Adding custom fields to record definitions and views

As a case business analyst, you can add custom fields to the record definitions and views to meet your business requirements. You can add a new field or an existing field from other record definitions to a record definition or view. For example, if case agents want to specify a follow-up date for cases, you add a new field of date and time field type to the case views so that the agents can select the follow-up date. If case agents want to specify the location for a case, you add the existing Person field from the Foundation library to the case views.

You can add fields to a record definition by using the following ways:

• Add a field directly to a record definition
• Add a field to a record definition by using associations

You can add fields to a view by using the following ways:

• Add a field to a view by using extension container
• Add a field directly to a view

To add a field to a view, you must add a field in the record definition that is used by the view and then add the field in the view.

Types of fields you can add in a view

You can add the following types of fields only to a record definition or view:

• Attachment
• Boolean
• Date
• Date/Time
• Decimal
• Floating
• Integer
• Selection
• Text
• Time
  
  

To add a field directly to a record definition

You can add custom fields directly only to the following record definitions:

To add a field directly to a record definition, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.

2. Select the application for which you want to update a record definition, such as Case Management Service.

3. On the Records tab, open the record definition in which you want to add a field, such as Case.

4. On the page displayed, click New Field and select the type of field that you want to add, such as Date/Time.

5. In the Details section, click the Settings tab, and complete the fields.

6. Under DETAILS, add the appropriate permissions and security labels for the newly added field.

7. Click Save.
   The following figure shows an example of adding a new field in the Case record definition:

   

To add a field to a record definition by using associations

You can add custom fields by using associations only to the following record definitions:

To add a field to a record definition by using associations, you must create a record association and use the association field in the record definition. For information about how to create record associations, see Creating a record association .

For example, you want to add a Person field from the Foundation library to the Case record definition. You create a record association between Person and Case—Person to Case. After you create the record association, an association field is added in the case record definition. The association field stores a foreign key reference to another field  value. The name of the association field is the value that you put in the Role of primary record field while creating the record association. In the case record definition, when you enter Manager in the Role of primary record field, a Manager_ID field is created automatically. This MANAGER_ID field is the association field.

To add a field to a view by using an extension container

By using an extension container, you can add custom fields only to the following views:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
   

2. Select the application for which you want to update a view, such as Case Management Service.
3. Select View > New > Flexible > Container. 

4. On the Properties tab, click the Edit icon , and complete the following fields:9

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter a name for the view.
   View to Extend	Select the view that you want to extend. For example, if you want to extend the Case Create view, select Case Create from the list.
   Extension Container	Select the extension container in which the view must appear. The following figure shows an example of extension containers that are available for the Case Create view:

5. From the Palette, drag the Record Editor element to the canvas.

6. On the Properties tab, click the Settings icon , and complete the following fields:

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter a unique name for the record editor.
   Label	Enter the label to be displayed in the application. Note: If you do not provide a label, the bundle name is displayed in the extended view. For example, if you extend the Case Create view, the bundle name Case Management Service is displayed in the view.
   Record Definition Name	The record definition is auto-populated in the field based on the view you extended, allowing you to select the existing custom and out-of-the-box fields from the same record definition.
   Association to Use	If there is only one association, the name of the association is auto-populated. If there are multiple associations, select the association that you created earlier. If you extend a view that uses the Case record definition, you do not need to specify an association.
   Mode	The mode of the record editor is automatically set to match the mode of the record editor in the view you extended. Note: Do not change the mode. If you select a mode that is different from the mode of the record editor in the view you extended, the extension view is not displayed in the application.
   CSS classes	Enter the custom CSS classes that you need to apply to the view.
   Form Contents	To include specific record fields to appear in the view, click Quick Add/Remove fields, and select the custom fields that you require.
   (Optional) Click to build an expression	If you want to hide or display these fields when specific conditions are met, in the Expression Editor, build an expression on the fields in the record editor. For information about how to build expressions in view definitions, see  Creating or modifying view definitions .

   
   

7. Click Save.

8. (Optional) To confirm whether the custom fields are added correctly, click Preview.

9. (Optional) To check whether these fields are working correctly, as a case agent, log in to BMC Helix Business Workflows and create or edit a case to check the new fields.
   

To add a field directly to a view

You cannot add custom fields by using an extension container to views that consists of a record grid element. To add custom fields to such views, you can update the record grid to display columns. You can add custom fields directly to the following views:

To add a field directly to a view, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.

2. Select the application for which you want to update a view, such as Case Management Service.

3. On the Views tab, click the view that you want to update, such as Cases.

4. In the view, select the Record Grid.

5. Click Add/Remove Grid Columns.
   

6. From the Available Columns section, select the field that you added in the record definition.
   For example, select the Follow-up date field.

7. Click Save.

8. (Optional) To confirm whether the custom fields are added correctly, click Preview.

9. (Optional) To check whether these fields are working correctly, as a case agent, log in to BMC Helix Business Workflows and create or edit a case to check the new fields.

Related topics

Defining record definitions to store and manage data

View definition components

Tailoring the application skin and brand