This article provides detailed explanations on how to use Custom Lists in PPO:
- Custom lists and custom list items;
- Adding a custom list;
- Custom list view page;
- Editing a custom list;
- Adding and editing custom list items;
- Allowing users to add custom list items;
- Making custom list items inactive;
- Deleting a custom list and/or custom list items.
Custom lists and custom list items
Drop-down lists are called custom lists in PPO and can be maintained by the client‘s PPO Administrator. To access Custom Lists, hover over Administration and select Custom Lists.
A distinction is made between a custom list and custom list items. The term “custom list” is used when referring to the list in its entirety. Example of the full custom list below.
Custom list items are the individual values found in the list. Like Pre-Initiating:
There are 2 types of custom lists in PPO:
- Custom List (Single) allows you to select a single value. This is used in scenarios where there is a one to one relationship; and
- Custom List (Multiple) allows you to select multiple values. This is used in scenarios such as selecting multiple strategic objectives that a project is supporting, capturing multiple skills linked to a resource or multiple business units being impacted by a project.
Refer to this article to learn more about the 2 types of custom lists.
When navigating to the Custom Lists list page, you have the ability to see whether the custom list is being used in fields on PPO. This is very handy for Administrators to assist with clean-up/deleting unused custom lists.
Adding a custom list
To add a custom list click hover over the Administration Menu and then click on the Custom Lists item. Click on the Add button.
Specify a name and description for the custom list.
We recommend you use the entity on which the custom list will be used, together with the name of the field the custom list will be linked to. For example, if you are creating a Department custom list for the Resource and Project entity, the name of the custom list will be Resource & Project - Department.
To add a custom list item you simply click on the '+' icon as shown above.
If you want the list items to be sorted automatically (i.e. alphabetically), mark the “Sort automatically” checkbox as true. Certain custom lists require a specific sort order (such as project statuses or months) and in these cases the Sort automatically field must be left as false.
You can also optionally specify a color to be associated with a custom list item by checking the "Show colour?" checkbox and selecting a color from the colour picker or entering a hex color code. When you are done, click on the Submit button. For more information, refer to this blog article.
If you want users to be able to add custom list items to this list, mark the "Allow User Add Access" checkbox as true. You can read more about this here.
Under the Custom List Items heading, you can start building on your custom list by selecting the ‘+’ icon. Once you have added your custom list items click on the Submit button to add the custom list.
Custom list view page
On the custom list view page it also shows whether this custom list is being used in fields on PPO. The example below indicates that the Custom is being used on the Resource entity in the Department field as well as on the Project entity Department field.
Custom List Items columns:
Key: The key can be copied if you need to specify it in calculated fields.
Sort Key: The order in which the custom list items were added.
Description: This is the name of the custom list item.
Weighting: The weighting attribute can be used in a variety of calculations, including Risk Rating, Prioritisation, Quality and Governance score calculations. For more information, refer to this blog article.
Editing a custom list
To edit a custom list, hover over the Administration Menu and click on the Custom Lists menu item. From the List page, select the applicable custom list, which will then open the Custom List View page for the selected custom list.
On the Custom List View page, the following options are available regarding the custom list itself:
Edit: This option allows you to change the name, description, sorting, colours and weighting of the custom list and custom list items.
Delete: This will be discussed in detail below.
View Custom List List: This will take you back to the list page showing all the custom lists.
Re-order List Items: This option allows you to re-order the items in the list into a specific order. To change the order of the list items move the items to the block on the right in the order you want them to appear on the list and then click on the Submit button.
Adding and editing custom list items
To add custom list items to an existing custom list, simply hover over the Administration Menu and then click on the Custom Lists menu item. A list of all the custom lists on the entity will open. Select the applicable custom list. On the Custom List View page for the selected custom list, click on the "Edit" button.
If you want to add an additional custom list item simply click on the ‘+’ icon. If you want to edit the caption of an existing custom list item you can do so in the grey description fields as above.
Allowing users to add custom list items
For some custom lists you might want the users (those without Administration Access) to be able to add values to the list. In this case when the users are on an edit or add page they will be presented with a + icon next to the custom list item:
When users click on this button they will be able to add custom list items:
In order to allow this there are two steps:
On the custom list the Allow User Add Access must be ticked for Step 1:
For Step 2, each user group must be given access to the Function - General - Custom List Items - User Add, to allow them to add custom list items from the add and edit screens.
Please note:
- if the list is set to show colours, when users add custom list items no colour will be set; and
- if the list is not sorted automatically, when users add custom list items they will be added to the bottom of the list.
Making custom list items inactive
This functionality allows you to make custom list items inactive.. Use cases for this could be when business units and departments change within an organisation, cost centres are retired, when strategic objectives change or even if a custom list becomes too long and some values aren't required for input anymore.
The example below is the Cost - Year custom list with values going back a couple of years that aren't relevant when capturing data. To declutter the list, simply mark them as inactive (you always have the option to mark it as active again.)
What happens when a custom list item has been marked as inactive:
- When adding a new record you won't have the option to select the inactive value.
- Your existing data will retain the value of the inactive list item.
- When filtering on a list page, you will still be able to filter on the inactive value.
- When editing an existing record and removing the inactive value, you won't be able to select it again.
Additional considerations:
- If the custom list item that you make inactive is used in Filters, Business Rules filters or Report Mailer filters, the value will still be in the filter until such time that the filter is edited. The inactive value is then removed.
- For dependencies, the value will be removed.
Errors to take note of when making a custom list item inactive:
If you make a Custom List Item inactive that is used in a Global Filter, you will get an error notification indicating where it is used. You will first need to update the Filter under Administration by removing the custom list item.
In the below example, the custom list item is referenced in a User Group Filter that is applied to the PPO Administrator User Group.
Deleting a custom list and/or custom list items
To delete an entire Custom List, hover over the Administration Menu and click on the Custom Lists menu item. From the Custom Lists List page select the applicable custom list. When on the Custom List View page, under the Actions button, you will see the Delete option.
Note that you won't be able to delete the Custom List if it is being used in Data Fields.
To delete a custom list item within a custom list, you select the Custom List itself, then click on Edit. On the Custom List Edit page, you can use the Delete icon as shown below.
The only difference between making a custom list item inactive vs deleting the item is that the deleted item cannot be restored, whereas when marking as inactive, you can mark it as active again and it will be visible.
Errors to take note of when deleting custom lists or custom list items.
The same errors explained above is applicable if you delete a custom list item.
If trying to delete a Custom List itself, and it is protected (used in Standard PPO fields) the following message will be displayed on your screen: