Creating & managing custom fields in Settings

Custom fields let you capture information that the standard fields don't cover. They are defined centrally in Settings and then appear on the relevant records across the account. SwiftFox supports custom fields on People, Organisations, Roles, Cases, Posts and Events, so you can structure data, reporting and automation around the way your organisation actually works.

Permissions required

Managing custom fields requires the Manage Custom Fields permission on one of your user groups. Without it, the Custom fields settings area will not be visible. User group permissions are configured under Settings → Users & access → User groups.

Where to manage custom fields

1. Go to Settings → Data & records → Custom fields.
2. Custom fields are organised across six tabs, one per record type: People, Organisations, Roles, Cases, Posts and Events.
3. Open the tab for the record type you want to work with.

Within a tab, fields are grouped into sections. Use Add new section to create one; each section has Add Fields, Reorder Fields and Move Fields controls.

Create a custom field

1. Open Custom fields and select the relevant record-type tab.
2. (Optional) Create a new section first if you want to group related fields — see Sections below.
3. In the section, select Add Fields and choose a field type (see the full list below).
4. Enter the field label and an optional description.
5. Configure any options the field type needs. For a Select field you can add the select options, choose whether multiple values are allowed, and enable colour coding for the options.
6. Optionally tick Available for reports.
7. Select Create.

Field types

The types on offer vary by record type: People offers 20 types and Organisations offers 21 (it adds Record Count). The Posts tab offers a focused set of ten — for that list, see Posts — Custom fields.

The Add Fields menu offers the following field types:

• Text — free text.
• Number — numeric values.
• Date / Time — a calendar date, or a time value.
• Select — a defined list of choices (single or multiple), with optional colour coding.
• Tree Select — a hierarchical (nested) list of choices (see Tree Select below).
• Checkbox — a yes/no value.
• File upload — attach a file to the record.
• Record — reference another record that already exists in your account (a person, organisation or user). Record fields can also create a two-way role on the Contacts and Roles tab — see Record custom fields (referencing people & organisations, and syncing to relationships).
• Linked Field — pull a value through from a linked record (see Linked fields on linked fields (chaining)). Record and Linked Field are separate field types.
• Smart URL — a structured link.
• Dynamic Rules — automatically assign a single value from Lists-based rules (see Dynamic Rules custom field).
• Dynamic tags — a free-form, multi-value tag field where tags are created on the fly (see Dynamic tags below).

Specialised field types are also available for particular data or workflows: Auto increment, BPay Reference, Financial Summary, Formula, Custom Boundary, Project Row and Timeline. Record Count — a live count of related People matching filters — is offered on the Organisations tab only. For how the calculated types behave on a record, see Custom field sections & calculated fields on a profile.

Dynamic tags

Dynamic tags is a multi-value tag field, similar to a multi-select, but the options do not have to be defined up front in Settings. When editing a record, you type into the field's drop-down: as you type, matching existing tags are suggested, and you can either pick an existing tag or press Enter to create a new one. New tags then become available as suggestions for everyone. This suits flexible, less-structured tagging — for example a hashtag-style system on posts, or interests on people — where the list of options should grow organically rather than being fixed.

When you create or edit a Dynamic tags field you set:

• Field label and an optional description.
• Tag scope — Circle aware (tags are created within, and only exist in, the current circle) or Global (tags are shared across all circles). This choice only appears when circles are enabled.
• A Tags search box to review and manage the tags already in use (including showing deleted tags).
• Available for reports and field-level permissions, as with any custom field.

Dynamic tags fields can be filtered in Lists. They are available on People, Organisations, Cases and Posts, and as a Projects column.

Tree Select

Tree Select presents options in a parent/child hierarchy rather than one long flat list — for example an Industry field, or a membership category with sub-categories beneath it. When a value is chosen, the record shows the full path (for example Level 1 › Level 2 › Level 3), not just the final option, so the context of the selection is always visible.

To build the hierarchy, open Add Fields → Tree Select, set the Field label, then use Add top-level option to add a first option. Each option has controls to:

• Add child — create an option nested beneath the selected option.
• Add sibling — create an option at the same level as the selected option.
• Add top-level — create a new option at the top level of the tree.

You can also set a colour for each option, and toggle Allow multiple (let users select more than one value) and Allow clear (let users clear the selection). On a record, expand each level's drop-down to drill down through the hierarchy.

Tree Select is available on People, Organisations, Cases and Posts, and as a Projects column. Tree Select fields can be used as List Builder filters, with the operators include, exclude, is empty and is not empty. Options are listed by their full path, for example Queensland > Brisbane > West End, so you can filter on any tier. Selecting a node matches only that node — it does not automatically match the options beneath it, so filtering on a parent will not return records saved against its children. To catch a whole branch, select the parent and each child you want included.

Sections

Sections group related custom fields visually on a record. You can create sections, add fields to them, and reorder both fields and sections (via Reorder Fields and Move Fields) so the layout reads logically. Sections are presentational only — they organise how fields display and do not change how the data behaves.

Field-level permissions

Use the settings cog next to a field to control who can view or edit that field. Presets include Everyone and Only me, and you can set access per user group. This lets you expose sensitive fields to some user groups while keeping them hidden from others.

Field descriptions

Every custom field has an optional Description. Open the field's settings cog (or edit icon) and use the Description (optional) box under the field label to explain what the field is for.

Descriptions serve two purposes:

• Internal understanding — on a record, hovering over the custom field's name shows the description as a tooltip, so anyone on the team can quickly understand an unfamiliar field. This keeps the intent of each field documented over time.
• SwiftFox AI — SwiftFox AI reads field descriptions to understand what each field represents. When you ask the AI to build a list or an email campaign, or to search records, the descriptions help it interpret your request and choose the right fields — especially where field names are ambiguous or specific to your organisation. Clear, specific descriptions lead to more accurate results.

Data table sections

A data table section displays its fields as a table of rows, with the fields as columns (similar to Projects), so a record can hold multiple rows of the same set of fields.

To create one, select Add new section, turn on the Data table section toggle, give the section a title and select Create. Then add fields to it with Add Fields as you would in any section. (Data tables support a focused set of field types — Text, Number, Date, Time, Select, Tree Select, Checkbox, Dynamic tags, File upload, Record, Smart URL, Custom Boundary and Project Row.)

Single-choice columns (one checked row)

A Checkbox column in a data table can be limited so that only one row may be ticked at a time — useful where the checkbox marks a single clear answer (for example the one preferred option, or a single primary row) rather than allowing several rows to be ticked at once. Open the column's settings cog and enable Allow only one checked row per record. With it on, ticking the checkbox on one row automatically clears it on every other row for that record, so the table captures one clear answer. Leave it off where more than one row may legitimately be ticked.

Required fields on data tables

Any field in a data table can be made mandatory. Open the field's settings cog, tick Required, and save. On a record, required columns show an asterisk when you add or edit a row. If you select Save (or Add Row) without completing every required field, SwiftFox blocks the save and prompts you to fill the required fields first.

Manage existing custom fields

• Rename / edit a field to update its label or options without losing data already captured (for example add or rename the choices on a Select field).
• Reorder fields and sections to control the on-record layout.
• Remove a field when it is no longer needed — be aware this affects the data captured in it.

Notes

• Plan field types before creating fields — changing a field's fundamental type later can be disruptive to existing data.
• Custom fields feed reporting, filtering in Lists, and (where exposed) the Login Portal.
• All changes apply across the account once saved.
• For tags and category-style classifications rather than structured data, see Tags & categories.

FAQs

Where do I manage custom fields?

Settings → Data & records → Custom fields.

Which records support custom fields?

People, Organisations, Roles, Cases, Posts and Events. Fields on the Roles tab behave differently from the rest — see Custom fields on roles.

Why can't I see the Custom fields settings?

Your user group does not have the Manage Custom Fields permission enabled.

Can I group custom fields?

Yes — use sections to group and order related fields. Sections are visual only.

Do changes affect existing data?

Yes. Changes apply across the account and affect how data is displayed and managed going forward.