Content:
1. What is a custom field?
2. How to create custom fields?
3. How to manage custom fields at the board level?
4. Overview of the default/standard custom fields.
5. Where do custom fields appear on the card?
6. FAQ
1. What is a custom field?
In many cases, the fixed card fields are not sufficient to capture important information which is relevant to your project requirements and specifics.
This is where custom fields come into place. With custom fields, you can collect and track information that is unique to your projects.
The custom field is added in addition to the standard fields to customize Kanbanize for your organization's needs. The system allows you to create as many custom fields as you need.
2. How to create custom fields?
Custom Fields are created and managed at a global Account level. To create custom fields, go to the Administration menu and click "Custom fields" under Card Management. The system redirects you to the dedicated panel.
The dedicated "Custom Fields" panel stores all existing custom fields in the system. Only users having the necessary permissions can manage the custom fields in the account. Check out the FAQ section below for details on how permissions work.
All existing custom fields are stored in a table format that provides the following information for each custom field:
- Name - this is the custom field name and the color selected for the field.
- Type - the respective custom field type: text, number, dropdown, date, contributor, etc.
- Availability level - controls the custom fields' availability on the boards.
- Boards - names of boards where the custom field has been applied to.
Tip: you can filter for a board's name to find all custom fields enabled for it. - Settings - use the three dots icon to edit, disable, or delete the selected custom field.
How to create a new custom field?
Click the "New Custom Field" link on the top right side of the panel.
In the "New Custom Field" panel:
Enter the custom field name (2) and select a dedicated color that will distinguish the new custom field (1).
Select the type of your custom field (3). It might be any of the following options:
- Single line text
- Multi-line text
- Number
- Date
- Link
- Dropdown
- Contributor
- File
- Vote
- Card Picker
* To learn more about the different types of custom fields, please check the dedicated article.
(4) To be able to add this custom field to your cards, you need to assign it to the board first. Use the "+" sign to add the custom field to the boards. Click the corresponding “x” button to remove a board where the field should not be present.
Advanced Settings:
(5) Define the Custom field Availability Level in your account. Note that only Account Owners can control that setting. They can select any of the following options:
- Оn-demand - When the custom field gets created, every Workspace Manager could choose to add it to the boards they manage.
- Auto - When the Custom Field is created, it will be automatically added to all new boards. It can be managed afterward, depending on user permissions in Card Controls settings.
- Global - When a Custom Field is created, it will be automatically added to all boards and cannot be removed.
(6) You can apply any of the following custom field controls:
- Always present - controls whether this custom field must always be present on all newly created cards. The existing cards in the system will not be affected.
- Enforce Value - controls whether this custom field must always have a value for the cards it is applied to.
- Allow other value - this setting is available only for the 'dropdown' type custom field. It allows users to input a different value in a separate field.
- Lock allowed values (for 'dropdown' type fields only) - Controls whether the custom field allowed values are locked and cannot be changed per board.
- Lock properties - Controls whether the custom field properties are locked and cannot be changed per board. For dropdown type custom fields only, this option would be enabled by default on all newly created fields.
- Immutable - controls whether the value of the custom field can be changed after it has first been set. This property could be switched on/off only on the Global level (Cards management in the Administration panel).
(7) Uniqueness of values
- Any Value - Users can use the same value repetitively.
- Unique Value per Board - The value of the custom field must be unique within the board.
- Unique Value Across all Boards - The value of the custom field must be unique across all boards
(8) Prefix and Suffix
Prefix: this is a prefix to display before the custom field value. For example, if the custom field’s type is a number, then the prefix could be "$".
Suffix: this is a suffix to display after the custom field value. For example, if the custom field’s type is number, then the suffix could be "m2".
How to clone an existing custom field?
When you open the custom fields section from the Card Management tab, you will find a menu that opens up from the three-dot icon, where you can choose to clone an already existing custom field.
Upon selecting this option, a creation window will appear where the custom field’s information is already populated from the cloned custom field. You can make any necessary changes and save the cloned version as a new custom field.
Note: if you do not change the name of the new custom field, it will be saved with the original name + copy at the end to distinguish between the original and the clone.
3. How to manage custom fields at the board level?
All custom fields created in the Administration become available in the dedicated "Custom Fields" panel of the Board Sidebar.
From here, users with the respective privileges quickly check which custom fields are enabled for the board.
If the toggle is on, it means that the custom field is enabled. To enable and disable custom fields, just switch the toggle on and off.
If you have too many custom fields, you need to scroll up and down to see which custom fields are enabled for the current board. Use the Filter to quickly find the custom field you are searching for.
(1) Use the filtering option "Added to Board" to get a shorter list with the custom fields that are used in the respective board.
If you select "All", the panel displays all custom fields created in the account, including standard/default ones.
(2) Use the "Reorder Custom Fields" link to be able to make the order of the custom fields in the way you want them visible on the card.
Note: the arrangement of custom fields is now managed on a board level and applies across all cards.
(3) Use the "pencil" icon per custom field, to change some of its characteristics. Note that you can change only the color, the advanced settings, and the default values from here.
4. Overview of the default/standard custom fields.
There are four standard custom fields, which are commonly used in project and process management. They are default system fields, and users who design and maintain the team's workflow make the decision to enable them or not.
- Reporter - if you add this custom field to the board, whenever you create a card on that board, the system will automatically display the user who created the card (card creator).
- Created at - if you add this custom field to the board, whenever you create a new card, the system will automatically display the time (date/hour) when it was created.
- Last modified - if you add this custom field to the board, whenever you create a new card, the system will automatically display the last time the card was modified (date/hour).
- External link - if you add this custom field to the board, whenever you create a card on that board, the system will automatically add this custom field where you can add a link to a different website.
Those custom fields are always present in the "Board Custom field Management" panel that you access from the Board Sidebar. You would not have to create them in order to use them.
Select "All" to display all custom fields in your account, and the three fields appear at the top of the list. Slide the toggles on to enable them for the respective board.
Note: The fields “Created at”, “Last modified”, “Reporter”, and "External Link" are considered system fields and can be made available either on all cards on the board or be hidden at all.
Note:
To make the standard fields visible at the closed card preview, you need to configure the Card settings accordingly. Please, check the dedicated article to manage that setting.
5. Where do custom fields appear on the card?
There are several options that give you flexibility with the custom fields' visualization on the cards.
Option 1: Custom fields become available as a selection in your cards. Open a card and go to the Card Fields and make your selection of custom fields to add to the card. You can select any or all of the custom fields.
The fields will become available inside the card, and you can insert values to complete the fields.
Note: You can add custom fields to your cards using the Card Context menu.
Let's see it in action:
Option 2: If you select the "Always present" option during the custom field creation process, the respective custom fields will always be present inside the cards, and you will not need to add them manually.
Option 3: You can make some or all of the custom fields visible at the card preview. This facilitates your everyday work with the fields as you can complete and monitor them without opening the card.
For that purpose, you need to configure accordingly the Card Settings, which are related to the custom fields preview. To learn more, please check the dedicated article.
6. FAQ
Q: Who can create and manage custom fields?
A: There is a Security Control related to Custom fields under the "Card Controls" section.
In the first place, the card control options define who in the account will be able to create, edit, and delete custom fields. This could be set to Account Owners/Admins*, Account Owners/Admins* and Workspace Managers, or everyone in the account (any user role).
* - An Admin is a user who is not an Account Owner but has the 'Manage Card Elements' admin privilege.
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Q: I have created a new allowed value for my dropdown custom field, but it is not available for cards on my board.
A: Custom fields are created on the account level (via Account Administration-> Card Management-> Custom Fields), but they can be separately managed for each individual board (where the field is added).
If you have added the new value on the account level and the field's properties/values are not locked (the 'lock properties/allowed values' option is not enabled), it is expected for the change (adding the new value) to not propagate to all boards where the field is added.
If a particular field's values need to be different across all boards, you would need to manually add the value on the desired board via the board's sidebar menu-> 3 dots-> Custom Fields.
If the field's values should be identical on all boards across the whole account, you can lock the allowed values or the properties of the field on the account level.
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Q: I have the Workspace Manager role, I have the ability to create and manage custom fields, however, I am receiving the following error message when attempting to modify a particular custom field via the Account Administration menu:
"You cannot edit this custom field because it is added on board(s) where you don't have permissions."
A: The custom field in question is most likely added to another board, for which you do not have the Workspace Manager role, therefore, you cannot manage custom fields on it.
The error/warning message is presented as modifying the custom field (on the account level) will impact both of the boards on which the field is added, and this might not be desired by all involved parties and therefore has to be coordinated between them.
If the field itself is not locked on the account level (the 'lock properties' option is disabled), the field can have different settings on each separate board, so you should still be able to modify the custom field's settings by opening it from the board (via the sidebar menu) to which you have access.
If the field is locked on the account level (the 'lock properties' option is enabled), it will not be possible to have different settings per board, so the changes to the field need to happen centrally - from the Account Administration menu.
Due to the mentioned error message, those changes would have to be performed either by one of the Account Owners, or a user that is a Workspace Manager on all of the boards where this particular custom field is added.
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Q: I have a custom field that is set as 'always present', but I am not able to see it on cards while on the board view (closed card view).
A: The visibility of custom fields (and/or other card elements and properties) can be individually customized by each individual user for each individual board.
Navigate to the 'Configure Card View' menu that can be found in each board's sidebar menu on the right.
From there, you can choose to display all custom fields or only a few of them.
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Q: Can I change a custom field's type after it has been created?
A: No. Custom fields' types cannot be changed. You would need to create a new custom field instead.
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Q: I have a custom field that automatically appears on every new card I create, and I do not have the option to remove it.
A: The custom field is most likely configured as 'always present' for the board in question. Please get in touch with one of the Account Owners or Workspace Managers so they can adjust the custom field's settings.