---
title: MetaType class
slug: commerce-connect-14/docs/metatype-class
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-23T10:25:32.641Z
---

MetaType includes common types, and you can extend it with UI-friendly types. For example, instead of using one type of string, Business Meta-Model has Short String, Long String, HTML, Email, Phone and number. You can create a new MetaType based on system type or create a custom one.

Business Foundation (BF) lets you use a number of different meta types for your .NET applications. You can use the included meta-types or implement a custom meta-type.

## Default meta-types

Call the RegisteredTypes method of MetaClassManager class to get all registered meta-types. The following table shows ready-to-use BF meta-types.

| Name            | System Type | Represents                                                         |
| --------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Guid            | Guid        | A globally unique identifier (GUID).                               |
| DateTime        | DateTime    | An instant in time, typically expressed as a date and time of day. |
| Date            | DateTime    | An instant in date.                                                |
| Integer         | Integer     | A 32-bit signed integer.                                           |
| Float           | Double      | A double-precision floating-point number.                          |
| Currency        | Currency    | A currency number.                                                 |
| CheckboxBoolean | Boolean     | A Boolean value with check box.                                    |
| DropDownBoolean | Boolean     | A Boolean value with drop-down.                                    |
| Text            | String      | Text of fixed length. Maximum length is 4096 chars.                |
| EMail           | String      | An e-mail string.                                                  |
| Url             | String      | A URL string.                                                      |
| LongText        | String      | A long text.                                                       |
| Html            | String      | An HTML string.                                                    |
| File            | File        | A file (name, length, content type, stream).                       |
| Image           | File        | An image file.                                                     |
| IntegerPercent  | Integer     | A 32-bit signed integer percent.                                   |
| FloatPercent    | Double      | A double-precision floating-point percent.                         |
| Duration        | Integer     | A 32-bit signed integer duration value.                            |

## Create a meta type based on system type

You can create a new meta-type based on system type. You can find a complete list of system types in the McDataType enumerators.

To create a meta-type, such as Geolocation based on the String system type, open the edit scope and add a new MetaFieldType object to the MetaClassManager.RegisteredTypes collection.

Code sample

```csharp
// Open Meta model edit scope
    using (MetaClassManagerEditScope scope = DataContext.Current.MetaModel.BeginEdit())
      {
        // Add a new meta type
        MetaFieldType geoLocation = new MetaFieldType("Geolocation", "Geolocation", McDataType.String);
        DataContext.Current.MetaModel.RegisteredTypes.Add(geoLocation);
        // Save Changes
        scope.SaveChanges();
      }
```

Or, add a new record to the mcmd\_MetaFieldType table and restart the application.

```javascript
*INSERT INTO mcmd_MetaFieldType ([Name], [FriendlyName], [McDataType]) VALUES ('Geolocation', 'Geolocation ', 6
```

After registration, you can add a geolocation field to the meta-class. Using the meta-type name, you can load a new geolocation view and edit the UI control.

## Create a custom meta type

When implementing a custom meta-type, you need to create the Meta-field installer and Meta-field property binder. When you create a meta-field, BF calls the meta-field installer to process meta-field into SQL columns. When you load an entity object, BF calls the meta-object property binder to convert values from an SQL column to a meta-field value.

To create a custom **Meta-field installer**, you create a class that implements the IMetaFieldInstaller interface, and implement the following methods.

**IMetaFieldInstaller interface methods**

| Name             | Description                                              |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| AssignDataSource | Create a new columns in the SQL database from meta-field |
| AssignValidators | Assign default validators                                |
| UpdateDataSource | Update SQL columns from updated meta-field               |
| UpdateValidators | Update validators                                        |
| RemoveDataSource | Remove columns from SQL database                         |
| RemoveValidators | Remove validators                                        |

To create a custom **Meta-object property binder**, create a class that implements the IMetaObjectPropertyBinder interface, and implement the following methods.

**IMetaObjectPropertyBinder interface methods**

| Name            | Description                                              |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| PreLoad         | Load value from SQL row and save to meta field property. |
| PostLoad        | Fill properties by other.                                |
| PreSave         | Save value to SQL row.                                   |
| PostSave        | Fill properties by other.                                |
| Delete          | Clean up if meta field is removing.                      |
| InitTableConfig | Initialize additional SQL relations.                     |

**\[New in Commerce 14]**
You should register the custom meta-field installer and meta-object property binder in the **appsettings.json Commerce section**.

```csharp
"Commerce":{      
    "MetaObjectTypeOptions": {
            "Types": [
              {
                "Name": "CustomType",
                "Installer": "",
                "Binder": ""
              }
            ]
          }
    }
```

**Version 10-13**

You should register the custom meta-field installer and meta-object property binder in the **mediachase.businessFoundation.data/metaObject/types** section of the \_application config\_file.

```xml
<mediachase.businessFoundation.data>
    <metaObject>
      <types>
        <add name="CustomType" installer="" binder="" />*
      </types>
```