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5. Manage custom fields

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Natalie Wong
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  • What is a custom field used for? 
  • How do I create a custom field group? 
  • How do I create a custom field? 
  • How do I link the field group to a workflow? 
  • Can I make changes to existing custom fields? 

What is a custom field used for?

Dazychain enables you to create custom project fields and activity fields to link to a project workflow. This means that each workflow can have different custom fields. They can also be applied to deliverables providing more granular progress status and information and invoices to able the collection of information such as purchase order numbers. Custom fields are created and managed for your organisation in the Custom fields area.

There are several types of fields available:

  • Available in dashboards:
    • Select list (dropdown list)
    • Monetary ('dollar' amount based on currency)
    • Date (date picker)
    • True/false toggle: checkbox
  • Not reportable in Dashboards:
    • Number: number only field
    • Text (free text field)
    • Rich text field (free text field with formatting)
    • Multi-select list (dropdown list)
    • Yearly sequence (auto-generated number in YY-01 format, restarting on January 1 each year)

It is best practice to not duplication of fields where possible. We recommend a Matter Details tab to capture all of the general high-level information relevant to all workflows, so these fields aren’t duplicated across different templates. For example, if you need to capture Key Business Contact, have this field in the Matter Details area and the Matter Details can be applied to every project workflow.

Note: To learn more about syncing custom field changes to existing and future matters see this article: Apply data field additions to existing matters

How do I create a custom field group?

  1. Click on Settings, then click on Custom fields
  2. Click on the green plus mceclip1.png button to create a new field group under Field groups
  3. Type the name of the field group
  4. Click Save, the newly created field group will be highlighted in orange. 
    mceclip2.png

Note: Multiple field groups can be added to a workflow. To define the order they appear in, click and hold the square mceclip3.png icon to drag and drop the field group.

How do I create a custom field?

  1. Scroll down to the Fields workspace
  2. Click on the green plus mceclip1.png button to add a new custom field
  3. Type the name e.g. ‘Cost Centre Code’, ‘Region’, ‘Department’, ‘Budget’
  4. Select the type of data to be collected in the custom field from the drop-down list; number, monetary, text, date, list, true/false toggle, or yearly sequence
  5. If required, tick if the field Is this field mandatory? The When is the field mandatory? selection will appear select from before create, close, offer, accept, reject, cancel, hold, recommence and recall
  6. If required, tick if the field Set default value? select or enter the default value in the Default value area underneath
  7. Click to change the privacy setting.  When privacy is on, only those within your organisation can see this field
  8. When privacy is turned off mceclip1.png external parties invited to collaborate on the matter can view this field and you can choose between the fields state Read only or Editable – click to change between the two settings
  9. Click Save
  10. Repeat steps 3 - 8 add the remaining fields you require
  11. Click and hold the square mceclip3.png icon to drag and drop the custom field to redefine the order
  12. You can have multiple field groups appear in the one workflow, these fields can also be dragged into your preferred order

Creating a List field

List fields create drop-down options for users to select to decrease data entry errors and improve reporting. To create a List field:  

  1. Click on the Field group name, e.g Matter details
  2. Click on the green mceclip1.png plus button found at the bottom right of the Fields section
  3. Enter the Field label, e.g. Business Unit
  4. Select List from the Field type dropdown
  5. Enter in the first entry e.g. Melbourne
  6. Click on the green mceclip1.png plus button on the entry you want the next entry to appear below
  7. Click on the red button to remove an entry
  8. Click on A-Z or Z-A to order the list alphabetically or reverse alphabetically
  9. Drag the mceclip3.png icon to reorder the entries
  10. Click Save

Note: Select and multi-select lists can also be toggled between selectable and not. If not selected the option will be displayed but grayed out and not available to select.

Note: Select lists can be configured to close a project and/or update a date field with the current date when a specific drop-down option is selected, see Configure dependent fields.

Creating a yearly sequence field

The Yearly sequence field automatically generates a number when a project or deliverable is created. This is useful for creating matter numbers or project codes. The format of the number is YY-01, for example, 18-45.

The sequence has the functionality to reset each year if required. This means the first two numbers will update to reflect the new year and the second set of numbers will recommence at 01. If you do not select the sequence to reset yearly, it will retain the first two numbers from the year you implemented Dazychain and the second set will continue counting. 

There is also the Unique per workflow option. If selected, each workflow the Yearly sequence field is assigned to will have its own unique count, instead of continuing the count across all workflows within the organisation. Do not check this box if you do not want duplication of numbers across your organisation. 

  1. Click on Settings
  2. Click on Custom fields
  3. Click on the relevant Field group
  4. Click on the green mceclip1.png plus button at the bottom right of the Fields screen
  5. Enter the Field label
  6. Click on the Select type dropdown list
  7. Select Yearly sequence
  8. Click in the checkbox if you want it to reset annually
  9. Click in the checkbox if you want a unique count for each workflow
  10. Click on Privacy on to change the privacy setting
  11. Click on Save

 How do I link the field group to a workflow?

  1. Select the workflow from the Field Group, it will highlight orange
  2. Scroll down to the Workflow to link to area
  3. Click on the Select workflows drop-down list
  4. Select the project, deliverable and/or invoice workflow the field group should appear on
  5. Click Link it 

    mceclip4.png

Can I make changes to existing custom fields?

Changes can be made but it’s important to note that all changes will only be applied to projects and deliverables created from that point forward existing projects will remain the same. Deleting any field or field group is permanent and cannot be reinstated.

If you are unsure, contact us for guidance and assistance. 

To edit the name of a template:

  1. Click on Settings 
  2. Click on Custom fields
  3. In the Field management workspace, click on the edit mceclip0.png button of the relevant field group
  4. A cursor will appear in the selected field group
  5. Enter in the new name

To disable custom fields:

  1. Click on Settings
  2. Click on Custom fields
  3. Scroll down to the Workflows to link to the workspace
  4. Click on the x next to the workflows you want to remove

Note: The workflow is still available and active. This action is simply removing the custom fields from displaying for that workflow.

To delete custom fields:

  1. Click on Settings 
  2. Click on Custom fields
  3. Select the relevant field group (highlighted) from the Field management workspace
  4. Click on the red circle within the highlighted area to permanently delete the group

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