You can define custom fields for users or organizations, just as you can for tickets.

These enable you to store extra information about users and organizations.

To create and manage custom user/organization fields, go to CRM > Fields. The options for fields are the same as for  Custom fields.

You can also add a custom user or organization field to your ticket forms, so that when a user or agent creates a ticket you can have them enter information about the user, such as an account number.

User fields on ticket forms

You can add custom user fields to the ticket submission forms on the portal or embedded on your website.

When a user submits a value for a user field, it is added to their user profile in the agent interface, not to the ticket.

This is useful to collect user-specific information which will help you solve tickets, and store it on the user-record for future use.

For example, suppose your agents often need to know a user’s account number with your organization to solve their ticket. You could add a compulsory ‘account number’ field to your ticket form to ensure each user submits it.

If there is already a value for a user field, the user will see it prefilled on the form, meaning they don’t have to enter it again. They can edit the value if it is wrong or has changed and it will be updated on their user profile.

Here’s how to add a user field to a ticket form, using the example of an account number.

1. Go to CRM > Fields > Users.

   

2. Click + Add.

3. Select the type of input the field will take. For an account number, the simple Text option will work, so click Configure a new Text Field.

   

4. Enter the settings for the field. The Title and Description will be shown on the ticket form, so make sure they are phrased in a way that the user will understand.

   

   You can define  Field validation and display rules to make sure users/agents enter the account number correctly. In this example, a  General expression format [old] checks the account number has 8 digits. Make sure the field is set to be enabled, and click Save.

5. Now we have to edit the ticket forms. Go to Tickets > Departments and select the Layout tab. In this case, we want the user account number to be on every form, so we can just edit the default layout.

   

6. Drag the account number field into the user ticket form - the order of the fields is the order they will appear to the user.

   

7. Click the cog next to the field to edit the details.

   

8. Disable “Only show when there is a value”, so that the user is able to enter the account number on their existing tickets.

9. Click Done and Save.

10. The field is now shown on the user ticket form in the “Contact Us” section of the web portal.

![../_images/cuf-custom-form.png](https://support.deskpro.com/file.php/888YBRDXJQKYP887289AB7B4B/cuf-custom-form.png?access_token=rdu2ig-kimkeggcaw-f715b28ccb5b276dafb5e75fb7ea9076d9279847)

Note that mousing over the ? icon next to the field title shows the field description.
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In this example, you would also want to add the account number field to the agent form, so agents could see the value entered by users, or add the value if they were creating a ticket on behalf of a user. In Tickets > Departments, on the Layout tab, switch to the agent form and add the field there as well.

Per-user fields

In some situations, you may wish to add custom multiple-choice fields that offer different predefined options for each user.

For example, suppose you need to record which of a user’s pets a ticket relates to. For one user, the possible options might be “Shadow” and “Felix” - for another, they might be “Fido” and “Rex”.

You couldn’t use a normal custom field in this situation, because the options are the same for all users - you’d end up with a custom field that made the user pick from every pet name you have in your helpdesk.

The solution is to use a per-user custom field. This enables you to create a field with predefined choices, but with different options for each user. You can even allow the user to change the available options through the portal.

If you added the Pets field to the portal contact form, here’s what it would look like to the two example users we mentioned above:

To create a per-user custom field:

1. Go to Admin > CRM > Fields > Users.

2. Under Per-User Custom Fields, click + Add.

   

3. Enter the field details:

   • Title and Description are displayed to users (if you add the field to the contact form), and agents. Be sure to explain the purpose of the field clearly.

   • Enabled - select this to make the field active.

   • Select the type of choice field you want:

     • Select box

       

     Only one can be selected at a time

     • Multiple-select box

       

     Allows multiple selections

     • Radio buttons

       

     Only one can be selected at a time

     • Checkboxes

       

     Allows multiple selections

4. Choose whether to enable User can change values - if enabled, the user will be able to edit the possible values for this field when logged in to the portal.

5. Click Save to store the field.

6. Go to Tickets > Departments, add the per-user field to the ticket form layouts you want (i.e. pick which departments, and whether it’s for users and/or agents), and set display options. See the section on  Ticket form layouts for details.

7. Now in Agent > CRM you will be able to go to each user’s profile and edit their values for the field.

   In the user’s PROPERTIES section, click the small gear icon at the top right to see the values.

   

   Click on a value to edit it. Click the X icon at right to remove a value.

   You can drag values to reorder them using the handles at left.

8. Your users and/or agents will now see the new field according to the settings you chose in step 6.

Editing per-user fields from the portal

If you want users to be able to change the options for a per-user field, make sure that in the field’s settings in CRM > Fields > Users, you enable the Allow users to edit values themselves option.

When you enable this option:

1. Users can add or change the available values from their profile on the portal. Deleting all the text and saving will remove a value altogether.

   

2. When a user submits a ticket, they can choose to add a new value instead of selecting one of the existing options.

   

Organization fields on ticket forms

You can add custom organization fields to your ticket forms in the layout editor under Tickets > Departments , just as you can with user fields. The procedure is the same as  feedback:281.

You will see your custom organization fields and  Custom Data Organization on the right, below the user fields.

Organization fields are only shown on forms when the user is logged in and is a member of an organization. They are not shown on embedded forms, only on the portal.

When a user adds or changes the value of an organization field through a form, it is updated on the organization’s profile in the agent interface.

A user does not have to be an organization manager to update an organization field through a form.

Per-organization fields

In some situations, you may want to add custom multiple-choice fields which offer different options depending on the user’s organization.

For example, suppose you support several different organizations, each of which operate out of several different buildings. You want to record which building a ticket relates to. For organization A, the possible options might be “Chrysler” and “Empire State”; for organization B, the options might be “Tribune Tower” and “Aon Center”.

The solution is to use a per-organization field which offers different multiple-choice options for each organization.

Per-org fields work much like per-user fields, except that your agents set the available options in the Properties section of each organization’s profile.

Per-org fields are useful for capturing information like server names or branch locations, where the value will vary between tickets, but each organization will have a limited number of options.

Each user will see the options for their own organization (provided it’s been added to the relevant ticket layout). Users who are not logged in or are not members of an organization will not see the field at all.

Users can’t edit the options for a per-org field from the portal at all; they can only select from existing options. Only agents can change the options available for each organization.