Custom Data Groups not showing up on CiviContribute pages

[samnelson]

We're having trouble getting Custom Data Groups to show up on CiviContribute donation pages.  We've added custom data fields of type "Contribution", they're enabled, and I've checked permissions.  We can see the fields on admin screens, but they don't show up on the public-facing Contribution pages.  Any hints on where to look next?

[Donald Lobo]

custom data groups do not show up on donation pages. civicrm profiles do show up. u'll need to add the custom fields and enable them. You might want to read the CiviCRM Book: http://en.flossmanuals.net/CiviCRM to get a better idea and understanding of the system

lobo

[samnelson]

Ok, I'm a little lost.  If I want to add a new, completely custom text field to a donation page, how should I proceed? 

[kmarkley]

Think of it this way:

Contribution pages can display profiles (so can all sorts of other pages)
          Profiles can display (expose) many custom data fields (in whatever combination/order you choose)
                    Custom data fields hold the data

You should read the manual as suggested, but here are the major steps:

1. Make a custom data set (group) and attach it to the right sort of record
2. Make the field you want
3. Make a profile for the contribution page
4. Add the field from step 2 to the profile
5. Add the profile to the contribution page

Its a lot to go through for 1 text field, but the advantage is that if you wanted to you could have 30 fields from thirty different groups all in the same profile and therefore all appearing on your donation page.  You could then make a new profile that had 15 of the same fields (in a different order and with different labels) AND 15 completely other fields and put it on an event registration page. 

Flexibility breeds complexity.

[samnelson]

Thank you kmarkley!  Was beating my head against that for longer than I should have been...