Create a Characteristic Field¶

Characteristic fields can be used to track useful information about volunteers and/or Assignments. The fields can be set up to have a list with checkboxes so multiple items can be checked, or they can be set up with radio buttons to allow only one choice from the list. Characteristic fields appear on the Profile tab of the volunteer record and can appear on the Profile tab of Assignment records. You can also add the fields to application form and to the Profile page of the VicNet portal. See Characteristic Field Overview for more information about Characteristic fields.

This help topic explains how to set up new Characteristic fields. If you are not already on the Field Properties setup page for a Characteristic field, you can get there like this:

1. Choose Setup from the menu.
2. Expand Field Options.
3. Click Profile Tab (for Volunteers). Note that this is where you will click to create or edit a Characteristic field, regardless of whether the field is used on the Profile tab of the volunteer records, the Profile tab of the Assignment records, or both.
4. Scroll down to the Characteristic fields section and either click on the name of the field you want to edit, or click on the Add a new Characteristic link to create a new Characteristic field.

Use the following sections of the Field Properties setup page to customize the Characteristic field:

Characteristic name¶

Enter the name of the characteristic you will track in this text field. If you are using the field to add a question on your application form (such as Have you volunteered with us before?), you can enter the question as the field's name as long as the question is short enough.

You can choose¶

This field allows you to choose whether users who interact with the field can choose only one choice or multiple choices.

As Many as You Want¶

Choosing this option sets up the Characteristic field items as checkbox fields. In this case, users can select as many of the items as applicable, and the box will look like this:

Just One¶

Choosing this option will create the Characteristic field items as radio buttons. Users will only be able to select one option, and the Characteristic field box will look like this:

Use This For...¶

This section of the field set up allows you to choose whether the field will appear on the Profile tab of both volunteer and Assignment records, or just on the Profile tab for one type of record.

Select this option to insert a box for this Characteristic on both the volunteer record Profile tab and the Assignment record Profile tab. When this option is selected, you will be able to create a Set based on the Characteristic field to find volunteers with a certain item marked.

Select this option to insert a box for this Characteristic on the Profile tab for volunteers but not for Assignments. When this option is selected, you will be able to create a Set based on the Characteristic field to find volunteers with a certain item marked.

Select this option to insert a box for this Characteristic on the Profile tab for Assignments, but not for volunteers.

Items¶

Use the Add a new item field to enter and save the first option for this Characteristic. If, for example, your Characteristic is called Skills you might create an item called Accounting. Once the first item has been saved, add additional items in the same way until all necessary options are entered.

If you are editing a Characteristic field that is already set up, you can also update, merge, or delete any existing items.

System operator rights¶

Use this section to determine whether this characteristic field should be View and change, View only or Hidden to System Operators, based on their user level (Volgistics Administrator, Power user or Basic user). See Limit Operator Rights or Access for additional information on setting operator rights.

Click Save to save your changes and add the Characteristic field to your database, Delete to delete the field, or Cancel to close the page without saving your changes.

Related Help¶

• Characteristic Field Overview