How To Use Action-Only Custom Fields

How To Use Action-Only Custom Fields

Are you baffled by the sheer amount of information that's recorded on Activist Records? All those Tags and Custom Fields that seem absolutely meaningless can make it difficult to understand what information should kept, and what can be deleted. Action-Only Custom Fields are here to help. The information from these fields won't appear on Activist Records, and are directly linked to the Action they relate to.

Adding Action-Only Custom Fields To Your Action

In this guide we'll show you how to add an Action-Only Custom Field to a Form, but you can add them to any Action including Fundraisers and Events.

1. From a new, or existing Action head to the Form that will appear on the right hand side of the page and click on Edit Form.

The form module within Action Network showing a radio-button question, the Edit Form link and a submit button.
2. Click onto the question type you'd like to add to your Form, from the right hand side of the page, and drag it into your form on the left.

An animated GIF showing a Radio Button question being dragged into a form.

3. Move your mouse over the question, and click anywhere in the pale grey box that appears around it to open the editing options for the question.



4. Add in a name, label, and the options for your question.
  1. Name: This is the title of your question, which is only visible to you and other admins. It'll form the column header when you report on your results.
  2. Label: This is the text that will form the question that form respondents will see.


5. Below this you'll see some checkboxes. To make the question Action-Only, just. click the Action-Only checkbox.



6. Click the SAVE button to save the changes to your question. To add more questions, just repeat the steps above.


What Can I Use Action-Only Fields For?

The majority of information captured in forms is single-use. It doesn't need to be recorded on Activist Records at all. There are plenty of examples if we look at Events only:
  1. Accessibility: Accessibility requirements are generally event specific, and so will change depending on a number of factors including location, event type, and format. Accessibility requirements can also change over time, and so it's a good idea to capture this in an Action-Only field.
  2. Dietary Requirements: Maybe somebody who was previously vegetarian has made the switch to veganism. Action-Only fields ensure you're capturing the most up-to-date information.
  3. Questions: Perhaps you want to capture questions from event attendees ahead of time. Does that question need to live on their Activist Record for all time? Probably not. So use Action-Only fields to keep things tidy.
These are just a few examples, but there are so many more. Action-Only fields are a great way to limit the amount of data we're storing on Activist Records, so why not try them out on your next Action?

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