Custom Tabs

Updated April 25, 2023 14:58

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Custom tabs enable further tailoring of a record to your institution's needs. A record can have multiple custom tabs, and through permissions, you can show different tabs to specific users. By default, custom tabs follow the standard Materials tab in alphanumerical order. Custom tabs can add value by:

- Enabling users to enter information directly on records.
- Displaying information directly on a record rather than through a separate dashboard.
- Using custom fields for entering and displaying custom information.
- Providing messages automatically across staff populations.

Custom tabs are managed through the Tabs tool in the database, and the tab content is controlled through forms in the database.

To create and display a custom tab:

1. Create the form.
2. Create the tab.

Create the Form

The first step to creating a custom tab is to create a form.

1. Select the Forms section from the Slate navigation bar.

2. Select New Form, and configure the following:

- Page Title: Give the form a straightforward name, such as "Details Custom Tab."
- Folder: Create a "Tabs" folder to keep forms organized.
- Status: Set the status to Confirmed/active.

3. Click Save. With the form created, click Edit Form.

4. Select Edit Properties

5. Change the value for Scope. The default scope of a form is Person.

Set Scope to Person Page for a custom tab form that will appear on person records.
For a dataset (such as Funds, Appeals, or Companies) custom tab, set Scope to Dataset Page, and then select the corresponding dataset from the Dataset list.
Set Scope to Application Page for an application tab in a combined Advancement and Admissions database.

6. Remove all standard Slate fields preloaded on the form by default (such as name and address fields).

7. Add custom fields to the form.

Custom tab forms must only contain fields that are mapped to custom fields.

Important Custom Tab Forms Considerations

Read-only Fields: Use merge fields to show read-only data on custom tabs. Merge fields enable displaying data that should not, and cannot, be edited. Use merge fields instead of selecting "Read Only" on a form field to ensure that it cannot change or be overwritten.
Conditional Logic Filters: When conditional logic filters are placed on custom tab form fields and are not visible to the internal user, data in these fields can be overwritten with null values. To avoid this behavior, avoid using conditional logic on custom tab fields. However, you can use conditional logic on merge fields on custom tabs because merge fields only display data.
Default Value Form Fields: Generally, default values populate when a form loads. This default value will be saved when the form is submitted unless the value is changed. If a value is previously stored in a particular field for which a default value is set, submitting the form with the default value will either update or append the previously stored value. The very nature of a default value is that it will always suggest a particular value for a field on a form.

Because of this intended behavior, default values should not be used on custom tab forms because the primary purpose of these forms is to display the values stored in a particular field.

Create the Tab

With the form created, link the form to a tab as follows:

Select Database on the Slate navigation bar and select Tabs.
Select Insert.
Enter the following configurations in the dialog box:
- Status: Keep this setting set to Active for the tab to appear on records.
- Name: Give the tab a name that will appear on the tab when viewing records.
- Scope:
  - If this tab is added to constituent records, keep the scope Person.
  - If the tab should appear on application records, set the scope to Application.
  - If the tab should appear on dataset records, select Dataset.
- Form: The form menu will contain all forms with the corresponding scope (such as Person Page-scoped forms for a person-scoped tab). Select the desired form.
- Order: Enter a numerical order value for the custom tab to override the default alphanumerical order.
- Read Permission (Optional): Set a read permission for the tab by selecting a permission from the list. This will cause the tab to show only for users with the selected permission.
- Write Permission (Optional): Set a write permission for the tab by selecting a permission from the list. This will allow only users with this permission to edit data on this tab when viewing a record.
- Show for Records in Population (Optional): Select the population here if the tab should only appear for records in a specific population (this setting does not apply to dataset tabs).
- Color (Optional)
- Notes (Optional): Include internal notes regarding the tab, if desired.
Click Save.

The custom tab will now appear on records.