[Status: Investigating 🕵️] Lock Custom Fields

@Jeremy If you are using dropdown menus in the custom field value, you can either allow or not allow other individuals to add additional values. If you don't allow them to add values, then the only options they can choose are the precreated options you give them. 

I agree it would be nice to make custom field values uneditable or locked though. Any user still can click on the edit function and change the criteria for a custom field value. 

I like the idea of locking the custom fields, but also, we would like to be able to make some of the custom fields "mandatory" to have an answer in them.  This would help with data quality to ensure that the necessary fields were entered on a new task.  Could custom fields have an option to make them mandatory - meaning a value must be entered in that field?

YES PLEASE!!!  we keep having over zealous users create a new field with the same name simply because they do not see what hey are looking for and then we end up with multiple fields with variations on the same name, like notes, Notes, NOTES- it makes the reports only as good as the fields chosen and if someone adds a new field that is similar- the created report will not catch it unless we know about it.....  extremely frustrating no matter how much education we do!

Would love to see this added!  We are looking to have some fields answered (required) and also have some set in the blueprint and not allow an edit - or hide custom field that has a selection on project/blueprint. 

Welcome to the Community Elizabeth Zobel, and thank you for supporting this suggestion 👍

Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Hi! This is a feature we would also find very useful. Has this gained any traction yet?

Hey Anna Tracy, thanks for reaching out!

I don't have an update at the moment, but once this suggestion reaches the 60 upvotes threshold, we'll add a status here. So please make sure to upvote 👍

Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

We need this as well, please! Users just don't remember which fields they should not update, but they need to be able to view them though. Monday.com definitely has this feature. Thank you. 

Hi Lisset Sanchez-Schwartz, thank you for chiming in here. Please be sure to upvote the original post if you haven't yet👍🏼

I also have the need to lock custom fields. Upvoted the post.

Thank you Alida Guzzetta, and welcome back to the forums 👋

Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa can you please provide an update on this (ability to lock Custom Field columns) - I see this as a VERY easy fix -simply provide a field to allow the SPACE Administrator to select "Admin Edit ONLY"- I need all our users to see these fields... but cannot allow them to edit these columns (but they need to edit those all around...   Wrike Guys - this is such an important issue I am astounded this has not been addressed with queries back to 2018...!!!

Hi Adrian Polden, welcome to the Community 👋

Although this suggestion is on the lower side of votes (it needs to have 60+ to get one of Product statuses), I have discussed this idea with our Product team and they will consider adding this in the future. We'll keep you posted 👍

Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

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Thank you Jeremy Ames for starting this thread in 2018.

Lisa I am restarting this thread. This feature of locking custom fields is essential when the work is distributed across teams and the one team's work need to be visible to other teams.  Some specific users should be able to edit/view, and others should have view rights only.
I also agree with Michele Mason to have a "mandatory" setting for custom fields.
Lockable custom fields will give key benefits of data consistency, access control, collaboration, data security and workflow efficiency.

Adding Slava Kogan

Hi Slava...

The Wrike team found a work around for my "lock Field" request using Automation... we set up a notification that flagged someone had changed the field immediately by email.  

Each custom field has a history attached, so I can then go back and reverse the change and discuss with the team member. To me this is still a work around - the ability to define as "Admin Edit Only" would be a far better solution - and I don't understand why this cannot be done... Maybe just more "up-votes"... Regards   Adrian

Locking custom fields can indeed be a crucial feature when multiple teams are involved in a project, and you need to control who can edit/view certain information. Incorporating both lockable custom fields and mandatory settings into your data management system can significantly improve data quality, access control, and overall efficiency in a collaborative work environment.

Folks unfortunately we need to just "satisfy the algorithm" here - as Lisa mentioned above - we need 60+ Likes to get an action to even look at the issue... it is strange to me that Wrike do not have a more responsive polling examination process - but it also looks like we need to keep this thread going thru to 61 Likes.... that might just work... AP 

Lockable custom fields and the option to set mandatory fields and user permissions can contribute to better data management, security, and collaboration in complex work environments. These features enhance the usability of systems and tools, making them more adaptable to the needs of various teams and ensuring data remains accurate and accessible.

Lockable custom fields can be a valuable feature in collaborative environments, offering control, security, and data consistency while enabling cross-team collaboration. Additionally, the ability to designate fields as mandatory enhances data completeness and accuracy. When used effectively, these features can contribute significantly to the success of complex projects involving multiple teams and stakeholders.

Jeremy Ames Thank You for raising this issue.  I am surprised that 5 years after you raised this , the matter is still pending.  We only started using Wrike earlier this year and have been struggling with the lack of security to certain Custom Fields.  Some information does need to remain locked - specifically where we are trying to evaluate cycle times taken by certain teams or quantity information.  Slava Kogan- this issue has been raised by various users, please consider introducing such a feature asap.  

This is one of the missing features that makes Wrike as a solution difficult to scale for large enterprises. Please add soon!

Adrian Polden seems we have more than 60 likes now... so let's hope for the best.  
Jason DAquin this may be more applicable for Large Enterprises, but even with 75 users. we struggle with ensuring accurate information in the Custom Fields.  

Michele Mason great idea to have mandatory Custom Fields.  We user Custom Item types and have fields linked to each item type... having some of these fields as mandatory would be a big step forward in ensuring that all the information that should be in a task is there.  

MW - I believe it! We've been talking to anyone we can at Wrike lately to push for this crucial feature! Fingers crossed we hear something soon.

Jason DAquin - how could we amplify our requests on Wrike?  the user forums on other comparable platforms [We used Asana for 10 years] are easier to navigate and the moderators tend to merge related issues.  That does not happen in the Wrike forums - so there may be many different threads running in wrike forums - for the same issue - but as no one thread has enough upvotes, the issue is ignored.  ... 

MW - I wish I knew! I've seen a lot of SaaS products have this problem; I'm somewhat surprised to hear you've had more success elsewhere.

I have seen some Wrike issues get merged but I've also seen issues with relatively large vote counts get turned down without any official response as to "why" they get turned down. I guess eventually it's up to us as customers to decide if issues are important enough for us to start shopping around when they're not addressed!

The inability to lock custom fields (columns) was close to a deal breaker for us... we have an alarm work around via the Automation - but it is a work around, it takes time to track back, find and deal with it... have just finished one this morning....!!!!! I could be doing other practical stuff... we are looking to Lock our Budget Fields so everyone can be assured the values are correct and the various asset classes, etc. sub-totals are clear. Locked Columns would be a huge step forward.

Adrian Polden and MW -  I agree with you. With lockable custom fields, everyone in the company will be sure of accuracy of data. With edit rights given to specific persons, accountability can be fixed with locked and mandatory custom fields. Slava Kogan Lisa

Hi everyone! Big thanks for your continued support here! 

Our team is currently investigating the possibility of locking certain items. At the same time, custom fields are not currently being researched. I've shared your feedback with the respective Product team and added the "Backburner" status that means that the team find the idea interesting but don't have plans for it at the moment.

I'd also like to mention that it's possible to set who can edit custom field values on tasks/projects using access roles. Have you considered using this option? 

Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover

Lisa I have already explained at length why this does not work for us, and even though the Automation Flag work around acts as a safety net, it does not solve the problem without ongoing effort, cost & risk... I am now truly disturbed at your "...not currently being researched" comment - given the up-votes this topic has generated, I see this as an absolute refusal from Wrike to listen to your clients... I know we are a small fish - but we do hold an opportunity to grow quickly to well beyond 400 users - so I reiterate my conversation to your Account Manager that we are currently in a process where I must prove to my Tech Committee that this will not be a problem in the future. This now makes this process more difficult and frankly, reduces my motivation to go into bat for Wrike above your competitors. Clearly this deserves more attention.