diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/components/editor/field/field-root.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/components/editor/field/field-root.svelte
index 8312c63cc7..d16579b508 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/components/editor/field/field-root.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/components/editor/field/field-root.svelte
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <script lang="ts" module>
   import {Context} from 'runed';
-  import type {FieldId} from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+  import type {FieldId} from '$lib/views/fields';
   const fieldIdSymbol = Symbol('fw-lite-field-id');
   class FieldRootState {
     //require using the constructor when this type is used
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/field-data.ts b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/field-data.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index c2848ff373..0000000000
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/field-data.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-import type {IEntry, IExampleSentence, ISense} from '$lib/dotnet-types';
-
-interface FieldData {
-  helpId: string;
-}
-
-type PotentialFieldIds = keyof IEntry | keyof ISense | keyof IExampleSentence;
-
-const privateFieldData = {
-  //entry
-  lexemeForm: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Lexeme_Form_field.htm' },
-  citationForm: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Citation_Form_field.htm' },
-  complexForms: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Complex_Forms.htm' },
-  complexFormTypes: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Complex_Form_Type_field.htm' },
-  components: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Components_field.htm' },
-  literalMeaning: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Literal_Meaning_field.htm' },
-  note: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Note_field.htm' },
-  publishIn: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Publication_Settings_flds/Publish_In_(Publication_Settings).htm' },
-
-  //sense
-  gloss: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Gloss_field_Sense.htm' },
-  definition: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/definition_field.htm' },
-  partOfSpeechId: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Grammatical_Info_field.htm' },
-  semanticDomains: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/semantic_domains_field.htm' },
-
-  //example sentence
-  sentence: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/example_field.htm' },
-  translations: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Translation_field.htm' },
-  reference: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Reference_field.htm' },
-} satisfies Partial<Record<PotentialFieldIds, FieldData>>;
-/**
- * This is a list of all standard fields with fixed data that is constant across all views.
- */
-export type FieldId = keyof typeof privateFieldData;
-export const fieldData: Record<FieldId, FieldData> = privateFieldData;
-
-/**
- * @deprecated I think we want a type that's more type safe i.e. FieldId 👆
- */
-export type FieldIds = string; // this was always just string, it just wasn't obvious 🙃
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/EntryEditorPrimitive.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/EntryEditorPrimitive.svelte
index b5d464bc1f..cb8a703321 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/EntryEditorPrimitive.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/EntryEditorPrimitive.svelte
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   import {objectTemplateAreas, useCurrentView} from '$lib/views/view-service';
   import {pt, vt} from '$lib/views/view-text';
   import {t} from 'svelte-i18n-lingui';
-  import {fieldData, type FieldId} from '../field-data';
+  import {fieldData, type EntryFieldId} from '../../views/fields';
   import {cn} from '$lib/utils';
   import {useComplexFormTypes, usePublications, useWritingSystemService} from '$project/data';
   import {MultiSelect, MultiWsInput, RichMultiWsInput} from '$lib/components/field-editors';
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
     readonly?: boolean;
     autofocus?: boolean;
     modalMode?: boolean;
-    onchange?: (entry: IEntry, field: FieldId) => void;
+    onchange?: (entry: IEntry, field: EntryFieldId) => void;
     publishInDescription?: Snippet;
   }
 
@@ -40,14 +40,16 @@
   const currentView = useCurrentView();
   initSubjectContext(() => entry);
 
-  function onFieldChanged(field: FieldId) {
+  function onFieldChanged(field: EntryFieldId) {
     onchange?.(entry, field);
   }
+
+  const fields = $derived($currentView.fields.entry);
 </script>
 
-<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas($currentView, entry) } })}>
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="lexemeForm" class={cn($currentView.fields.lexemeForm.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Lexeme form`, $t`Word`)} helpId={fieldData.lexemeForm.helpId} />
+<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas(fields) } })}>
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="lexemeForm" class={cn(fields.lexemeForm.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Lexeme form`, $t`Word`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.lexemeForm.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <MultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('lexemeForm')}
@@ -58,8 +60,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="citationForm" class={cn($currentView.fields.citationForm.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Citation form`, $t`Display as`)} helpId={fieldData.citationForm.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="citationForm" class={cn(fields.citationForm.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Citation form`, $t`Display as`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.citationForm.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <MultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('citationForm')}
@@ -70,8 +72,8 @@
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
   {#if !modalMode}
-    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="complexForms" class={cn($currentView.fields.complexForms.show || 'hidden')}>
-      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Complex forms`, $t`Part of`)} helpId={fieldData.complexForms.helpId} />
+    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="complexForms" class={cn(fields.complexForms.show || 'hidden')}>
+      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Complex forms`, $t`Part of`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.complexForms.helpId} />
       <Editor.Field.Body>
         <ComplexForms onchange={() => onFieldChanged('complexForms')}
                       bind:value={entry.complexForms}
@@ -80,8 +82,8 @@
       </Editor.Field.Body>
     </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="components" class={cn($currentView.fields.components.show || 'hidden')}>
-      <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Components`} helpId={fieldData.components.helpId} />
+    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="components" class={cn(fields.components.show || 'hidden')}>
+      <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Components`} helpId={fieldData.entry.components.helpId} />
       <Editor.Field.Body>
         <ComplexFormComponents
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('components')}
@@ -91,8 +93,8 @@
       </Editor.Field.Body>
     </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="complexFormTypes" class={cn($currentView.fields.complexFormTypes.show || 'hidden')}>
-      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Complex form types`, $t`Uses components as`)} helpId={fieldData.complexFormTypes.helpId} />
+    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="complexFormTypes" class={cn(fields.complexFormTypes.show || 'hidden')}>
+      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Complex form types`, $t`Uses components as`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.complexFormTypes.helpId} />
       <Editor.Field.Body>
         <MultiSelect
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('complexFormTypes')}
@@ -106,8 +108,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Root>
   {/if}
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="literalMeaning" class={cn($currentView.fields.literalMeaning.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Literal meaning`)} helpId={fieldData.literalMeaning.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="literalMeaning" class={cn(fields.literalMeaning.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Literal meaning`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.literalMeaning.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <RichMultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('literalMeaning')}
@@ -117,8 +119,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="note" class={cn($currentView.fields.note.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Note`)} helpId={fieldData.note.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="note" class={cn(fields.note.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Note`)} helpId={fieldData.entry.note.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <RichMultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('note')}
@@ -128,8 +130,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="publishIn" class={cn($currentView.fields.publishIn.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Publish ${pt($t`Entry`, $t`Word`, $currentView)} in`} helpId={fieldData.publishIn.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="publishIn" class={cn(fields.publishIn.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Publish ${pt($t`Entry`, $t`Word`, $currentView)} in`} helpId={fieldData.entry.publishIn.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body>
       <MultiSelect
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('publishIn')}
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/ExampleEditorPrimitive.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/ExampleEditorPrimitive.svelte
index bbae01813b..627e74f397 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/ExampleEditorPrimitive.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/ExampleEditorPrimitive.svelte
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   import {objectTemplateAreas, useCurrentView} from '$lib/views/view-service';
   import * as Editor from '$lib/components/editor';
   import {asString, useWritingSystemService} from '$project/data';
-  import {fieldData, type FieldId} from '../field-data';
+  import {fieldData, type ExampleFieldId} from '../../views/fields';
   import {cn, draftTranslation, isDraft} from '$lib/utils';
   import {vt} from '$lib/views/view-text';
   import {t} from 'svelte-i18n-lingui';
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   interface Props extends Omit<EditorSubGridProps, 'onchange'> {
     example: IExampleSentence;
     readonly?: boolean;
-    onchange?: (sense: IExampleSentence, field: FieldId) => void;
+    onchange?: (sense: IExampleSentence, field: ExampleFieldId) => void;
   }
 
   const {
@@ -29,14 +29,16 @@
   const currentView = useCurrentView();
   initSubjectContext(() => example);
 
-  function onFieldChanged(field: FieldId) {
+  function onFieldChanged(field: ExampleFieldId) {
     onchange?.(example, field);
   }
+
+  const fields = $derived($currentView.fields.example);
 </script>
 
-<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas($currentView, example) } })}>
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="sentence" class={cn($currentView.fields.sentence.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Sentence`)} helpId={fieldData.sentence.helpId} />
+<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas(fields) } })}>
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="sentence" class={cn(fields.sentence.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Sentence`)} helpId={fieldData.example.sentence.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <RichMultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('sentence')}
@@ -46,11 +48,11 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="translations" class={cn($currentView.fields.translations.show || 'hidden', 'space-y-2 items-center')}>
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="translations" class={cn(fields.translations.show || 'hidden', 'space-y-2 items-center')}>
     {#each (example.translations.length ? example.translations : [draftTranslation(example)]) as translation, i (translation.id)}
       {@const title = example.translations.length > 1 ? vt($t`Translation ${i + 1}`) : vt($t`Translation`)}
       <Editor.SubGrid class="items-baseline">
-        <Editor.Field.Title name={title} helpId={fieldData.translations.helpId}/>
+        <Editor.Field.Title name={title} helpId={fieldData.example.translations.helpId}/>
         <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
           <RichMultiWsInput
             onchange={(_, value) => {
@@ -68,8 +70,8 @@
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
   {#if writingSystemService.defaultAnalysis}
-    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="reference" class={cn($currentView.fields.reference.show || 'hidden')}>
-      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Reference`)} helpId={fieldData.reference.helpId} />
+    <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="reference" class={cn(fields.reference.show || 'hidden')}>
+      <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Reference`)} helpId={fieldData.example.reference.helpId} />
       <Editor.Field.Body>
         <RichWsInput
             onchange={() => onFieldChanged('reference')}
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/SenseEditorPrimitive.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/SenseEditorPrimitive.svelte
index 8d9d54adcc..d2e20f0afb 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/SenseEditorPrimitive.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/entry-editor/object-editors/SenseEditorPrimitive.svelte
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@
   import {mergeProps} from 'bits-ui';
   import type {Snippet} from 'svelte';
   import {t} from 'svelte-i18n-lingui';
-  import {fieldData, type FieldId} from '../field-data';
+  import {fieldData, type SenseFieldId} from '../../views/fields';
 
   interface Props extends Omit<EditorSubGridProps, 'onchange'> {
     sense: ISense;
     readonly?: boolean;
-    onchange?: (sense: ISense, field: FieldId) => void;
+    onchange?: (sense: ISense, field: SenseFieldId) => void;
     partOfSpeechDescription?: Snippet;
     semanticDomainsDescription?: Snippet;
   };
@@ -35,14 +35,16 @@
   const semanticDomains = useSemanticDomains();
   const currentView = useCurrentView();
   initSubjectContext(() => sense);
-  function onFieldChanged(field: FieldId) {
+  function onFieldChanged(field: SenseFieldId) {
     onchange?.(sense, field);
   }
+
+  const fields = $derived($currentView.fields.sense);
 </script>
 
-<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas($currentView, sense) } })}>
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="gloss" class={cn($currentView.fields.gloss.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Gloss`} helpId={fieldData.gloss.helpId} />
+<Editor.SubGrid {...mergeProps(rest, { class: 'gap-2', style: { gridTemplateAreas: objectTemplateAreas(fields) } })}>
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="gloss" class={cn(fields.gloss.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Gloss`} helpId={fieldData.sense.gloss.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <MultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('gloss')}
@@ -52,8 +54,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="definition" class={cn($currentView.fields.definition.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Definition`} helpId={fieldData.definition.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="definition" class={cn(fields.definition.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Definition`} helpId={fieldData.sense.definition.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body subGrid>
       <RichMultiWsInput
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('definition')}
@@ -63,8 +65,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="partOfSpeechId" class={cn($currentView.fields.partOfSpeechId.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Grammatical info.`, $t`Part of speech`)} helpId={fieldData.partOfSpeechId.helpId}/>
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="partOfSpeechId" class={cn(fields.partOfSpeechId.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={vt($t`Grammatical info.`, $t`Part of speech`)} helpId={fieldData.sense.partOfSpeechId.helpId}/>
     <Editor.Field.Body>
       <Select
           onchange={() => {
@@ -80,8 +82,8 @@
     </Editor.Field.Body>
   </Editor.Field.Root>
 
-  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="semanticDomains" class={cn($currentView.fields.semanticDomains.show || 'hidden')}>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Semantic domains`} helpId={fieldData.semanticDomains.helpId} />
+  <Editor.Field.Root fieldId="semanticDomains" class={cn(fields.semanticDomains.show || 'hidden')}>
+    <Editor.Field.Title name={$t`Semantic domains`} helpId={fieldData.sense.semanticDomains.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body>
       <MultiSelect
           onchange={() => onFieldChanged('semanticDomains')}
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/EditorSandbox.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/EditorSandbox.svelte
index ff6c48f5db..5ac5d8b4c2 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/EditorSandbox.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/EditorSandbox.svelte
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@
   import MultiSelect from '$lib/components/field-editors/multi-select.svelte';
   import Select from '$lib/components/field-editors/select.svelte';
   import LcmRichTextEditor from '$lib/components/lcm-rich-text-editor/lcm-rich-text-editor.svelte';
-  import { ResizablePaneGroup, ResizablePane, ResizableHandle } from '$lib/components/ui/resizable';
-  import { Switch } from '$lib/components/ui/switch';
-  import { Tabs, TabsList, TabsTrigger } from '$lib/components/ui/tabs';
+  import {ResizablePaneGroup, ResizablePane, ResizableHandle} from '$lib/components/ui/resizable';
+  import {Switch} from '$lib/components/ui/switch';
+  import {Tabs, TabsList, TabsTrigger} from '$lib/components/ui/tabs';
   import {writingSystems} from '$project/demo/demo-entry-data';
   import {type IMultiString} from '$lib/dotnet-types';
   import {type IRichString} from '$lib/dotnet-types/generated-types/MiniLcm/Models/IRichString';
-  import { fieldData } from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+  import {fieldData} from '$lib/views/fields';
   import ViewPicker from '../../project/browse/EditorViewOptions.svelte';
   import WsInput from '$lib/components/field-editors/ws-input.svelte';
   import {vt} from '$lib/views/view-text';
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@
         <Editor.Field.Root>
           <Editor.Field.Title
             name="Semantic domains"
-            helpId={fieldData.semanticDomains.helpId}
+            helpId={fieldData.sense.semanticDomains.helpId}
           />
           <Editor.Field.Body>
             <MultiSelect
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@
         <Editor.Field.Root>
           <Editor.Field.Title
             name="Note"
-            helpId={fieldData.note.helpId}
+            helpId={fieldData.entry.note.helpId}
           />
           <Editor.Field.Body>
             <LcmRichTextEditor bind:value={entry.note} normalWs="en" readonly={editorReadonly} onchange={() => onChange('note')} />
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@
         <Editor.Field.Root>
           <Editor.Field.Title
             name={{lite: 'Part of speech', classic: 'Grammatical info'}}
-            helpId={fieldData.partOfSpeechId.helpId}
+            helpId={fieldData.sense.partOfSpeechId.helpId}
           />
           <Editor.Field.Body>
             <Select
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/Sandbox.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/Sandbox.svelte
index 952fc32352..b744cb3a40 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/Sandbox.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/sandbox/Sandbox.svelte
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   import {Button, buttonVariants} from '$lib/components/ui/button';
   import {Checkbox} from '$lib/components/ui/checkbox';
   import {DotnetService, type IEntry, type ISense} from '$lib/dotnet-types';
-  import type {FieldId} from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+  import type {FieldId} from '$lib/views/fields';
   import SenseEditorPrimitive from '$lib/entry-editor/object-editors/SenseEditorPrimitive.svelte';
   import {InMemoryDemoApi} from '$project/demo/in-memory-demo-api';
   import {AppNotification} from '$lib/notifications/notifications';
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/OverrideFields.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/OverrideFields.svelte
index 2f1250700f..c42fee39fc 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/OverrideFields.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/OverrideFields.svelte
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 <script lang="ts">
   import {initView, useCurrentView} from '$lib/views/view-service';
-  import type {FieldId} from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
-  import type {FieldView, Overrides} from './view-data';
+  import type {EntityViewFields, FieldView, Overrides} from './view-data';
   import type {Snippet} from 'svelte';
   import {watch} from 'runed';
+  import type {FieldId} from './fields';
 
   interface Props {
     shownFields?: FieldId[];
@@ -24,20 +24,27 @@
   watch(() => [shownFields, respectOrder, $currentView, overrides] as const, ([shownFields, respectOrder, currentView, overrides]) => {
     $overrideView = {
       ...currentView,
-      fields: Object.fromEntries((Object.entries(currentView.fields) as Array<[FieldId, FieldView]>).map(([id, field]) => {
-          return [id, {
-            ...field,
-            show: shownFields.includes(id),
-            order: respectOrder ? shownFields.indexOf(id) : field.order
-          }];
-        })
-      ) as Record<FieldId, FieldView>,
+      fields: {
+        entry: overrideEntityFields(currentView.fields.entry, shownFields, respectOrder),
+        sense: overrideEntityFields(currentView.fields.sense, shownFields, respectOrder),
+        example: overrideEntityFields(currentView.fields.example, shownFields, respectOrder),
+      },
       overrides: {
         ...currentView.overrides,
         ...overrides
       }
     };
   });
+
+  function overrideEntityFields<T extends EntityViewFields>(entityFields: T, shownFields: FieldId[], respectOrder: boolean): T {
+    return Object.fromEntries(
+      (Object.entries(entityFields) as [FieldId, FieldView][]).map(([id, field]) => [id, {
+        ...field,
+        show: shownFields.includes(id),
+        order: respectOrder ? shownFields.indexOf(id) : field.order
+      }])
+    ) as T;
+  }
 </script>
 
 {@render children?.()}
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/fields.ts b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/fields.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c66c609d50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/fields.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+interface FieldData {
+  helpId: string;
+}
+
+export const fieldData = {
+  entry: {
+    lexemeForm: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Lexeme_Form_field.htm' },
+    citationForm: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Citation_Form_field.htm' },
+    complexForms: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Complex_Forms.htm' },
+    complexFormTypes: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Complex_Form_Type_field.htm' },
+    components: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Components_field.htm' },
+    literalMeaning: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Literal_Meaning_field.htm' },
+    note: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Entry_level_fields/Note_field.htm' },
+    publishIn: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Publication_Settings_flds/Publish_In_(Publication_Settings).htm' },
+  },
+  sense: {
+    gloss: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Gloss_field_Sense.htm' },
+    definition: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/definition_field.htm' },
+    partOfSpeechId: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Grammatical_Info_field.htm' },
+    semanticDomains: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/semantic_domains_field.htm' },
+  },
+  example: {
+    sentence: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/example_field.htm' },
+    translations: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Translation_field.htm' },
+    reference: { helpId: 'User_Interface/Field_Descriptions/Lexicon/Lexicon_Edit_fields/Sense_level_fields/Reference_field.htm' },
+  },
+} as const satisfies Record<string, Record<string, FieldData>>;
+
+export type EntityType = keyof typeof fieldData;
+export type EntityFields<T extends EntityType> = keyof (typeof fieldData[T]);
+export type EntryFieldId = EntityFields<'entry'>;
+export type SenseFieldId = EntityFields<'sense'>;
+export type ExampleFieldId = EntityFields<'example'>;
+export type FieldId = EntryFieldId | SenseFieldId | ExampleFieldId;
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-data.ts b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-data.ts
index 1aefcb2eca..a2cfa9aa35 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-data.ts
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-data.ts
@@ -1,35 +1,40 @@
-import type {FieldId} from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+import type {EntityFields, EntityType, FieldId} from './fields';
+
+import type {PartialDeep} from 'type-fest';
 
 export interface FieldView {
   show: boolean;
   order: number;
 }
 
-const defaultDef = Symbol('default spread values');
-
-export const allFields: Record<FieldId, FieldView> = {
-  //entry
-  lexemeForm: {show: true, order: 1},
-  citationForm: {show: true, order: 2},
-  complexForms: {show: true, order: 3},
-  components: {show: true, order: 4},
-  complexFormTypes: {show: false, order: 5},
-  literalMeaning: {show: false, order: 6},
-  note: {show: true, order: 7},
-  publishIn: {show: false, order: 8},
-
-  //sense
-  gloss: {show: true, order: 1},
-  definition: {show: true, order: 2},
-  partOfSpeechId: {show: true, order: 3},
-  semanticDomains: {show: true, order: 4},
-
-  //example sentence
-  sentence: {show: true, order: 1},
-  translations: {show: true, order: 2},
-  reference: {show: false, order: 3},
+export type ViewFields = {[T in EntityType]: {[F in EntityFields<T>]: FieldView}};
+
+export const allFields: ViewFields = {
+  entry: {
+    lexemeForm: {show: true, order: 1},
+    citationForm: {show: true, order: 2},
+    complexForms: {show: true, order: 3},
+    components: {show: true, order: 4},
+    complexFormTypes: {show: false, order: 5},
+    literalMeaning: {show: false, order: 6},
+    note: {show: true, order: 7},
+    publishIn: {show: false, order: 8},
+  },
+  sense: {
+    gloss: {show: true, order: 1},
+    definition: {show: true, order: 2},
+    partOfSpeechId: {show: true, order: 3},
+    semanticDomains: {show: true, order: 4},
+  },
+  example: {
+    sentence: {show: true, order: 1},
+    translations: {show: true, order: 2},
+    reference: {show: false, order: 3},
+  },
 };
 
+export type EntityViewFields = ViewFields[EntityType];
+
 export const FW_LITE_VIEW: RootView = {
   id: 'fwlite',
   type: 'fw-lite',
@@ -42,10 +47,11 @@ export const FW_CLASSIC_VIEW: RootView = {
   id: 'fieldworks',
   type: 'fw-classic',
   label: 'FieldWorks Classic',
-  fields: recursiveSpread(allFields, {
-    complexFormTypes: {order: allFields.components.order - 0.1},
-    [defaultDef]: {show: true}
-  }),
+  fields: {
+    entry: showAllFields(allFields.entry, {complexFormTypes: {order: allFields.entry.components.order - 0.1}}),
+    sense: showAllFields(allFields.sense),
+    example: showAllFields(allFields.example),
+  },
   alternateView: FW_LITE_VIEW,
 };
 
@@ -56,37 +62,35 @@ const viewDefinitions: CustomViewDefinition[] = [
 export const views: [RootView, RootView, ...CustomView[]] = [
   FW_LITE_VIEW,
   FW_CLASSIC_VIEW,
-  ...viewDefinitions.map(view => {
-    const fields: Record<FieldId, FieldView> = recursiveSpread<typeof allFields>(allFields, view.fieldOverrides);
-    return {
-      ...FW_LITE_VIEW,
-      ...view,
-      fields: fields
-    };
-  })
+  ...viewDefinitions.map(view => ({
+    ...FW_LITE_VIEW,
+    ...view,
+    fields: mergeViewFields(allFields, view.fieldOverrides),
+  }))
 ];
 
-function recursiveSpread<T extends Record<string | symbol, unknown>>(obj1: T, obj2: { [P in keyof T]?: Partial<T[P]> } & { [defaultDef]?: Partial<T[keyof T]> }): T {
-  const result: Record<string, unknown> = {...obj1};
-  const defaultValues = obj2[defaultDef];
-  if (defaultValues) {
-    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(result)) {
-      if (typeof value === 'object' && value !== null) {
-        result[key] = {...value, ...defaultValues};
-      } else {
-        result[key] = defaultValues;
-      }
-    }
+function mergeFields<T>(base: T, overrides?: Partial<Record<FieldId, Partial<FieldView>>>): T {
+  if (!overrides) return {...base};
+  const result = {...base};
+  for (const [id, override] of Object.entries(overrides) as [keyof T, Partial<FieldView>][]) {
+    result[id] = {...result[id], ...override};
   }
-  for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(obj2)) {
-    const currentValue = result[key];
-    if (typeof currentValue === 'object' && currentValue !== null && typeof value === 'object' && value !== null) {
-      result[key] = recursiveSpread(currentValue as Record<string, unknown>, value as Record<string, Partial<unknown>>);
-    } else {
-      result[key] = value;
-    }
-  }
-  return result as T;
+  return result;
+}
+
+function mergeViewFields(base: ViewFields, overrides: CustomViewDefinition['fieldOverrides']): ViewFields {
+  return {
+    entry: mergeFields(base.entry, overrides.entry),
+    sense: mergeFields(base.sense, overrides.sense),
+    example: mergeFields(base.example, overrides.example),
+  };
+}
+
+function showAllFields<T extends EntityViewFields>(fields: T, overrides?: PartialDeep<T>): T {
+  const allShown = Object.fromEntries(
+    Object.entries(fields).map(([id, field]) => [id, {...(field), show: true}])
+  ) as T;
+  return mergeFields(allShown, overrides);
 }
 
 export type ViewType = 'fw-lite' | 'fw-classic';
@@ -103,12 +107,12 @@ export type Overrides = {
 };
 
 interface CustomViewDefinition extends ViewDefinition {
-  fieldOverrides: Partial<Record<FieldId, Partial<FieldView>>>;
+  fieldOverrides: PartialDeep<ViewFields>;
   parentView: RootView;
 }
 
 interface ViewBase extends ViewDefinition {
-  fields: Record<FieldId, FieldView>;
+  fields: ViewFields;
   overrides?: Overrides
 }
 
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-service.ts b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-service.ts
index 8e0068bc3b..d9f5e65ec4 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-service.ts
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/lib/views/view-service.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {type Writable, writable} from 'svelte/store';
-import {type View, views} from './view-data';
+import {type EntityViewFields, type View, views} from './view-data';
 import {getContext, onDestroy, setContext} from 'svelte';
 
 const currentViewContextName = 'currentView';
@@ -50,10 +50,9 @@ export function useViewSettings(): Writable<ViewSettings> {
  * looks like `"lexemeForm lexemeForm lexemeForm" "citationForm citationForm citationForm" "literalMeaning literalMeaning literalMeaning"` etc. each group of fields in quotes is a row.
  * there are 3 columns for each row and one field per row so the field name is repeated 3 times.
  */
-export function objectTemplateAreas(view: View, obj: object | string[]): string {
-  const fields = Array.isArray(obj) ? obj : Object.keys(obj);
-  return Object.entries(view.fields)
-    .filter(([id, field]) => fields.includes(id) && field.show)
+export function objectTemplateAreas(fieldConfig: EntityViewFields): string {
+  return Object.entries(fieldConfig)
+    .filter(([, field]) => field.show)
     .sort((a, b) => a[1].order - b[1].order)
-    .map(([id, _field]) => `"${id} ${id} ${id}"`).join(' ');
+    .map(([id]) => `"${id} ${id} ${id}"`).join(' ');
 }
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/project/tasks/tasks-service.ts b/frontend/viewer/src/project/tasks/tasks-service.ts
index 2985ebc165..a66bd736cf 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/project/tasks/tasks-service.ts
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/project/tasks/tasks-service.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import {asString, useWritingSystemService, type WritingSystemService} from '$project/data';
 import {useProjectContext} from '$project/project-context.svelte';
-import type {FieldId} from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+import type {FieldId} from '$lib/views/fields';
 import {gt} from 'svelte-i18n-lingui';
 import type {IEntry, IExampleSentence, IRichString, ISense, IWritingSystem, WritingSystemType} from '$lib/dotnet-types';
 import {defaultExampleSentence, defaultSense, firstTruthy, isEntry, isSense} from '$lib/utils';
diff --git a/frontend/viewer/src/stories/editor/fields/FieldDecorator.svelte b/frontend/viewer/src/stories/editor/fields/FieldDecorator.svelte
index cba45f31c7..1dfcd9f368 100644
--- a/frontend/viewer/src/stories/editor/fields/FieldDecorator.svelte
+++ b/frontend/viewer/src/stories/editor/fields/FieldDecorator.svelte
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 <script lang="ts">
-  import type { Snippet } from 'svelte';
+  import type {Snippet} from 'svelte';
   import * as Editor from '$lib/components/editor';
-  import { fieldData } from '$lib/entry-editor/field-data';
+  import {fieldData} from '$lib/views/fields';
   import EntityEditorPrimitiveDecorator from '../entity-primitives/EntityEditorPrimitiveDecorator.svelte';
 
   let { children, subGrid = false }: { children: Snippet; subGrid: boolean } = $props();
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 <EntityEditorPrimitiveDecorator>
   <Editor.Field.Root>
-    <Editor.Field.Title name="Demo field" helpId={fieldData.definition.helpId} />
+    <Editor.Field.Title name="Demo field" helpId={fieldData.sense.definition.helpId} />
     <Editor.Field.Body {subGrid}>
       {@render children()}
     </Editor.Field.Body>