diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.html b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.html
index e6b7bcc50..016a41f14 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.html
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.html
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@
                 (createNew)="createField($event)"
                 title="Field"
                 i18n-title
+                placeholder="Choose a field"
+                i18n-placeholder
                 hint="Where the extracted value is written."
                 i18n-hint
               ></pngx-input-select>
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.spec.ts b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.spec.ts
index b205ed504..027b08de8 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.spec.ts
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.spec.ts
@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ describe('OcrTemplateEditorComponent', () => {
       y: 100,
       width: 900,
       height: 150,
+      custom_field: null,
     })
     expect(component.selectedZoneIndex).toBe(0)
   })
diff --git a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.ts b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.ts
index 75c2d47e3..a611b643f 100644
--- a/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.ts
+++ b/src-ui/src/app/components/manage/ocr-templates/ocr-template-editor/ocr-template-editor.component.ts
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ export class OcrTemplateEditorComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
     return {
       name: `Zone ${this.template.zones.length + 1}`,
       target: DEFAULT_OCR_ZONE_TARGET,
-      custom_field: this.defaultCustomFieldId(),
+      custom_field: null,
       x: rect.x,
       y: rect.y,
       width: rect.w,
@@ -632,10 +632,6 @@ export class OcrTemplateEditorComponent implements OnInit, OnDestroy {
     }
   }
 
-  private defaultCustomFieldId(): number | null {
-    return this.customFields[0]?.id ?? null
-  }
-
   onOverlayPointerCancel(event: PointerEvent) {
     if (this.overlayInteraction.kind === 'idle') return
     if (this.overlayInteraction.pointerId !== event.pointerId) return