In this guide, we’ll cover the different field types, where fields are available, and walk you through some relevant examples to illustrate their use (conditional logic, numeric calculation field and repeatable groups).
Overview
Fields are a consistent part of every module in the platform. By default, each module includes some standard fields when creating elements. On top of that, most modules also allow you to create custom fields tailored to your needs.
Custom fields let you personalize the kind of information you collect, ensuring each element captures the data that matters most to your organization.
Field Types
- Text & large text fields: use for open responses.
- Number fields: accept only numeric input and can include Regex for custom patterns.
- Date fields: capture date values in a standardized format as well as time.
- Single select & multiple select fields: use a single select field when users should choose only one option, and a multiple select field when they can choose several options from a list. Each option can include a report value, which is useful for data reporting, as well as a numeric value for calculated fields(see more on this below). You can also assign a color to each option.
- Checkboxes: allow users to check a predefined option when you want make sure for something to be confirmed that it was taken into consideration
- File upload: let users upload files directly to the element, can be specially relevant in Contracts.
- Link field: store and display clickable URLs.
- Text info field: use this when you want to display information without requiring input. You can add a title and a description, which will be visible when creating or editing the element where the custom field was added.
- Conditional logic: make fields appear based on responses to previous fields.
- Repeatable groups: allow users to add multiple entries for a set of fields (e.g. list multiple servers of a supplier).
- Sections: organize fields into groups for better structure and clarity. You can create a section and drag existing fields into it, move them out, or create new fields directly within the section.
- Variable Text
-
Single type: Use formulas that combine static text and values from other fields.
-
Mapped type: Link to select fields and each choice triggers a different predefined output.
-
-
Numeric Calculation Fields
-
Use formulas to calculate values using inputs from other fields (this is why it's relevant to attribute a numeric value in the single select and multi select fields to then use it as inputs).
-
Supports functions like min, max, and average.
-
You can define score ranges with labels (e.g., 0–3 = Low, 4–7 = Medium).
-
Results from one calculation can be inputs for other numeric calculation fields.
-
Common settings for all fields
- Main Settings
-
Required: Decide if the field must be filled out before submission (mandatory).
-
- Additional Settings
-
Placeholder: Display hint text inside the field to guide users before they enter any information.
-
Input Format Checker: Define specific input formats (e.g. phone number: 123-456-789).
-
Error Message: Show a custom message if the input doesn’t match the required format.
-
Description: Help users fill out the field with extra guidance—choose to display it as a tooltip or side panel.
-
Where are custom fields available?
Custom fields can be configured in the Settings area for:
-
Company Information
-
Company Entities
-
Tasks and task completion flow
-
Compliance elements
-
Resources elements
-
Data Privacy elements
They’re also used outside of Settings in:
- Questionnaires: Whether you’re creating a new questionnaire or editing one of our existing templates, you can configure fields.
- Dashboards: You can use fields to filter and customize widgets, so they display exactly the data you need based on specific field values.
- Data Reports: When setting up data reports, you can filter the results based on field values.
- Automations: Fields can define conditions for triggers and actions within automation workflows.
Setting up fields examples
Conditional Logic
Use case: When sending out a questionnaire for instance about an audit to gather feedback for continuous improvement you want to know if audit objectives, scope and criteria clearly communicated to all relevant stakeholders, and depending on their answer ask things further for example if yes than to describe it, if no then to create a task for this gap.
1. Navigate to your Questionnaires
Go to the Workflows section and click on the Questionnaires tab.
Choose to "+ Create" a questionnaire from scratch or from a template.
Click the "+" button to start adding fields.
2. Create a Single Select Field
💡 Tip: Expand the video to full screen for a clearer view of the steps.
Add a Single select field.
Set the title for your question.
By default, three options will appear—you can add more options or remove.
3. Set a Condition
- Click the "+" button again
- Select “Condition” and choose which field to base the condition on
Define the condition:
When the field "is filled"– triggers the condition as long as any option is selected.
When the field "is not filled" – triggers the condition only if no option has been selected.
When "has selected any of"– triggers the condition only when the chosen answer or answers matches a specific option.
Add Fields inside the condition
After setting the condition, add one or more fields inside it, these fields will only appear when the condition is met.
- For more context, in the video below, we’ll walk you through how to create two different conditions based on the options from a single select question. For one option, we’ll add a text info field, and for another, we’ll show how to create an additional follow-up field.
💡See the video below for a quick walkthrough of how it looks in action when answering the questionnaire.
Numeric calculated fields
Use case: When creating assets, you might want to track their availability, confidentiality, and integrity. Based on those values, you can automatically calculate the sensitivity of each asset using a numeric formula.
1. Navigate to your asset settings
Go to the Account section and click on the Settings tab.
Choose the Resources tab and the Assets folder
Click the "+" button to start adding fields.
2. Create Select fields with numeric values
Add a Single Select field and define your options (e.g., Very high, High, Moderate, Low)
Go into the Advanced Settings of each option and assign a numeric value to each (e.g., Very high=4 ,High = 3, Medium = 2, Low = 1)
3. Create the numeric calculated field
After creating your single select fields, in this example for Availability, Integrity, and Confidentiality.
Add a Numeric Calculation field, use the average function to calculate the asset’s sensitivity based on the three inputs you have just created and set your score ranges.
Note that you can also include numbers and other arithmetic expressions in your formula.
💡See the video below for a quick walkthrough of how it looks in action when you are creating an asset.
Repeatable Groups
Use case: When sending out a supplier assessment questionnaire—especially to critical or important suppliers—it’s useful to track their supply chain. You might want to ask for details about their sub-suppliers. Since one supplier can have multiple sub-suppliers, using a repeatable group lets them add as many entries as they need.
1. Navigate to your Questionnaires
Go to the Workflows section and click on the Questionnaires tab.
Choose to "+ Create" a questionnaire from scratch or from a template.
Click the "+" button to start adding fields.
2. Create a Repeatable group
Add a repeatable group and include the fields/questions you want repeated each time a new entry is added. In this case, we want to ask for the name and organization number of each sub-supplier.
💡See the video below for a quick walkthrough of how it looks in action when answering the questionnaire.
🚀 Go ahead and customize your account using the available custom fields across elements!
by Carolina Gonçalves, Product Communication Specialist
We hope this article was helpful!
If you need additional support, please feel free to schedule a meeting with Giulia, from our Customer Success team, here.
For a platform overview and commercial details, you can book a meeting with Kristoffer, from our Sales team, here.
Otherwise you are of course always welcome to reach out by email contact@formalize.com .
