Custom Fields
A lightweight do-it-yourself CRM in your project
Enrich your tasks
Most of the time, for regular task and project management, default Infolio tasks should be enough. You have Status, List, Title, Tags, Assignee, Due Date, Description and Attachments. It is clear and simple enough so that you are not distracted.
But there are times when you want to add new fields to introduce an additional layer of semantics on top of our default fields. It's pretty much the same when you add a new column in your Excel spreadsheet to add a certain number or a date to your tasks. Well, the table view is the perfect place to start with custom fields in Infolio as well!
Adding custom fields
Switch your project to the table view, and on the right, you will find a small plus button next to column titles. When you click it you will see the choice of custom fields to add (and a couple of hidden default fields — task Creation Date and task Update Date).
When you add a custom field, you need to give it a name. For example, if it's a Number field, it can be "Price", "Discount" or "Phone number". In fact, the name of the field sets the semantics of how this field should be used by you and your teammates. If you manage a list of clients, you can add custom fields to save information like phone numbers, addresses, names and other. With this Infolio becomes a lightweight and easy-to-use database not just for your projects, but for general record keeping as well.
Basic custom fields
We might introduce more custom fields types in the future, but here's our main list:
Anything goes here. This is the most basic of custom fields. Use it to keep comments, names, addresses or anything that requires free form input.
Text
Add any numeric values here, like prices, amounts, percentages. The field will only allow adding digits, which is great when you use it for sorting.
Number
Add any custom dates, like birthdays, release dates, purchase dates. Keep in mind though, that custom date fields don't behave like our default Due Date field. You will not get any notification when the date approaches.
Date
On/off value. True/false. Yes/no. 1/0. If you just need a confirmation that something is done, use this field. For example, mark all the materials that need to be prepared for regular marketing jobs with separate checkboxes — graphics, banners, sounds, brochures. And then you will be able to see at a glance, what is done and what is missing. This is like a checklist that is common to all tasks in the project.
Checkbox
The dropdown is a quite complex field, but it's also the most powerful. Besides giving it a name, you need to add a list of predefined values that will be available in this field. You or your teammates can then just click and select the value from the dropdown list. What is great, you can add a custom color to every value, and this will light up your table with bright colors, while also giving you a very quick overview of what is happening in the project.
Dropdown
This allows adding multiple names to one task. Yes, there can only be one main responsible person (our default Assignee field), but you can then add the column for Developer's name, Designer's name and all other responsible people, just to have a better sense of control.
Person
Editing, rearranging, sorting and hiding fields
Custom fields can, of course, be edited or deleted. Just move your mouse over the field's title, click three dots menu and act from there. You can always rename fields or add new values to your dropdowns.
Rearranging and sorting work the same way it does for regular fields in the Table view. Click on the field's title to sort by it (click again to reverse sorting, click one more time to reset), click and drag to rearrange.
Custom fields can be deleted, and this will delete all the information stored in a given field in all the tasks, so be careful. You can also hide it in the Table view, so it doesn't take up the space in the table, but is still editable in the full screen view.
Custom fields in task's full screen view
When you click a task, it opens in full screen view. There you will find all the hidden custom fields in the special section. You can just as easily change them there. And if you need to manage your custom fields without going to the Table view, just click the "CUSTOM FIELDS".
In the custom field management panel, you can add, remove and edit existing fields, as well as rearrange them to show up in the correct order in the full screen view.
Get inspired with templates
At first, custom fields might seem too complicated, but they are really not. The easiest way to get started with them is to try a couple of our project templates. Just add a new project and for the "Project setup" choose "From template".
There you can find many examples of various projects utilizing custom fields. Even if you don't need a "Sales account management" project, for example, just add it and see how custom fields are used there. It will surely boost your imagination and inspire you to try custom fields in your personal projects.
And, as usual, if you still have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We are always glad to help.
