What is a Field?

A Field is a free text space allocated for users to capture and record information on Items within KaiNexus. 

How is a Field different from an Attribute?

While both Fields and Attributes are the building blocks of a Template, Fields are free text boxes that allow users to enter any answer, while Attributes prompt users to choose an answer from a list of preset options.

Types of Fields

There are seven types of Fields:

• Headers are a type of Field that serves as a title or an indicator for the start of a new section of a Template. They do not include any space for users to enter additional text.
• Text Areas are free text Fields where users can enter multiple lines of information. These are best used for entering large amounts of text, either in paragraphs, bulleted lists, or numbered lists. Text Areas can include images Chart thumbnails as well as tables and links.
  
  By default, there is no character limit for Text Areas, but you can choose to configure both minimum and maximum character limits.
• Text Fields are free text Fields where users can enter a limited amount of information. Text Fields can be customized with a regular expression (Regex) format to specify the required format for entered text. This allows you to ensure that the information entered into the text Field follows a specific pattern or format, such as a phone number format.
• Number Fields are Fields where users can only enter information in the form of numerical values. You can choose to allow numeric values in decimal form as well as define a specific format for your values, such as percentages (%), monetary value ($), etc. You can even choose to configure a minimum and/or maximum limit for these Fields.
• Date Fields are Fields where users can only enter information in the form of a date. You can choose whether or not past dates should be permissible.
• Date Time Fields are Fields where users can only enter information in the form of a date and time of day. You can choose whether or not past dates should be permissible.
• AdHoc Fields are Fields that allow users to enter a series of rows of information divided into a column format. These columns can be comprised of Text Fields, Number Fields, Date Fields, or even Value, Person, and Location Attributes. 

How can Fields be configured?

• A Field's name is totally customizable. You can even have a tooltip appear when users hover over a Field's name when working with their Items if you want to provide them with additional information.
• A Field can be completely optional or can be required at different stages of an Item's lifecycle.
• A Field can appear on an Item's work panel even when it is blank or only after it has been filled in.
• A Field can be configured to only appear on an Item if a certain Attribute Value is added. For more information, check out the Conditional Fields and Attributes support article.
• A Field can be configured with a default value that will automatically appear on every Item of a particular Template Type. This default can even be locked to prevent editing, providing the opportunity to supply standard messaging, prompts, or instructions for all Items of a certain Template. 
• Text, Number, Date, and Date Time Fields can inherit the value of the same Field on another Item through Field Syncing.