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Using Customer Fields on your site
Who is this article for?Site Administrators who are requesting Customer Fields.
Site Admin permissions are required.
Customer fields are designed to provide flexibility, beyond what's been provided in the base application. This article will provide you with information you need to start using them on your site.
1. Places Customer Fields can be used
Customer Fields can be created in the following places:
- Actions
- Appraisals
- Assets
- Audit Files
- Audit Recommendations
- Audit Universe Entities
- Categories
- Developmental Plans
- Documents
- Employee
- Employee Goal
- Feedback
- Hierarchies (Scorecards)
- Internal Controls
- Performance Indicators
- PI Groups
- Policies
- Reports
- Report Dossier
- Report Folders
- Risks
- Organisational Unit
- Scored Internal Controls
- Strategy Maps
2. Available Field Types
There are several Field types you can choose when opting for custom fields. When contacting our Support Team to get them added, please state which type you want each field to be.
| Field Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Checkbox | Provides a single tick box that can be checked or unchecked. |
| Date | Provides a Date field, which works exactly as any other date field in the application. |
| Integer | Allows any whole number to be entered. |
| Number | Allows any number to be entered. These fields can have custom minimum and maximum values. |
| Dropdown List | Provides a dropdown list, the contents of which can be customised. These fields provide the same functionality as the Expected Outcome field. In your request to Support, please make sure to quote the name you gave this list for inclusion in the dropdown list. |
| Short Text | Provides a text field with the same features as a Title field. These fields can have custom maximum values. |
| Formatted Text | Provides a free text field with the same features as a Long Description field. |
3. Viewing and editing options
In your request to the Support Team, please mention if you want the following options applied for each field.
| Field Type | Description |
| Use in Queries and Reports | By default, most field types (except Short and Formatted Text Fields) can be used as a filter in Queries and Reports. |
| Editable By |
These fields can be restricted as to who can edit them.
Without any of these options ticked, users with module or Site Admin permissions (such as Actions_Admin) will still be able to edit the field. |
| Show Empty Values | By default, Customer Fields are hidden from view until data has been added, however, this functionality can be changed. |
| Collect a mandatory value when a new object is created | By default, Customer Fields are non-mandatory, however, this functionality can be changed. This is limited to specific modules and when enabled non-mandatory fields cannot be placed in the 'Additional Fields' panel. More information about Mandatory Fields please review article: Using Mandatory Fields on your site |
| Tooltip | Tooltip can be added to the field, becoming visible when the User hovers their cursor over the field. |
| Group/Panel | Customer fields can be added into their own Panel, like those for Ownership and Linked Documents. If you wish for your fields to be included in a Panel, provide a name for the Section and state which fields you want in it. By default, new fields will appear in the Additional Fields section. |
| Display Order | The relative display order of multiple Customer fields is fully customisation relative to the section they're in. If this isn't set, the fields will display in alphanumeric order. Please note that custom fields cannot be added to the default Sections. |
4. Configuring Customer Fields
Drop Down List View fields are the only ones that you can edit yourself, providing you have Site Admin permissions. To learn more, familiarise yourself with our guide on how to add and edit Dropdown Lists on your site.
To add, Edit or Remove a Customer Fields from your site, you will need to raise a request to our Support Team. So that your request is clearly defined, please utilise our attached customer fields request template.
5. Using Customer fields
5.1. Entering data
Once a field has been created, Users with the appropriate Permissions and Ownerships will be able to enter data into them.
The following Action has an Additional Fields panel in its notebook:
By clicking on the Additional Fields heading we can choose to edit all the fields that have been added to this panel:
5.2. Using in query and report filters
When querying against Customer Fields, they will be available under the Values tab in the filter selector:
Note: You cannot query against short and formatted field types.
5.3. Using as a report field
Customer Fields can show in few places in Report Layout field selectors, like:
- The main object field panel (top option in the field dropdown). This is where fields which aren't in a specific panel are displayed.
- The bottom of the field dropdown, under the ruled line. This is where fields contained within a panel are displayed. Click on the panel name to locate the fields.
If a field is a dropdown list, then this is further split down so you can display any of the Code, Icon, or Description information that has been configured.
6. Additional/mandatory fields panel
The Additional Fields panel is the default panel where Customer Fields will be located if not added to a specific custom group/panel.
When the Mandatory feature is enabled on a module, the system is designed to convert the Additional Fields Panels to the Mandatory Fields panel instead.
However, this means that any non-mandatory fields added to this option will no longer be editable. Non-mandatory fields will need to either be made mandatory or moved into a custom group for them to then be in an editable state.
All mandatory fields added to the module type will accumulate in this mandatory fields panel to make it easier for end users to edit mandatory fields from one place.
The fields will still appear and be editable from their original panels.