Introduction to Custom Fields

Modified on Sat, 05 Nov 2022 at 06:02 PM

Have you ever thought it would be wonderful for your pet sitting database to contain any data you wanted, presented in just about any way you could imagine, with any permission combination you need? Custom Fields makes this possible.

You have the power to design a custom database, with whatever data fields you need in a client account, a pet record, a staff record and Service Reports, which is also reflected in a customized Client Portal. Not only can you maintain the data your business needs, you can set permissions on a field-by-field basis to allow different access and editing rights to only those groups you permit: Staff and Clients.

How do Custom Fields work?

The data in Client and Staff accounts is organized in an order, which starts as a Page followed by Sections followed by Fields.

Your data consists of separate pages of information, and each page has Sections and each Section has Fields where data is input. Additionally, the data is dynamic, meaning you can control the input options or questions, depending on the answer to a previous question. For example, if a client is completing a pet record for a cat, you can ask a different set of questions than for a dog.

Tip: Your database comes with a standard set of pages, sections and fields and you may find that these are exactly what you wanted to ask! However, custom fields gives you the option to create your own fields, or you can edit the ones that are already included.

Note: A few fields are "system" fields and these cannot be changed or removed.

Navigation: Admin > Custom Fields

Create your own Pages of Information

Your first step is to create pages for the data you collect, for example, you may need a "boarding" page or a "pet sitting" page. In addition to creating new data fields you need, you can also modify the existing fields in the template to remove some or change how they are labeled. See Add a Page in Custom Fields.

Create Sections within Pages

Sections are a great way to organize data on a page. For example, "Emergency Contact 1" and "Emergency Contact 2." Emergency Contact 1 would display as a BOLD Heading with the fields for Emergency Contact 1 underneath it such as: Name, Number and if they have a key to your house. Emergency Contact 2, would be the next Bold heading with more data fields underneath it, etc. See Add a Section in Custom Fields.

Create Fields within Sections - as many as you like

Fields typically contain a single piece of information such as "Date of Birth." Fields live in "Sections" and can have a variety of formats and styles such as:

Simple Text
Multiline Text (notepad)
Multi-choice dropdown
Multi-choice radio button
True/False
Phone
Email address
Postal address
Date
URL
Number
Image
Document

See Add a Field in Custom Fields.

Move Information around with Ease

Move Fields up and down within a Section.
Move Sections up and down within a Page.
Change the order in which pages are presented.
Move an entire Section to a different page.
Move Fields to different Sections.

Customize your Service Report

You can add or edit the questions and sections in the standard service report so you can control exactly what information is being given to your clients by your staff at their visit. You would use the same methods for Adding a Page, Adding a Section and then Adding Fields to set up your questions or checkboxes you want staff to complete.

Controlling Access to Data for Staff and Clients

Set permissions on a Page, Section or Field-by-Field basis to allow access and editing rights to only those groups you permit: Staff and Clients.

Hide Pages, Sections, and Fields altogether (so the information is completely hidden and does not show to anyone).
Hide Pages, Sections, and Fields from Clients.
Prevent Clients from Updating data.
Hide Pages, Sections, and Fields from Individual Staff or all Staff.