Chapter fields do not render unless Expand is true

1. What you'll see

   You add a Chapter to a schema’s Fields[] with child fields inside it, write the schema document with the docly CLI, and open the schema. The chapter heading appears — with its fold control and its add button — but the body is empty. None of the child fields render, neither in the schema designer nor in the editing form of any document bound to the schema. Nothing fails, nothing is logged, and the fields are present and correct in Fields[] when you read the file back.

2. What's actually happening

   Expand on a chapter is not a “start collapsed” display preference. It controls whether the chapter’s children are rendered at all. With "Expand": false the chapter is a heading and nothing more.

   Collapsable is a separate and unrelated setting: it adds the fold control. The two were confirmed independent by changing one at a time on a live schema:

   • Expand: false, Collapsable: true — heading only, no fields
   • Expand: true, Collapsable: false — fields render, cannot be folded
   • Expand: true, Collapsable: true — fields render, can be folded

   The trap is that Expand: false reads like a tidiness setting, so it is a natural thing to reach for when adding a block to an already long form. It removes the fields from the form instead, and because the schema document itself is correct, re-reading the file confirms nothing is wrong.

   Chapters used as repeating groups behave the same way: an array chapter with Expand: false renders neither its rows nor its inner fields.

3. What to do

   1. Set Expand: true on every chapter that has children, including nested ones. A nested chapter inside an array chapter needs it on both levels.

   2. Use Collapsable for tidiness instead. It gives you the folded-away block you wanted, without hiding the fields from the form.

   {
     "ObjectVariant": "Chapter",
     "Title": "Price and delivery",
     "Array": "",
     "Expand": true,        // required, or the fields below never render
     "Collapsable": true,   // optional, adds the fold control
     "Fields": [ /* … */ ],
     "Fields_type": "Fields"
   }

   3. Verify in the form, not in the file. Reading Fields[] back from the file will show your fields whether or not they render. Open the schema at docly.net/D<Guid> — the letter D followed by the schema’s Guid from the .docly envelope — and then open a document bound to it. Both must show the fields.

   4. Copy an existing chapter when in doubt. A chapter that already renders in the same schema is the most reliable template for a new one.

Last reviewed 17 Aug 2026