Set a mandatory field

You can make some fields mandatory so that records cannot be saved without information in them.

Overview

Some fields are already mandatory by default, such as the Procedural Status field in the Object file. This means that you cannot save an Object record without entering data in the Procedural Status field.

You can make other fields mandatory, such as the Department field in the Object file.

Note: Once you make a field mandatory, the records that don't have data in that field will be unaffected until you edit them and try to save them. In other words, you can open, view, and close records that are missing data in the mandatory field without any issues. However, if you edit the record and try to save it, you'll get an error message. At that point you'll have to complete the mandatory field(s) in order to save the record.

Steps

  1. Go to Tools > System Maintenance > Customised Configuration.

  2. On the System tab, under Mandatory Fields, in the Custom table, add a field:

    1. Click on the first blank row in the table, or click on the last row in the table and press the Down arrow on your keyboard.

    2. In the File column, enter the file (for example, Object).

    3. In the Fields column, enter the field (for example, Collection).

  3. Optional: Tick the Colour checkbox and click Change to select a colour. People can set their own colour for mandatory fields with User Preferences.

  4. Click OK.