Custom Fields

Custom Fields are available to Regular and External Users on Business and Enterprise accounts. Learn more about the Business and Enterprise plans here.

⏱10 min read

• Overview
• Important Information
• Create, Add, and View Custom Fields
• Field Properties
• Share Custom Fields
• Edit Custom Fields
• Custom Field History
• Roll Up Custom Fields
• Join and Merge Custom Fields
• Aggregate and Sort Data
• Arrange Custom Fields on the Table View
• Hide Custom Fields
• Usage Tips

Overview

Use Custom Fields to track and enter information at the Task, Folder, and Project level. Once you enter data in a Custom Field, it is visible on the Table View, Task View, and on Folder and Project info panels. Use share settings to keep Custom Field data private or share fields with teammates to keep everyone on the same page.

Custom Fields are available to Regular and External users on Wrike Business and Enterprise accounts. Collaborators cannot create, edit, or fill in Custom Fields.

Important Information

• You can add Custom Fields to individual Folders or Projects (or to chains of Folders/Projects and Subfolders/Subprojects). You cannot add Custom Fields to the root folder (the main account).
• There is no limit to the number of Custom Fields you can add to a Folder or Project.
• Use filters to display tasks based on Custom Field criteria.
• Custom Field data is automatically exported when you export a Folder or Project to Excel.

Create, Add, and View Custom Fields

Create a Custom Field

1. Select a Folder or Project From the Workspace’s left-hand Navigation panel.
2. Switch to the Table View. 1
3. Click the “+” sign 2 that appears on the right-hand side of the table.
4. Type in a name for your new field and press “Enter” on your keyboard.
5. Specify field properties on the pop-up which appears. You have options to:
   • Edit the field name 3
   • Choose a field type 4
   • Select where to apply your Custom Fields 5
   • Designate who the field should be shared with 6
6. Click Save.

Your Custom Field is created and added to the locations you specified in step 5.

Add an Existing Custom Field

1. Select a Folder or Project From the Workspace’s left-hand Navigation panel.
2. Switch to the Table View.
3. Click the “+” sign that appears on the right-hand side of the table.
4. Begin typing the name of the Custom Field you would like to add.
5. Select the Custom Field from the dropdown list when it appears.

View Custom Fields

In order to view a Custom Field:

• The Project or Folder where the Custom Field is visible must be shared with you (you must have access to it).
• The Project or Folder where the Custom Field is added* must be shared with you (you must have access to it).
• The Custom Field must be shared with you.

*The Project/Folder where a field is added may be different from the Project/Folder where it is visible. For example, if a field is added on a parent Folder/Project it may be visible on all of its Subfolders/Subprojects. In this case, a user must have access to the Folder where the field is added in order to be able to see the field on a Subfolder.

Field Properties

Types of Custom Fields

Use field types to designate what type of information can or should be entered in a Custom Field. There are nine field types to choose from:

Field Type	Data Type	Suggested Use Case
Text	text or numerals	use when you need to enter data in multiple formats
Dropdown	users select an entry from a list of options specified by the field creator	use when you need to limit selections to specific options
Checkbox	users check or uncheck a box	use when you need to sort data based on yes/no criteria
Number	numerals (decimal places built in)	use when you need to work with numerical values
Percentage	numerals, a % symbol is automatically added	use when you need to track data as a percentage
Currency	numerals, the designated currency symbol is shown	use when you’re tracking expenses or working on a budget
Duration	users enter the number of hours the Task, Folder, or Project should take to complete	use to see, at a glance, how much time a project should take
Date	dates	use when you want to add sensitive dates to a Task, Folder, or Project (apart from the start or due date)
Users	select a user or users - can be from a predefined list of users or any user who is part of the subscription	when you need to associate users with a Task, Folder, or Project
Multi-select*	users select multiple entries from a list of options specified by the field creator	use when you need to select multiple options from a predefined set of options

 

*Multi-select Custom Fields can be created only from within Custom Field Management and the new Table View. Data entered into this field type can't be edited from the old Table View. Use the new Table View and Task View to edit data in multi-select Custom Fields.

Apply Custom Fields to Select Folder Levels

When you create or edit a Custom Field, you can choose what levels the field should be applied at. Apply the field to:

• Folders, Projects, tasks, and subtasks to add the field to descendent Folders, Projects, tasks, and subtasks. This is the default option selected.
• Folders, and Projects to add the field to descendant Subfolders and Subprojects, but not to tasks or subtasks.
• Projects to add the field to descendant Subprojects only.

Share Custom Fields

You can share a Custom Field independently of who a Folder or Project is shared with. Someone can have access to a Folder or Project (and all tasks within them), but if a Custom Field isn’t shared with them, then they won’t be able to see the field. 

How to Share a Custom Field

1. Create a Custom Field or edit an existing Custom Field.
2. Click the share icon 1 at the bottom of the field properties pop-up. 
3. Share the field with the users who should have access to the field. The default share setting for a Custom Field is “Shared with everyone”.

What Sharing Entails

What it means to share a Custom Field depends on whether or not a user has access to the Folder or Project where the field is visible.

Option 1: Share a Field with Data and as a Template

Users who the Folder/Project is shared with:

• Can see field data which has been entered for items in the Folder/Project
• Can add the Custom Field as a template (see below)

Option 2: Share the Field as a Template

For users who do not have access to the Folder/Project where the field is added, the field is shared as a template. These users:

• Remain unable to access the Folders or Projects where the field was added. Custom Field share settings do not change a Folder or Project's share settings.
• Do not automatically see the Custom Field on associated Subfolders or Subprojects, but they can add the field by clicking the "+" icon 1 on the right-hand side of the table and then selecting it from the Custom Field dropdown 2. When they add the field, they will see any field data which has already been entered for tasks in the Subfolder/Subproject.
• Can add a Custom Field with the same name and field properties as yours, to their own Folders and Projects. However, none of the cell data from your field is carried over to them.

Edit Custom Fields

1. Select a Folder or Project from the Workspace’s left-hand Navigation panel.
2. Switch to the Table View.
3. Hover over the name of the Custom Field you would like to edit.
4. Click the dropdown arrow which appears to the right of the field’s name.
5. Select “Edit column type”.

The field properties pop-up appears and you can edit your field’s: name, type, where the field is applied, and who it should be shared with. Click “Save” when you’re done to apply your changes.

Edit Custom Fields in the New Table View

1. Select a Folder or Project from the Workspace’s left-hand Navigation panel.
   
2. Switch to the New Table View.
   
3. Find the Custom Field which you would like to edit and click the carrot icon which appears to
4. the right of the field’s name.
   
5. Select “Edit Custom Field”.

The field properties pop-up appears and you can edit your field’s details including: name, type, to what the field should be applied, default aggregation type, and whom it should be shared with. Click “Save” when you’re done, to apply the changes.

Custom Field History

Custom Field History is available for Regular and External Users on Business and higher accounts and can be enabled from Wrike Labs by account admins. This is an experimental feature and as a result, it may have bugs, is subject to change, and may be discontinued at any time. Please feel free to use the feedback links in Wrike Labs to share your thoughts on this beta feature.

Use Custom Field History to see how Custom Field values changed over time. Once an admin enables it in Labs, all Regular and External Users can see the Custom Field History on the Task View and Folder/Project info panels.

Enable Custom Field History

Account admins can enable Custom Field History in Labs.

1. Visit Wrike Labs.
2. Scroll down to “Custom Fields History”.
3. Check the box next to “Enable”.

Use Custom Field History

1. Open a Task View or Folder/Project info panel.
2. If you don't see Custom Fields, click the square icon in the toolbar at the top of the window, to expand them.
3. Hover over a Custom Field whose previous values you want to see.
4. Click the clock icon.
5. In the overlaying window, which opens, you will see:
   • All values which were entered in the field. They appear in a chronological order: older values appear closer to the top. 
   • The name of the user who'd entered a value.
   • The date of the change.

Roll Up Custom Fields

How It Works on the Legacy Table View

If you add a Custom Field to a Subfolder or Subproject then you can easily roll up (display) the field on the parent Folder or Project. To do this:

1. Select the parent folder/project.
2. Click the gear icon on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. Click the checkbox next to the name of the field you want to roll up.

Your field is now visible on the parent folder or project.

Please note, rolling up a field is different from adding a field. When you roll up a field you can only view and edit field data for Subfolders and Subprojects where the field was already added. You are not able to enter field data for the parent Folder/Project, or for Tasks which live outside of the Subfolders/Subprojects where the field was previously added.

How It Works on the New Table View

You can make a Custom Field added to a subfolder or subproject visible on its parent folder or project. To do this:

1. Click the gear icon in the table’s upper left-hand corner.
2. Check or uncheck the box next to a column name to show or hide that column from view.

You will be able to view and edit field data for the parent folder/project and all tasks and subfolders/subprojects inside it. Note, that the field won't be visible in the Task View or project or folder Info panel of items where the field wasn't explicitly added.

Join and Merge Custom Fields

When rolling up Custom Fields, if the same field has been added to multiple Folders/Projects you can merge them into one.

• If the fields have identical names: Wrike automatically joins these fields into one, combining the data from each. If you don’t want to merge these fields, you can easily undo the auto merge: just click on the cell with the name of the merged Custom Field and click “Unjoin”.
• If the fields have different names: (e.g. Budget, Planned budget), you can also manually merge fields into one column by highlighting each of the fields you want to merge and then selecting "Merge field’ from the column dropdown menu.
• If there are values for the same task in both fields: None of the data will be lost. The data from the first field will be shown and you’ll see an alert indicating the value from the second field and if you wish you can undo the merge or overwrite the data from the first field.

Aggregate and Sort Data

Aggregating data allows you to automatically run calculations for Custom Fields* with numeric values (all text entries are omitted). There are two types of aggregation:

• Sum — Wrike automatically sums up all numeric entries and displays the total.
• Average — all entered values are added together and then divided by the total number of entries.

To use the aggregation feature on the legacy Table View:

1. While on the Table View, find the Custom Field with the data you would like to aggregate and click the dropdown arrow 1 which appears to the right of the field’s name.
2. Hover over “Aggregation”. 2
3. Select “Sum” or “Avg”. 3

To use the aggregation feature on the new Table View:

1. From within the Table View, find the Custom Field with the data you would like to aggregate and click the carrot icon which appears to the right of the field’s name.
2. Hover over “Aggregation”.
3. Select the type of aggregation: “Sum” or “Average”.

Sort Data

Need to sort tasks depending on their priority tag in custom fields? To sort data:

1. Select a Folder or Project and switch to the Table View.
2. Find the Custom Field with the data you would like to sort and click the dropdown arrow which appears to the right of the field’s name.
3. Select “Sort Descending” or “Sort Ascending” from the dropdown menu.

Arrange Custom Fields on the Table View

On the Table View, each Custom Field appears in its own column and you can rearrange the order which columns appear in. To do this:

1. Click on a column's title.
2. Drag the column to the place where you would like it to appear and then release the mouse button.

Hide Custom Fields

Hide a Custom Field when you no longer need to see it for that Folder or Project. When you hide a field, it remains available to add back at any point. Field data is preserved so that, if you do add a field back, data for associated Tasks, Folders, and Projects, is added back as well.  

Option 1: Remove a Field from a Folder/Project and Subfolders/Subprojects

Use this option if: the field was created from that Folder/Project, or if it was added to the Folder/Project by clicking the “+” button on the right-hand side of the table.

1. Select a Folder or Project from the left-hand Navigation panel.
2. Switch to the Table View.
3. Hover over the name of the Custom Field you would like to remove.
4. Click the dropdown arrow which appears to the right of the field’s name.
5. Select “Delete Column” on the dropdown menu which appears.

The column is removed from the Folder or Project and all of the Folder’s Subfolders and Subprojects as well.  

Option 2: Remove a Field from a Folder/Project but Not from Subfolders/Subprojects

Use this option if: the field was not created from the Folder/Project.

1. Select a Folder or Project from the left-hand Navigation panel.
2. Switch to the Table View.
3. Click the gear icon 1 on the left-hand side of the table.
4. Uncheck the box next to the Custom Field you would like to remove from the Folder or Project.

The column is removed from the Folder or Project. If the field was visible on descendent Folders/Projects, then it remains visible there.

Usage Tips

• You can use Custom Fields and the checkbox field type to quickly get together the relevant information for your weekly report. Detailed instructions on how to do this here.
• More usage inspiration and real-life applications of this feature are available on our blog: https://www.wrike.com/blog/personalize-wrike-new-custom-fields/.