Creating a custom field
Before learning to create a new custom field, consider familiarizing yourself with the concept of fields in ChartHop.
See What are fields? for more information.
You can create custom fields from the Fields module. Custom fields are typically used in Forms , Carrot queries, Data sheet views, and even as references within other custom field calculations.
Creating most custom fields in ChartHop is quick and easy. For complex custom field implementations, you may need to reference the Carrot reference guide to learn how to query data in ChartHop.
In this guide, you'll learn to:
- Create a custom field
- Name your field and give it a description
- Select a data type and configure it
Navigate to the Custom fields module.

Click New custom field to bring up the field configuration modal.

At a minimum, you must give this field a label and field code before it can be saved to the fields table. Move onto the next section to learn to do so.
As described on the What are fields? page, the field label and field code are both important and must be unique to each field. It is recommended to use a label and code that will be instantly recognizable to other users, so as to reduce confusion when the field is used across the Org.
If your new field will be used in a form, it is best to name the field something similar to the question with which it is associated. For example, if the question were to be "How many times would you travel to the office after Covid-19?", the field label could be Post Covid Office Attendance, and the field code could be postCovidOfficeAttendance.
Add a field label and field code to your new custom field before moving on.
- Some field labels and field codes are reserved by ChartHop.
You can't use numbers at the beginning of a field label or field code (e.g. 1example).

Now that you've labeled and named your custom field, categorize it by searching for the desired category in the indicated field. If no existing category applies to your new custom field, you can create a new one by clicking Create new category, as shown below. See Using field categories in Data Sheet to learn more about field categories.

Next, provide an adequate description in the Description field, as indicated below. Remember, Org members may be relying on your description to understand the purpose of the custom field, so try to be thorough.

Next, let's add a data type to the new field. Use the Data type drop down to select an applicable data type.

Data type | Description | Links |
Short text | Used to store short strings, such as an Org member's preferred name. | See String |
Long text | Used to store longer strings, such as a paragraph-long response to a form question. | See String |
Integer number | Used to store whole numbers. | See Number. |
Decimal number | Used to store non-whole and whole numbers. | See Number. |
Percentage | Used to store percent values. | See Percent. |
Yes/No | Used to store boolean (true/false) values | See Boolean. |
Date | Used to store date values. | See Date. |
Money | Used to store currency values, such as 10 USD. | See Money |
Person | Used to store Org members. | See Person. |
Persons | Used to store lists of Org members. | See PersonList. |
File | Used to store uploaded files. | See File. |
Single select | Used to record a selected response from a list of available options. | See Enum. |
Multiple select | Used to record a series of multiple selected responses from a list of available options. | See Enum. |
Numeric scale | Used to record a response from a list of numerically ordered available options | See Enum. |
Smart calculation | Used to calculate a value based on other existing fields, using Carrot. | See Getting started with Carrot to learn how to use Carrot. |
Smart bucket | This is a single select version of a Smart Calculation. Each available option is linked to a smart calculation. | See Getting started with Carrot to learn how to use Carrot. |
Now that you've set up how the field behaves, it's time to set up the last few configurations.

- Expire after - allows you to set an expiration on data that is entered in this field. For example, a value of 1 will tell ChartHop to clear the data in this field one day after it was added.
- Applies to - what you enter here will determine where this field is applicable:
- Person in Job - the field relates to the person's performance within their specific job (for example Performance Rating or Satisfaction level)
- Person - the field relates to the person, but is unrelated to their job and would be the same if that person were in a different job (for example a T-shirt size or Myers-Briggs Rating)
- Job - the field relates to the job itself and is not connected to the person who is in that job.
- Open job - the field relates only to open jobs (for example recruiting-related metrics)
- Sensitivity - this determines who gets to view the data in this field. See Access levels for more information on the available options for this field.
- Enable edit dialogue - this determines whether the field values can be readily edited, for example from the data sheet.
Finally, click Save, and ChartHop will save your new custom field. You can now use this field throughout ChartHop.
- Forms
- Data sheet
- Getting started with Carrot







