---
title: "Managing and Editing Fields"
slug: "managing-and-editing-fields"
updated: 2024-01-30T16:28:05Z
published: 2024-01-30T16:28:05Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/managing-and-editing-fields"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing and Editing Fields

### **Managing and Editing Fields**

**Field Manager: Editing Fields**

User-Defined and System fields can be edited, but only certain aspects of the field are able to be edited. To manage and edit fields, go to the **Manage/Setup** menu, select **Field Manager**, and then select **Manage Fields**. ![Manage Fields location](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/1(267).png) The **Manage Fields** screen displays. From the **Select a table to manage** drop down menu, select the table for which to manage the fields. Once the table is selected, a list of all fields for the selected table shows.

**Editing Fields**

To edit a field, click **Edit** for the line item to be altered.

![Click Edit to edit a field](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/2(200).png)

The Edit Field screen for the selected field opens.

Fields that cannot be edited are highlighted in red below:

- Field Name
- Field Type
- Is System (can the field be deleted or not)

**Note:** Fields that have **Is System** set to Yes cannot be deleted.

Fields that can be edited are highlighted in green below:

- Display Name
- Field Group
- Field Order
- Required?
- Show on Email Alerts
- Help Description
- Visibility

**Note:** For Text Box, Drop Down, and Multi-Select List Box field types, the **Default Values** can be edited as well.

Once the Field has been edited, be sure to select the "Save" button to save any changes. ![Click Save to save your changes](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/3(149).png)

**Reordering Fields** To move the order in which the fields are displayed, there are two options: 1. Drag and drop the field line item to move. ![Drag and Drop the field to move](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/4(109).png) 2. Click the **Edit** for the line item you would like to move and select the new position in **Field Order**. ![Field Order and Save highlighted on edit fields](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/5(70).png) **Specifying Which Fields will Show on Email Alerts** To specify which fields you would like displayed on e-mail alerts, go to the **Manage/Setup** menu, and navigate to **Field Manager** > **Manage Fields**. Select the table to manage from the drop down menu. The **Show on Emails** column displays for the field line items. ![Show on Emails for fields](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/6(54).png) To change whether a field is displayed on e-mail alerts, click **Edit** for the field to alter the **Show on E-mails**. ![Show on Email Alerts for field](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/7(39).png)

**Field Visibility**

**![Field Visibility](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/Field%20Manage%20-%20Visibility(1).png)**

With the **Visibility** dropdown, users can control if a field will be seen on an add, edit, or view screen. The options are:

**Visible:** If the field is set to visible it will show on add, edit and view screen.

**Invisible:** If the field is set to invisible, then it will render on screen but will not be visible to user and the default value for that field will get saved in DB.

**Hidden:** If the field is set to hidden, then it will not render and default value will not be saved.

Additionally, a complete breakdown of where the field is utilized is shown below field details. ![Add Conditions to Show Field](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/8(31).png) This information is important when it comes to deciding if a field should be deleted from the application or not. It is a standard best practice not to delete any field that is currently being used anywhere within Contract Insight. Doing so risks breaking other parts of the application.

**Show/Hide Fields Based on Field Values**

Additionally, You are able to control a fields visibility based on another field's value.

The **Add Conditions to Show Field** table allows the setting of rules for the field visibility based on another field's value.

![Add Conditions to Show Field](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/managing-and-editing-fields-image-n11to7zb.png)

You select your **Parent Field** and click **Add** to bring you to another window for you to set your rules.

![Parent Field for conditional field](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/managing-and-editing-fields-image-fwxjjr9r.png)

**Operator** has 2 options: **=** and **!=** (Equal to and not equal to) and **Value** is a pick-list of values from the **Parent Field** you had selected earlier.

**Note:** Be sure all **Fields Used On/ Assigned To** is empty before deleting a field.

### **Field Types**

| **Text** | The Text field type can be used to save characters or a mix of characters and numbers. The text field type will create a "varchar" data type in the underlying table. |
| --- | --- |
| **Integer** | The Integer field type can be used to save integer numeric values. This can be used for whole numbers. |
| **Checkbox** | The Checkbox field type can be used to create a field that can save a TRUE or FALSE value visually as a tick mark. |
| **Currency** | The Currency field type can be used to create a field that can save currency data. |
| **Date** | The Date field type can be used to create custom fields that can save dates. Dates should be formatted as 'mm/dd/yy' or 'mm/dd/yyyy'. |
| **Date Time** | The Date Time field type can be used to create custom fields that can save dates and times. |
| **Drop Down** | The Drop Down field type can be used to create a custom field that contains list items to pick from. Enter the list items (separated by commas using NO spaces after the comma) in the default value box. |
| **Multi Select Drop Down** | The Multi-Select field type can be used to create a custom field that contains list items to pick from. This differs from a Drop Down in that the user can select multiple items from the list. Enter the list items (separated by commas using no spaces after the comma) in the default value box. |
| **Multi Line Text Box** | The Multi-Line Text field type is similar to the Text field type in that it can be used to save characters or a mix of characters and numbers. This multi-line text box differs from a text box in that the user can enter multiple lines of text into multiple lines (the text box will not wrap into multiple lines as a multi-line text box will). |
| **Hyperlink** | The Hyperlink field type is used to include a clickable link to a URL or email address. This field type has three options from which to select upon creation: Email Link, URL Link, and URL Link (open in a new window). Email allows an email address to be entered and, when clicked, launch the user's default mail manager with the address pre-populated in a new message. The two URL Link options are for web addresses and to open in the record's window or in a new window/tab. Friendly Text can be entered so users so not see the address but specified text instead. This field is not supported on subtable grids and will not be able to be added in a subtable bulk add. |
| **Password** | The Passwords field type allows users to enter "password" values that hide the actual values with password-type characters. |
| **Rich Text Editor** | The Rich Text Editor field type is similar to the Multi-Line Text field but allows formatting and additional options when adding/editing the field value. |
| **Slider** | The Slider field type can be used to create a custom field that contains list items from which to pick. This differs from a Drop Down field in that all options are displayed and a sliding indicator is used to select an option. Enter the list items (separated by commas using no spaces after the comma) in the default value box. This field is not supported on subtable grids and will not display as a slider on subtable grid views. |
| **Decimal** | The Decimal field type allows users to enter a decimal value with a two (2) digit number to the right of the decimal. |
| **Decimal 4** | The Decimal 4 field type allows users to enter a decimal value with a four (4) digit number to the right of the decimal. |

**Note:** The system does not permit duplicate custom field names.

**Unique Values**

CobbleStone® provides a method of ensuring unique values are entered for a given field and that no two (or more) records share the same value.

![Mark as unique for the field and click Save](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/9(17).png)

**Note:** To enable duplicate checking from the Edit/Details screens, navigate to **Manage/Setup** - **Application Configuration**, select the General System group, and set **Unique Record Check while Editing Record** to True. This setting impacts all fields with duplicate checking enabled.

![Application Configuration Settings - Config Settings: General System](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/10(13).png)

**In-Line Value Adding**

Coupled with permissions is an option to add counterparty, MRD, and/or employee records in-line when adding a new record. To permit in-line adding for a field, from the Field Manager for that field, set **Allow Add-Inline** to Yes.

![Allow Add-Inline setting](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/11(13).png)

**Show 'Mark as Unique' on Field Manager grid**

The screenshot below has updated the Field Manager to show the ‘Mark as Unique’ column on the grid so users do not have to open the field to see which are set as unique.

![Mark as Unique column highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/12(9).png)

### 

### **Advanced Field Notes**

| All user defined custom fields are saved to the table source with the prefix of **u_** appended to the field name. The end user will not see the **u_** prefix. |
| --- |
| The Drop Down field types are saved to the table as a **varchar** data type. |
| User defined **field names** cannot be modified. Their **display names**, however, can be. |
| User defined fields can be deleted, however, this action is permanent and all associated data saved in the user defined field is deleted. |
| System defined fields cannot be deleted or modified without customization from CobbleStone® Software. |
| Any field (standard or user-defined) may be included in email alerts. |
| Adding a large volume of fields to a screen will slow down page load and navigation to and from pages with a large number of fields. |