Uninstalling

Overview

This document explains the uninstall process for Custom Fields.

Theme Changes

This article covers modifying theme templates to remove any theme changes that the app made. The end result will prevent any fields from being displayed on the front-end of your store.

Deleting Stored Data

Data is stored in Shopify as Metafields and not within the app itself. While it is not generally necessary to delete the data from your store, doing so is a separate bulk delete process, either via the app itself, or any bulk editor. See also: Data Security & Storage and Bulk Editing.

Automatic Disabling

Using the Automatic Disabler

  1. In the left sidebar in the app, click on the object type you'd like to uninstall, for example, Products.
  2. Click on Display Fields.
  3. Choose the theme and the theme area you'd like to uninstall for. 
  4. Click on Disable This Area. 
  5. Confirm 
  6. Repeat for any additional objects such as Collections.

What does this actually do?

Disabling the Inner Area
When an Inner Area is enabled, the app locates the most appropriate template and adds a single line of code to print all fields. This disabler simply removes that line. No other changes are made.

For example, if the Inner Area was enabled for Products, the installer located the file  product-template.liquid and added the line {% render 'products.custom_fields' %} just below the product description {{ product.description }}. Disabling would remove the render line from that file.

Disabling the Full Width Area
When a Full Width Area is enabled, the app locates the most appropriate template and adds a new line to create a theme Section. This disabler removes that line. Additionally, when Fields or Widgets are placed in using Shopify's Theme Editor, those settings are added to the file  settings_data.json. When the disabler runs, the settings the app added to that file are deleted.

For example, if the Full Width Area was enabled for Products, the installer located the product.liquid file and added a new section,  {% section 'custom-fields-products' %} under the product template section {% section 'product-template' %}

What about field templates?
Field and Widget templates you may have created manually or automatically when placing a Field or Widget are not changed or deleted using this process. These templates remain intact to prevent unintentionally deleting files used in custom code outside of a specific Layout Area.

Deleting Field & Widget Templates

Field and Widget templates may be deleted in 3 ways. 

  1. When deleting a Field or Widget
    1. Field and Widget templates exist on a per-theme basis. When a Field or Widget is deleted in the app, the app will ask if you'd like to delete the templates associated with that Field or Widget. If the template was used in more than one theme, the app will ask you which themes to delete the templates from.   
  2. Via the Code screen for a Field or Widget
    1. The Code screen in the app for each Field or Widget includes a delete option under More Actions
  3. Manually via Shopify's code editor
    1. Simply delete the desired file directly in the code editor. Note, the app no longer regenerates files automatically.