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Adding custom fields
Answer ID 1131   |   Last Review Date 02/27/2024

What are the fields to define when adding a custom field?

Environment:

Custom Fields, Creating / Editing
Oracle B2C Service

Resolution:

Important! It is best to add custom fields (as well as edits to navigation sets and agent workspaces) during off-peak hours. When custom fields are added, update statements must be performed against the corresponding database table. During the time of the updates, the records in the table are inaccessible. As a result, your staff members will not be able to open or save records associated with the table that is locked. In addition, depending on the type of field being added, your end-users may have difficulty submitting assistance requests through the Ask a Question page.

For example, when adding a contact custom field, the contacts table is locked to allow the custom field to be added in to all of your contact records. As a result, staff are unable to open or save incidents since the contact information is opened along with the incident record.


 

Custom fields can be added for several different record types, including:

  • Common
    • Staff Account
    • Contact
    • Organization
    • Sales Products
    • Task
  • Service
    • Incident 
    • Answer
    • Opportunity
    • Opportunity Tracking
    • Quote

See 'Custom Field Types' for a description of each type.


When adding a custom field, you must specify one of the following types of custom field you want to add. 

  • Date
  • Date/Time
  • Integer
  • Menu
  • Text Area
  • Text Field
  • Yes/No
  • Opt-in


When adding custom fields in your Oracle B2C Service application, several items must be defined to configure the new field. The Field Configuration table below defines the field descriptions when configuring custom fields. The specific fields that display depend on the type of custom field you add.  Not all fields appear for each type of custom field that you add. 

Note: Once a custom field has been created and saved, the Data Type cannot be changed.

To access Oracle B2C Service manuals and documentation online, refer to the Documentation for Oracle B2C Service Products.

To add a custom field:

  1. Open the Configuration menu
  2. Select Database
  3. Select Custom Fields> Type of Field.
  4. In the ribbon at the top select New
  5. Configure the field settings.
  6. Click Save.

Note: Depending on the size of the Table you are modifying (eg: Number of Incidents and/or Contacts on your site), adding Custom fields can take awhile to complete.  If the Custom Field persists in showing as stuck in creation, then you may wish to contact our Oracle B2C Service Technical Support team by creating an incident and inquiring into the process.

Important! After adding the custom field, you must edit the appropriate workspaces used by your staff and add the custom field to each workspace. Custom fields are not automatically added to workspaces.


Field Configuration

When configuring custom fields, set the following fields:

Data Type: This specifies the type of field to be configured: date, date/time, integer, menu, radio, text area, or text field. 
 
Column Name: This is the name of the field as it will appear in the database. This field does not allow spaces or punctuation and cannot begin with a number. 
 
Indexed: Select this box to have this field indexed in the database.

Note: Indexing should be used sparingly for custom fields.  
 
Default Value: You can add a default value, i.e. text, an integer, a specific item from the drop-down menu, or a radio button pre-selected. If the field is set as Required, the default value is overridden and the end-user or CSR must answer the question. 
 
Note: Default values only apply when a human has the opportunity to manually override the default value before it is committed to the database. For example, if an incident custom field specifies a default value, the field will only populate if it is editable to the end-user pages. For incoming Ask a Question submittals, the default value is only added to the custom field if the field is editable to the end-user pages. If you do not want the field to be editable on the end-user page, set up a workflow rule to set the value of the field when it is created. 
 

Size of Field: This field only appears when the Data Type is Integer, Text Field, or Text Area. Use this field to set the maximum size of the field. 

Note: Making changes to this field does not remove values currently in the database. The new validation will be enforced the next time the associated record is modified.

Required: Check the Required box if the field must be filled out when a record is created.

Note: Setting a field to be required overrides the default value specified. When the Required box is checked, a default value does not display. The customer or staff member must select an option or enter a value for a required custom field.   

The Required box specifies the default property of the custom field when it is added to a workspace. Within the workspace, you can change the property of the field to not be required so that the field is not required for specific staff who use that workspace.
 
Similarly, if the Required box is not checked, you can make the field required in a specific workspace so that staff must complete the field either on new records or when they are edited.
 
Usage: With text fields only. You can specify whether the field is a plain, URL, email address or phone number field.

Plain: the field displays with no special formatting or functionality.

URL: the field displays as a link which opens in a browser when clicked.

Email Address: the value is an email address which easily allows staff to send an email to the value in the field.

Phone Number: the value is a phone number and staff can click a button to call the number when CTI is enabled. 
 
Visibility: Specified where the custom field is displayed and where the field can be edited. For more information on the visibility settings for custom fields, refer to Answer ID 1102: Visibility Options for Custom Fields.  
 
Notes: You can enter comments related to the custom field. 

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