Using Extended Fields to Format Request Data

Extended fields can be used in SBM Item configurations to specify the data format for fields that are used in requests.

You must also specify these fields in the RLC Custom Column auxiliary table items for them to be used as columns in request lists.

Note: You do not need to use extended fields to format general or provider-specific custom column fields or aliases. Extended fields should be used only when you are using SBM database fields that are not already stored in Release Control.

When you specify SBM database fields in the Extended Fields properties in an SBM plugin configuration, the plugin stores this data in the Release Control tables.

Displaying SBM Request Dates Using Your Locale

If you choose a date field to display in a report or in the request widget, and you haven't specified it as a DATETIME field under the extended fields, the date and time will appear in the default format. Define any date/time fields as DATETIME if you want it to appear in the format and locale specified for the SBM user.

Note:

For information on setting date/time formats and locale in SBM, see the SBM Application Repository documentation on Documentation Center.

To set the date time to appear in the SBM format and locale for requests:

In the Release Control Administration, update the default Sample Requests process app configuration as follows:
- In Extended Fields, enter one or more date fields with the DATETIME data type. See Data Types and Formats.
  For example:
  
  CLOSEDATE:DATETIME,RLC_START_DATE:DATETIME
In SBM Application Administrator, do the following:
1. In Auxiliary Data, select the RLC Custom Columns auxiliary table.
2. Update the entry you are using for your request columns, such as Default Requests Custom Columns.
3. In Internal Names, add the database internal names for the dates, such as CLOSEDATE and RLC_START_DATE.
4. In Display Names, add the names you want to appear in the request column, such as Closed Date and Start Date.

The request closed and start dates will now be displayed using the current SBM user's locale date/time format as shown in the following figure:

Note: Built-in custom column fields automatically use the SBM user's date format and locale. You don't need to use the extended fields to format these fields for requests. See General Custom Column Fields and Custom Column Fields for SBM.

Example Display With and Without DATETIME

The following figure shows an example of one extended field with no data type specified (CLOSEDATE) and another with the DATETIME data type specified (RLC_START_DATE:DATETIME).

Data Types and Formats

You add a data type qualifier on the end of date/time extended fields so the data type can be interpreted correctly by the Provider. If there is no data type applied, the data will be displayed as it is stored in the database.

Supported Data Types

TEXT (Text) 					   
USER (User) 					  
MULTI_USER (Multi-User) 
DATETIME (Date/Time) 
SINGLE_SELECTION (Single Selection) 
MULTI_SELECTION (Multi-Selection) 
SINGLE_RELATIONAL (Single Relational) 
MULTI_RELATIONAL (Multi-Relational) 
NUMERIC (Numeric)

Format

To specify extended fields and their data type use the following format. Multiple extended fields and data type pairs should be separated by either a comma or a semicolon.

<database field name>:format

RLM_TASK_OWNER:USER,(;)CREATED_DATE:DATETIME

To specify multiple values for extended fields use the following format:

admin,(;)bill

Date Time Formats

The default date/time field format is YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+HH:SS, where the final value is the UTC time offset.

For example:

2016-02-03T11:12:59+03:00

Use DATETIME to change the field to use the SBM format and locale.

For example:

02/03/2016 02:12:59 PM