An additional field using this extension can have up to eight separate fields. These will appear in the dialog box when the user enters and edits the field in InterAction.
Each field has the following six attributes:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Caption | The name of the field. This appears on the dialog box used to collect the values. |
| Max Length | The maximum number of characters that can be stored in the field. For text and number fields, this controls the size of the edit box for the field. |
| Field Type | The type of data the field can store. The field type also controls how the field appears on the dialog box. For details, see “Field Types for Each Column” below. |
| Required | Indicates whether the user must enter a value in the field to save the changes and close the dialog box. |
| Searchable | Indicates whether the user can search for values in this specific field. For details, see Character Limits for Field Definitions. |
| Extended | Additional information that depends on the field type, described in Field Types for Each Column. |
Field Types for Each Column
Each field within the additional field has its own data type. These control the data the user can enter in the field and how it appears in the dialog box.
The following table defines the available field types and describes how they use the Extended Field:
| Data Type | Description | Extended Field |
|---|---|---|
| Checkbox | Displays a check box and a label. | Stores the label for the field. |
| InterAction Contact | Displays a dialog box for selecting an InterAction contact. | A format string defining what contact data should appear in the field. If this is left blank, the contact will appear as Last Name, First Name. For details, see Field Strings for InterAction Contact Fields. |
| Numeric | Collects numeric values. | The maximum and minimum values the field can contain. |
| String | Collects any alphanumeric text. | Not used. |
| List | Displays a drop-down list for selecting the field value. |
The name of the list to use. You can choose Edit Lists to define lists and edit list items. For details, see Creating Lists and List Items. When selecting the name of the list to use, you can also indicate whether the field should allow items that are not in the list. If you select this option, users can type their own value in the field rather than selecting from the list. |
Searchable vs. Non-Searchable Fields
The searchable attribute of a field indicates whether you can select to search the field by itself.
For example, assume you defined an additional field for collecting language information. If the field “Language” is defined as a searchable field, you can select to search for contacts with a particular value in the Language field.
If the field “Language” is not selected as searchable, you cannot select to search for text just within the field. You can, however still search for data in the display string for the field. The display string is covered in more detail in Specifying the Display of Field Values.
Because the data is stored differently for searchable and non-searchable fields, you cannot change a field from non-searchable to searchable (or vice versa) after saving the additional field definition unless you unlock the dialog box. For details about unlocking the dialog box, see Unlocking the Settings Dialog Box for Changes.
Character Limits for Field Definitions
When defining the multiple columns for a new multi-column additional field, you are limited to 254 storage characters. However, your decision to make a field Searchable or Non-Searchable will influence the number of storage characters available to you. The 254 storage character total actually represents the number of characters you have available in only the Searchable field. Another 254 characters are available in the Non-Searchable field, allowing for a combined total of 508 storage characters. Only fields that contain data you intend to use in searches should be selected as Searchable. By appropriately designating fields as Searchable and Non-Searchable, you can take advantage of a larger storage character limit.
As you define fields in the Settings Dialog Box, you will notice that the counter located in the bottom right corner of the screen subtracts more characters than you actually enter. For example, when entering a field name into the caption field, the counter will subtract the number of characters you entered and an additional 28 characters. The 28 additional characters subtracted represent the number of characters that by default occupy the other attribute fields (Max Length, Field Type, Required, Searchable, Extended). It is also for this reason that the counter indicates 243 available characters, not 254 available characters when you first open the Settings Dialog Box to create your field definitions.
For example, if you entered “Language” in the caption field, the counter will indicate that you have 207 storage characters remaining because you have used 36 of your initial 243 characters--8 character spaces are occupied by “Language” and an additional 28 character spaces are occupied by data stored in the other attribute fields. Field definitions entered into subsequent caption fields will each result in a deduction of 29 character spaces in addition to the number of characters you have entered into the caption field.
With the exception of data entered into the Field Name for a Multiple Value additional field, data entered into any of the fields in the Settings Dialog Box are subtracted from the 254 storage characters. For this reason, it is advisable to choose short, yet descriptive, field names.
Field Strings for InterAction Contact Fields
As noted in Field Types for Each Column, you can define a format string for fields with the InterAction Contact type. This format string controls the contact data that appears in the field.
By default the format string is Last Name, First Name. Therefore if you select the contact “Jane Tarnoff” when filling in the field, her name will appear as “Tarnoff, Jane.”
If necessary, you can change the format string used – for example, you may want to display the person’s first name first. You change the format by defining a new format string in the Extended attribute for the field.
The format string can include both text and tokens for InterAction fields. Tokens are always surrounded by percent (%) signs. InterAction replaces them with the actual data.
For example, note the following formatting string:
First Name: %FIRST_NM%, Last Name: %LAST_NM%
If you select the contact “Jane Tarnoff” when filling in the field, the field value would be:
First Name: Jane, Last Name: Tarnoff
The following table lists the format string tokens you can use.
| Token | Description |
|---|---|
| ASSISTANT | Value entered in the Assistant field for the contact |
| COMMENTS | Comments entered on the Name view for the contact. |
| COMMON_NM | Common name of contact (Goes By field) |
| COMPANY_COMMON_NM | Common name of contact company |
| COMPANY_LIST_ID | ID of company associated with contact |
| COMPANY_LIST_SRC_ID | Source ID of company associated with contact |
| COMPANY_NM | Name of contact company |
| CREATE_DT | Date the contact was created |
| CREATE_ID | User ID of the user who created the contact |
| DEPARTMENT | Value entered in the Department field for the contact |
| DISPLAY_NM | Display Name of contact |
| FIRST_NM | First Name of contact |
| LAST_EDIT_DT | Date the contact was last edited |
| LAST_EDIT_ID | User ID of the user who last edited the name information for the contact |
| LAST_EDIT_NM | Name of user who last edited the contact |
| LAST_NM | Last Name of contact |
| LIST_TYP_IND | ID indicating contact type (0 - Person, 1 - Company) |
| LISTING_ID | ID of contact |
| LISTING_SRC_ID | Source ID of contact |
| MIDDLE_NM | Middle Name of contact |
| OWN_DIR_ID | ID of folder that owns the contact |
| OWN_DIR_SRC_ID | Source ID of folder that owns the contact |
| OWNER_ID | ID of the user or group that owns the contact |
| OWNER_IND | Indicates if the contact is owned and whether the owner is an individual or a group (0 – no owner, 1000 – user owns the contact, 2000 – group owns the contact) |
| POSITION_NM | Job Title of contact |
| SALUTATION | Title of contact |
| SUFFIX | Suffix of the contact |
| SYS_ID | External system's unique identifier for the contact. Only used if the contact is “owned” by a different system, such as time and billing. |
| SYS_SRC_ID | External system's unique identifier for the contact. Only used if the contact is “owned” by a different system, such as time and billing. |
Define the Fields or Columns for the Multi-Column Additional Field
- Create or edit the additional field and select to use the variable field extension as described in Configuring a Field to Use the Variable Field Extension.
- Under Field Definitions, select the first cell in the Caption column and type the name of the field.
- Enter the Max Length for the field.
- In the Field Type column, select the type for the field.
- If the field should be required and/or searchable, select the check boxes.
- Depending on the field type you selected, click the Extended column to finish the field definition.
- For check box fields, enter the label for the field.
- For InterAction Contact fields, define a format string for the contact’s name. For details, see Field Strings for InterAction Contact Fields.
- For numeric fields, enter the maximum and minimum values allowed in the field.
- For list fields, select the name of the list you want to use. If you want to allow users to enter values that are not on the list, select the Allow values that aren’t in the list check box. You must define the list first. For details, see Creating Lists and List Items.
- For String fields, you do not need to enter any more options.
- Move down to the next row and repeat steps 2-7 for each field you want to create.
- When you are finished defining the fields, move on to the next step in configuring the additional field (see Specifying the Display of Field Values).