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Custom Fields

Learn how to track anything and everything with Custom Fields
Custom fields are the first step towards tracking all types of work. You can provide even more information on each task and track it in way that suits your team’s needs.

Access custom field settings

To access and manage a project’s custom fields:

  1. 1.
    Go to project settings
  2. 2.
    In the project settings click on the Custom Fields Tab

From the Custom Fields Tab, you can:

  1. 1.
    View each field’s name
  2. 2.
    Identify each field’s type
  3. 3.
    See each field’s description
  4. 4.
    Edit or remove any field
  5. 5.
    Add a new field to the project

Rearrange Custom Fields in a project

Drag and drop custom fields to rearrange them in your project.

Add Fields to a Project

Add custom fields to better track and organize the tasks in your project.

Create a new Field

To create a new custom field and add it to your project from the Manage Custom Fields dialog box:
  1. 1.
    Click into the text field and begin typing the field’s name
  2. 2.
    Select Create New Field from the typeahead results
In the next window, you can:
  1. 1.
    Edit the field’s name
  2. 2.
    Select a field type
  3. 3.
    Enter a brief description for the field (optional field)
After a custom field has been created, its field type cannot be changed.

Field types

There are three available field types to choose from, two of which have an additional option associated to them:
Field
Additional Option
Drop-down
Drop-down items
Number
Decimal Places
Text
Text value
Date
Date

Use an existing field

Custom fields are global across your Organization, so you can use a custom field across multiple projects.

To add an existing custom field to your project from the Manage Custom Fields tab:

  1. 1.
    Click into the text field and begin typing the field’s name
  2. 2.
    Select the desired field you wish to add to your project from the typeahead results

Viewing fields in a project

Custom fields will appear in two places:

  1. 1.
    As columns in your main pane’s task list
  2. 2.
    As fields in your right pane’s task details
If a task belongs to multiple projects that have different custom fields, all fields will appear in the right pane’s task details.

Hide column in Task list

By default, all custom fields will appear in both the right pane and the main pane task list, but you can hide a custom field’s column from the main pane’s task list via the Custom Fields Tab.
You can display up to 3 custom fields in the task list, but up to 60 on an individual task. To change which fields are displayed, go to the Custom Fields Tab within the project settings and click on the gear icon next to each field and change display settings.

To hide a column in the task list from the Manage Custom Fields dialog box:

  1. 1.
    Hover over the field name and click the gear icon
  2. 2.
    Select Hide Column in Task List from the dropdown
If a field is hidden from the task list, an icon depicting an eye crossed out will appear next to the field in the Manage Custom Fields Tab.
Once the field has been hidden, it will no longer appear in the main pane, but can still be seen in the right pane.

Edit Fields

To edit a field from the Manage Custom Fields Tab:

  1. 1.
    Hover over the field name and click the gear icon
  2. 2.
    Select Edit Field from the dropdown
Since custom fields are global to your Organization, edits made to them will apply globally to all the projects you use the field with.

Edit Drop-down fields

When editing a drop-down field, you can:

  1. 1.
    Edit the color of the field option
  2. 2.
    Delete an option from the field
  3. 3.
    Add a new option to the field
  4. 4.
    Delete the field entirely

Rearrange drop down options

Drag and drop the drop down options to rearrange them in your custom field.
If you remove a drop-down item as an option in your field, tasks that use that item will retain the deleted item. The field could then be changed to another value, but you are not able to change a field back to a deleted item.

Edit number fields

When editing a number field, you can:

  1. 1.
    Modify how many decimal places are displayed
  2. 2.
    Delete the field entirely
Reducing your field’s decimal places will retain all current values, but they will be rounded up/down. Increase your field’s decimal places and the original value will appear again.

Remove Fields from a Project

Remove your field from a project if it is no longer needed or applicable.

To remove a field from the Manage Custom Fields dialog box:

  1. 1.
    Hover over the field name and click the gear icon
  2. 2.
    Select Remove Field from Project from the dropdown
Removing a field only removes it from the current project, it does not delete the field entirely. Other projects in your Organization with the same field will retain it and the field could still be added to other projects in your Organization.

Retained values

Removing a field from your project does not delete your field’s values from your project’s tasks.
If your field is populated, the custom field and its value will still appear in the right pane of your task’s details.
If your field is empty, the custom field will also disappear from the right pane of your task’s details.

Sort by Custom Fields

Use the view settings options to sort your project by one of your custom fields.
Click the Sort dropdown menu and select the custom field you wish to sort your project by.
Adjusting a task’s custom field value will automatically re-sort the project.
Use Advanced search to search tasks with custom fields.
Start by clicking the search bar to access the Advanced Search options. From there, click Search by another field, then select By Custom Field…

Permissions

Who can modify a project’s custom fields

Anyone with access to project settings can add, edit, or remove its custom fields. Learn more about project permissions here.

Who can modify a task’s Custom field values

Anyone with access to a task can modify the values of its custom fields. Learn more about task permissions here.

Using custom fields

Custom fields help you track work according to your team’s needs. The name and value of any field is up to you and possibilities are almost endless. Here is an example:

Stages or phases

If work moves through stages or phases, you can create a drop-down field to mark which stage the work is in. As that work progresses, you can change the stage accordingly. A sales team could track a prospect's progress along the sales process. For more on how to setup Sales pipeline with Custom Field check out guide here.

Using tags vs. custom fields

Tags and custom fields allow you to categorize, filter information. In general, custom fields are best for standard use across an Organization, while tags are more informal. We strongly advocate for the use of custom fields, which are more robust and visible than tags. Depending on your workflow, you might find that your team uses them in different ways, but here some scenarios to help you decide:

Use custom fields if you:

  • Want to add certain data to all the tasks in a project
  • Have standard information you need to track on tasks across projects (e.g., stages, costing, etc)
  • Want to make sure your teammates fill out certain information for each task in a project
  • Need to sort or search by specific data fields

Use tags if you:

  • Need ad-hoc tagging, you have unlimited options, or aren’t quite sure what needs to be tagged at the time of creation
  • Need to see the tag from My Tasks
  • Only need to mark a few tasks within a project
  • Want to mark template tasks
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Last modified 4yr ago