Overview
Custom Fields let you store additional information on resources (Contacts, Inventory, and Serial Units) and elements (Quotes, Invoices, Pull Sheets, and other project elements) that Flex doesn't already have a dedicated field for. A custom field appears on its own tab rather than on the item's main record, but its data can still be pulled into reports. Custom fields are most frequently set up for building custom reports.
Accessing Custom Fields
To open the Custom Fields settings page, click the Main Menu > System Settings and select Custom Fields.
Existing custom fields are listed here along with their Field Caption, Field Type, Group, and either the Resource Class or Project Element they apply to.
Creating a Custom Field
- Click Add New Custom Field in the footer.
- Enter the new field's information.
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Type: Whether the field applies to a Resource (contacts, inventory models, serial units) or an Element (Quotes, Invoices, Pull Sheets, etc.).
- If you select Resource, additional fields will appear for Resource Class and Resource Type(s).
- If you select Element, an additional field will appear to select what project element(s) the field will appear on.
- Group Name: The name of the custom tab the field will appear on. Matching an existing group name adds the field to that tab; entering a new name creates a new tab once you confirm.
- Field Caption: The label that will display next to the field inside its tab.
- Field Data Type: The kind of data the field stores. See Field Types below for details.
- Permissions: Optionally ties the field's visibility and edit rights to an existing system permission.
- Field ID: Only needed if you plan to pull this field into a report.
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Type: Whether the field applies to a Resource (contacts, inventory models, serial units) or an Element (Quotes, Invoices, Pull Sheets, etc.).
For a Resource type custom field, you must select the "Resource Class" which determines where the custom field applies. Select Inventory for the model page, Serial Number for an individual serial unit page, Contact for a contact page or All to see the tab on all three page types.
Field Types
Determines what kind of data a custom field stores. A few examples:
Option List: selecting this reveals an additional icon for adding, deleting, and reordering the list's options.
Boolean: a simple yes/no toggle. Defaults to No until changed.
Contact: pulls a value from your Contact database.
User: pulls a value from your Flex user database, similar to Contact but limited to system users rather than all contacts.
Date: stores a date only.
Date/Time: stores both a date and a time.
Number: stores a numeric value, including decimals.
Integer: stores a whole number only; entering a decimal rounds it to the nearest whole number.
Text: a single-line text field.
Text Area: a multi-line text field for longer entries, with word wrap.
Reordering Custom Fields
Custom fields are listed in the order they'll display on their tab. To change that order, drag a field using its drag and drop icon to move it into the new position.