If your firm uses the Task Dashboard for workflow management, you might find it useful to customize fields on tasks to assist you with tracking project data that doesn’t fit into any of the standard task fields within BigTime. You have the ability to add fields to your tasks and customize your Task Dashboard to show this data.
Creating Custom Fields on Tasks: Step by Step
1. Click WORKFLOW...BOARD to navigate to your Task Dashboard.
2. Select a particular task from the list. Click on the task name to open the task details.
3. Choose the ADD/EDIT CUSTOM FIELDS button. On the General Info tab of a task, scroll down to find this item toward the bottom right of the screen.
4. Click ADD NEW FIELD. This will create a new field box.
5. Set field details. Select the PENCIL ICON to bring up a menu for editing this new field’s details. Use the down arrow to select the field type option from the Field Type list. You can also generate a default value for the particular field from the Default Value field, and select types from Types, if applicable. Note that if a type is assigned for a custom field, that value will appear only within tasks that belong to that task type category.
6. Click SAVE FIELDS (and don’t forget to create a field label before doing so) when you’re satisfied with your selections and ready to start using this field.
TIP: Picking the Right Field Type
Use this simple guide to help you decide which field type fits what you’re looking for:
- Boolean: Select this field type to make a checkbox available for your custom field, where checking/unchecking the box would indicate a true/false value, respectively.
- Currency: Use this field type for a currency value.
- Date: Select this field for date values.
- Double: This field types allows the input of number values with decimal points.
- Integer: Use this field to input whole number values.
- Link: Select this field to include a link to a particular website or web address.
- Lookup: Choose this field to create a picklist menu, and designate which values from the Types menu appear.
- Percent: Use this field type to create percent values.
- String: Choose this option to enter text data.
Viewing Custom Fields on the Task Dashboard
After you’ve created custom fields on tasks, you can edit your Task Dashboard to reflect these fields.
1. Click the GEAR ICON on the upper right side of the Task Dashboard. This will open your list of available fields.
2. Select your custom fields. Scroll down to the Custom Fields section and place a check mark next to the custom fields you would like to add.
3. Arrange your custom field columns. Place the new fields where you’d like them to appear using the SIX DOTS icon.
4. Click the APPLY button to update the selection, and now your custom fields will be visible on the Task Dashboard.
FAQ
- DO CUSTOM FIELDS APPLY JUST TO THE TASK RECORD IN WHICH THEY’RE CREATED OR ACROSS THE BOARD TO ALL OF MY TASKS? These fields are universally available across all tasks, unless you’ve specified a type for a custom field. In that case, that custom field will pertain only to and be visible from only tasks that match that specific type.
- WHY CAN’T I SAVE MY CUSTOM FIELD? Ensure that the new custom field has a name. You will be unable to save this item without it.
- WHAT DETERMINES THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE UNDER THE TYPES PICKLIST WHEN CREATING CUSTOM FIELDS? These options are determined by the types you created from the Task Workflow Manager, accessible from WORKFLOW...TASK TYPES. Learn more about configuring task types and workflow in BigTime from Setting up and Managing Your Workflow.
- CAN I INCLUDE CUSTOM FIELDS ON REPORTS? Yes. While custom fields don’t automatically appear on any of BigTime’s canned reports, you can include custom fields by adding these columns to an existing task-based report, or making your own custom report. Learn more about customizing reports by reading Creating Custom Reports.