Custom fields let you record extra information about your students and members. Once created, they're displayed on every student profile and can be added to any of your forms.
Watch this video or read the full article below for more detail:
Custom fields vs consent fields
A custom field stores additional information about a student. It can be a line of text (such as a school name or association numbers), a tick box you can use to confirm or agree to something, or a dropdown for choosing from a fixed list of options.
A consent field is a specialised type of custom field used to record permissions - photo and video consent, for instance, or agreement to a code of conduct. Consent fields always present a Yes/No answer and when a student selects the No option an icon to signal this choice will appear in various places in the app, notable on class registers. It is also worth noting that consent fields are not designed for terms and conditions acceptance, as there is a better option for this in your account settings.
It is possible to convert an existing Custom field into a Consent field, preserving student data in the process.
Both types of field live on the student profile and can be reused across your forms, so you only have to define them once.
Navigate to custom field settings
Click your name in the top right corner and choose Account Settings.
Scroll down to the Custom and consent fields panel.
Click Edit fields.
From this settings page you can view your existing custom and consent fields, add new ones, or delete fields you no longer need.
Create a custom field
Click New custom field.
Enter a label for the field - this is what your staff and customers will see on profiles and forms. If needed, write some help text to accompany the field.
Choose a data type:
Text - a single line of free-form text.
Checkbox - a simple tick to confirm.
Dropdown - lets you define a list of options the user must choose from.
Link - displays a URL.
If you chose Dropdown, use the text boxes and Add option button to provide as many options as you need. Options can be reordered by clicking on the dots on the left and dragging up or down.
Click Save.
Your new field will now appear on every student profile, ready to be populated. You can also add it to any of your forms via the form composer. See the following articles:
Create a consent field
Consent fields work similarly to custom fields but with some different options. They only accept Yes or No as responses. A crossed-out icon will show on the student profile when the answer is No.
You can only have three consent fields, so it's best to use these for the fields that you need to see most commonly on class registers. This is often things like photo/video permission and first aid consent.
Click New consent field.
Enter a name - for example, Photo consent or First aid consent. If needed, write some help text to accompany the field.
Choose an icon. The icon appears on the student's profile once they've responded, so pick something meaningful (camera for photo consent, video camera for video consent, and so on).
Click Save.
Converting a custom field to a consent field
If you are already using a custom field for something like photo permission, or any other consent related information, these can be converted to consent fields. This is recommend instead of creating a new consent field as it will preserve student data.
The following article explains the process in detail:
A few tips
Keep names short and clear. Custom field names appear as form labels, so they will be visible to your customers when added to a form.
Use descriptions to add context. If a field needs explaining, put that information in the description. Keep field labels short.
Think about requirement. When creating a custom field to use on a form, think about whether you want it to be required when deciding which field type to use. Making a tick box required will force someone to accept it. If you want to ensure you get an answer to a question without forcing a student to opt-in, a dropdown field with Yes/No answers is often the better approach.
Next steps
Once you've created your fields, head over to the relevant form settings page to add them to your forms.