Choose custom field or registration question types and default values

Note This topic refers to custom field types throughout. However, if you are creating questions for a custom event registration form, you can use this topic for information about how to select question types and default values. Registration questions are simply another form of custom field.

For each custom field you create for your Trumba® events, you can choose:

The field type.
A default value and other requirements for the field content.
Whether to make the field public on your calendar, event submission form, or custom registration form.

Field types

When you select a field type, the Create a New Custom Field form changes to display the appropriate text box for adding the field's values. The image below shows location choices in the List of choices field type.

Available field types

Single line of text A short text string, such as the name of a person or event category.
Multiple lines of text Similar to the Notes field, a place for longer text strings or text that contains multiple paragraphs.
List of choices Becomes a drop-down or inline list, from which calendar editors can select one value or multiple values. For example, you might tag events by audience, such as Children, Teens, Adults, Family, and so on.
A field that is a list of choices also includes these settings:
- Select multiple values. Click Yes to allow your calendar editors to apply more than one value to an event. Using the above example, if events frequently could be of interest to both teens and adults, you can apply both tags.
- Display style. Inline displays each value with a check box that calendar editors can select. Drop Down displays the values in a drop-down list.
Learn more about list of choices fields
Yes or no Lets editors select and visitors view whether the field description is true or not for an event. For example, on an academic calendar, a yes/no field could indicate whether students need the instructor's permission before registering for a class.
Number A positive or negative number that can include any number of decimal places. For example, you could use this field for event capacity.
Currency Prices such as event admission or ticket cost. This can be a whole number or a number with two decimal places. Editors can also add currency symbols such as the yen (¥), euro (€), pound (£), dollar ($), and generic currency symbol (¤).
Web link The address (URL) of a web site that contains additional or related information.
Email address A way for visitors to get more information about an event via email.

Phone Select the setting that represents the type of telephone number that you want to add. If you publish the field, this can serve as a telephone number that calendar visitors can call for more information about an event.

The following scroll box lists some examples of valid and invalid USA and Canada telephone number formats (International is more flexible).

Valid formats

555-555-5555 (555) 555-5555 555.555.5555 1-555-555-5555 555-555-5555 ext 111 555-555-5555 ext111	555 555 5555 5555555555 555-5555 +1-555-555-5555 555-555-5555 x111
Extensions can have up to five digits.

Invalid formats for 7- or 10-digit telephone numbers

555-555
2-555-555-5555

555-555-55555
555-555-ABCD

If your telephone number spells a word that you want to use to help visitors remember, choose the Single line of text field type for your phone number.

Set default values and other requirements for fields

When you define your custom field, you can specify whether calendar editors must enter a value for it, and whether they must enter a minimum, maximum, or specific value or number of characters. If an editor doesn't populate the field correctly, a message appears explaining the requirement, and the event cannot be completed without meeting it.

Require calendar editors to enter a value for a field

You can require a value for a field without entering a default value. Or you can provide a default value that appears each time a calendar editor creates or edits and event that includes the field.

A default value can be a description of the kind of information the field should hold. For example, in the field grid that appears in some published-calendar view settings, the default value for the drop-down list is [add new field], to indicate what the list is for.

Set requirements for number of characters or numeric value

For single- or multiple-line text fields, use Min. characters and Max. characters to set the field-length requirements.

For example, if editors will populate the field with a catalog number that must always contain six characters, you can enter the number 6 for both the min. and max. characters.

For Number or Currency fields, use Min. and Max. value to require a value within a limited range. Decimals are allowed in both fields, however, the Currency field has stricter requirements.

Notes for setting default values

Setting the min. or max. characters or values is optional.
In the text fields, numbers are considered text characters. If you want to set limits on numeric values, use the Number or Currency field.
If you do not require editors to populate the field, you can still set min. or max. The field will comply with the min. and max. settings if an editor or event submitter enters data in the field.
You can use custom field overrides to set different default values for a field for each calendar or event type in which it's used. Learn more…

Publish a custom field

On the Create a New Custom Field or Add Registration Question form (from your calendar editing page, click Define Custom Fields), you can determine whether to make information in your custom field available on your published calendar or your event submission form.

By default, fields are published, so that your calendar visitors can see them and their content. If you do not want to include the field on your published calendar—for example, the field will contain contact information for the person who submitted an event—for Visibility, clear the Allow this field to be published check box.

To allow people who submit events to your calendar to see and populate your custom field, select Show this field on the public submit event form.

Note These two settings are independent. You can make fields available on your event submission form without publishing them on your calendar, and vice-versa.