QEST Platform 5.6 Documentation
Applies to All

This article describes how to create, define and map custom fields to existing documents and lists. Use these instructions when information needs to be recorded which doesn't fit with the fields already available on a document or list.

Overview

Custom fields provide a way for additional information to be recorded that doesn't fit into the standard fields available in QEST Platform for documents, lists and equipment. Typically this consists of additional identification information, or specific information that a client requires to be recorded for a very large project. Administrators are able to configure user-defined fields for QESTLab work orders, samples, documents, lists and equipment. This is useful when custom data needs to be captured that is not available on existing worksheets. These custom fields may also be limited to a set of regions or laboratories. This allows for custom data that only needs to be captured in a specific region or municipality.

Document Custom Fields

Custom Field Sets

The configuration of the document custom field functionality is based around the concept of Custom Field Sets. These can be administered in the QEST Administrator Console, via Lab > Configuration > Custom Fields > Document.

A set can be thought of simply as a collection of fields, each of which can be used to store non-standard data entered by users in the QEST Platform. After creating a custom set, fields can be added to the set and further defined.

Custom Fields

Once a custom field is added to a set there are a number of properties which can be defined for that custom field.

Prompt

The prompt that will be displayed for the field input throughout the QEST Platform.

Field Name

The name to be used internally in the database. This value will be automatically set after entering a value for the Prompt which means it does not usually need to be modified. The field name is required to meet strict formatting requirements and must be unique.

Type

The following types can be chosen for the field: String, Date/Time, Integer or Decimal based on what best suits the data that will be recorded.

Length

This property only applies to fields where the String type has been chosen. The maximum number of characters that can be recorded in the field is required to be specified.

Certain properties of a custom field are not available for modification after the initial save of the field. The Field Name, Type and Length should all be checked for correctness before saving.

Format

The format column is generally useful for specifying a format for numeric, date/time and list data, and affects how the field data is displayed in QESTLab. The format strings are generally very similar to the types that you might define in Microsoft Excel (see Formatting Custom Fields for more detailed information regarding supported formats).

Link To

The Link To column is available for custom fields that are associated with a QESTLab list (see Formatting Custom Fields for more information on linking custom fields together).

Bulk Entry

The bulk entry column specifies whether the custom field will be displayed on the bulk entry for this document in QESTLab. Custom fields are displayed in the bulk entry after the standard fields for that document.

Auto-fill

The auto-fill column specifies whether the custom field uses the auto-fill feature of the bulk entry. This property can only be set if the custom field has been configured for bulk entry display. The auto-fill column also determines whether the custom field uses the cross-fill feature of QESTField.

Auto-fill in QESTLab and cross-fill in QESTField have the same purpose, to copy relevant data from the previous test/sample of the same type on the work order. They do not however behave in an identical fashion. QESTLab's bulk entry applies auto-fill each time the user selects a field or presses the auto-populate button. QESTField applies cross-fill when a sample or test is created.

Report

The Report column specifies whether the custom field will be reported by the applicable Material Test Report. The custom field will be reported using the Prompt and Format specified for the custom field. All tests which have this custom field set will report this custom field after their standard reported fields on the applicable Material Test Report.

To allow a custom field to be reported for some documents and not for others, it is possible to add custom fields with the same Field Name to multiple custom field sets. The custom fields are required to have the same Type and Length. The custom field sets cannot be associated to any of the same documents to avoid conflicts.

Document Associations

Once custom fields have been added to a custom fields set, the set will need to be associated with one or more documents. The custom fields will not be available to the user when they are working on documents not associated with the set. Typically a set should only need to be associated with a single document (such as a work order), or perhaps for all samples (Aggregate/Soil, Asphalt, etc.). This can be done on the Documents tab of a custom field set.

Associating a custom field set with a document type will add the fields to one or more database tables; see the Database Implications section later in this article.

Equipment Associations

Custom field sets can be associated with one or more items of equipment, in addition or as alternative to documents. The custom fields will not be available to the user when they are working on equipment not associated with the set. Typically a set should only need to be associated with a single equipment. The Link To, Bulk Entry, AutoFill and Report field properties are not used for equipment custom fields. The custom fields will be available for recording values with equipment calibrations. This can be done on the Equipment tab of a Custom Field Set.

Associating a custom field set with an equipment type will add the fields to one or more database tables; see the Database Implications section later in this article.

QESTField Workflow Associations

Custom fields can be displayed seamlessly within QESTField workflows. To users, they appear no different to any other data entry fields in the workflow. Custom field sets associated to a sample can be displayed on QESTField workflows that incorporate that sample type. Custom field sets can be shown at different positions within QESTField workflows, or hidden entirely in QESTField. This is configured using the Position drop down on the QESTField tab of a custom field set.

Hidden - the custom field set will not be shown in QESTField.
Start of workflow - the custom field set will be displayed at the start of the first phase of the workflow.
After sample location - the custom field set will be displayed immediately after the sample location information in the workflow. If there is no sample location information in the workflow, the custom field set will be displayed at the end of the first phase of the workflow instead.
End of first phase - the custom field set will be displayed at the end of the first phase of the workflow.

The order that custom fields and custom field sets are displayed in QESTField workflows is not configurable. They will be displayed in the same order that they are displayed in the QEST Administrator Console.

Region Associations

Finally, a custom field set must be associated with one or more regions or laboratories. This can be done in the QEST Administrator Console, via Lab > Configuration > Regions, Custom Field Sets tab. A list of all the document custom field sets in the system will be displayed. The sets will only be available for users in regions or laboratories where the set has been associated.

Custom field set associations are inherited from parent regions. These inherited associations will be display in gray text and can only be edited by navigating to that parent region.

List Custom Fields

Custom Field Sets

These can be configured in the same way they are for document custom fields.