validation to custom fields
Can we add any validation to custom fields?
We have set up a custom field "Est. Completion Time" that we intend to use to track time estimates for tasks. It looks like the best field type for this is "duration" which I've set the field type to. It is handy that we can enter 30m, 2h etc. However, it looks like nonsense and typos can be entered as well: 45n or "zero' for example. Is there a way to require that the field have a valid input?
Natalie Denny Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Natalie Denny Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Hi Natalie!
I don't believe there is a way to validate custom fields. But here are a couple of other ideas:
You could use the dropdown list type for this custom field. It will take you some time upfront to enter all of the possible options (15m, 30m, 45m, 1hr, and so on) but once it's done, users can only select the value from that list. The only issue here is that this field type doesn't support aggregation, so you wouldn't be able to see the sum or average of the field values in the table view.
Another way to avoid typos with with the minute and hour portion of the field is just to nix it altogether. You can use the number field to simply add a number without letters and enter the estimated time as a decimal. (Instead of 1h 45m, it would just be 1.75.) Then, to handle the issue of an estimated time not being entered at all, you can set up a custom dashboard widget to only show tasks where the custom field "Doesn't have this tag." (See screenshot.)
Also, did you know that there is an experimental "Effort Allocation" feature available in Wrike Labs? This might be something you want to look into and play around with if you haven't already! https://www.wrike.com/labs/
I hope that helps! 😄