User defined parameters overview
User defined fields offer a method of entering information against a record which may not already be catered for elsewhere on the system. No matter how many standard fields exist within Civica Cx Housing, there will always be instances where an organisation wishes to create a new field for their own specific use, or where a seemingly common field may be used in different ways. For instance, an organisation may wish to monitor customer satisfaction ratings for their tenants, based on an internal scoring system, and further to identify situations where a follow-up call is required to understand their concerns more fully. In both scenarios, the creation of a user defined field would enable this data to be recorded. When setting up a user defined field, the end user has full control over the unique name, display caption and permitted data type - numeric values, free text, lookup values, dates, Boolean, etc. are all supported. When specifying the characteristics of a new user defined field, once the data type has been selected, only those fields required to control the permitted values for that data type remain active. For instance, where a data type of Integer is selected, threshold values can only be entered into the Integer minimum and Integer maximum fields. For a user defined lookup field, the set of permitted parameter values must first be created within a unique lookup type. On selecting a data type of Lookup, the new lookup table is then available for selection.
As part of the user defined field creation process, the end user must link the field through to a module entity within Civica Cx Housing, whether that be a contact, a contact group, an asset, etc. It will then appear automatically within the corresponding User Defined tab.
Once created, the availability of user defined fields throughout the system and any associated lookup types is controlled using an Effective to date. Once that date has elapsed, the field is no longer available for further data entry.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of user defined parameters, including: