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InterAction® Administrator Answer Center

Folder Profile Fields

  • Updated

Folder profile fields allow your organization to collect information about each folder in the system.

These fields are “tied” to the folder types. When a user creates or edits a folder of a particular type, the dialog box displays all fields for that folder type.

Don’t confuse folder profile fields with “profiles” used in the Web Client. The Web Client profiles display information for contacts and generally use additional fields; folder profile fields store information about folders, not contacts. They do not appear anywhere in the Web Client.

To use folder profile fields, you first create a set of the fields. Then, you select the individual fields from this set that should apply to a given folder type. The same folder profile field can apply to more than one folder type. If many of your folder types use the same field, you only need to define the field once.

Folder profile fields are provided primarily for backward-compatibility with InterAction 4.x. Folder profile fields are not available in a new installation of InterAction 5. Furthermore, if you did not use folder profile fields in 4.x, they are automatically disabled after upgrading to reduce confusion.

This section covers the following topics:

  • Disabling the Use of Folder Profile Fields (Upgraded Environments Only)
  • Data Types for Folder Profile Fields
  • Storing Multiple Values in Folder Type Profile Fields
  • Create a Folder Profile Field
  • Edit the List Items for a Folder Profile List Field
  • Edit a Folder Profile Field
  • Delete Folder Profile Field
  • Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type
  • Should I Use Folder Profile Fields?

Disabling the Use of Folder Profile Fields (Upgraded Environments Only)

If you have upgraded your environment from InterAction 4.x, you should consider turning off the folder profile fields feature. This feature is not available in new installations of InterAction 5 and is being phased out of the product. Turning the feature off hides it and prevents confusion for Windows Client users.

To turn off folder profile fields, do the following:

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. From the main window entity list, double-click Folder Profile Field.
  3. Clear the Use Folder Profile Fields check box and choose Save.
  4. Choose Close. The Folder Profile Field item will be removed from the main window entity list.

If you need to re-enable the feature, contact LexisNexis InterAction technical support.

Note that the folder profile fields feature is automatically turned off during upgrade if you never created any fields in 4.x.

Data Types for Folder Profile Fields

  • Each folder profile field has a specific data type. You can’t change the data type after creating and saving a new field. The data type specifies the kind of data the field can store. The data types are as follows:
  • Date fields display a drop-down calendar for collecting dates.
  • Decimal fields collect numbers with decimals. You must specify a minimum and maximum value and the number of decimal places.
  • InterAction User fields store InterAction users. These are useful for “internal contact” type fields. When users fill in the field, they can look up users by last name.
  • List fields display a drop down list of items you specify.
  • Number fields collect integers (no decimals). You must specify a minimum and maximum value.

  • Text fields collect any alphanumeric text. You must specify the maximum number of characters allowed (limit is 254).

    You can also specify whether the dialog box that collects the data should use a single-line or multiple-line edit box. This is makes it easier for end users to enter data. Note that this doesn’t change the maximum number of characters allowed – text fields always allow no more than 254 characters.

  • Yes/No fields use option buttons to collect a “true or false” value. By default the labels are Yes and No, but you can specify any labels for the options (for instance, “true/false,” “male/female,” “active/inactive,” etc.)

Storing Multiple Values in Folder Type Profile Fields

You can define any folder profile field as a multiple-value field. This allows users to enter an unlimited number of values for the field.

When defining a multiple value profile field, you can choose to include an additional “secondary” field. If you choose to use the secondary field, you can give it any label you want.

Create a Folder Profile Field

For information about adding the fields to folder types, see Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type.

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. From the main window entity list, double-click Folder Profile Field.
  3. Choose New to open the New Folder Profile Field dialog box.
  4. Type a Name and (optionally) a Description for the field
  5. If desired, enter a Category for the field. Users can sort on the category when filling in the field.
  6. Select the Field Type from the list, then complete any additional fields specific to the type that appear.

  7. To store multiple values in the field, select the Multiple Values check box.

    If you want to use the relationship field to provide more information about each field value, select the Include secondary field check box and enter the Field Name for the field.

  8. Choose OK.
  9. If the folder type profile field is a List type field, add the list items as described in Edit the List Items for a Folder Profile List Field.
  10. When you are finished editing folder profile fields, choose Close to close the Manage Folder Profile Field dialog box.

Edit the List Items for a Folder Profile List Field

For information about adding the fields to folder types, see Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type.

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. From the main window entity list, double-click Folder Profile Field.

  3. Select the field for which you want to add or edit list items and choose List Items.

    You must select a list type field.

  4. Do one of the following:
    • To create a new List Item, choose New.
    • To edit a List Item, select it from the list and choose Edit.
    • To delete a List Item, select it from the list and choose Delete.
  5. Type or edit the Name of the List Item.
  6. Choose OK.
  7. When you are finished editing list items, choose Close to close the List Items dialog box.
  8. Choose Close to close the Manage Folder Field Fields dialog box.

Edit a Folder Profile Field

For information about adding the fields to folder types, see Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type.

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. From the main window entity list, double-click Folder Profile Field.
  3. Select the field to edit and choose Edit to open the Edit Folder Profile Field dialog box.

  4. Edit the fields as needed.

    You cannot change the Field Type field or Multiple Values check box.

  5. Choose OK.
  6. When you are finished editing folder profile fields, choose Close to close the Manage Folder Profile Field dialog box.

Delete Folder Profile Field

For information about adding the fields to folder types, see Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type.

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. From the main window entity list, double-click Folder Profile Field.

  3. Select the field to delete and choose Delete.

    Tip: You can sort the folder profile fields shown in the dialog box by clicking on the column headings.

  4. When prompted to confirm the deletion, type “Yes” and choose OK.

Deleting a profile field deletes the field and values for ALL folders that use the field! If you want to remove the field for one folder type, see Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type.

Assign a Profile Field to a Folder Type

You select from the “global” set of profile fields to assign them to each folder type.

When you assign a folder type profile field to a specific folder type, you can select to make the field required. Users cannot leave a required field blank when creating or editing a folder. Note that the same folder type profile field can be required for one folder type and not required for another.

  1. Log in to InterAction Administrator.
  2. Double-click Folder Type in the entity list to open the Manage Folder Types dialog box.
  3. Select the folder type to edit and choose Profile Fields.
  4. For each field you want to apply to the folder type select the check box for the field in the Applies column.
  5. To remove a field from the folder type, clear the check box for the field in the Applies column. This deletes any existing values set for the field for folders of the type.
  6. To make a field required, select the field and choose the Set Required button.
  7. When you are finished selecting fields for the folder type, choose Close. Choose Close again to Manage Folder Types dialog box.

Should I Use Folder Profile Fields?

In general, you should avoid using folder profile fields for any information you want to use while integrating with other programs. This is because folder profile fields cannot be exported from InterAction or printed. This feature is primarily provided for backward-compatibility and is being phased out of the product.

  • However, if you choose to use folder profile fields, use the following guidelines when defining them:
  • Folder profile fields are always “global.” You create a field once, then apply it to as many folder types as necessary.
  • When creating the fields, enter a category for each one. Users can sort on the Category column when filling out the fields. This also makes it easier when assigning profile fields to a folder type.
  • The fields can be marked required. When creating a new folder, the user must fill in a value for a field if it is marked required. Be sure to only require fields if users will know the information when creating the folder.
  • Once you set the data type for a profile field, you cannot change it.
  • Any profile field can store a single value or multiple values.
  • Use consistent naming standards when defining folder profile fields.
  • Note that folder profile fields do not appear in the Web Client.