Creating Custom Field Templates For Collections

Custom field templates applied to Collections better capture important details specific to the needs of teams. Four types of custom field templates are available:

1. Text Fields
2. Select Menus
3. Checkbox Groups
4. Rich Text Fields

Any number and combination of custom field templates is possible.

Any user with write permission for Workstation: Custom Fields Templates can create, edit, or delete custom field templates.

Creating Custom Field Templates

The Custom Field Templates screen provides the tools necessary for creating custom field templates.

To access the screen:

1. In the Designer Screen's left-hand drawer, click the Custom Field Templates icon. The Custom Field Templates screen opens.
2. In the Custom Field Templates column, click the blue + Custom Field button. The Create Custom Field Template column opens to the right of the screen.

The available options for the custom field template depend on the type selected from the Field Type menu. It is not possible to edit the Field Type after creation.

Note

When creating a new custom field template, a default Field Name is generated. Field Name has a 50 character limit and outputs a specific name to the custom field template when used in a collection.

Text Fields

Text input fields allow collection analysts to capture important details. Text fields:

• Are limited to 3,000 characters.
• Do not support markdown and rich text.

Example of a Text field: "Report Summary", allowing for a one paragraph summary of complex reports to improve review and collaboration workflow.

To create a text field:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, click the Field Type dropdown menu.
2. Select Text Field. (Text field is also the default selection for Field Type.)
3. At the top of the Edit Custom Field Template, change the field name as desired.
4. Click the white Submit button to create the text field, or Cancel to discard it.

Select Menus

Select menus are dropdown lists of customizable values that analysts can select one value at a time.

Example of a Select Menu: "Sent to Decision Maker", in which the options are "Yes" or "No".

To create a select menu:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, click the Field Type dropdown menu.
2. Select Select Menu.
3. At the top of the Edit Custom Field Template column, change the field name as desired.
4. Click the Field Options + button to add a new field option.
   • Repeat step 4 as often as needed.
   • Refer to these instructions to delete any unnecessary fields.
5. Click the white Submit button to create the select menu, or Cancel to discard it.

Checkbox Groups

A checkbox group is a list of items that analysts can click to toggle.

Example of a Checkbox field: 'Case Attributes' in which the options are DUI, Arrest, Assault, Drug-related, etc.

To create a checkbox group:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, click the Field Type dropdown menu.
2. Select Checkbox Group.
3. At the top of the Edit Custom Field Template, change the field name as desired.
4. Click the Field Options + button to add a new field option.
   • Repeat step 4 as often as needed.
   • Refer to these instructions to delete any unnecessary fields.
5. Click the white Submit button to create the checkbox group, or Cancel to discard it.

Note

Select menus and checkbox groups can contain any number of Field Options. On the left side of each field option, a checkbox can toggle whether the option is the default response. Any new collection created will automatically use this default value for the custom field.

Rich Text Fields

A rich text field allows analysts to record critical analysis using a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. This format allows analysts to seamlessly move text captured within Workstation to third-party document editors such as Microsoft Word.

Rich Text Fields can:

1. Support up to 50,000 characters
2. Underline, bold, italicize, or strikethrough text.
3. Use ordered and unordered lists.
4. Indent text.
5. Use font styles, such as colors, headers, and text highlighting.

To create a rich text field:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, click the Field Type dropdown menu.
2. Select Rich Text Field.
3. At the top of the Edit Custom Field Template, change the field name as desired.
4. Click the white Submit button to create the checkbox group, or Cancel to discard it.

Using Field Options and Field Values

Field options comprise the selections in a select menu or the list items in a checkbox group. They contain an Option Label field and an Option Value field, although only the option label is required.

The Option Label field outputs as a list item for the collection analyst to select or interact with.

The Option Value field applies the desired value to the option label it is associated with. This value is used primarily in the Audit Viewer.

Adding Field Options

A checkbox group or select menu can hold any number and combination of field options.

To add a field option:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, click the + button to create a new entry.
2. In the Option Label field, enter the desired option label.
3. In the Option Value field, enter a value to assign to the Option Label if desired.

Re-Ordering Field Options

The order of field options for a select menu or checkbox group can be altered to change how list items are displayed.

To re-order field options:

1. On the Custom Field Templates screen, in the Edit Custom Field Template column, hover the mouse cursor over any field option. The cursor changes to a hand icon.
2. Click and drag to re-order field options.

Deleting Field Options

If a field option needs to be removed, or was created by mistake, it can be deleted.

To delete a field option:

1. In the Edit Custom Field Template column, locate the Field Option to delete.
2. Click the trash can icon (🗑) and confirm deletion, or click Cancel to discard changes.

Warning

Any collections that use a deleted custom field option will lose reference to it.

Editing Custom Field Templates

Changing attributes of custom field templates is possible. It is also possible to change the following custom field template types:

• From text (plain text) to rich text.
• From select menu to checkbox.

These fields cannot return to their old value, and no other fields can be changed.

To edit a custom field template:

1. From the Custom Field Templates column, locate the custom field template to edit.
2. Click the pencil icon (✎).
3. In the Edit Custom Template column, change any value, or drag options around to reorder them.
4. Click the Submit button to save edits, or Cancel to discard.

Deleting Custom Field Templates

If a custom field template needs to be removed, or was created by mistake, it can be deleted.

To delete a custom field template:

1. In the Custom Field Templates column, locate the custom field template to delete.
2. Click the trash can icon (🗑) and confirm deletion, or click Cancel to discard changes.

Warning

Any reference to a deleted template is removed from all collections that utilized it.

Re-Ordering Custom Field Templates

The order of templates listed on the Designer > Custom Field Templates tab can be altered to affect how other users see the list of templates. It can be efficient to move recently created or highly used custom field templates to the top of this screen.

To re-order custom field templates:

1. In the Custom Field Templates column, hover the mouse cursor over any custom field template. The cursor changes to a hand icon.
2. Click and drag to re-order custom field templates. Reorder field templates within groups as well.

At the bottom right of the screen, a green toast indicates that custom fields have been successfully re-ordered.

Grouping Custom Fields

It can become necessary to group similar custom field templates together for readability and navigation. Add groups, then assign custom fields to each group as needed. To create, edit, or delete custom field groups, users should have read and write permissions for Custom Field Templates.

Similar to reordering custom field templates and custom field options, drag to reorder groups. The order of groups and custom fields from the Designer screen is reflected in the custom field templates used in collections.

Creating Custom Field Groups

To create custom field groups:

1. At the top of the Custom Field Templates column, click + Group.
2. In the right side column, enter a Field Group Name. By default, the group name My New Custom Field Group is used.
3. Click Submit to create the group, or Cancel to discard your changes.

Adding Custom Fields to Groups

Once a group is created, add custom fields to it.

To add custom fields to groups:

1. In the Custom Field Templates column, locate the custom field template to add to a group and click its Edit icon.
2. In the right side column, locate the Field Group dropdown menu.
3. Select the custom field group the template should be added to.
4. Click Submit to add the custom field template to the selected group, or Cancel to discard your changes.

Editing Custom Field Group Names

The custom field group name can be changed at anytime.

To edit custom field groups:

1. In the Custom Field Templates column, locate the custom field group to edit.
2. Click the Edit icon.
3. In the right side column, enter a new Field Group Name.
4. Click Submit to confirm changes to the custom field group name, or Cancel to discard those changes.

Deleting Custom Field Groups

Delete a custom field group to remove it. Deleting groups only removes the group, not any custom field templates within the group.

To delete custom field groups:

1. In the Custom Field Templates column, locate the custom field group to be deleted.
2. Click the trash can icon to delete the group.
3. Click Delete to confirm deletion, or Cancel to stop the operation.