Two categories of fields are provided:
- System Fields
All primary and auxiliary tables contain system fields that help gather data needed by the tracking system. Some system fields are required, but others are optional. For a list of system fields for each table type, refer to Application Field Reference.
- Custom Fields
SBM provides a diverse set of field types that you can add to the primary and auxiliary tables in your applications.
The following sections describe the type of custom fields available to you.
Simple Field Types
The following fields represent simple values stored within database tables. These field types are the most efficient and provide the best performance when used in reports.
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Binary/Trinary | Can store either two values or three
values of your choosing.
Use two values for situations where you need to give users "yes/no" or "on/off" options. Use three values when you need an additional option, such as a value that helps determine subtask status. |
|
Date/Time | Store dates and time values.
Date/Time fields can be displayed as the date only, date
and time, time only, or elapsed time.
Date/Time values are shown to users in the format provided in their user profile. |
|
Numeric | Store integers, floating point values, or
fixed precision values.
Numeric fields can be used as weights in Trend reports. |
|
Summation | Sums the values of weights of Single Selection fields or values for Numeric fields set as integers. |
|
Text |
Can be of fixed length up to 255 Unicode characters, Memo type (whose length varies by DBMS), or a Journal type. SBM supports non-ASCII characters in Text field values, allowing runtime data to be displayed in a wide variety of international languages. You can enable Rich Text editing for Memo and Journal fields. |
User Field Types
The following field types represent users or groups in your systems. Values for these field types can come from roles defined in SBM Composer and from users and groups defined in SBM Application Administrator. For details, refer to Values for User, Multi-User, and Multi-Group Fields.
User field types are also used to establish ownership for primary items. For details, refer to Ownership of Items.
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Multi-Group | Enables users select one or more groups to associate with an item. |
|
Multi-User | Enables users to select users, groups, or group members as values for the fields. The type of selections available depend on settings you apply for the field in SBM Composer. |
|
User | Enables users to select a single user or
group member to associate with an item.
System User fields, such as Owner and Submitter, are indicated by a red circle in the bottom left corner of the User field icon. |
Selection Field Types
The following field types enable users to select values you define for the field in SBM Composer. Use this field type for static values that will likely not change over time. For example, use a Single Selection field to create a Priority field that may have values of High, Medium, or Low.
If values will change on a regular basis, consider using Single Relational or Multi-Relational fields instead.
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Multi-Selection | Enables users to select one or more predefined values. |
|
Single Selection | Enables users to select one predefined
value.
You can assign weights to each value to assist with reporting, backlog views, and Summation field values. |
Relational Fields
Single-Relational and Multi-Relational fields are used to establish relationships between data in primary and auxiliary tables. These field types are ideal for managing values that will change over time.
For example, you may have a Products auxiliary table that stores information about the products your company sells. Each product has its own record in the Products table. You can create a Multi-Relational field in your process app that points to the Products table, enabling users to select the products that relate to a particular work item. As your company adds products, you can easily add records to the Products table.
Relational fields are created in SBM Composer, but Relational field values are typically added using the Auxiliary Data feature in SBM Application Administrator.
The following information applies to Relational fields:
- Consider user privileges carefully when you use Relational fields across tables. Users who do not have privileges to view items in a Relational field table may be able to view those items as values in Relational fields in other tables. If you do not want user to see Relational field values, move Relational fields to a section where users do not have "view" privileges, such as a Manager section.
- The value display format controls how Single Relational and Multi-Relational fields appear as values to users. For details, refer to About the Value Display Format and General Tab of the Table Property Editor.
- These rules apply to value sorting:
- Relational field values based on primary tables cannot be sorted manually. Values are sorted by project and then Item ID.
- Relational field values based on auxiliary tables are sorted by the table's value display format. To change the order in which values sort for the Relational field, modify the value display format for the auxiliary table.
- Sub-Relational field values are not added to the database, but define a relationship between fields. Sub-Relational fields can be useful in certain situations, but extensive use of them may slow the performance of your process app.
- You can create relationships to fields in the Global Process App tables, but you cannot create relationships from tables in the Global Process App.
Folder Fields
Folder fields are used to link primary or auxiliary items to a specified Public or Knowledge Base folder.
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Folder | Values are folders created in SBM System Administrator. |
File Fields
File fields enable users to add files to an item during a transition. File fields provide greater functionality than simple file attachments, including:
- Adherence to field privilege sets instead of attachment privileges
- Flexibility in form placement – they can appear anywhere on forms, not just on the Attachments tab
- The ability to specify which file extensions are allowed or disallowed
- The ability to require a file to be added on a transition
- The ability for users to drag and drop files onto the form
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
File | Enables users to add one or more files to an item, depending on the configuration. Users may also be able to edit and delete existing files. |
URL Fields
URL fields enable users to add URLs to an item during a transition. URL fields provide greater functionality than simple URL attachments, including:
- Adherence to field privilege sets instead of attachment privileges
- Flexibility in form placement – they can appear anywhere on forms, not just on the Attachments tab
- The ability to require a URL to be added on a transition
| Icon | Field Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
URL | Enables users to add one or more URLs to an item, depending on the configuration. Users may also be able to edit and delete existing URLs. |