Field Lists

You can use the Lists form Settings > Labels and Lists > Lists to specify the valid values for selected fields. Those values are then displayed in drop-down selection lists for entering data in those fields.

Example: Values for the Project Type Field

When you implement DPS, you can use the Lists form to specify the valid values for the Project Type field. (The same list is also used in the Opportunities hub to assign a type to opportunities.) To do that, you click at the end of the grid row for Project Type to display the default values that Deltek provides. You then delete any of those values that do not apply to your firm, and you click + Add Entry to add any types of projects that were not included in the default list of values.

The values that you define for Project Type then become the only values that can be selected in the Project Type field in the Projects hub when someone adds a new project.

Import List Values

In addition to entering list values on the Lists form, you can also import values for many of the lists using the Lists import option on the Imports form (Utilities > Imports & Exports > Imports) or using an API.

Value Codes

Some field lists require a unique code for each value. In most cases, you can either enter a code yourself, or you can leave Code blank to have DPS generate a code for you. For some lists, however, either because they are defined by the government or otherwise need to be meaningful, you must enter the codes. The Country list and the NAICS list are two examples of this.

If you import records, such as employee records, into DPS from a .CSV file or using an API, those imported records use the codes to identify related list values. For example, when you import employee skills, the import file contains the code for each employee skill, not the skill description itself.

Labor Categories: Code and Category Fields

When you add a new value to the list of labor categories, you must enter a code, a category number, or both, along with the value. A code can contain letters or numbers, while a category number must be numeric. The code must be unique among labor category codes, and the category number must be unique among category numbers.

If you enter a code but do not enter a category number, DPS automatically assigns a valid category number when you save. If you enter a category number but do not enter a code, DPS automatically assigns the category number as the code.

If you import labor categories, you must map a value to the Code field, and you do not have the option to map a value to the Category field. DPS automatically assigns the next available category number.

Values Order in Drop-Down Lists

Regardless of the order in which you define the values for a field list, when a user displays the drop-down list to select a value, the list always displays in one of the following orders:

• If the values in the list have associated codes, the values display in code order, even if the code itself does not display in the drop-down list.

• If the values in the list do not have associated codes, the values display in alphanumeric order. If you have a list, such as the list of opportunity stages, for which you want the values in an order other than alphanumeric, you can begin each value with a number (for example, 1 Lead) so that sorting alphanumerically results in the sequence you want.

Fields Not Restricted to the List

The following fields provide drop-down lists of values, but they also allow users to enter a value that is not on the drop-down list for the field:

• Activity Subject
• Contact Title
• Employee Title
• Opportunity Milestone

Fields that are not restricted to the options on the drop-down list behave differently from other fields in a couple of other ways also:

• If you delete one of the values from the list of standard values for the field on the Lists form, those deleted values remain in any records for which they were previously selected. For fields that restrict entries to values on the drop-down lists, deleting a value removes that value from all records for which it was previously selected.
• If you change a value in the list of standard values on the Labels and Lists settings (correct a typing error, for example), that change does not affect any records for which that value was previously selected. For fields that restrict entries to values on the drop-down lists, changing a value on the Lists form also changes that value in all records for which it was previously selected.

When a user enters a value that is not in the drop-down list, that entry only applies to that one instance. It is not added to the standard list of values for that field. The only ways to add a new value to a field list is to add it in the grid on the Lists form or to import new values from a .CSV file or using the API.

Deleting Values

To delete a value from field list, display the list in the Settings dialog box, hover over the value in the grid, and click X.

In most cases, if the value you want to delete was previously selected as part of a one or more records (a stage to which opportunities are currently assigned, for example), a warning message displays. If you continue and delete the value, it is removed from all records for which it was selected. The exceptions are values for fields that allow users to type in values that are not included in the drop-down list. For those fields, the value selected for records remains in those records after you delete the value from the list.

Some lists have one or more default values that cannot be deleted because DPS requires them for internal processing.