TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview of Custom Forms
• Accessing Custom Forms
• Custom Form Common Elements
  • Tab Control Bar
  • Fields Grid
  • Field Details
• Control Types
• Control Options
• Displaying Custom Fields in the Details Tab
  • Step 1: Identify Custom Fields for the Details Tab
  • Step 2: Configure the Details Config
• Further Support

Overview of Custom Forms

Custom Forms in ManagementStudio allow you to extend module data storage by adding custom fields and structured input forms. This enables you to capture additional information specific to your business processes. All modules—such as Applications, User Migrations, Devices, Deployment Units, Defects, and Bespoke—support Custom Forms.

Example using Custom Forms to track Site PPE & Safety requirements

Accessing Custom Forms

Each module provides access to four Custom Forms:

• Discovery
• Custom Tab 1
• Custom Tab 2
• Hidden Tab: This tab is only visible to users with the View Hidden Tab permission set in Administration → Role Groups. Follow this link for more information about Role Groups.

To access a module’s Custom Forms, navigate to:

Administration → [Module] → Custom Forms

Custom Form Common Elements

All Custom Forms share several core interface elements:

1. Breadcrumb Bar: Provides clickable navigation links to parent administration sections.
2. Control Bar: Includes actions to Save Changes, Cancel Changes, and Preview Changes. The Preview opens the form in a new window without data, as it is not attached to an object.
3. Tab Control Bar: Used to manage form tabs. See Tab Control Bar below.
4. Tab List: Displays all tabs configured for the current form. Use the Move Tab arrows to reorder tabs.
5. Fields Grid: Lists all fields in the currently selected tab. New fields default to a single-line text control. See Fields Grid below.
6. Field Details: Configure properties and options for the selected field. See Field Details below.

Tab Control Bar

The Tab Control Bar provides tools to manage form tabs and their structure:

• New Field: Adds a new text field to the top of the Fields Grid.
• New Tab: Adds a new tab to the Tab List.
• Tab Label: Sets the current tab’s display name. Update and click Save Changes to apply.
• Move Tab: Use arrow buttons to reorder tabs.
• Visible: Controls tab visibility. Deselect and save to hide a tab without deleting it.
• Column Picker: Adds new columns to the form’s Fields Grid.
• Remove Tab: Permanently deletes the selected tab and associated data (changes take effect on save).
• Adv. Info: Displays advanced properties like Tooltips, Tags, Internal Name, Internal Id, and Flags.
• Details Panel: Toggles Field Details panel at the bottom of the screen.

Fields Grid

The Fields Grid lets you add and manage fields within a Custom Form tab. Columns include:

• Field Label: UI display name of the field.
• Display As: Field control type (e.g., text, dropdown).
• Options: Additional configuration for field controls (e.g., dropdown items).
• Display Order: Numerical order in which fields appear (lower values display first).
• Width: Determines how many of the 12 available columns the field will occupy in a row (e.g., 12 = full row, 6 = half).
• Visible: Sets field visibility in the form.
• History: Enables indefinite change tracking for the field (increases database load).
• Fld: Unique system identifier for the field, useful for scripting and API use.

Field Details

The Field Details pane allows detailed configuration of the selected field. Key options:

• Field Label: Display name in the UI.
• Options: Additional control configuration.
• Client Style: Visual styles (border, margin, padding) using the format Property: left,top,right,bottom;.
• Tooltip: Text shown on mouse hover.
• Default: Default value for the field (e.g., text, date, checked state).
• Display As: Sets the control type shown in the UI.
• Display Order: Determines field position.
• Width: Number of columns (out of 12) the control occupies per row.
• Web Style: (Not currently available)
• Watermark: Placeholder text when the control is empty.
• Tag: Used for storing extra metadata (primarily for scripts and API).
• Visible: Toggles if the field is shown.
• Retain History: When enabled, logs all changes to this field (configure record limits via Housekeeping settings).
• Disable History: Prevents history recording for this field.
• On New Line: Forces the control to begin a new row.
• Read Only: Sets the field as non-editable.
• Add Filter: Adds the field as a filter in the main ribbon menu.

Control Types

The following control types are available for custom form fields:

Control Options

Most controls support customisation using the Options field (maximum 2000 characters). Use options to set item lists, default states, styles, or scripting parameters.

Note:
Special characters (:, |, ,, ;) are reserved for option parsing. To display these as literal text, prefix with \. Whitespace is ignored during processing (Items: Yes | No ; is identical to Items:Yes|No;).

Examples of common options:

All controls also support style options via Border, Margin, Padding. Format:
Border:2,2,2,2; Margin:1,1,1,1;

Displaying Custom Fields in the Details Tab

Step 1: Identify Custom Fields for the Details Tab

1. Navigate to the relevant module via

   Administration → [Module]
   

2. In the Custom Forms panel, select the desired tab.

3. Note the Fld (field ids) of the fields to be displayed in the Details Panel.

Step 2: Configure the Details Config

1. Go to

   Administration → [Module] → Details Config
   

2. Locate the section "List of Custom Fields to show in the 'Custom Fields Panel'" at the bottom and enter the field ids gathered in Step 3 above.
3. Enable the Custom Fields Panel.
4. Click Save Changes.

5. Restart the ManagementStudio Client.

Upon restart, the Details Panel will display the specified custom fields within the Details tab.

Further Support

For additional assistance, visit the ManagementStudio Service Desk to search the knowledge base or raise a support ticket.