The Customs Editor (Step-by-Step Guide)

Jump to a Section

• Part 1 - Creating a New Tab
• Part 2 - Adding a Field
• Part 3 - The Vitals
• Part 4 - Phases

Introduction

How to Access the Customs Editor

Part 1: Creating a New Tab

1) Click on the "Create New Section" button to have a new section appear on the left sidebar (such as a tab for Expenses, Depositions, Time-Keeping, etc.). 

2) Enter a name and select an icon for the new section. This name needs to be unique across all other sections. Example: Intake

3) Enter a section selector. This is the codename that this section will be known by in Filevine's programming. This also needs to be unique across all section selectors. Example: intake

4) (Optional) For whatever reason, if and when a section needs to be hidden, check the "Hide Section" checkbox. This causes the data to be kept but the section will no longer appear on the frontend of any project. Internal Notes can also be entered. Internal notes are a place for notes about the section. 

5) Select a section type. There are various prebuilt sections that can be chosen from. These types have "Built-In" next to them. These are special sections that cannot be customized. If you are creating one from scratch, you will choose "Custom."

6) (Optional, but important) A new question will appear that says, "Is Collection?" If the tab you're creating should be a collections tab, check this box. Learn more about collection tabs. Basically, if your tab needs to hold several instances of the same set of questions, such as for a meds tab or an expenses tab, then you'll want to check the box. Once you save the tab, this cannot be changed.

7) Click the "Save" button to finish creating the section. Once the section has been saved, you will be able to start adding fields (See the next series of step to learn how).

8) (Optional) Reorder where the new section is displayed by using the Up and Down arrows at the far right of the section.  

9) Refresh your page to see the new changes go live.

Part 2: Adding a field

Steps 1-5 are required. Steps 6-11 are optional.

1) Click on the section that this new field will be added to and scroll to the bottom of that section.

2) Click on the "Add field" link. A popup for the field's settings will open.

3) Enter a field prompt. This is the question or prompt that you will see and respond to on the front end. This needs to be unique across all other fields in this section. Example: Date of Loss

4) Enter a field selector. This is the codename that the field will be known by in Filevine's programming. The code must be alphanumeric with no special characters and must be unique from all other field selectors. Example: DOL

5) Select a field type. This will determine how the field and data are displayed. Here are common types of fields: 

• a line of text
• a person
• a date
• an amount
• a dropdown list
• a button for attaching a file
• a document generation button

6) Assign a row number to the new field. By default, when a new field is added, the system will assign it to the bottom of the list of fields. As needed, change the row number to place the field wherever you'd like it to go. If the field you're adding should belong somewhere where there is currently no open row, you will need to create space. This can be done by clicking on the + sign of the row you'd like moved down. This will increase the row number of that particular field and all subsequent fields so that the newly-emptied row is now ready to move a new field into. 

7) Assign the order within the row. In instances where you have multiple fields on the same row, you can assign those fields to appear in a specific order from left to right. The number for the field farthest to the left is 0. Although any number of fields can be placed in a row, we recommend not placing more than 4 fields on the same row. Depending on your monitor size, that number may vary.

8) Set up contingent Visibility. If your field needs to appear under specific circumstances, you'll typically click on the dropdown menu that says "Always" to find the question that your new field is dependent on. A new dropdown will appear underneath "Show," where you'll typically pick "Equals" or "Contains." In the box to the right, you'll enter the keyword that will trigger the new field to appear (or disappear, if "Hide" was chosen). In the gif example below, the new field, Defendant 2, was set to appear when the question, "Are there multiple defendants?," has the answer "Yes." 

9) Lock the field. Locking a field prevents all guests with access and all collaborators from being able to edit that field. The data inside the field will still be displayed, but they won't have the option of changing it. In order to be able to make edits to a locked field, one must be a project admin.

10) Make the field obsolete. An obsolete field will not appear in all cases with no data entered in, including any new cases that are created from that time on. If any existing case already has data entered, the data will still be displayed but will appear in strikethrough to show that the field is obsolete. This is most commonly used when a question is no longer needed but cannot be removed to avoid the risk of deleting existing data in any of your cases.

11) Enter any internal notes. These notes are for anyone who might see them in the Customs Editor. These notes provide no other function. 

12) Refresh your page to see the new changes go live.

Part 3: The Vitals

1) Click on the Vitals tab in the customs editor. The vitals will be listed in order of appearance to add or edit the Vitals section of your cases. 

2) Click on the Create New Vital button or click on an existing Vital to make an edit.

3) Click on the List icon to select which field of data you want to display. Virtually all fields in Filevine can be displayed as a Vital, including meta-data such as a total amount or the number of items of a collections tab. Because this list is extensive, we recommend you using Ctrl + F to find and jump to a keyword for the field you are looking for.

4) (Optional) If you'd like to customize the displayed name for this vital, enter in the new display name in the Title Override textbox. 

5) (Optional) To remove a vital, simply click on the vital to open the settings and click "Remove this Vital." The vital will be immediately removed.

6) Click Save to save the changes. 

7) (Optional) Reorder the Vital as needed by using the up and down arrows.

8) Refresh your page to see the new changes go live.

Part 4: Phases

You're also able to make basic edits to the phases in a project type. In the Customs Editor, you can rename, add, reorder, and remove the phases. See these related articles about phases and about taskflow.