Custom Fields
OpenAir comes with standard fields but you may find that there are other items you would like to track throughout OpenAir. To accommodate this, you can define custom fields for specific objects in OpenAir.
Custom fields are used in OpenAir for a variety of purposes:
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You can create custom fields to extend the standard OpenAir forms to track additional information.
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You can create custom fields to extend the internal entities (data items) stored by OpenAir.
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OpenAir also uses custom fields to support additional features and integrations.
Note:You can create custom fields associated with project employee combination rate records used for project employee billing and project billing. When creating the new custom field, select Uprate (API only) from the Add custom field to dropdown. The Uprate (API only) entity appears under Global in the dropdown. The custom field will be available through the XML API and SOAP API only. It will not be available on any form in OpenAir.
Important:Do not rename or amend these OpenAir custom fields as this will prevent the feature/integration from working as intended.
Custom fields display in a group based on the entity association, see Record Types and Forms Supporting Custom Fields. The group defaults to the bottom of the specific form on which they display. Form Permission Rules rules help in hiding or showing certain custom fields given certain events.
You can use the following properties to control how the custom field appears on the form:
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Divider – Dividers are used to separate different sections of the form.
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Divider text – Form section header.
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Display name
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Hint
![Custom field properties and what they correspond to on entity forms.](img/AdministratorGuide/AdministrationGlobalSettings/CustomFieldsSchema-CustomField.png)
You can view and edit custom fields from Administration > Global Settings > Custom Fields.
![Custom field properties and what they correspond to on list views.](img/AdministratorGuide/AdministrationGlobalSettings/CustomFieldsSchema-CustomFields.png)
Custom Field Rules
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You can create a new custom field from anywhere in OpenAir. To do so, select Custom fields from the Create Button
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When creating a custom field, you associate it with a particular object in OpenAir along with the type of field you are creating. The Association dropdown appears all areas of OpenAir where you may create custom fields.
Note:After a custom field has been created and associated with an object or form in OpenAir, it cannot be changed to another form or object
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For each custom field, you must define a name that contains no spaces. You may use underscores. This name is used within the OpenAir database.
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You must also include a display name that users see on the form.
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You can enter a hint that displays below the field explaining the intended use of the custom field.
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There is no limit to the number of custom fields you can create.
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By default, newly created custom fields are positioned at the bottom of the form, see Display Custom Fields before form field in Form options. After you create new custom field, you can modify the custom field to change its position, see Custom Field Position.
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After a custom field has been created it cannot be deleted if it has been used.
Tip:If you no longer need a custom field you can set it as not Active.
For step-by-step information about how to create and define a custom field, see Creating and Modifying Custom Fields.