Fields

Within an application, questionnaire, or sub-form, fields hold specific pieces of data. Fields may require the user to enter data or they may present data to the user. For example, in a Policies application you might have Policy Name, and Description. Archer provides a wide variety of field types that allow you to collect and shape information according to your business needs.

Fields are available for on-premises, hosted, and SaaS deployments.

Types of fields

Fields are divided into three categories: basic, advanced, and system. Field types may or may not be available depending on the type of application into which you are adding fields.

• Basic field types allow for most data entry and selection.
• Advanced field types allow more powerful functionality, like connecting records and granting permissions.
• System fields do not allow data input from users. They are automatically populated by the system when a record is saved.

Basic field types

Type	Description
Attachment	Allows users to upload one or more files and attach them to a record.
External Links	Allows users to enter named links that reference web pages and email addresses.
Date	Allows users to select specific date and time entries.
Image	Allows users to upload and display one or more image files.
IP Address	Enables users to store an IP address in either the IPv4 or IPv6 format.
Numeric	Allows users to display numeric values, including calculated values, or track trending values.
Text	Allows users to enter free-form text.
User/Groups List	A specialized values list field that allows users to select users or groups.
Values List	Allows administrators to define the values that users are allowed to select from in a Values List, Matrix, or Cross-Application Status Tracking field.
Voting	Allows users to rank a record in two ways: total votes or average votes.

Advanced field types

Type	Description
Cross-Application Status Tracking (CAST)	Allows users to track the completion status of tasks stored in one application against records in another application.
Cross-Reference (and the associated Related Records field)	Cross-reference fields enable users to create associations between records in the same application (internal references) or records in one or more different applications (external references). The related records field, which is automatically created when you create a cross-reference, is a mirror image of the cross-reference field, meaning that it allows you to see all of the records that have been cross-referenced to a particular record.
Matrix	Provides the ability to display a two-dimensional array of checkboxes, allowing users to plot or rank responses relative to two factors.
Multiple Reference Display Control	Displays data of cross-reference and related-record field using a single control rather than displaying multiple cross-reference or related-record fields in the layout of a record.
Questionnaire Reference	Enables you to see all questionnaire records that are related to an application record.
Record Permissions	Enables you to control user access at the record level.
Scheduler	Enables users can see all of the appointments to which they have been scheduled, regardless of the parent application.
Sub-Form	Enables you to embed a predefined sub-form in an application.

System field types

Type	Description
Access History	Enables users to access a record-specific view history for the record.
First Published Date	Automatically populates based on the date a record is created.
History Log	Tracks field-level changes for individual records in an application.
Last Updated Date Field	Automatically populates each time changes are saved to a record.
Record Status Field	Automatically populates based on the current status of the record and only contains one of two values: New or Updated.
Tracking ID	Automatically populates with a value that uniquely identifies a record.

Field types for mobile applications

See Creating Mobile Ready Applications.

Field types for mobile questionnaires

See Creating Mobile Ready Questionnaires.

Key fields

Each application (or level in a leveled application) must contain a key field. The key field is displayed in search results as a hyperlink, which users can click to view the details of a record.

Calculated fields

A calculated field is a configuration option that enables you to specify a formula for dynamically computing a value for a text, numeric, date, or values list field.

For more information, see the Calculated Fields section.

Encrypting fields

To protect sensitive data, you can encrypt data in attachment, date, IP address, image, numeric, and text fields.

For more information, see Encrypting Data.

Who can work with fields?

To create, edit, or delete both rules and actions, your user account must specify that you:

• Are a configuration administrator
• Have update rights on the Manage Application page.
• Have configuration administration rights to the questionnaire (if working on a questionnaire).