User-defined fields

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A user-defined field (udef) is a custom field that you add to a standard SuperOffice database table. You can extend the following entities:

  • Company
  • Contact
  • Documents
  • Follow-up
  • Project
  • Sale

User-defined fields are managed in Settings and maintenance, in the Fields screen. In the application, user-defined fields are visible in the More tab of the entity they were added to. For example, a user-defined field on a company is shown on the More tab in the Company screen.

Note

Everyone can update the data stored in a user-defined field. Only an administrator can add (or remove) a user-defined field. You need a Development Tools license to customize the layout of the More tab and to use page 1 fields.

Field types

There are 8 types of user-defined fields:

  • Number: whole number, unlimited number of digits.
  • Short text: text with a maximum of 39 characters. Specify in the Text length field, which is enabled when you choose this option, the maximum number of characters users can type into this field.
  • Long text: text with a maximum of 199 characters. Specify in the Text length field, which is enabled when you choose this option, the maximum number of characters users can type into this field.
  • Date: date between 01.01.1970 and 19.01.2038.
  • Unlimited date: any date.
  • Checkbox: a checkbox.
  • List: a list box (drop-down). Select a list from the system in the field below.
  • Decimal: a number with decimals.

Maximum number of fields

The following limitations apply to the number of user-defined fields you can specify in each of the Company, Contact, Project, and Sale tabs.

  • Number, Date, Check box, and List: Maximum of 60 in all.
  • Short text and Unlimited date: Maximum of 40 in all.
  • Long text: Maximum of 9 in all.
  • Decimal: Maximum of 10 in all.
Note

Indexing fields is recommended for better performance, especially in large datasets. Four fields in each group are reserved for indexes. If no fields are indexed, the total number of custom fields is reduced to 103, as 16 slots are left unused.

Indexed fields

Indexing speeds up data retrieval and enhances the user experience.

You can index as many fields as needed by selecting the Indexed checkbox when creating or editing a field. Indexes are automatically updated when you publish your changes.

New from version 10.3.1:

  • You can now index more than 4 fields in each group (Long, Double, String[40], String[200]) per entity.

  • Data no longer shifts between fields when you publish index changes, making publishing faster regardless of the table size (number of rows).

Page 1 fields

Among the user-defined fields that are displayed in the More tabs in SuperOffice, you can choose three that will function as page 1 fields (so called because they are displayed on the "first page" in their respective screens).

Placement:

  • The Company tab in the Company screen
  • The Contact tab in the Contact screen
  • The Project tab in the Project screen
  • The Sale tab in the Sale screen
  • The Details tab in the Document dialog
Note

Page 1 fields require a Development Tools license and are not applicable if you are using another layout via the Screen designer.

Examples

User-defined fields for companies

Your company sells software and user support services. The user support department needs to know how many employees and PCs the various customers have. They also need to know what sort of maintenance agreement the customers have and when they expire.

You can then add these fields to the Company screen:

Field name Type Description
Number of PCs Number A number field where you can register the number of PCs.
Number of employees Number A number field where you can register the number of employees.
Maintenance agreement List A list of the various types of maintenance agreement you offer. The list must be created in the Lists screen.
The contract expires Date A date field where you can register the expiry date for the contract.
Application A; Application B; Application C Checkbox Three checkboxes where you can check the applications that the customer has purchased.
Note

The fields you add are displayed in the More tab in the Company screen. To display them on the company card, specify them as page 1 fields.

User-defined fields for sales

When you create a sale, it may be practical to enter the products you have sold and how many.

You can then add these fields to the Sale screen:

Field name Type Description
Product Long text A text field where you can type in the name of the product that was sold.
Quantity Number A number field where you can register the number of units sold.
Tip

Here, you can also use a list field if you have created a list of the products that you sell.

User-defined fields for projects

You want the budget for a project to be easily visible to the project members.

You can then add these fields to the Project screen:

Field name Type Description Remarks
Budget Decimal A number field where you can enter a sum. Choose for the field to be displayed on page 1.

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