About User Defined Fields

User Defined Fields (or UDFs) are custom fields that can be added to Issuetrak by Administrators to allow additional information to be provided in:

  • Issues
  • Organization records
  • User records
  • Asset Types (if licensed)
  • Products / Services records in the Billing Module (if licensed)

If you are an Administrator in Issuetrak, you can find the menu to edit UDFs by navigating to the gear icon in the upper right corner and then choosing User Defined Fields beneath System within Settings Lightbox. On the right context menu, there are three sub-menu options corresponding to where they will appear in Issuetrak: Issue, Organization, and User.

 

Issue UDFs

The Issue Fields screen allows User Defined values to be specified as types:

UDF Type Description
Text Text UDFs can contain free-form text up to a limit of 250 characters. These also have the distinction of a toggle for "Exact Match" search mode when searching issues with this UDF.
Large Text Large Text UDFs can contain free-form text up to a limit of 7800 characters.
List (Single-select) List (Single-select) UDFs are a form of table-driven fields that can contain entries with up to 50 characters each.
When present on an issue, a user may select a single value.
Single-select Lists can be (irreversibly) converted into Multi-select Lists.
Each value on the list can be toggled, but is active by default. Active entries can be selected on issues, while inactive entries are not displayed at all when selecting from the dropdown. List UDFs are presented on the Edit Issue screen as a filterable dropdown that will display up to 100 entries as you type.
List (Multi-select) List (Multi-select) UDFs are a form of table-driven fields that can contain entries with up to 50 characters each. When present on an issue, a user may select multiple values.
Each value on the list can be toggled, but is active by default. Active entries can be selected on issues, while inactive entries are not displayed at all when selecting from the dropdown. List UDFs are presented on the Edit Issue screen as a filterable dropdown that will display up to 100 entries as you type.
Task-Associated Task-Associated UDFs are a subset of List UDFs. While editing a Single or Multi-Select List UDF, you are able to define a task group that can be associated with each value in the list. When a value on the UDF is selected by a user, the task group associated with that value gets added to the issue after the user saves their changes. If multiple selections are made on the UDF, then the task groups will be added top-to-bottom in the order that their respective selections appeared in the UDF.
Date Date UDFs simply allow users to set a date from a calendar.
Decimal Decimal UDFs allow users to enter a decimal value from -2147483647.99 to 2147483646.99. A secondary limitation is that this field is limited to 250 characters.
Integer Integer UDFs allow users to enter an integer value from -2147483648 to 2147483647.
Yes / No Yes / No UDFs allow users to set the field to either "Yes" or "No".
Hyperlink Hyperlink UDFs allow users to enter a hyperlink into the field, up to a limit of 250 characters.
Issue Association Issue Association UDFs allow users to link other issues that are related to the issue they are currently working on.

Once created, any fields will be available to be included on any issue form. Fields are automatically included on the Issuetrak Screen but must be manually included on any other created screens. Only users with the Can view and enter content in Private Optional Fields permission will be able to view and maintain fields with Private selected.

Additionally, the selections and content from these fields are copied over to new issues when:

  • Cloning issues
  • Using Issue Templates
  • Scheduled Issues are configured to use specific values or Issue Templates
  • Submitting multiple new issues via Global Issues
  • IEM is configured to use Issue Templates that contain user-defined fields with values pre-selected

Issue Association

Issue Association UDFs are displayed in either single or dual columns, depending on the information relevant to the current issue.

  1. The first column is entitled "Associated Issues", and it can display either None or a list of issues that have been added to the current issue from the Edit Issue screen. The issues listed here have been linked from the current issue.
  2. The second column is entitled "Listed On", and it will only display if there is relevant data. When this column is displayed, it shows a list of issues that the current issue has been associated with. The issues listed here have linked the current issue from the issues listed.

Some additional information about Issue Association UDFs:

  • Users require "Can Edit Issues" permission in order to add or remove issues to associate with this field.
  • Issues linked in this field will open in a new browser tab.
  • This field is reportable in Report Writer via the following columns in all Issue data sets:
    • [UDF Display Name] Associated With Number
    • [UDF Display Name] Associated With (All)
    • [UDF Display Name] Listed On Number
    • [UDF Display Name] Listed On (All)

Adding Issue UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click + Add button and then select the type of field from the dropdown list.
  3. Give the field a name in the Display Name field.
  4. (Optional) You may set a Tooltip to appear when hovering over the field.
  5. (Optional) Toggle whether the field should be Private. Private fields are only visible to users with the permission "Can view and enter content in Private User Defined Fields".
  6. (Optional) Toggle Show on Search to determine whether the field should show on the Search Issues screen.
  7. (Optional) For Text, Decimal, Hyperlink, Integer, Issue Association, and List (Table Driven) fields, define the width of the field to appear on the screen. Sizes range from Tiny – 75px to 5XL – 700px. If not adjusted, the default of XL – 300px will apply.
  8. Click Save, and the popup window will disappear and your field will appear on the list of UDFs.

If you chose to add a List UDF, see "Editing Issue UDFs" below for steps to add values to your new List UDF.

Editing Issue UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Find the UDF that needs to be changed and click the corresponding edit link next to it.
  3. Make the desired adjustments.
  4. When finished, click Update.

Converting Single-select Lists into Multi-select Lists

List (Single-select) fields can be (irreversibly) converted into Multi-select fields during the edit process above by clicking on the "Convert to Multi-select List" button. You'll be asked to confirm your decision, since it cannot be undone.

Defining the Possible List Values

Additionally, the values that appear in the field's dropdown selection list will need to be defined.

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on the pencil by the appropriate field within either the "List (Single-select)" or "List (Multi-select)" section.
  3. Adding a single value:
    1. Within the bottom half of the lightbox that appears, click on + Add New.
    2. Enter the Display Name and (Display) Order for each dropdown value.
    3. Each entry is toggled Active by default, but can be toggled to inactivate them. Active entries can be selected on issues, while inactive entries are not displayed at all when selecting from the dropdown.
    4. You may optionally set a task group for the value by selecting one from the Task Group dropdown.
    5. Click the green check mark to save the value.
  4. Bulk adding values: You may perform a bulk import of values for the UDF from CSV, or other character-delimited files containing a list of values. All entries will be set to Active and have a display order of 0.
    1. Within the bottom half of the lightbox that appears, click on + Add Bulk.
    2. Enter your list of items in the first field.
    3. Enter the character delimiter in the second field, if you are entering data from a character-delimited source such as a raw CSV.
    4. Click Add List Items.
  5. Continue to add additional values by repeating either step 3 or 4, depending on your needs.
  6. Once all values are defined, click on Save.

Deleting Issue UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Find the UDF that needs to be deleted and click the corresponding trash can icon next to it.
  3. Click OK on the warning pop-up to confirm that you wish to delete this UDF.

 

Organization UDFs

Organization UDFs are fields that will appear on all Organization records in your Issuetrak site. These fields appear in your Organization records based on their activation by a System Administrator(s). Once activated, corresponding values for these fields can be maintained by users with Can access and maintain Administration functions from Organizations > User Defined Fields. The custom fields configured on the User Defined Fields – Organization Record screen will display on all organization records.

Activating Organization UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on Organization on the right quick menu.
  3. Select and enter a Label for each field.
  • Table Driven fields are fields with the Administrator-defined selectable values. Once activated, a User Defined Fields menu option will appear in the Organization right context menu. From this menu, the corresponding tables can be populated with appropriate values.

*Note the Settings option right underneath the User Defined Fields header. This is a shortcut you can use to quickly get back to make changes to the Organization's UDFs.

  • Text Fields are fields with no pre-determined values. These fields will appear as free fields in Organization records.
  • Date Fields will require a date value that can be entered or selected from a popup calendar in an Organization record.
  1. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Editing Organization UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on Organization on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the UDF that you wish to change, then make the desired changes.
  4. Once the changes are complete, click Update.

Inactivating Organization UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on Organization on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the corresponding UDF that you wish to inactivate, then uncheck its checkbox.
  4. Click Update.

 

User Record UDFs

The custom fields configured on the User Fields screen will display on all user records. There are pre-programmed fields for user ID, password, first and last name, phone, email, pager email, mailing address, and time zone. You may define additional information needed on user records (as well as issue and organization records) following the steps outlined below. However, there is a limit to how many of these fields you can create in each format.

Activating User UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on User on the right quick menu.
  3. Select and enter a Label for each field.
  • Table-driven – selected from a drop-down list. Once activated, a User Defined menu option will appear in the User menu. From this menu, the corresponding tables can be populated with appropriate values.

*Note the Settings option right underneath the User Defined Fields header. This is a shortcut you can use to quickly get back to make changes to the Organization's UDFs.

  • Text-based – entered freely
  • Date-based – entered in date format or selected from the calendar search
  1. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

Editing User UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on User on the right quick menu.
  3. Find and edit the UDF you want to change.
  4. Click Update once the changes are complete.

Inactivating User UDFs

Steps:

  1. Click the gear icon in the upper right > click User Defined Fields beneath Issue Setup.
  2. Click on User on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the UDF you want to inactivate, then uncheck its corresponding checkbox.
  4. Click Update.

A confirmation message will appear when this process is complete.

 

Asset Management Module UDFs

The Asset Management module provides two possible UDF types for Asset Types: Text fields and Table-driven fields. These fields can be used to store any kind of information about the asset type you add them to. It isn't necessary to activate Asset Management UDFs. Once you've created UDFs for an Asset Type, the UDFs are available for use with each asset matching that Asset Type. You may choose whether or not to populate the UDFs when you fill the information in.

Adding Asset Management UDFs

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Asset Management > Asset Tables.
  2. Click on List beneath Asset Types on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the Asset Type that you want to add UDFs to, then click its corresponding edit link.
  4. For each UDF you want to add, click Add next to the corresponding type.
  5. Fill in the name of the UDF.
  6. Click Save.

Editing Asset Management UDFs

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Asset Management > Asset Tables.
  2. Click on List beneath Asset Types on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the Asset Type that you want to edit UDFs for, then click its corresponding edit link.
  4. For each UDF you want to edit, click edit next to the corresponding UDF.
  5. Make the desired changes.
  6. Click Save.

Deleting Asset Management UDFs

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Asset Management > Asset Tables.
  2. Click on List beneath Asset Types on the right quick menu.
  3. Find the Asset Type that you want to delete UDFs for, then click its corresponding edit link.
  4. For each UDF you want to delete, click del next to the corresponding UDF.
  5. Click OK to confirm you want to delete the UDF.
 

Billing Module Optional Fields

Customers that utilize the Billing Module have the option of creating user-defined Optional Fields for Products and Services. This requires Administrative privileges. Three Optional Fields can be defined for the Billing Module, and they are all Text fields. These cannot be changed to Date or Table-driven fields.

Activating Billing Module Optional Fields

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Billing.
  2. Click Optional Fields beneath Product/Services on the right quick menu.
  3. A field may be activated by entering a label into it.
  4. Click Update.

Editing Billing Module Optional Fields

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Billing.
  2. Click Optional Fields beneath Product/Services on the right quick menu.
  3. Edit the desired field label.
  4. Click Update.

Deactivating Billing Module Optional Fields

Deactivated fields will be removed from the Products/Services screen.

Steps:

  1. From the left menu, click on Billing.
  2. Click Optional Fields beneath Product/Services on the right quick menu.
  3. Deactivate a field by removing its label.
  4. Click Update.

Searching UDFs

When you use the look-ahead search for UDFs, there are various operators / modifiers that you can apply to your search criteria to achieve specific results. That is, by inserting specific characters in your search terms, you can specify whether you want matches within words, or that contain certain numbers, or that exclude certain characters. We'll explain what these characters are and what they do in the table below:

Symbol Description Example
% Represents zero or more characters bl% finds bl, black, and blue
_ Represents a single character h_t finds hot, hat, and hit
[] Represents any single character within the brackets h[oa]t finds hot and hat, but NOT hit
^ Represents any character NOT in the brackets h[^oa]t finds hit, but NOT hot and hat
- Represents any single character within the specified range in the brackets c[a-c] finds cat, cbt, and cct, but not cdt

Additional notes:

  • The ^ character is only treated as a special character if it's inside brackets.
  • The - (dash) character is treated specially by Issuetrak. Starting a search with - followed by text searches for results not containing that text.
  • If the %, _, or [ characters are needed in the actual search, then they must be surrounded with brackets, like so: [%], [_], [[].
  • If the - (dash) character is needed in the beginning of the search, it must be surrounded with brackets, like so: [-]
  • The ] character can be used normally in search text since it only has special meaning when combined with a [ character.
  • The ^ can be used normally in search text since it only has special meaning when used inside brackets.
  • To search for the text [ytdsgPh87], enter [[]ytdsgPh87] in the search field. Searching for the text [ytdsgPh87] would search for issues that have a 'y', or a 't', or a 'd', etc.
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