How to manage user fields
Applies to user roles: Account Owner
Available on platforms: Vatix Workspace web app
Most of what a user record holds is fixed, but eight fields are yours to shape: three dropdowns whose values you set, and five fields you name yourself. The 'User Fields' page is where you do that, and it changes those fields for everyone in your organisation at once.
Before you start
- The 'User Fields' page is only available to organisations with Object Manager. If you can't see it, ask whoever manages your Objects setup.
- The five custom field slots are created for every organisation, so if your organisation takes on Object Manager later, all five are waiting to be named.
How to open the User Fields page
- Click the gear icon in the top right to open Settings.
- Select 'Organisation'.
- Go to 'User Fields'.
What you can configure
| Field label | API name | Field type |
|---|---|---|
| Department | department | Dropdown |
| Region | region | Dropdown |
| Employment type | employment_type | Dropdown |
| Custom Field 1 to Custom Field 5 | custom_field_1 to custom_field_5 | Text |
Everything else on a user record works the same way for every Vatix customer: job title, line manager, cost centre, site, country, start date, employee ID and the person's contact details.
The field label is what everyone in your organisation sees. The API name is fixed and doesn't change when you rename a field, so anything reading your data through the API or a sync keeps working.
How to change the values in a dropdown
Department, Region and Employment type are dropdowns, so your people pick from a set list rather than typing whatever they like. Department and Employment type arrive with a starting set of values you can use as they are or replace. Region starts empty, so nobody can fill it in until you add some values.
- Go to Settings > Organisation > User Fields.
- Open the field you want to change.
- Add, rename or remove values, then save.
How to name a custom field
The five custom fields hold free text and start out labelled 'Custom Field 1' to 'Custom Field 5'. Name each one for what you want it to hold, for example shift pattern, first aider, payroll number, locker number or emergency contact.
- Go to Settings > Organisation > User Fields.
- Open the custom field you want to use.
- Give it a name that describes what it holds, then save.
The name appears on every user record, so name it for the person reading it rather than for you.
Note: Custom fields always hold free text, and there are always five. You can't change a field's type, add a sixth, or delete one. Decide what a field is for before people start filling it in.
What happens when you rename a field
- Values already recorded in the field are kept, so a renamed field still holds whatever was in it.
- The template you use to add several people at once uses your labels as its column headings. Download it again after renaming a field, so the file you fill in matches.
- The API name doesn't change.
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