Data fields

Data fields store the values of the key metrics that are tracked in projects and in dashboard reports. Before you create or edit a data field, decide whether to add it to a single-value category or a data table.

In This Topic

Single-value category
Data table
Data in the dashboard
A note about managing data fields

Single-value category

A single-value category is a group of single-value data fields. Each single-value data field can store only one user-entered value at a time, for example, a project leader or a due date. Some single-value data fields can have multiple options, for example, a project's status can be 'not started', 'in progress', or 'completed', but the data field can store only one status at a time. The following image shows examples of single-value data fields on a form.

Data table

A data table contains data fields that can have rows of values. For example, a project typically has several tasks and each task might have information about what it is, who it's assigned to, and when it's due. The following image shows an example of a data-entry table where data fields are the columns (Subject, Status, and Start Date) and the user-entered values are the rows.

Note

If you have a group of closely-related data fields, then you can create a new single-value category or data table. For example, you might create a new data table called Vendor to categorize vendor-related data fields such as name, address, phone, contact, goods, services, and so on.

Data in the dashboard

If you are using the Companion dashboard, consider how you want to view the data in reports. Single-value data summarizes data from multiple projects. On the dashboard, single-value data can be displayed in graphs and tables, as shown in the following image.

Data collected in a data table shows multiple data points for a single project. On the dashboard, this data can only be displayed in the Projects table where it appears as a link in a column. When you click the link, you can see the individual values for each data point, or row, in the table. For example, you can see the savings values for each month, as shown in the following image.

Project counts

In the dashboard, project counts are unique variables that use key date fields, such as Start Date or Due Date, to determine the number of projects within a specific time interval, location, or other grouping variable. For example, you might use the project count called Number of Projects Completed, which uses Completion Date to determine the number of projects completed by month, by quarter, this year, and so on.

You can create a new project count based on a date field or a formula field that uses date values. You can also change the name or the associated date for existing project counts. Project counts are only available in dashboard reports. You cannot add them as data fields in form templates.

A note about managing data fields

When you have the full version of Companion, data architects manage data fields in the design center. If you are a data architect, go to Create global data fields.

When you use the Companion desktop app only, users can create and edit data fields in their own projects. Go to Create local data fields.