Field features
How field features work in Archer — categories, types, and what you use them for.
A field feature is anything on your site that's worth marking on the map but isn't a block. Irrigation headers, frost fans, gates, pump sheds, hazard zones, water tanks — if it's useful to know where it is, you can record it as a field feature.
📷 Screenshot: Vineyard map with a mix of blocks and field features (point icons for headers/fans, line for a pipe, area for a hazard zone).
What you can record
Field features can be:
- Points — a single location (for example, an irrigation header, a gate, a pump shed).
- Lines — a linear feature (for example, a mainline, a fence, a track).
- Areas — a polygon (for example, a hazard zone, a storage pad, a dam).
Categories and types
Features are organised into a two-level taxonomy:
- Category — the broad grouping (for example, "Irrigation", "Infrastructure", "Hazards").
- Type — the specific kind within a category (for example, "Irrigation → Header", "Infrastructure → Gate").
Each type can define its own custom attributes — so, for example, an "Irrigation → Header" might prompt you for valve count and pipe size, while a "Hazards → Overhead wire" might prompt for height.
The category/type list is configured per organisation. Some entries come from the platform defaults; your organisation can add its own on top.
Where features get created and managed
- Adding a field feature — mobile. Done in the field, usually by standing on or next to the feature and dropping a pin.
- Managing field features — portal. Used for review, editing, bulk operations, and organising features across a site.
Features vs. blocks vs. trouble spots
These three can look similar on the map, so it's worth being clear:
- Blocks are the permanent vineyard structure — where the vines are.
- Field features are other permanent or semi-permanent things worth knowing about — infrastructure, hazards, landmarks.
- Trouble spots are transient — things you report, work on, and mark complete. Once done, they go away.
If you find yourself recording the same "trouble spot" in the same place over and over, it probably wants to be a field feature instead.