Custom Fields

Learn how to record additional information by creating custom fields such as Canvas

Updated on September 12th, 2024

Custom fields, such as canvas and radio buttons, are extra fields that you can create to record additional information for things that are not already in AroFlo.

  • Create custom fields against tasks, clients, locations, suppliers and contractors, assets, users and contacts, projects, or purchase/work orders.
  • Choose from a Text box, Numeric, Date field, Checkbox, Radio, Select and Multiselect, Text area, Barcode, Documents and Photos, Canvas, and Web Link.
  • Set custom fields to be required for task creation or completion.
  • Apply custom fields to particular task types or all task types.
  • Apply custom fields to assets added to tasks.
  • Include data from custom fields in your layouts and reports

See Task Worksheet - Using Custom Fields? to see some of these fields in action.

 

Can't see custom fields? Check your permission group!
Access to custom fields is controlled via permission groups. If you can't see or interact with them it may be because your permission group does not allow it. To check this, start in Site Administration, then click Settings > Permission Groups > Click your permission group > Custom Fields > Types, and check your access against the area where you can't see the field. To learn more about managing a custom permission group, see our page on Custom Permission Groups.

 
A Task worksheet showing custom fields

 

Custom Field Types

AroFlo includes different types of custom fields. Click through to see a summary and some examples.

Text Box

Used for entering a single line of plain text.

You can set a maximum amount of characters to be able to be entered into the text box. See below for character limits.

 
 
 
 

Numeric

Similar to a text box but only allows numeric values to be entered.
 
 
 

Date field

Select a date from a pop-up calendar.

The look of the pop-up calendar may vary depending on the section it appears (e.g. Tasks, Assets, Suppliers).

 
 
 
 

Checkbox

Used for selecting an option by clicking a checkbox.
 
 
 

Radio

Useful for presenting options where only one answer can be selected, e.g. Yes / No.
 
 
 

Multiselect

Similar to a Select field, but allows for multiple options to be displayed and selected.

Currently only available for Task and Project custom fields.

 
 
 
 

Canvas

Provides a field for creating simple drawings, or uploading an image, and then marking it up.

Currently only available for Task custom fields.

 
 
 
 

Select

Used for selecting a response from a dropdown menu.
 
 
 

Text Area

Similar to a text box, but provides a lot more space for users to enter multiple lines of text.
 
 
 

Barcode

Provides a field for scanning and recording barcodes. This custom field is available on Tasks and Assets.

This custom field includes a (scan barcode) icon in Field so you can use your phone camera as a barcode scanner.

 
 
 
 

Web Link

Provides a field for entering a weblink, e.g. a website or social media profile, for easy access.

Currently only available for Client custom fields.

 
 
 
 

Documents and Photos

Used to upload, search and view documents and photos. This custom field is currently only available on Task custom fields and Task Asset Fields.

Photos that have been uploaded to this custom field can be displayed on task emails, layouts and reports.

 

The documents and photos functionality is only available if you have Document Storage enabled for your AroFlo subscription.

 
 
 
 

 

Custom Field Areas

You can create custom fields in the following areas. Click through to see some examples.

These images have been taken in AroFlo Office, but fields do appear in AroFlo Field as well, if configured.

 

Tasks

Create custom fields to display on the Create Task screen and the Task worksheet, depending on the Task Types the fields have been added to.

Quotes

Custom Fields created on Tasks will also be visible on Quotes.

 
This Task has 2 Documents and Photos fields, 1 Select field, 1 Multiselect field, and a Canvas field

Show GIF

 
 

See Task Worksheet - Using Custom Fields? to learn more about interacting with these fields.

 
 
 

Clients

Custom fields can be displayed on Client Cards.

Display on Tasks

You can also choose to display these fields and their contained info on Tasks if you wish. See below.

 
Here we have a Radio field and a Web Link field
 
 

Locations

Create custom fields applicable to Location cards.

Here we have a Text Box field, 2 Numeric fields, a Checkbox field, and a Select field
 
 

Suppliers and Contractors

Create custom fields to appear on your Supplier and Contractor cards.

Here we have a Checkbox field, a Numeric field, and a Select field
 
 

Assets

Asset custom fields appear on asset cards, depending on the Asset Types the fields have been added to.

Barcode fields

Barcode fields include a (scan barcode) icon in AroFlo Field so you can use your phone camera as a barcode scanner.

 
Here we have 2 Barcode fields, a Date field, a Select field, and a Radio field
 
 

Task Assets

Custom Fields added to Task Assets (Task Asset Fields) appear in the Assets section of a Task worksheet on an asset, depending on the Task Types and Asset Types the fields have been linked to.

Here we have a Numeric field, a Documents and Photos field, 2 Checkbox fields, a Select field, and a Text Box field
 
 

Users and Contacts

Create custom fields to appear on your User and Contact cards.

Here we have 2 Numeric fields, 1 Checkbox field, and a Text Box field
 
 

Purchase Orders

Custom fields display on the Purchase Order worksheet.

A Select field
 
 

Work Orders

Custom fields display on the Work Order worksheet.

This is a Text Area field
 
 

Projects

Create custom fields to display on the Create Project screen and the Project worksheet.

This Project has a Date field and a Multiselect field
 
 

 

Field Types by area

Click to see a chart of which field types work in each area

  Tasks Clients Locations Suppliers and Contractors Assets Task Assets Users and Contacts Purchase Orders Work Orders Projects
Text Box
Numeric
Date
Checkbox
Radio
Select
Text area
Barcode
Web Link
Documents & Photos
Multiselect
Canvas
 
 

 

Add a custom field

  1. In Site Admin, go to Settings.
  2. Use the search box to find Custom Fields.
  3. Click the link in the relevant section, e.g. Quotes, Clients, Suppliers, Assets.
  4. Click Add Custom Field (you may need to scroll to see this button).
  5. Complete the fields and options as explained in the table below. 
  6. Click Save Custom Fields.

Archived Custom Fields

If you add a new custom field with the same name as an archived field, it will reactivate the archived field.

 

All custom fields

Field name/option Description
Field Name Enter a field name / label that describes what information is required.
Type Select the type of field from the list: Text box, Numeric, Date field, Checkbox, Radio, Multiselect, Select, Text area, Barcode, Canvas, Web Link, Documents and Photos.
Radio/Select Val This is primarily used for Radio and Select types.    
Enter a list of values you want to appear as a radio button or list selection.    
These values must be separated with a comma, e.g. Yes,No,N/A
Length Set a character limit for the custom field. The character limit for text fields is 2000 characters, except for Task custom fields which is 999.
Show in Field

Allow field users to access custom fields according to the following levels of access:

  • Full Access - Field users are able to view and edit custom fields.
  • Read Only - Field users are able to view custom fields only.
  • Read Only (If value set) - Field users are able to view custom fields only if a value exists.
  • No Access - Field users are unable to view custom fields.
Required Select this option to make the custom field a 'required' field when creating a new record, i.e: Client, Location, Supplier, Asset or User.
Archive

Click to archive the custom field if no longer required.

Custom field information will be retained in existing records.

 
 

Task custom fields

Field name/option Description
Required (Creation)

Select this option to make the custom field a 'required' field when creating a task.

This setting cannot be used for Documents and Photos or Canvas custom fields.

 
Required (Completion) Select this option to make the custom field a 'required' field when completing a task.
Task Types Click this button to apply the custom field to all task types or a particular task type (must select at least 1).
 
 

Client custom fields

Field name/option Description
Show on Task Sheet Select this option to display the custom field and the response on the Task sheet (only displays on an open Task).
 
 

Asset custom fields

Field name/option Description
Asset Type

Click this button to apply the custom field to particular asset types. If you don't choose an asset type, the custom field will be applied to all asset types.

You can select multiple asset types for each custom field. See Asset Types for more information.

 
 
 

 

Add existing custom fields to tasks

Task Custom Fields can be unique to each Business Unit.

This depends on the Site Administrator Task Setting 'Use individual Custom Fields for each Business Unit [system-wide]'. 

 

If you have individual custom fields and want to add custom fields from another Business unit:

  1. In Site Admin, go to Settings.
  2. Use the search box to find Custom Fields.
  3. Under Tasks, click Custom Fields.
  4. Click Add Existing Custom Field.
  5. Click Select Existing Custom Field to access the entire list of custom fields within the system.
  6. Select the required custom field/s and close the window
  7. Click Add Existing Custom Fields.
 

 

Update custom fields

When custom fields are set up, they will automatically appear on any new entries created (i.e. Task, Client, Location, Supplier, Asset and User entries). Existing entries can be updated by clicking the Update Custom Fields on All ... button. 

A screenshot of site administration showing the Task Custom Fields screen with the Update Custom Fields on all Periodics button highlighted in the bottom right corner of the image.

On the Task Custom Fields page, the Update Custom Fields on All ... button applies to Periodics only. New custom fields are not applied to existing Tasks.

 

You can also update individual Client, Supplier, Contractor, and Asset cards with their relevant custom fields by using the Update Custom Fields button located within the card.

 

 

Changing task types

If you change the task type on an existing task, you will be given an option on how you want to proceed, depending on the scenario. You can choose more than one option, or choose 'None of the above'.
 

Options

Option Description
Delete empty custom fields and checklist items linked to previous task type Blank custom fields and unchecked checklist items will not carry across to the task.
Add selected Task Type Custom Fields Custom fields belonging to the new task type will be added. Any of the previous task type's completed custom fields will remain visible, so no data is lost.
Add selected Task Asset Custom Fields Task asset fields belonging to the new task type will be added. Any of the previous task type's completed task asset fields will remain visible, so no data is lost.
Add selected Task Type Checklists Checklists belonging to the new task type will be added. Any of the previous task type's completed checklist items will remain visible, so no data is lost.
None of the above Saves the new task type only and does not add any custom fields or checklists related to the new task type.
 
 

 

Changing asset types

If you change the asset type on an existing task, you will be given an option on how you want to proceed, depending on the scenario. 

You can choose more than one option, or choose 'None of the above'.

 

Options

Option
Description
Delete current empty custom fields Blank custom fields from the previous asset type will be removed from the asset card.
Add selected Asset Type Custom Fields Custom fields belonging to the new asset type will be added to the asset card. Any of the previous asset type's completed custom fields will remain visible, so no data is lost.
None of the above Saves the new asset type only and does not add any custom fields related to the new asset type.
 
 

 

Archive custom fields

To archive a custom field, click the checkbox under the Archive column and Save.

To restore a custom field that has been archived, click the dropdown filter at the top right of the screen and select Archived. Uncheck the Archive checkbox and Save.

A screenshot of site administration showing the Client Custom Fields screen with the status filter highlighted in the top right. Someone has clicked the filter and it is displaying the choices Active and Archive. Archived is selected.

 

Task Asset Fields

You can also create custom fields specific to assets added to a task. This is a great way to record extra information on assets, based on that particular visit.

See Task Asset Fields for information on how to set these up.