Add or Edit a Custom Field

Adding custom fields is similar for each of the custom field types. Although this procedure is for adding a contact custom field, use the same procedure to add all other types of custom fields.

When adding a custom field, you can specify whether it is visible and editable on the Service Console and, for some custom fields, visible and available to gather details on the Customer Portal. You can also specify a data type for the field, choose whether the field is required or not, and set a default value. Text field data types let you create an input mask to require that information entered in the field matches a defined format.

Note: You can create a combined theoretical maximum of 500 custom fields and system attributes for each standard object. That is, if you have 100 incident custom fields, you could potentially create 400 system attributes for the incident object. Note, however, the actual number of custom fields and system attributes depends on database-row size limits. These will vary, based on the object you're modifying and the data types of the fields you're adding. For example, a Yes/No data type will contribute less bytes towards the row size than a text-field data type. As a result, an object configured with primarily Yes/No fields will allow for more total fields than an object configured with primarily text fields. In addition, you can index a maximum of 9 custom fields for each standard object, and allocate the remainder to system attributes.

Click Configuration on the navigation pane.
Expand Database, and then double-click Custom Fields.
Do one of these:
- To add a contact custom field, in Custom Fields click Contact, then click New.
- To edit a contact custom field, click it in the tree.
Enter the name of the custom field in the Name field.
Tip: You can assign a keyboard shortcut to the custom field after you have added it on the workspace designer.

Click Data Type and select the data type for this field.

Note: You cannot change the data type when editing an existing custom field.

Custom Field Data Types

Data Type	Description
Date Field	Select this option to add a custom field for entering a date. For staff members, the date is entered using a calendar. For customers on the customer portal, the date is entered using separate drop-down menus for month, day, and year.
Date/Time	Select this option to add a custom field for entering a date and time. For staff members, the date is entered using a calendar and the time is entered through a separate field. For customers on the customer portal, the date is entered using separate drop-down menus for month, day, year, hour, and minute.
Integer	Select this option to add a custom field for entering numeric values (for example, product or registration numbers). Integer fields can contain up to 10 digits.
Menu	Select this option to add a field with a drop-down list from which customers and staff members can select an item.
Text Area	Select this option to add a text box (1-4000 characters).
Text Field	Select this option to add a text field (1-255 characters). Masks can be used only with Text Field data types.
Yes/No	Select this option to add a field with a Yes and No option.
Opt-in	Select this option to add a custom field that lets customers opt in or out of Outreach mailings and Feedback surveys. This option is available only when adding a contact custom field.

Enter field information. The available fields vary depending on the selected data type.

Custom Fields Editor

Field	Descriptions
Field Attributes	Select from these field attributes. The data type you selected determines which field attributes are available.
Column Name	Enter the name of the field as you want it to appear in the database. You cannot use spaces or punctuation, and the value cannot start with a number. The column name in the database will be appended with the prefix c$. For example, if you add a custom field with the column name calling_plan, it will appear in the database as c$calling_plan.
Indexed	Select this check box to add a database index. This is useful if you want to use this field as a fixed or runtime filter in reports. Indexing, although not necessary, can make searching more efficient when the field is frequently searched on. Indexing is not available for the text area and Yes/No data types. Also, only nine custom fields can be indexed per database table.
Required	Select this check box to make the custom field required when you initially add the field to a workspace. This setting can be overridden by the field’s behavior properties in the workspace. This option is available only for staff account and sales product custom fields.
Required for Customer Portal	Select this check box to make the custom field required on the customer portal. This option is available only for contact and incident custom fields.
Hint	Enter additional prompt information to display on the administration interface and the customer portal. The hint appears to customers to the right of the custom field in a smaller font than the name. It appears to staff members when they hover over the field on the administration interface. The hint field can contain up to 4000 characters.
Notes	Enter any notes about the custom field in this text box.
Data Details	Select from these data details. The data type you selected determines which fields are displayed in this section.
Mask	Enter an input mask to restrict what can be typed in the field when you select Text Field as the data type and the Plain Text or Phone as the usage. This option is available only with text field data types.
Default Value	Select or enter a default value for this field. Default options depend on the type of field. For example, a Yes/No field has three options from which you can choose a default (Yes, No, None). Other field types require you to enter a value.
Menu Items	To add a menu item, click Add at the top of the Data Details section. The added items appear at the bottom of the list. To delete a menu item, select the row containing the item and click Delete at the top of the Data Details section. Use the up and down arrows to change the order of menu items. This option is available only with menu data types. If you have selected this data type, you must enter at least one menu item.
Sort by Sequence in Reports by Default	Select this check box to make the custom field order the default sorting option for menu custom fields in reports. If you do not select this check box, the default option will be alphanumeric sorting.
Name	Enter the name of the item in the Name column of the menu items grid.
Default	Select the Default check box to make a menu item the default selection in the drop-down list.
Label	Enter the label of the menu item for each interface. Each language can have a different label. In interfaces that have the same language as the primary interface, the Label field will always match the menu item Name field.
Size of field	Enter the maximum number of characters for this field. This option is available for text fields. Text fields can contain up to 255 characters. This field is required if you have selected the text field data type. This field will be automatically completed if the field has a mask.
Minimum	Enter the minimum value for this field. This option is available for integers. Integers can contain up to 10 characters. This field is required if you have selected the integer data type. The smallest value allowed for this field is -2147483645.
Maximum	Enter the maximum value for this field. This option is available for integers. Integers can contain up to 10 characters. This field is required if you have selected the integer data type. The largest value allowed for this field is 2147483647.
Usage	Click this drop-down list to select how the custom field is displayed when editing a record containing the custom field: Plain Text—The value of the custom field is displayed as a plain text field. URL—The value of the custom field is a URL and staff members can click a button to open the URL in a web browser. Email Address—The value of the custom field is an email address and staff members can click a button to send an email. Phone Number—The value of the custom field is displayed as a phone number. This option is available only with the text field data type.
Interface Visibility	Select the interface visibility options and create labels and hints for this field on each interface.
Label	Enter the text prompt for the custom field. This is the prompt that staff and customers will see on the interface. Each language can have a different label. In interfaces that have the same language as the primary interface, the Label field will always match the Name field.
Hint	Enter the hint that will appear when staff and customers hover over the field label. Each language can have a different hint. In interfaces that have the same language as the primary interface, the Hint field in the Interface Visibility grid will always match the primary Hint field.

Click Save.
Click Yes.
Note: If your site has 100,000 or more rows in its database table, a flag appears next to the custom field in the Custom Fields tree along with the label “Scheduled” or “In Progress.” After the operation is complete, the Custom Fields tree is refreshed and the flag and label no longer appear.