Adding fields to a tracker

Step Two in: Four Steps to make a Tracker

Step	Details	Help Page
1. Create the Tracker	Admin names the tracker, and assign overall parameters and permissions	Creating a Tracker
2. Add fields to the Tracker	Admin defines the columns and type of information collected	Adding fields to a tracker
3. Add items to the tracker	Users fill out the forms to create items in the tracker	Adding items to a tracker
4. View or List the results	Use plugins to view a customized tracker output in a page	Viewing Tracker Results
5.Assign Trackers to Groups	optional - trackers can also be used upon registration.	Assigning Trackers to groups

In Tiki, the columns of this tracker are called fields and rows are items. Trackers can have any set of fields and any number of items. The columns, or fields, will contain the data about each row, or item, in the table. You can add, remove and list items that you want to track. You can add comments or attach files to each item tracked. You can assign users and groups to each item and, when the item is opened, it will appear in the user-preferences screen. You can monitor Trackers by email. Simple workflows can be modeled using one or more Trackers.

To make a Tracker useful and usable, you add some fields to it to capture the data you want to collect. You can administer fields by going to the the "Admin Trackers" list, and clicking the Fields icon ( ).

To add a field, click the Fields action from the Trackers list, then fill in the form that appears indicating the field name, field type, and any applicable options. You can use the field types listed at the end of this page.

At least one of the fields in your Tracker must be the "main" field, which links to the item's details from the Tracker listing. This attribute is controlled by the "Column links to edit/view item?" checkbox. You can also indicate if the field is visible or not in the Tracker item list using the "Is column visible when listing tracker items?" checkbox. If a Tracker has a lot of fields you may want to use this checkbox to remove some of them from the item listing, for easier viewing.

Some Tracker field types have options you can set. For example, the drop-down field's items are entered separated by commas. The default value for a drop-down field is set by entering the value twice consecutively, separated by comma. The default can be set to any item in the list, no matter what position the item is placed in the list. In the screenshot below "Academic Staff" has been set as the default by entering it twice.

Once you have entered several fields, defining their type, options and visibility, you will see a list similar to this one:

Note in this graphic the "is main" column. A "y" or yes, means you have checked the "Column links to edit/view item?" checkbox. The list also indicates whether a field will be visible in the item listing, and allows you to edit or remove fields accordingly using this list's Actions.

Hint: One default field in any tracker is the "Status" field, which tracks whether an item is open or closed. This field is not visible in the Fields listing.

Explanation of Fields

Local URL: tiki-admin_tracker_fields.php?trackerId=2

Each form includes a number of different fields:

OPTION	CHOICES	EXPLANATION
Name	any text	This field name is placed above the button or text field, it should be phrased as a query. e.g. (use Role: or "what is your role")

The Parameters of a Field

All tracker fields have parameters, which control how they work and display in the tracker. For more info see tracker field types. Here is an explanation of some of the options common to many fields.

OPTION	CHOICES	PARAMETERS	EXPLANATION
Type	Text input	size
		prepend	will be displayed before the field
		append	will be displayed just after
		max with size in chars
		max is the maximum number of characters that can be saved
		1 to make the next text field or checkbox is in same row
		If you indicate only 1 it means next field is in same row too
	Textarea	quicktags	1 for on, 0 for off
		width(in characters)	width=
		height(in characters)	height=
		max(characters saved)	max=
		listmax (number of characters displayed in list mode)	listmax=
	Drop down combo	a "choose one" input, enter text options separated by commas (example)
	Checkbox	a "boolean" on/off yes/no true/false field	put 1 if you need that next field is on the same row.
	Radio buttons	a "choose one" input, text options separated by commas.
	Date/time	Date & time picker
	User	allows a selection from the list of site's users ( more information )
		1	Uses the item creator's login
		2	Uses the last modifier's login
	Group	select a group from the list of site's groups ( more information )
		1	Uses the item creator's group
		2	Uses the last modifier's group
	IP Selector	records an IP adress ( more information )
		1	Choose the item creator's IP
		2	Displays the last modifier's IP
	Country Selector	A dropdown of all countries
		1	Displays only country name
		2	Displays only country flag
		(none)	Displays both name and flag.
	Numeric
		1	display the next field in the same row
		size	in characters
		prepend'	text displayed before the field
		append	will be displayed just after
	Image	Allows user to upload an image
		xListSize	size in pixels of the horizontal axis in "List View" mode (automatically rescaled if the upload image is larger)
		yListSize	size in pixels of the vertical axis in "List View" mode (automatically rescaled if the upload image is higher)
		xDetailsSize	size in pixels of the horizontal axis in "Item View" mode (automatically rescaled if the upload image is larger)
		yDetailsSize	size in pixels of the vertical axis in "Item View" mode (automatically rescaled if the upload image is higher)
		uploadLimitScale	maximum size of a picture. If the image is larger or higher, the uploaded image will be rescaled automatically- the initial image will not be saved
	Heading	Creates a new section in create tracker item view (divides the form into sections), Field title is displayed as heading 2, description below.
	Action	Label,post,tiki-index_raw.php,page:fieldname,highlight=test
	Category	applies a category to the tracker item (example)
		parentId	applies the same category as the tracker
		radio	lists the available categories so the user can choose one
		checkbox	(default) lists the available categories so that the user can check all that apply
	Multiselect	Allows selection of multiple values from a defined set of options. (Multiselect Tracker Field)
	Item Link	Links (related) items from one tracker to another (example )
		trackerId	enter the tracker ID number to be linked to.
		fieldId	enter the corresponding field ID
		linkToItem	links to item from trackerId whichever fieldId matches the content of that field.
		1	to create a link to items in view mode and listing linkToItems
		0	to create a link to the item in view mode
		0	to create a link to the item in listmode
	Items list	displays the list of displayFieldIdThere from item in tracker trackerId where fieldIdThere matches fieldIdHere. linkToItems 1\|0
		trackerId
		fieldIdThere
		fieldIdHere
		displayFieldIdThere
	Email address
		0	displays the address as plain text
		1	displays a hex encoded mailto link (more difficult for web spiders to pick it up and spam)
		2	displays the normal href mailto.
	Subscription	Set up a counter and allow users subscription to an event that is the tracker item. (more information)
	Dynamic Items list	Refresh "dynamically" a list based on another list. For example, when i select "Solaris" in the first list "Solaris, Windows, Linux, ...", the dynamic list does a request to obtains its items like "Solaris 2.9, Solaris 2.10, ...". If i select "Windows" in the first list, the second list change "dynamically" its content to "Windows 2000, Windows XP, ...".

For more detail Tracker Field Types

OPTION	CHOICES	EXPLANATION
Is column visible when listing tracker items?	tick/untick	Adds/removes the column from the list view.
Column links to edit/view item?	tick/untick	links from list view to item view, normally only the leading column should link
Column is searchable?	tick/untick	makes column data searchable by . . .
Field is public?	tick/untick	hides/reveals columns displayed using the trackerlist plugin.
Field is hidden?	tick/untick	'not hidden': every body who can see the item can see and edit the field.
"	"	'visible by admin only': only admin can see and edit the field and its value.
"	"	'editable by admin': everybody who can see the item can see the field and its value, but only admin can edit their value.
"	"	'visible by creator and admin': the field and its value can be seen in tracker list only for admin and only for a new item or an item belonging to a user (see @@ for the definition of belonging)
"	"	'visibleBy' with a list of groups: After all the previous conditions have been checked, the user default group must be in the list of these groups to see the field. A field that is seen but not editable appears in an input form.
"	"	'editableBy' with a list of groups: After all the previous conditions have been checked, the user default group must be in the list of these groups to see and edit the field
Field is mandatory?	tick/untick	User must complete this field to save the item. Usually to be mandatory means that the value must not be empty. But a mandatory checkbox has no sense, because a checkbox has always a value y or n (yes/no). If you want a behavior like for a disclaimer, please use a mandatory radio button (accept/do not accept)
Order:	integer	Row order of the field
Description:		descriptive text which is (sometimes) included in the cell with the input field

You can find more information on these tracker fields here:

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