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## Custom Field Types

| Date/Time This field type allows you to enter date and/or time values into your records. You can elect to have Time values not displayed by deselecting the “Display Time” option in the Date/Time Custom Field Definition dialog. Date/Time fields can be indexed, include multiple values, and/or be configured as a predefined list. Note: Times are always assumed when searching on Date/Time fields. That is, if a time value has been entered into the field (either by extraction from the source file when the item was cataloged, or by entering a time in the field) and then hidden by turning off “Display Time,” the time will still be noted by Portfolio when a search is generated. For example: Searching for “5/20/98” will not find a record which contains “5/20/98 3:00 pm” because the request is interpreted as “5/20/98 12:00:00.” This is true even if the time is not being displayed.
| Decimal This field type allows you to enter decimal point numeric values with a precision up to 8 decimal points. Decimal fields can be Indexed, include multiple values, and/or be configured as a predefined list. To set the Precision, select it from the pop-up.
| Integer This field type allows you to enter regular numeric values. Integer fields can be Indexed, include multiple values, and/or be configured as a predefined list.
| String This field type allows you to enter text values. You can specify a maximum string length for the field by entering the number of allowable characters in the Length text box. The data in a String field can be from 1 to 249 characters long. String fields include multiple values, and/or be configured as a predefined list. String fileds cannot contain mulit-lined text. (For multil-lined text, see Text Block.)
| Text Block Text Blocks are multi-lined fields that can be any length up to 32K. This field type allows you to add lengthy lines of text to records (that is, you can include line breaks or carriage returns in these fields). Text blocks are word indexed, allowing even these longer fields to be searched extremely quickly. The Text Block field cannot be sorted or phrase searched. Note: When editing a Text Block Custom Field in Record view, a maximum of 20 lines can be viewed at one time.
| URL This field type allows you to enter Web and other URL addresses. If the syntax is correct for a URL, the data will become an active hyperlink on Windows, and on Mac OS systems with Internet Config properly set up. To create an active link, enter any reference in URL format including: http, ftp, telnet, gopher, even local files or applications. Typically URL data might look like: http://www.extensis.com; ftp://ftp.extensis.com/pub/file1.zip; http://www.extensis.com/buynow/cgi?sku=012345; mailto:username@extensis.com. When you edit a URL to add data to it (Item > Item Properties) the Title that you enter is displayed in the record and becomes the active link (Portfolio links the Title to the actual URL in the URL field). You can give the URL any Title you like—the Title does not need to refer to the actual URL.

Note: When importing data into a URL field (Import > Field Values), Portfolio treats the URL field as a multi-valued field with two values. The first value is the Title and the second value is the URL address. If you wish to import URLs into Portfolio they must conform to this format. Portfolio follows the same formatting when exporting URL data. See Importing and Exporting for more information.

Predefined Lists

You can create Predefined Lists of items for your Custom Fields. By predefining field entry data you can provide master lists of data that users can select from when entering data in Custom Fields (Master Palettes). All of the Custom Field types except URL and Text Block can be set up with a predefined list.

Like the Master Keywords list, predefined Custom Field values accessed from Master Palettes ensures that the exact same data is entered in the data field every time. For example, you might want to create a list of your standard vendors and enter the appropriate vendor name to an item’s record by selecting it from the list. Deleting an item from a predefined list does not delete it from items that have that data assigned.

Multiple Value Lists

Multi-value lists allow you to specify Custom Fields that can contain more than one value. Keywords is an example, but you might want to define other multi-value lists, such as multiple vendor names or multiple item pricing.

To set up a Custom Field with Multiple Values: Open the Custom Fields Definition dialog (Catalog > Administration: Custom Fields tab and click “Add”). Choose any field type except URL or Text Block, then click “Multiple Values.”

As with all Custom Fields, you add data to the list of values by typing it into the item record (Item > Item Properties: Fields tab), by extracting data from the source file and mapping it to the appropriate Custom Field (Catalog > Cataloging Options: Mappings tab), or by importing it (File > Import > Field Values.)

You can specify how many lines are made available to display the multiple value data in Record view (View > Customize: Record tab). In the Record tab Fields List, fields that have (or can have) multiple lines of data display a number in the right-most column. To change the number of display lines, select a number from the Display Fields pop-up (Mac OS) or enter a number in the Edit String dialog (Windows). If no additional lines have been selected, this number defaults to 1.