Custom and extension fields

Extension fields are custom fields that are stored in case record definitions or in extension record definitions that can be used in reporting, consoles, approvals, notifications, and service level agreements. Extension fields map to process questions from BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. They are generally used when a common field is needed across many types of cases with different templates.

Scenarios

One of the requirements in the company Apex Global is to create an approval for the finance line of business based on the expense type submitted from the service requests created in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced. In BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog, Jordan adds an expense type question to all the service requests for finance. When these finance service requests are submitted, the selected expense type is added to a custom field on (or related) to the case. In the Approval configuration for case, Jordan can now use the expense type field created for approval qualifications.
As a business analyst, one of the requirements in the Centari company is to build a report for the procurement line of business based on vendor requests that are submitted from the service requests created in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced. In BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog, Bob adds a vendor question to all the service requests for procurement. When these procurement service requests are submitted, the selected vendor is added to a custom field on (or related) to the case. In BMC Helix Dashboards, Bob creates a custom report using the vendor field.

Generating field record definition extension for lines of business

Extension fields are defined on the extension record definition defined in a line of business. A case business analyst generates the extension record definition and its value from the line of business configuration. The record definition and association are stored in the line of business configuration record. The extension record definition and its corresponding case association will be available for use for field extensions.

Custom fields on the case record definition can also be used as extension fields. Learn about how to add custom fields in Adding-custom-fields-to-record-definitions.

A case business analyst configures extension fields in the following manner:

Create a process question in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog.
Map the question and answer to a custom field.
Use that custom field in cases and other areas.

Learn how to generate the field record definition extension for your line of business in Generating-extension-record-definitions-and-populating-the-extension-fields.

Advantages of extension fields

The following image shows the advantages of extension fields:

Advantages of custom or extension fields

Migration of dynamic fields from existing cases to extension fields

A case business analyst can define a qualification to map values of dynamic data fields from existing cases to populate extension fields by creating a migration job. The migration job contains audit records for each case that is updated and the status of the update. The job also shows the total number of records processed, successful updates, and errored records. Learn how to create a migration job in Migrating-dynamic-fields-to-extension-fields.

Adding custom fields about assets to case or case extension record definitions

A case business analyst can add custom fields about assets from a source form, such as AST:BaseElement, to case or case extension record definition by mapping the source and target fields. The source and target mapping is used to populate values in the case or case extension record definition fields. Learn how to add custom fields about assets to case or case extension record definition in Adding-custom-fields-to-record-definitions.

Audit log of extension fields

A case business analyst can track the changes that are made to extension fields by enabling audit logs for the extension fields. Audit logs are displayed in the activity log of the case in which the extension fields are added.

The case business analyst must enable auditing for new and existing extension record definitions from BMC Helix Innovation Studio. Learn how to enable audit logs for existing extension fields in Enabling record auditing.