--- title: "Page Data Tab for Entry Data, Queries, and External Data" description: "Learn how the Data tab in the Freeform canvas right panel lets you pin entry data, saved CDA queries, and external runtime data onto a Freeform template." url: "https://www.contentstack.com/docs/studio/page-data-tab-for-entry-data-queries-and-external-data" product: "Contentstack" doc_type: "guide" audience: - developers - admins version: "current" last_updated: "2026-07-17" --- # Page Data Tab for Entry Data, Queries, and External Data Pinning data onto a Freeform template happens in the **Data** tab of the canvas right panel. The right panel has three tabs (**Settings**, **Design**, and **Data**); there is no separate "Page Data" tab. What's specific to Freeform is **which sections** the Data tab exposes when you have nothing selected on the canvas (working at the template level, not on a particular component). ## Where It Sits ![Canvas right panel — Settings, Design, and Data tabs; the Data tab holds Additional Entry Data, Pinned Queries, and External Data accordions](https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt2d43f51baca745a8/ama097efd8584dfa44/f38361b394ceb98c6f1b9ff9/freeform-data-tab-anatomy.png) The Settings and Design tabs are **element-level**: they show properties of whichever element is currently selected on the canvas. The Data tab is element-level for component bindings _and_ **template-level** for the three pinning sections above, which is why on a Freeform template you'll typically work in the Data tab with nothing selected on the canvas. > About the section names: Studio's UI labels them **Additional Entry Data**, **Pinned Queries**, and **External Data**. The "Additional Entry Data" section pins data onto the _template you're authoring_, not onto the rendered URL. We use "template" in the surrounding prose to stay consistent with the rest of these docs; treat "Additional Entry Data" as the section's product name and "template" as where the pins live. ## What the Three Sections Do Section What it pins What binds to it **Additional Entry Data** One or more specific entries from your stack, pinned by entry UID. Each pin has a slot label so the data picker can list them. Any component prop binding can resolve against a pinned entry's fields. See [Pinned Entries](/docs/studio/pin-specific-entries-to-a-component). **Pinned Queries** One or more saved CDA queries, content type + filters + order + limit. Re-runs at render time. Typically a Repeater's Items binding, where the result list drives iteration. See [Pinned Queries](/docs/studio/fetch-dynamic-content-with-pinned-queries). **External Data** A named slot for runtime data your app passes in (a logged-in user's profile, a feature flag, anything not in the CMS). Set on the consumer side via the data prop on . Component prop bindings resolve against the path the app supplies. Useful when the layout needs personalisation context but doesn't want a CMS round-trip. The three sections cover the three sources of data a Freeform template can use beyond static prop values: pinned single entries, pinned list queries, and runtime injection. A typical Freeform landing template uses Additional Entry Data for the hero block, Queries for the dynamic list below it, and (rarely) External Data when it needs visitor-specific state. ## When the Tab and Its Sections Appear * **Freeform OFF:** the right panel collapses entirely to **Settings only**. No Design tab, no Data tab. Pinning is unreachable. (Freeform is a project-level feature switch; disabling it removes the Design and Data tabs for every template in the project.) * **Freeform ON, nothing selected on the canvas:** the Data tab shows all three sections (Additional Entry Data, Pinned Queries, External Data) at the template level. This is the primary state for adding or editing pins. * **Freeform ON, a component selected:** the Data tab shows that component's prop bindings. The Additional Entry Data, Pinned Queries, and External Data accordions remain available below, so you can pin data without first deselecting the component. The Settings-only collapse when Freeform is off explains why setup docs treat enabling Freeform as a project-level switch: turning it off doesn't just hide pinning, it hides the entire Design tab and the Data tab. ## How This Connects to the Design Tab The **Design** tab is a sibling of the Data tab in the right panel. It controls styles (tokens, classes, free-form CSS) for the selected element. It's not related to data pinning at all, and it appears for every selected component that has style configuration. See [Design Panel](/docs/studio/style-components-with-the-design-panel) for what styling controls live there, and [CMS Binding](/docs/studio/bind-cms-content-to-studio-components#design-side-binding) for binding design properties (background colour, image src, etc.) to CMS data. ## Empty State Open the Data tab on a new Freeform template with nothing selected and you'll see the three section accordions with empty states, each prompting you to pin an entry, add a query, or configure an external data slot. Click the prompt to open the corresponding dialog: entry picker for Additional Entry Data, query builder for Queries, or slot configurator for External Data. ![Freeform template right panel showing the Data tab with "No Data Connected Yet" empty state and three sections (Pinned Entries, Pinned Queries, External Data), each ready to be filled in](https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt2d43f51baca745a8/am95a1510e15a794cf/dc125533f0523597f4deabcd/data-tab-freeform.png) ## Next * [Pinned Entries](/docs/studio/pin-specific-entries-to-a-component): the Additional Entry Data section, in detail * [Pinned Queries](/docs/studio/fetch-dynamic-content-with-pinned-queries): the Pinned Queries section, in detail * [Design Panel](/docs/studio/style-components-with-the-design-panel): the sibling Design tab * [Enable Freeform Feature](/docs/studio/freeform-templates): the project switch that exposes Design and Data tabs