Objects and Fields are the structure in which data is sorted and stored in improveit 360. Some of the Objects you are already familiar with are: Prospects, Appointments, Sales and Projects. Fields within those Objects store specific points of Data like the Appointment Date and Time, or the Sold Price of the Sale. When creating a custom object, think about which Data Types and Fields you would like to store on the new Object. In this example, we will create a Warranty Request object to track Warranty Requests and if they are still eligible for a Manufacturer's Warranty.
Create a Custom Object
Navigate to the Setup menu
Search and navigate to the Objects menu.
Click the New Custom Object button
Enter the Name of the Object and be sure to enter a Plural version as well
Next be sure to Allow Reports, Allow Activities, Track Field History and Allow in Chatter Groups
Be sure the Status is Deployed and
Add Notes and Attachments related list to default page layout and
Launch New Custom Tab Wizard after saving this custom object
Then click Save
If you did not check the box to Launch New Custom Tab Wizard before saving, you will need to Create the Tab manually by navigating to Setup > Create > Tabs
Click the New button
Next choose a Tab Style of your choice (I'm using Ticket for this example) and click Next:
Next set the Tab visibility for which Profiles should see or not see this Tab.
Click Next and Save.
Create Fields on the new Custom Object
Next, you'll want to determine which fields should be on the Object to track critical data. Because I want to always know which Project this Warranty Request is related to, the first field I'm going to create is a Master-Detail field, looking to the Project.
On the Object under the Custom Fields and Relationship menu, click New
Here we will select a Master-Detail Relationship and click Next
Relate this to the Project and click Next
Name the new Field Project, and continue to click Next until you reach Save.
Next, we will create a field which is a Lookup relationship to the Product that the customer purchased. In our system we have our Product catalog built out and this field will helps us to Report on which Products need service the most.
I will relate this field to the Product object and name the field Product, and Save this Field.
Next, we will create a Formula field to pull own the Project Completed Date onto the Warranty Request.
I'll choose a Formula and a Data Type of Date.
Use the Insert Field function to lookup through the Project for the Project Completed Date.
Click Insert and Save your Formula field.
Next we'll create a Picklist field called Status to track the various Statuses of a Warranty Request.
Save when finished.
Continue adding Fields until you have a data point to track each critical piece on information related to the Object you've created.
Create a Custom Related List Setting
In order to see Warranty Requests on the Project page, you will need to either add to an existing Related List Setting, or create a new one.
Navigate to the Setup menu
Search and navigate to the Custom Settings menu.
Go to the Related List Settings and click Manage
If there is already a Related List Setting record for Project you can Edit that, otherwise you'll need to create a new one.
Here you will want to add a List for your new Warranty Requests object. NOTE: The name must be formatted as plural and contains underscores and an "r" instead of "c" if you are comparing the Name to the Object's API Name. You can use the API Name as a point of reference but it will need to be altered for this setting.
Add the Related List to the Project Page Layout
Navigate to Setup
Search and navigate to the Objects menu.
This time choose the Project object and hover over Page Layouts
Click on Page Layout Assignments to determine which Page Layout(s) are in use for your system.
Click Edit next to the Page Layout you'd like to add this related list to.
On the Page Layout click Related Lists and locate the new Object. Drag and Drop it to the location on the page where you'd like it to appear.
Click on the Wrench icon to Edit the properties and add Fields to the related list
Be sure to add the most critical fields like the Created Date, Created By User and the Fields you created and would most like to see on the Project page.
Save the changes when finished.
To test this new Object, go to the Project page and scroll all the way to the bottom. You should see your new custom Related List and you can click the New button to create a new record.
Note that any Lookup relationship fields you will need to populate by using the Search feature:
The Created By date and Created By User are tracked automatically when the record is Saved, and your Related List on the Project page should look something like this: