Custom Records

What is it and what is it for?

A Custom Record has two levels, and it's important to tell them apart:

• The definition (the "type"). This is the structure you design: you give it a name (for example "Vehicles" or "Rental Contracts"), decide who its owner is, and define the fields it will have, each with its own data type (text, number, date, a customer, an item, another Custom Record, and so on).
• The captured records (the "data"). Once the structure is defined, you and your users capture as many records as you need using that definition — for example, each vehicle in your fleet or each signed contract — the same way you'd fill rows in your own table, but with the same experience (list, form, permissions) as any other AdmCloud screen.

This feature is meant for businesses that need to manage their own structured information that doesn't fit any of AdmCloud's standard cards or transactions, without relying on a separate spreadsheet or outside development.

How to use it

1. Open the Custom Records list. You'll see every existing definition with its description, its owner and whether it's flagged as "Owner-only access".
2. Create a new definition. Enter a descriptive Name, the Owner, whether it should be grouped under a Custom Menu Option or an Enterprise Module, and whether it should be Protected (only the owner can change its structure). On save, AdmCloud automatically creates the table where the data will be stored.
3. Add the definition's fields from the Fields tab of the detail screen: each field has a visible Caption, an internal Name, a Data Type (text, number, date, yes/no, or a reference to a customer, vendor, item, ledger account, another Custom Record, a Custom List, and many others), whether it's Required, and whether it should show up in the list. You can reorder fields by dragging them.
4. Customize behavior if you need to, from the other tabs on the detail screen: Client Scripts (code that runs on load, before or after saving a record), Custom Actions (your own buttons) and HTML Templates (print formats for captured records). These three tabs are optional.
5. Share the definition with other users by assigning permissions on it under Security → User Groups, with separate levels to browse, add, edit and delete the captured records.
6. Go capture data from the "Go to Custom Record" link on the definition's list or detail screen. There you'll see the records already captured and be able to create, edit or view one, filling in the fields you defined.
7. If one of a record's fields points to another Custom Record, you'll see a Child Records tab on the parent record's detail screen, where you can capture the related records directly without leaving the screen.

Key capabilities

• Create as many Custom Record definitions as you need, each with its own set of fields.
• More than 60 field data types available, including text, number, date, yes/no, image, rich text, electronic signature and references to customers, vendors, items, ledger accounts, employees, projects, Custom Lists and other Custom Records.
• Parent-child relationships between Custom Records: a field that references another Custom Record enables a Child Records tab on the detail screen.
• Auto-numbered fields with a prefix and next number, useful for generating your own code or folio.
• Your own Custom Actions buttons and Client Scripts, without depending on another area to customize them.
• Print formats (HTML Templates) to print or generate a PDF for each captured record.
• A security log of changes to the definition and, when the corresponding option is enabled, to the fields that were modified.
• Transfer a whole definition (with its fields, scripts, actions and templates) to another company of the same Partner.

Key fields

Validations on save

• Name and Table Name are required. The Table Name can't contain special characters or repeat another definition's.
• You can't set both a Custom Menu Option and an Enterprise Module for the same definition.
• The Owner is required and must be an active user in the system.
• A Protected definition can only be edited by its owner; other users get a message saying they don't have permission.
• The Table Name can't be changed once the definition is created.
• On each field, Name and Caption are required, the Name can't have spaces or special characters, can't repeat within the same definition, and can't match a reserved SQL word.
• A field's Name can't be changed once saved.
• A "Custom Record" type field must specify which Custom Record it points to; no other data type can carry that reference.
• A "Custom List" type field must specify which Custom List it points to; no other data type can carry that reference.
• A Numerable field must be a Text field, and must specify a next number and a maximum digit count.
• A definition can't be deleted if it's used inside a Plugin, or if a Custom Field on Transactions, Units of Measure, Subsidiaries, Bills of Materials (BOM) or User Groups points to it; remove those references first.
• Deleting a definition with no active links also deletes its fields, tabs, Custom Actions, HTML Templates, Client Scripts and the physical table where its records were stored — along with all captured data.

Availability and permissions

• Creating, viewing, editing and deleting the definition requires the Customization permission on the user group.
• Access to the captured records (browse, add, edit, delete) is controlled separately, under Security → User Groups, with an independent permission level for each Custom Record.
• Transferring a definition to another company also requires the permission to create Plugins, and isn't available during the account's trial period.

Tips and common mistakes