Add your own fields to built-in modules

The big picture#

Hubtoll's built-in modules come with the questions most companies need. Yours may need more. Maybe you want a Handover notes box on every leave request, or a Contract type on every deal.

You add them with Forge, the same form builder described in Forge: build your first form. The extra questions show up on the module's own form under Additional information. No code needed.

Find the Forge Template page#

Open the module, then look in its left menu for Forge Template.

You only see the link if you are allowed to see forms. If you do not see it, ask an administrator.

Add the fields#

1. Open the module's Forge Template page.
2. If no form exists yet, you see No Forge Template Yet. Click Create Forge template.
3. Click Design fields. The Forge Studio opens in a new tab.
4. Add and arrange the fields. Everything in Forge: fields, sections and smart rules works here too: required, rules, calculations and more.
5. Click Publish when ready.
6. Go back to the Forge Template page and click the refresh icon.

If you leave the form unpublished, the badge says Draft and the page says it is not live yet. Drafts never show on the live module form.

The Studio's back arrow and breadcrumb return you to this page, not to the Forge gallery.

Draft, publish and old records#

• Changes go into a draft. People keep seeing the published version until you publish again.
• Records always follow the latest published form. If you add a field and publish, older records show it too. Their answer stays blank until someone fills it in.
• If you remove a field later, answers already stored for it are dropped the next time the record is saved. They are not refused.
• A field that is hidden by a rule also drops its answer on save. To ask for a detail only at one moment but still show it later, use Required only when, not Show only when.

Where the answers show up#

• On the module's form, under Additional information.
• On the record's detail page and its approval page.
• In the list Filters. Custom fields appear in the field list with a violet Custom tag, so you can filter by them.
• In emails. They are merge fields in Forge email templates. See Forge: approval workflows and emails.
• In workflows. A Condition step can read them and a step can route by them.

Who can design the fields#

You need the right to design forms for that module. Having Forge product access is not enough.

People who can only view forms see the preview, and a note: No Forge template has been set up here yet. Ask a form administrator to design one. when none exists.

See Roles and access and the Permissions reference.

CRM: reshape the built-in fields too#

CRM goes further. On a CRM Forge Template, the record's own fields appear in the Studio too, marked Built in with a small lock. You can:

• Drag them into the order and sections you want.
• Resize them like any field.
• Decide whether each is required.
• Add rules to them.

The palette says: The Deal's own fields are on the form already (marked Built in). Drag them to arrange the form; changes go live when you publish.

Which built-in fields can be required#

Each built-in field is one of four kinds:

• Always required: the switch is on and locked. The record cannot exist without it.
• Required by default: the switch starts on. You may switch it off. Once you save your choice, it sticks.
• Optional: the switch is yours to turn on.
• Always set: shown with an Always set chip and a note saying who fills it in. Hubtoll or the record sets it, so it can never be left empty. You can still use it in a rule.

The reasoning is simple. A contact needs a first name, but plenty of people go by one name, so last name stays optional.

Rules on built-in fields#

Click a built-in field to open its settings. You may see:

• Visibility: Always shown, Hidden from everyone, or Show only when.
• Dropdown options: for Source, Company size, Lifecycle stage and lead Status. Edit the choices. At least one is needed.
• Required only when, Disabled only when and Set value. A field that is always required cannot be locked. A deal's Pipeline and Stage cannot be locked either.

Built-in changes are saved as a draft and need Publish, like everything else.

Example: ask for contract details only when a deal is Won#

You want "Contract signed date" and "Annual fee" to be compulsory only for a deal at the Won stage.

1. Open the Deal Forge Template page, then Design fields.
2. Add a section called "Commercial terms". Add the two fields.
3. Click the section. Under When this section applies, open Required only when.
4. In the first box, pick Stage under Built-in record fields.
5. Choose is, then pick the Won stage from the list.
6. Click Publish.

Rules on a section govern every field inside it. That is why this works even if one of the fields was marked Required. See Rules on a whole section.

The amount currency#

A deal already has a currency. If you add your own Amount field, choose A Currency field on this form, then pick Currency (built in) under Follow this Currency field. Your amount then always shows the deal's currency. See Pick the currency for an amount.

Things that go wrong#

Common questions#