Geography & reference data
What it does
This is the shared reference data used across the platform — the geographic hierarchy of countries and their divisions. Addresses and other records draw on these lists so locations are entered consistently.
Where to find it
Administrators manage this under Admin → Metadata (/admin/metadata), with a section for each
level: a country, then each rung that country defines — State/LGA/Ward in Nigeria,
Nation/Health Board in the UK, State/County in the US.
📸 Screenshot: the Metadata reference-data area (
metadata).
Common tasks
Browse reference data
Open Admin → Metadata and choose a level (for example Countries or Cities) to view and search the list.
Add or edit an entry (administrators)
- Open the level you want (e.g. States).
- Select New (or open an entry), fill in the details, and link it to its parent (a state belongs to a country, a city to a state, and so on). Save.
Tips & limitations
- These lists are shared platform-wide, so keep them tidy — most people only use them (when entering an address), while administrators maintain them.
- Entries are organized as a hierarchy; add the parent (country/state) before its children.
When something looks wrong
| What you see | What it usually is |
|---|---|
| A type is missing from a dropdown elsewhere | It was created at an ownership level the other user cannot see — reference types are owned by a facility, tenant or country |
| A division cannot be found | Geography is a tree; search from the parent rather than typing the leaf name |
| A Global-owned type cannot be edited | Shared with every tenant, so read-only from here — create your own |
For the causes common to every screen — a missing menu item, an empty list, a refusal — see Why a screen will not work.