Part 2: Creating and Using Custom Field Groups#151

Custom Fields

Custom field groups offer a great way to tailer WORK[etc] to fit your business. You can create text boxes, image/file uploaders, drop-down menus, label lists, calendar selectors, and other custom fields and then implement them throughout WORK[etc].

For example, your business may be having trouble deciding which sales agent gets which lead to work on. Using custom forms, you could implement a dropdown menu on each lead's page that lists all sales agents and allows you to select the best fit. In short, it's a way to house additional data you'd like stored in your system.

To create a new group of fields, while viewing the Custom Fields page ("Settings" > "Custom Fields") go to Create New: Group on the top left hand side. This will open the editor, which looks like this:

The first tab you start with when creating a field group is the "Fields" tab. This is where you set up the types of fields you'd like to display in your group by dragging and dropping the field type into the form.

1Blank Fields are the uncustomized, basic fields you use to set up your form. Drag-and-drop single text line boxes, multi text line boxes, image upload options, etc.

2WORKetc fields are those that integrate WORKetc data into the field. For example, with "Contact Picker", a dropdown menu will appear that loads all existing WORKetc contacts. You can also add different dropdown menus that load WORKetc activities, products, and other items.

3Existing fields are those already created and customized using previous forms. This gives you a quick way to select commonly used fields.

4 This is where you drag over and re-arrange the fields that you'd like to display in your sets of custom fields

Once you have the basic layout of your field group set up, head to the "Field Settings" tab to customize how your fields work:

1When viewing the "Field Settings" tab, click on a field in the form and the settings for that field will appear on the left hand side. In this example, "Current Projects" is the field that was clicked, as shown by the corresponding options displayed on the left. Note: Each field type has it's own settings and customization options. In the image above, the example being used is a single-line text field. For something like a dropdown menu, there will be additional options - and these are explained further down.

2The Field Name gives WORK[etc] a way of referring to that field for use inside the Custom Fields module as well as for things like reporting.

3The Field Label shows what will display beside the field when it is created and placed somewhere.

4You can make a field mandatory for completion by selecting "Required." This will be denoted by an asterisk* beside the field label.

5Set a Predefined Value to display within a text field, which can be used as an indicator to the user as to what's supposed to be put in that field.

6You can add additional instructions for the user that will display in a blue box on the right hand side of the form (as shown).

The concepts explained above are seen throughout all field settings. However, there are additional settings for more complex field types, such as dropdown menus:

These are the settings that appear when a drop-down menu type field is selected.

1The "Multi Select" option will give users the ability to select multiple options from a dropdown menu instead of just one.

2Create options for your dropdown menus using the "Choices" setting. Add and delete options, and move them up or down.

These are the settings that appear for a Label List Dropdown.

These work very similar to dropdown menus except you can change the color labeling on each option and it will display this color on the form once it's been selected.

After setting up your form you can finalize and implement it by heading over to the "Group Settings" tab:

1 Enter a name for your group of custom fields.

2 Enter a description for the custom field group.

3 Select objects in WORK[etc] on which you want these custom field groups to appear (Timesheets, Support Cases, Projects, etc)

4 Select if you want the values from the custom field groups to show on related objects. For example, if a custom field group is typically shown on Company and Person contact records, you can also have the values in those fields visible under the Support Cases as well.

5 You can also choose if you only want certain people or workgroups to see these custom fields. Select those people or workgroups from the drop down menu.

6 You can choose who you want to be able to edit the data within the custom fields by selecting a user or workgroup from this drop down menu.

Once you have created and saved the form you can go to a page and see it in action. In the example above, the form was implemented in the Projects module and can now be seen from the "Custom Fields" tab when creating a project or at the top of a project when viewing:

VIDEO OVERVIEW -- Creating and Using Custom Field Groups

Overview Part 1: Introduction to Custom Field Groups#15200:03:09: On top of the standard data input forms WORKetc offers for all of it's items, you can create custom groups of fields and have them appear in specific modules. To do this, go to "Settings" > "Custom Fields."
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