Custom fields move through statuses as teams create, enable, disable, remove, and retire them.
Workspace and project fields have different lifecycle behavior.
Workspace fields can show:
Deprecated workspace fields keep existing values visible for reference. They cannot be newly enabled in projects.
Project fields can show:
Use Enable Field on a new or disabled project field to make it available for project configuration.
After enabling, configure views, required behavior, default value, and dropdown options where applicable.
Use Disable Field to hide a project field without removing its configuration.
Disabling is useful when a field may be needed again later or when a team wants to pause use before retiring it.
Remove deletes field configuration when it is safe to do so.
Removing is permanent for the affected level.
When a field has usage, Remove retires it by deprecating it instead of deleting active history.
Deprecation keeps existing values visible for reference and prevents the field from being used for new data going forward.
When deleting is available, Hawzu asks for confirmation.
Deleting a workspace field removes the field from the workspace and permanently removes values saved in that field.
Removing a project field removes it from that project and permanently removes values saved in that field for project items.
Some changes add default values to existing items. Hawzu shows an impact summary when relevant.
If a project update requires background work, the details view can show a backfill status while existing data is updated.