may specify the label you would like to use when a field is created. Once a label is created, it can not be changed. The only option to adjust it would be to remove the field and recreate a new one, which may result in a loss of existing data. 

Note: It is possible to potentially remove a field, create a new one with the desired label, and then migrate the data as long as the field type remains the same. If you have questions on this process, please reach out to our support team.