diff --git a/app/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior.rb b/app/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior.rb
index c74b1fb64a..c829117e59 100644
--- a/app/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior.rb
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ def load_flexible_schema
         properties_hash = current_profile['properties']
         properties_hash.each do |itemprop, prop|
           label = display_label_for(itemprop, prop)
+
+          view_options = prop['view']
           indexing = prop['indexing']
           next if indexing.nil?
 
@@ -31,14 +33,35 @@ def load_flexible_schema
             name = blacklight_config.index_fields.keys.detect { |key| key.start_with?(itemprop) }
             name ||= "#{itemprop}_tesim"
 
+            # for properties that DO exist in the CatalogController
             if blacklight_config.index_fields[name].present?
               if label
                 blacklight_config.index_fields[name].label = I18n.t(label, default: label)
                 blacklight_config.index_fields[name].custom_label = true
               end
               blacklight_config.index_fields[name].itemprop = itemprop
+
+              if require_view_helper_method?(view_options)
+                # add or update the helper method so linked fields will render correctly in the index view
+                blacklight_config.index_fields[name].helper_method = view_option_for_helper_method(view_options)
+                # the helper method for index_field_link needs the field name
+                blacklight_config.index_fields[name].field_name = itemprop
+              end
             else
+              # for properties that DO NOT exist in the catalog controller
+              if require_view_helper_method?(view_options)
+                # add the view helper method to the arguments hash when creating a property
+                index_args[:helper_method] = view_option_for_helper_method(view_options)
+                # the helper method for index_field_link needs the field name
+                index_args[:field_name] = itemprop
+              end
+              # if a property in the metadata profile doesn't exist in the CatalogController, add it
               blacklight_config.add_index_field(name, index_args)
+
+              # all index fields get this property so an admin can hide a property from the catalog search results
+              # by adding the name of the property via admin dashboard > Settings > Accounts > Hidden index fields
+              # NOTE: it is likely this will be handled by the metadata profile in the future
+              blacklight_config.index_fields[name].if = :render_optionally?
             end
 
             qf = blacklight_config.search_fields['all_fields'].solr_parameters[:qf]
@@ -49,20 +72,40 @@ def load_flexible_schema
 
           if facetable?(indexing, itemprop)
             name = "#{itemprop}_sim"
-            facet_args = { label: }
-            if indexing.include?("admin_only")
-              facet_args[:if] = lambda { |context, _field_config, _document| context.try(:current_user)&.admin? }
-            end
-
             unless blacklight_config.facet_fields[name].present?
+              facet_args = { label: }
+              if indexing.include?("admin_only")
+                facet_args[:if] = lambda { |context, _field_config, _document| context.try(:current_user)&.admin? }
+              end
               blacklight_config.add_facet_field(name, **facet_args)
             end
+          else
+            # if the property does not have facetable in the indexing section of the metadata profile, remove the facet field from the blacklight config
+            name = "#{itemprop}_sim"
+            blacklight_config.facet_fields.delete(name)
           end
         end
       end
 
       private
 
+      # Returns true if the view options require a helper method to render the linked field correctly in the index view
+      # @param view_options [Hash] the view options ex: {"render_as"=>"linked", "html_dl"=>true}
+      # @return [Boolean] to determine if the view_option_for_helper_method should be called
+      def require_view_helper_method?(view_options)
+        view_options.present? && %w[external_link linked rights_statement].include?(view_options.dig('render_as'))
+      end
+
+      # Returns the helper method that will render the linked field correctly in the index view
+      # @param view_options [Hash] the view options ex: {"render_as"=>"linked", "html_dl"=>true}
+      # @return [Symbol] helper method from Hyrax::HyraxHelperBehavior
+      def view_option_for_helper_method(view_options)
+        render_as = view_options.dig('render_as')
+        return :iconify_auto_link if render_as == 'external_link'
+        return :index_field_link if render_as == 'linked'
+        return :rights_statement_links if render_as == 'rights_statement'
+      end
+
       def display_label_for(field_name, config)
         display_label = config.fetch('display_label', {})&.with_indifferent_access || {}
         display_label = { default: display_label } if display_label.is_a?(String)
@@ -101,5 +144,10 @@ def initialize
       self.class.load_flexible_schema
       super
     end
+
+    # Hook to allow optional rendering at the app level
+    def render_optionally?
+      true
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..49663c15a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/controllers/concerns/hyrax/flexible_catalog_behavior_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,341 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe Hyrax::FlexibleCatalogBehavior, type: :controller do
+  let(:base_profile) { YAML.safe_load_file(Hyrax::Engine.root.join('spec', 'fixtures', 'files', 'm3_profile.yaml')) }
+
+  # adds additional properties to the base profile to
+  # include properties that do not exist in the blacklight
+  # config with various indexing and view options
+  let(:custom_properties) do
+    YAML.safe_load(<<-YAML)
+      properties:
+        publication_date:
+          available_on:
+            class:
+              - GenericWork
+              - Monograph
+          display_label:
+            default: Publication Date
+          indexing:
+            - stored_searchable
+            - facetable
+          property_uri: http://purl.org/dc/terms/date
+          range: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string
+        department:
+          available_on:
+            class:
+              - GenericWork
+          display_label:
+            default: Department
+          indexing:
+            - department_tesim
+            - department_sim
+            - facetable
+          property_uri: http://example.org/department
+          range: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string
+          view:
+            html_dl: true
+        related_resource:
+          available_on:
+            class:
+              - GenericWork
+              - Monograph
+          display_label:
+            default: Related Resource
+          indexing:
+            - related_resource_tesim
+            - related_resource_sim
+          property_uri: http://example.org/related_resource
+          range: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string
+          view:
+            render_as: external_link
+            html_dl: true
+        medium:
+          available_on:
+            class:
+              - GenericWork
+              - Monograph
+          display_label:
+            default: Medium
+          indexing:
+            - medium_tesim
+            - medium_sim
+          property_uri: http://purl.org/dc/terms/relation
+          range: http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string
+          view:
+            render_as: linked
+            html_dl: true
+    YAML
+  end
+
+  controller(ApplicationController) do
+    include Blacklight::Configurable
+    include Blacklight::SearchContext
+    include Hyrax::FlexibleCatalogBehavior
+
+    configure_blacklight do |config|
+      config.search_builder_class = Hyrax::CatalogSearchBuilder
+      config.default_solr_params = { qt: 'search', rows: 10 }
+
+      # tests the scenario where all properties need to be added dynamically
+      config.add_search_field('all_fields') do |field|
+        field.solr_parameters = { qf: String.new('') }
+      end
+    end
+
+    def index
+      @response = Blacklight::Solr::Response.new({}, {})
+      render plain: 'OK'
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe 'loading flexible metadata profile' do
+    before do
+      allow(Hyrax.config).to receive(:flexible?).and_return(true)
+      routes.draw { get 'index' => 'anonymous#index' }
+
+      # mock the schema retrieval to avoid database interactions
+      mock_schema = double('FlexibleSchema',
+        profile: base_profile.deep_merge(custom_properties))
+
+      allow(Hyrax::FlexibleSchema)
+        .to receive_message_chain(:order, :last)
+        .with("created_at asc")
+        .with(2)
+        .and_return([mock_schema])
+
+      controller.class.load_flexible_schema
+    end
+
+    let(:blacklight_config) do
+      get :index
+      controller.blacklight_config
+    end
+
+    context 'properties with indexing' do
+      it 'are checked for existence in the blacklight config' do
+        # metadata properties from spec/fixtures/files/m3_profile.yaml
+        %w[title_tesim depositor_tesim creator_tesim label_tesim keyword_tesim abstract_tesim].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields).to have_key(field)
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'are added to the blacklight config' do
+        # metadata properties from custom_properties should be added then checked for existence in the blacklight config
+        %w[publication_date_tesim department_tesim related_resource_tesim medium_tesim].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields).to have_key(field)
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'have a label property in blacklight config' do
+        # gets the display_label from the metadata profile and adds it as the label attribute in blacklight config
+        expected_labels = {
+          'depositor_tesim' => 'Depositor',
+          'creator_tesim' => 'Creator',
+          'label_tesim' => 'Label',
+          'abstract_tesim' => 'Abstract',
+          'department_tesim' => 'Department',
+          'publication_date_tesim' => 'Publication Date',
+          'medium_tesim' => 'Medium',
+          'related_resource_tesim' => 'Related Resource'
+        }
+
+        expected_labels.each do |field, label|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields[field].label).to eq(label)
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'have an itemprop property added to the blacklight config' do
+        # itemprop is the property name that gets mapped to the Solr field name
+        %w[title depositor creator label abstract publication_date department related_resource medium].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields[field + '_tesim'].itemprop).to eq(field)
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'adds helper methods for properties with render_as view options' do
+        # related_resource_tesim should have iconify_auto_link helper
+        expect(blacklight_config.index_fields['related_resource_tesim'].helper_method).to eq(:iconify_auto_link)
+        expect(blacklight_config.index_fields['related_resource_tesim'].field_name).to eq('related_resource')
+
+        # medium_tesim should have index_field_link helper
+        expect(blacklight_config.index_fields['medium_tesim'].helper_method).to eq(:index_field_link)
+        expect(blacklight_config.index_fields['medium_tesim'].field_name).to eq('medium')
+
+        # department_tesim should not have helper methods
+        expect(blacklight_config.index_fields['department_tesim'].helper_method).to be_nil
+      end
+
+      it 'have the render_optionally? condition added to the blacklight config' do
+        # all fields should have the render_optionally? condition
+        # this allows a Hyku hook to hide properties from catalog search results
+        %w[publication_date_tesim department_tesim related_resource_tesim medium_tesim].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields[field].if).to eq(:render_optionally?)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'properties with sidebar faceting' do
+      it 'have a facet field added to the blacklight config' do
+        # if the  property has facetable in the indexing section of the metadata profile, ensure the _sim field is added to the blacklight config
+        %w[keyword publication_date department].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.facet_fields).to have_key(field + '_sim')
+        end
+
+        # verify non-facetable properties don't have facet fields
+        %w[related_resource medium].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.facet_fields).not_to have_key(field + '_sim')
+        end
+      end
+
+      it 'have a link_to_facet property added to the blacklight config' do
+        # if the property has render_as: linked ensure the link_to_facet has the _sim field name
+        %w[keyword publication_date department].each do |field|
+          expect(blacklight_config.index_fields[field + '_tesim'].link_to_facet).to eq(field + '_sim')
+        end
+      end
+
+      context 'when a property changes from facetable to non-facetable' do
+        it 'removes the facet field from blacklight config' do
+          # manually add a facet field (simulating it existing in CatalogController)
+          controller.class.blacklight_config.add_facet_field('medium_sim', label: 'Medium')
+
+          # verify it exists
+          expect(controller.class.blacklight_config.facet_fields).to have_key('medium_sim')
+
+          # reload the schema (medium is not facetable in custom_properties)
+          controller.class.load_flexible_schema
+
+          # should not exist since medium doesn't have 'facetable' in indexing
+          expect(controller.class.blacklight_config.facet_fields).not_to have_key('medium_sim')
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'search fields' do
+      it 'have the properties added to the search qf parameter' do
+        qf = blacklight_config.search_fields['all_fields'].solr_parameters[:qf]
+
+        # verify the custom_properties are added to the search query fields
+        %w[title_tesim publication_date_tesim department_tesim related_resource_tesim medium_tesim].each do |field|
+          expect(qf).to include(field)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.display_label_for' do
+    it 'returns the display label from the config' do
+      label = controller.class.send(:display_label_for, 'test_field',
+                                     { 'display_label' => { 'default' => 'Test Label' } })
+      expect(label).to eq('Test Label')
+    end
+
+    it 'returns humanized field name when display_label is blank' do
+      label = controller.class.send(:display_label_for, 'test_field', {})
+      expect(label).to eq('Test field')
+    end
+
+    it 'uses locale-specific label when available' do
+      I18n.with_locale(:es) do
+        label = controller.class.send(:display_label_for, 'test_field',
+                                       { 'display_label' => { 'default' => 'Test Label', 'es' => 'Etiqueta de prueba' } })
+        expect(label).to eq('Etiqueta de prueba')
+      end
+    end
+
+    it 'falls back to default when locale-specific label is not available' do
+      I18n.with_locale(:fr) do
+        label = controller.class.send(:display_label_for, 'test_field',
+                                       { 'display_label' => { 'default' => 'Test Label', 'es' => 'Etiqueta de prueba' } })
+        expect(label).to eq('Test Label')
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.stored_searchable?' do
+    it 'returns true when indexing includes stored_searchable' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:stored_searchable?, ['stored_searchable'], 'test_field')
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns true when indexing includes field_tesim' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:stored_searchable?, ['test_field_tesim'], 'test_field')
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns false when neither condition is met' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:stored_searchable?, ['facetable'], 'test_field')
+      expect(result).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.facetable?' do
+    it 'returns true when indexing includes facetable' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:facetable?, ['facetable'], 'test_field')
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns false when indexing does not include facetable' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:facetable?, ['stored_searchable'], 'test_field')
+      expect(result).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.admin_only?' do
+    it 'returns true when indexing includes admin_only' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:admin_only?, ['admin_only', 'stored_searchable'])
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns false when indexing does not include admin_only' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:admin_only?, ['stored_searchable'])
+      expect(result).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.require_view_helper_method?' do
+    it 'returns true for external_link render_as' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:require_view_helper_method?, { 'render_as' => 'external_link' })
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns true for linked render_as' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:require_view_helper_method?, { 'render_as' => 'linked' })
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns true for rights_statement render_as' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:require_view_helper_method?, { 'render_as' => 'rights_statement' })
+      expect(result).to be true
+    end
+
+    it 'returns false for other render_as values' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:require_view_helper_method?, { 'render_as' => 'faceted' })
+      expect(result).to be false
+    end
+
+    it 'returns false when view_options is nil' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:require_view_helper_method?, nil)
+      expect(result).to be false
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '.view_option_for_helper_method' do
+    it 'returns :iconify_auto_link for external_link' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:view_option_for_helper_method, { 'render_as' => 'external_link' })
+      expect(result).to eq(:iconify_auto_link)
+    end
+
+    it 'returns :index_field_link for linked' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:view_option_for_helper_method, { 'render_as' => 'linked' })
+      expect(result).to eq(:index_field_link)
+    end
+
+    it 'returns :rights_statement_links for rights_statement' do
+      result = controller.class.send(:view_option_for_helper_method, { 'render_as' => 'rights_statement' })
+      expect(result).to eq(:rights_statement_links)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/fixtures/files/m3_profile.yaml b/spec/fixtures/files/m3_profile.yaml
index c88f711b38..c7944d4bfc 100644
--- a/spec/fixtures/files/m3_profile.yaml
+++ b/spec/fixtures/files/m3_profile.yaml
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ properties:
     indexing:
       - keyword_sim
       - keyword_tesim
+      - facetable
     form:
       primary: false
     property_uri: http://schema.org/keywords
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ properties:
       - Metadata
       - Repository
     view:
-      render_as: "faceted"
+      render_as: linked
       html_dl: true
   abstract:
     available_on:
diff --git a/spec/services/hyrax/m3_schema_loader_spec.rb b/spec/services/hyrax/m3_schema_loader_spec.rb
index d9c49afffd..b0fbec062a 100644
--- a/spec/services/hyrax/m3_schema_loader_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/hyrax/m3_schema_loader_spec.rb
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
         expect(schema_loader.view_definitions_for(schema: GenericWork.to_s))
           .to eq({
                    creator: { "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Creator" }, "admin_only" => false },
-                   keyword: { "render_as" => "faceted", "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Keyword" }, "admin_only" => false },
+                   keyword: { "render_as" => "linked", "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Keyword" }, "admin_only" => false },
                    abstract: { "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Abstract" }, "admin_only" => false }
                  })
       end
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@
         it 'includes fields matching the context' do
           expect(schema_loader.view_definitions_for(schema: Monograph.to_s, contexts: 'flexible_context'))
             .to eq(
-              keyword: { "render_as" => "faceted", "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Keyword" }, "admin_only" => false },
+              keyword: { "render_as" => "linked", "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Keyword" }, "admin_only" => false },
               abstract: { "html_dl" => true, "display_label" => { "default" => "Abstract" }, "admin_only" => false }
             )
         end