Creating Custom Input Forms

To create a custom input form:

  1. Click the Input Form Manager tab.
  2. Click New.
  3. On the Create New Form dialog, select the appropriate document type. By default the combined Input & View form type is selected because it gives better performance than using the separate Input and View forms. But you can click Advanced Options to choose a different form type if you prefer.
  4. Click Continue. The default form for your chosen document type and form type is loaded as the basis of the new form. The layout area shows separate sections for Header, Line, and Summary fields.

  5. Add fields to the Header and Summary sections by selecting Header Items from the Fields List then dragging fields from the list into the appropriate section. Typically the Summary section contains document totals. Blue indicator bars show you where the selected field will be inserted on the layout when released. The icon indicates that the field cannot be dropped at its current position. The icon indicates that the field can be dropped at its current position. A repositioned field is briefly displayed with a green background.

    You can filter Account lookup fields by account type. For example, when creating a custom input form for sales invoices, you might want to restrict the Account lookup to Customer accounts only. To do this, highlight the Account lookup field on the layout and click the icon that becomes available then select the account types you want to permit in this field.

  6. Add fields to the Line section by selecting Line Items from the Fields List then dragging fields from the list into the Line section. To move a line item field, drag it along the grid and release it at the preferred position.

    If you add a field from an object that does not already exist in the Line section, a new tab is created and the selected field is placed on that tab. Subsequent fields from the same object are added to the same tab. For example, you might drag the Price Book Name field into the Line section and create a new tab called Add from Price Book.

  7. To remove an item from the layout click its "x" box if it has one. To remove a line item field, simply drag it back to the Fields List. If you remove a field that is required to create a valid document, the form will save successfully but when you use the form to create a document an error will be reported upon save. Note that you cannot remove header fields marked with a red vertical bar, nor line item fields marked in the top left corner.
  8. When the form type is View or Input & View, you can click the Add or Edit Related List button to enable related lists on the form. Any related lists that you enable are displayed in a row below the button. You can change their order by dragging and dropping them along this row.
  9. Enter a name for the form in the Form Name box on the toolbar.
  10. Click Form Settings on the left-hand side and enter a description for the new form.
  11. Click Save.
Note:

Once you have created a custom input form it will not take effect until you assign it to the companies you want to use it, and activate it. (You assign and activate forms on the Input Form Manager - List View.) Your system administrator must also have overridden the New, Edit and View buttons on the custom object for the document type to use custom forms. See Setting up Custom Input Forms for details.