Add Custom Fields

Custom Fields, or Custom Properties, let you tailor the platform to your specific needs, creating new fields to add information and refine filtered searches. Clarra supports up to 200 Custom Fields for each of the Matters, Plaintiffs, and Contacts sections, and up to 10 fields for section Events.

Before creating a Custom Field, it’s important to understand the options available to make it the most functional and effective for your needs. There are a variety of design and layout options, and choosing which ones to use is an intentional process. To create a Custom Field you must choose its:

• Basic Info
  • Write a name for the Custom Field in “Field Name”
  • Choose whether or not to make it a Custom Field Group
• Field Type
  • Choose which Field Type you want to use to input values into the Custom Field 
  • Depending on the field type, you may need to define the options available to select from once the Custom Field is created
  • "Mark this field as required" - check this box if you want to make this a mandatory field
• "Mark this field as PII" - "PII" stands for "Personally Identifiable Information".  Check this box if you want to mask the data in this field everywhere it is displayed.
• Rules
  • "Hide this field when empty" - check this box if you do not want this field displayed on the View page if there is no data in it.  It will always be displayed on the Edit mode of the page.
  • Select the appropriate Access option.  The default is "All Users".
  • For Custom Fields on the Matters and Plaintiffs sections only:
    • Choose which Matter Types the Custom Field should appear for
    • Select which Major Section Header the Custom Field will appear under
    • Select which Section Header the Custom Field will appear under

Note that for the Events section, a maximum of 10 custom fields can be created of only these field types: 

• Text field
• Single-select dropdown
• Color-coded single-select dropdown.

To determine how to design your Custom Field, first think about the type of data you’ll be entering into the Field. How would it best appear? As a dropdown menu, a clickable checklist, or a single line of text? Do you need to select just one or multiple options? Deciding this will help you choose the Field Type. You can review all Field Type options in our article here.

The layout of the Custom Field also requires planning. You can choose to have the Custom Field appear under the default Custom Field header, or place it beneath a custom Major Section Header or Section Header. In the example below, we see that “Team Members” is a Major Section Header, and “Lead Attorney” and “Docketing Users” are Section Headers.

To ensure proper placement of Custom Fields, create the Major Section Headers first. The order of creation should be as follows:

1. Create Custom Major Section Headers
2. Create Custom Section Headers to place under Custom Major Section Headers
3. Create Custom Fields or Custom Field Groups to place under Custom Major Section Headers or Custom Section Headers

Once you’ve created a Custom Field, you can edit the Display Order to rearrange its positioning.

In order to rearrange Custom Fields within their Major Section Header:

• Click “Edit Display Order” next to “+Add Property”
• Change the order from “Alphabetical Asc. (A-Z)” to “Custom”
• Drag and drop the Custom Fields to your preferred locations

Be aware that once you enter data into a Custom Field, the Custom Field cannot be deleted.

Users can also create Custom Field Groups to associate up to 4 Custom Fields with each other. This feature is especially useful for creating tables displaying multiple types of related information. For example, an insurance company may want to create a Custom Field Group displaying information about incidents, injury types, and damages all together. You can learn more about Custom Field Groups in our article here.

How to Create a Custom Field

To see how Custom Fields work, we’ll make one for Contacts. Let’s say your company sends out a holiday mailer each year, and you want to put together a mailing list from your list of Contacts in Clarra. This is easily doable, and all it takes is adding one Custom Field.

• Click on your Profile Icon on the top right and select “Properties”
• Select “Contacts” 
• Press “+ Add Property”
• Write “Include in Holiday Mailing List” in “Field Name”
• Select “Single checkbox” in “Field Type”
• Press “+Add Option”
• Write “No” in “Enter Value”
• Press “+Add Option” again
• Write “Yes” in “Enter Value”
• Scroll down and press “Save”

You’ve now added the Custom Field, so let’s see it in action. You can create new Contacts and edit existing Contacts with this new Field.

Let’s start by making a new Contact who is on the holiday mailing list. 

• Go to Contacts and select “+ New Contact” on the top right
• Fill in Basic Details
• Scroll down to Custom Fields
• Select “Yes” in “Include in Holiday Mailing List”
• Press “Save”

Next, let’s edit an existing Contact who will not be on the holiday mailing list.

• Select the green pencil next to the name of the Contact
• Scroll down to Custom Fields
• Select “No” under “Include in Holiday Mailing List”
• Press “Update”

We now have Contacts who are and are not on the holiday mailing list. Let’s filter by this Custom Field to know who to send a mailer to.

• Select “Filters” on the Contacts page
• Scroll down to “Include in Holiday Mailing List”
• Select “Yes”
• Click “Apply”

We can now easily see who is on the holiday mailing list. The uses of Custom Fields extend far beyond mailing lists, but the core functionality of adding an element and being able to filter by that element remains the same, creating a more efficient and convenient experience.