Field settings and custom fields

Introduction

Field settings control the data fields that appear on positions, employees, job codes, departments, approval requests, and openings throughout FTE Tree. They define which built-in fields are available, which custom fields your organization adds, which dropdown options users can select, and how status values affect counts and workflows.

FTE Tree separates this setup into four areas:

• Core field settings: Settings for built-in system fields.
• Custom fields: Organization-defined fields for capturing additional data.
• Option sets: Dropdown options used by custom fields and other configurable fields.
• Status values: Status choices for positions, employees, and openings, including behavior settings such as whether a status counts as active or open.

Core fields vs. custom fields

Core fields are the built-in fields that ship with FTE Tree. They provide the standard data needed for position control, such as:

• Position: Name, status, incumbent, department, job code, schedule, base wage rate, reports to, adjustments, funding source
• Employee: Name, status, FTE, job code, reports to, base wage rate
• Job code: Default wage rate, adjustments, parent job code, pay grade
• Approval request: Justification
• Department: Parent Department
• Opening: Status, Owner, Target start date, Filled date, External posting reference, On-hold/cancelled reason

Core fields cannot be deleted. Their settings can still be adjusted where the system allows it, such as whether the field is required, shown in list tables, or assigned an approval level.

Funding source is a position core field because it supports multiple source and percentage rows. It is visible by default and optional by default. Its selectable values are managed through the Funding source option set.

Custom fields are fields you create to extend the data captured for each area. Custom fields can be created, edited, reordered, deactivated, and deleted when they are no longer needed and have no recorded values that require preservation.

Navigating to field settings

Field settings are found under Settings, organized by area. Select the row for the area you want to configure, such as Position, Employee, Job Code, Approval request, Opening, or Department.

Depending on the entity, you may see links for:

• Core field settings: Configure built-in fields.
• Custom fields: Create and manage organization-defined fields.
• Option sets: Manage dropdown options used by select-style fields.
• Status values: Manage status labels and behavior for entities that have a status field.

Creating a custom field

To create a custom field, navigate to the desired area's Custom fields page and click Create custom field. The following settings are available:

• Field label: The name displayed on forms, detail pages, and list tables. It must be unique for that entity type within your organization.

• Field type: The kind of information the field stores. The field type cannot be changed after the field is created. If you need a different type, create a new field and deactivate or delete the old one.

• Help text: Optional guidance displayed with the field on forms.

• Is required: When enabled, the field must be filled in when creating or updating the entity.

• Display on list tables: When enabled, the field appears as a column on supported entity list tables, such as the position list.

• Option set: For Choice and Choice (Multiple) fields, select the option set that provides the dropdown values. You can select an existing option set or create one from the option sets page.

Core and custom field settings

Core fields and custom fields share many of the same configuration options:

• Approval level: Controls whether changes to the field require approval. Fields set to No approval required take effect immediately when saved. Level 1 and above require the approval workflow before the change becomes approved.

• Is required: Controls whether users must provide a value.

• Is currency: Displays numeric values with your organization's currency symbol.

• Active: Controls whether the field is available for new entries. Deactivating a custom field hides it from new forms while preserving existing data. Core fields cannot be deactivated unless the system specifically allows it.

• Display on list tables: Controls whether the field appears as a column in supported list table views.

Reordering fields

Display order controls the sequence in which fields appear on forms and detail pages. Use the move controls on the field list to change the order. Fields are displayed in ascending order, with lower numbers appearing first.

Deleting a custom field

Custom fields can be deleted from the field detail page when they have no existing values recorded against any entity. If the field has been used, deactivate it instead so historical data remains intact.

Core fields cannot be deleted.

Effective dating and approval status

Field values can be effective-dated where the field supports history. Each value has an optional effective start date that determines when it takes effect. If left blank, the value is treated as always active and displayed as "Initial". Multiple values can exist for the same field with different effective dates, allowing you to track changes over time. The current value is the value with the latest effective start date on or before the viewing date. Effective-dated position custom field values can also split report periods, so reports use the value that applies on each calculation date.

Each field value also has an approval status:

• Draft: The value has been entered but has not been approved. Draft values are indicated on entity detail pages.

• Approved: The value has been approved, either automatically or through the approval workflow, and is the official record as of its effective date.

When a position core field or position custom field has an approval level of 1 or higher, new values and changes must go through the approval workflow before they take effect. Fields set to No approval required auto-approve immediately. Approval controls whether a value is official; the effective start date controls when the value applies. See Working with approval requests for details on the approval process.

Option sets

Option sets define selectable values for Choice and Choice (Multiple) fields. They are managed separately from fields so a single option set can be reused where appropriate.

Manage option sets

Open the Option sets link for the relevant entity type to create, edit, or delete option sets. Each option set contains one or more option values. An option set cannot be deleted while it is in use.

Option values

Each option set contains one or more option values. The following settings are available for each value:

• Name: The label displayed to users when selecting from the list. It must be unique within the option set.

• Display order: Controls the order values appear in the dropdown.

• Is default: Marks this value as the default selection when creating new entries. Only one value per option set can be the default.

• Available: When enabled, the value appears in dropdowns for new selections. Deactivating a value hides it from future use while preserving it in existing records. This is the recommended approach for retiring a value rather than deleting it.

Status values

Status values define the choices available for status fields on positions, employees, and openings. They also carry behavior settings used by the system:

• Position statuses can be configured to count, or not count, as active positions.
• Employee statuses can be configured to count, or not count, as active employees.
• Opening statuses can be configured to count, or not count, as open openings.

This lets your organization customize visible status labels while making each status's behavior clear. For example, a position status value with Counts as active position enabled counts toward active position totals and paid position capacity. An opening status value with Open opening enabled counts as open for opening tracking.

Status value sets must keep an available default value, at least one available value that counts for the behavior, and at least one available value that does not count for the behavior.

Audit history

Changes to field settings, option sets, option values, and status values are tracked in audit history where available. Use the relevant settings page history tab or detail-page history link to review who changed a setting and when.

Need help?

If you have questions about configuring fields, please contact us or email us at support@ftetree.com.