Add User-Defined Fields (UDFs)

CompuTec ProcessForce supports User-Defined Fields (UDFs), allowing you to extend forms and tables to meet your business requirements.

This article explains how to add UDFs to CompuTec ProcessForce objects, where they are displayed, and which limitations you should be aware of.

Before you start

Before adding UDFs, make sure that:

• You have the User-Defined Fields - Management authorization in SAP Business One Administration > System Initialization > Authorizations > General Authorizations.
• All users are logged out of the company database.

important

Adding a UDF changes the database structure.

To avoid errors, disconnect all users before creating or modifying User-Defined Fields.

Supported forms

Most CompuTec ProcessForce forms support User-Defined Fields (UDFs).

However, the following forms either do not support UDFs or have limitations that you should be aware of before adding custom fields:

Form	Support
Costed Bill of Materials	Not supported
Item Costing	Not recommended
Resource Costing	Not recommended
Downtime Reason	Supported (displayed in the side panel only)

Add a User-Defined Field

1. In SAP Business One, go to Tools > Customization Tools > User-Defined Fields - Management.

   

2. Click User Tables.

   

3. Select the CompuTec ProcessForce table you want to customize, and click Add.

   

   info

   You can use UDFs in two types of tables:

   • Header tables (e.g., BOM)
   • Row tables (e.g., BOM: Items, BOM: Scrap)

4. Enter the field information:

   • Title
   • Description
   • Data Type
   • Structure

   

   note

   After the field is created, you can't change its Title, Data Type, or Structure. To modify these properties, delete the field and create it again.

5. Confirm the database structure update.

6. Restart the SAP Business One client.

View User-Defined Fields

Header UDFs

Header UDFs are available from the User-Defined Fields window.

To view header UDFs, follow these steps:

1. Open the form, for example: Bill of Materials.

2. Click View > User-Defined Fields.

   info

   You can also use the Ctrl+Shift+U shortcut.

   

3. Done. Now you can see the added header UDF in the side panel next to your form.

   

Row UDFs

Row UDFs appear as additional columns in the table.

Flat forms

Some forms, such as Downtime Reason, do not contain row tables.

In these forms, UDFs are available only from the User-Defined Fields side panel using View > User-Defined Fields option.

Control UDF visibility

You can control whether row UDFs are displayed in the table.

To hide or show your UDFs in the table, follow these steps:

1. Open the table you want to edit.

2. Go to Tools > Form Settings.

   

3. In the Table Format tab, find your UDF and choose whether you want to hide or show it in the table.

   

   note

   Only row UDFs can be managed through Form Settings

Important

During installation, CompuTec ProcessForce adds several User-Defined Fields to standard SAP Business One forms, such as the Revision field on Sales Orders.

Do not hide or deactivate these fields. They are required for CompuTec ProcessForce to function correctly.

Best practices

• Use a consistent naming convention for your UDFs.
• Add a unique company or partner prefix to every custom field.
• Do not add UDFs to Costed Bill of Materials, Item Costing, or Resource Costing forms.
• Keep the User-Defined Fields installed by CompuTec ProcessForce visible and active.

For naming recommendations, see Use Prefixes for Custom User-Defined Fields.