To create a user defined field

The procedure to create a user defined field is as follows:

Navigate to Quick Menu > System > Configuration > User Defined Definition. The User Defined Definition window is displayed.
Click on New Definition. All fields are activated ready for data entry.
Using the Table name drop-down field, select the module entity for the new user defined field e.g. Contact_User, ContactGroup_User, Asset_User.
Using the Column name field, enter a unique identifier for the user defined field. The syntax must exclude spaces and special characters (? / \ # & ! ^ % £ $) 1.
Use the Display name field to specify the preferred name for the user defined field i.e. as it will appear throughout the system.
Where the field will be reserved for sensitive data and therefore access must be restricted to specific users only, activate the Confidential tick box provided 1.
Using the Data type drop-down field, select the desired format to match the user defined field - Date Only, Date Time, Decimal, Integer, Lookup, Text, Time Only, True or False (summarised in the table below). The corresponding criteria fields are activated 2.
Specify the required data type criteria, range or user defined lookup list to control the permitted response type.
Using the Display order field, enter a numeric value to specify the position of the user defined field within each associated module tab 3.
Using the Companies drop-down field, multi-select all companies for which this user defined field is relevant, or choose the All option, as required 2.
Choose an Effective from date for this user defined field i.e. the date on which it came into effect 4.
Choose an Effective to date if the user defined field expires on a specific date or to capture a change of circumstances; a blank field means the lookup value will never expire 5.
Click on Save.

Tip

1 To aid in identification purposes, it is good practice to devise and uphold a consistent naming convention for all user defined field names.

2 Where only a small number of parameter values are not required, activate the All tick box first and then de-select individual items from the full list, as required; the All tick box will be automatically removed once an item is de-selected.

Note

1 This option is only activated for the module entity Contact_User; permissions to amend or view confidential fields within a contact record are controlled through the Contact User Defined - Confidential role-based security privilege.

2 No additional criteria is required for data types Date Only, Date Time, Time Only and True or False.

3 Where no Display order value is recorded, an alphabetical sort will be assumed.

4 The Effective from date defaults to the current system date and cannot be left blank.

5 To remove the user defined field, change the Effective to date to be in the past.

Data Type	Criteria Fields	Comments
Date Only	None	Accepts a single date value in the format DD/MM/YY or DD/MM/YYYY.
Date & Time	None	Accepts a single date and time value in the format DD/MM/YY (DD/MM/YYYY) HH:MM.
Decimal	Decimal minimum & Decimal maximum	Accepts a single decimal value entry, within maximum and minimum range thresholds specified at the point of initial set-up.
Integer	Integer minimum & Integer maximum	Accepts a single integer value entry, within maximum and minimum range thresholds specified at the point of initial set-up.
Lookup	User defined lookup type	Accepts one of a range of user-defined parameter values, displayed in a lookup list.
Text	Text maximum length	Accepts free text entry up to a maximum number of characters specified at the point of initial set-up, steered by the system preference Max user defined field text length.
Time Only	None	Accepts a single time value in the format HH:MM.
True or False	None	Accepts a Boolean response. The field will be displayed as a tick box, where active = True and inactive = False.

See related topics...

User defined parameters overview

To create a user defined lookup type

To create a user defined lookup parameter value

To create a new role

To define a system preference value