Project Fields

Issues in Squish are defined by information contained in a number of fields, as well as user comments. A few fields are provided by default in Squish to get you started, and you can add, delete, deactivate, re-order, or edit those fields or their lookups as necessary. Project managers can customize the fields and their settings to fit the project, but some default fields and settings are necessary for Squish to keep track of your issues. From any project screen, click Admin > Fields on the navigation bar to access the Fields screen, where all of these changes can be made.

• Reordering. The order that the fields appear on the screen can be changed easily from the Fields screen.  Click on the move icon (three parallel lines before the name) and drag the field to the position you want it moved.
• See an overview of all fields and issue types. Click this option to open a table displaying each field as a row and each issue type as a column. A checkbox in the cell for a given fields and issue type means that fields is active for the issue type.
• Field Name. Select the field name to edit the properties and lookup values for that field.
• Active Fields. Active field names are blue and inactive ones are gray. To change active status of the field click on the name to open the editing screen.
• Private. Fields with a value of Yes in this column are only available for users with roles permissions to view private fields.
• Create a New Field. Click to add additional fields to the project.

Certain fields are required for Squish to work. All of the required fields are included by default when creating a new project. The names of all default fields can be changed, but the functionality of the fields does not change. The following fields are added to Squish projects by default:

• Issue ID. This field is necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted or edited for issues.
• Audit trail fields. The Submitted By, Resolved By, Date Submitted, Date Resolved, and Date Modified fields are necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted or edited for issues.
• Subject. This field is necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted. The field size can be changed and it can be edited for issues. It is always required.
• Type. This field is necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted. The field size can be changed and it can be edited for issues. This field is always required.
• Status. This field can be inactivated and is not required, though milestones and any statistics will not be usable if Status is inactive. There are two special properties of Status field values:
  • Resolved. if selected for a Status value, that field value will affect the date resolved for the issue, searching and project management notifications.
  • Require Resolution. If selected for a value, issues with this field value will require a value to be entered in the Resolution field.
• Milestone. This field has a type of "Project/Milestone". This field is linked to the Milestones feature.
• Assigned To. This field is linked to a list of project members. In an issue, if a user is selected for this field, that user may receive email notifications related to the issue.
• Priority. Required by default.
• Description. This field is necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted. The field size can be changed and it can be edited for issues. This field is always required.
• Resolution. This large text field is necessary to Squish functionality and therefore cannot be deleted. The field size can be changed and some properties can be edited. This field is not required.
• Confidential. If an issue is marked as confidential via this field, then only the submitting user and users with the Can view confidential fields and comments role permission will be able to access the issue.
• Parent Issue. Inactive by default. This field is used to track parent-child relationships between issues. Activating the field will enable the New Child button available on an issue’s details page.
• Due Date. Inactive by default. This field is intended to track issue due dates associated with project management. When configured via the Project Settings, the Due Date field is used to displaying issues on the project calendar and for reminders.

1. Click +Create a new field on the Project Fields screen to add a new field.
2. Select a Type from the drop-down list. Available types include: Text, Lookup, Boolean (Yea/No), Integer, Decimal, Date, Large Text, User List, Multi-Value Lookup, URL, Issue, and Checklist.
3. Enter a Name for the field. This will be the field label.
4. Enter a description if desired. This will appear in lighter letters beneath the field. This is a good place to put any special instructions for the field.
5. Check the boxes next to the options you want. See the Field Types section below for more information on additional options specific to each field type. The following options are available for all new fields:
   • Require this field to have a value - The field cannot be blank when submitting or updating an issue. Corresponds to Required column on the Fields screen.
   • Displayed this field in search results by default - The field will be included in the list of fields on the left on the Search screen. Corresponds to Search column on the Fields screen.
   • Record history for this field - Changes to the data in the field will be tracked and can be displayed. By default this field is checked.
   • Private - Only users with a role that has the View Private Fields permission can see this field.
   • Allow this field to be mass changed - Users with permission to Mass Change can update the data in this field for a group of issues using the Mass Change feature. Corresponds to Change column on the Fields screen.
6. Key in a Regular Expression Validator if needed.
7. Check the Only notify project managers on this field checkbox, if needed. This checkbox will prevent subscribed users who are not managers for the current project from receiving email updates that include this field’s data or which are for updates made to this field. Those users will still receive notifications for other field updates and comments.
8. Optionally, select one or more values for the Notify issue types box. For any Issue Types selected, the new field's value will be included in all email notifications.
9. Select the issue type(s) that you want the field to appear in via the Active column's checkbox for that issue type. The following additional configurations are available for each Issue Type:
   1. Show on Submit - When checked, the field will be available when submitting an issue. Corresponds to Submit column on the Fields screen.
   2. Required - Can be set to require a value for this field always or only when resolving the issue. Fields can also be configured to never require a value for the corresponding Issue Type.
   3. Read-Only - The field can be set to be read only in the following circumstances: after submission, after issue resolution, or never.
   4. Location - Identifies where this field is displayed on an issue. Options include: in the field section, above the issue description, below the issue description, or after the Comment box.
10. Click Create Field to create the new field. 

Editing Fields

From the Project Fields screen click on the name of the field you want to edit. An editing screen like the one above will open. While editing a field, you may select or type a default value per Issue Type for the field. Make the changes you need to make and click on the Submit Changes button.

Company Administrators may convert one field to another kind. You can do this by clicking on the Convert Field button. A screen will open with the types of fields to which you are able to covert.  Select a type and click on the Convert Field button. A dialog will ask you if you are sure. Click OK to complete the conversion.

Deleting Fields

If a field can be deleted, there will be a Delete Field button at the bottom of the editing screen. Click on the Delete Field button to delete the field. A Delete field screen will ask you if you are sure. If the field has a value for anu issues, the page will also include a count of the number of issues the field will be deleted from. Click the Delete Field button. A dialog will ask you if you are sure. Click OK to complete the deletion.

There are several different field types that can be selected. Depending on which type is selected, additional options will be displayed once you fill out the initial fields on the Field screen and click Create Field. The additional options are listed below under each field type: