The Field Customizations table in the Aeon Staff Manager allows staff to rename or hide fields from grids and forms in the Aeon Desktop Client. This feature allows staff to hide sensitive data and rename custom fields. This feature is based on the layout templates described under Creating and Assigning Templates to Staff Users; changes made using this table become the new "default" system settings until the original, "out of the box" default settings are restored to a user from within the Staff Manager. Restoring the settings to default from the Aeon Desktop Client does not alter these settings.
Understanding Field Names
The Field Customizations table contains a Field Name field for you to enter the name of the field from the desktop client form that you want to rename or hide. Note that you are entering the actual name for the field in the Aeon database, and not the name as it is displayed on the client form. Because field customizations apply to more than just database fields, and practically all of the fields in the desktop client can be renamed or hidden, the easiest way to locate the field name for a field that you want to rename or hide is to view it from the Customization window on the desktop client form. This is handy for composite fields that are generated in the desktop client and not part of the database.
For example, the field name for the Name field in the User Information section of the Request form, UserFullName, is a combination of the database fields FirstName and LastName. Equally, Notes is listed as UserNotes, and NoteType is listed as RequestNotes.
Remember, the name displayed on the form is not what you want to enter as the Field Name value.
Some fields cannot be hidden or renamed, and some should be hidden or renamed with caution.
- The Clearance Status field and the Status field used in Email grids cannot currently be renamed or hidden.
- While you can rename or hide the ID, Location, Reference Number, Status, and Creation Date fields, be aware that doing so hides or renames those fields in other places in the Aeon Desktop Client such as the Request forms, Activity forms, User forms, Transactions grids, and Signed In Users grids. Modifying the ID field will also rename/hide any fields with the keyword ID, including the ID field on the Manage Billing Accounts form and any field names that may be slightly different such as the Bib. ID field located in the Tracking table and the ID Number field located on the User form. Hiding the ID field is not recommended as this will also hide the ID field on the Manage Billing Accounts form, making it impossible to create new Billing Accounts from the Aeon Desktop Client.
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Workaround Option 1: Do not use Field Customizations to change/hide the Location field and instead use the Layout Template Editor feature to rename/hide each Location field individually on each form. Note that this option will not change the names of the Location fields on grids in the Aeon Desktop Client. Grid columns can be hidden by left-clicking on the column and selecting the Hide this Column option, but cannot be renamed.
When using this option, you will not be able to use the Field Customizations table to keep track of the changes to the Location field. Therefore, it is recommended to manually record each of the changes you make to this field in a Word document or other record-keeping location at your institution in order to keep track of which fields have been modified from their defaults. -
Workaround Option 2: Use Field Customizations to change the name of the Location field to Item Location. This will update the Location field on all grids and forms in the desktop client to use the new name. You can then use the Layout Template Editor feature to remove the Item Location field from the Activity form and replace it with a custom field (i.e. ActivityInfo1). Then use the Layout Template Editor to change the name of this field to Location.
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- For example, changing the Location field on the Request form and Transactions grids to Item Location will also change the Location field on the Activity form to Item Location. To avoid this issue, the following workaround options are available:
- If you rename Activity Reference Name you must also rename Reference Name so that the field will be correctly labeled on all forms and grids. This is because the ReferenceName field is being aliased as ActivityReferenceName for certain queries.
Renaming Fields in the Aeon Desktop Client
To customize a field's description:
- In the Template Name field, select the template that you want to use with the field customization.
- In the Field Name field, enter the field name that you want to customize.
- In the Display Name field, enter the name that you want to display for this field in grids and forms in the Aeon Desktop Client.
- When you are finished customizing field names, save your entries by clicking the Save button on the Field Customizations ribbon.
Hiding Fields in the Aeon Desktop Client
To customize field visibility:
- In the Template Name field, select the template that you want to use with the field customization.
- In the Field Name field, enter the field name that you want to hide.
- In the Hidden field, check the checkbox to hide this field in all grids and forms in the Aeon Desktop Client.
- When you are finished customizing field names, save your entries by clicking the Save button on the Field Customizations ribbon.
Note that visibility, as set in the Field Customizations table, supersedes any existing template settings. Hidden fields and grid columns cannot be re-added from within the Aeon Desktop Client. See the section titled Understanding the Hierarchy of Form and Grid Settings under Creating and Assigning Desktop Client Templates to Staff Users.
If the Aeon Desktop Client has debug logging enabled from the Client Options, any grids that are displayed will log the names of custom fields. If a grid has a field that does not match the underlying table field names, that grid field name will be noted in the log and can be renamed or hidden via FieldCustomizations.
For example, Signed in Users on the Main form has a field called Name that is a combination of LastName, FirstName, and Username from the Users table. To find the field name to rename it, debug logging will note all those grid field names.