Adding fields to a tracker

In Tiki, the columns of this tracker are called fields and rows are items. Trackers can have any set of fields and any number of items. The columns, or fields, will contain the data about each row, or item, in the table. You can add, remove and list items that you want to track. You can add comments or attach files to each item tracked. You can assign users and groups to each item and, when the item is opened, it will appear in the user-preferences screen. You can monitor Trackers by email. Simple workflows can be modeled using one or more Trackers.

To make a Tracker useful and usable, you add some fields to it to capture the data you want to collect. You can administer fields by going to the the "Admin Trackers" list, and clicking the Fields icon ( ).

To add a field, click the Fields action from the Trackers list, then fill in the form that appears indicating the field name, field type, and any applicable options. You can use the field types listed at the end of this page.

At least one of the fields in your Tracker must be the "main" field, which links to the item's details from the Tracker listing. This attribute is controlled by the "Column links to edit/view item?" checkbox. You can also indicate if the field is visible or not in the Tracker item list using the "Is column visible when listing tracker items?" checkbox. If a Tracker has a lot of fields you may want to use this checkbox to remove some of them from the item listing, for easier viewing.

Some Tracker field types have options you can set. For example, the drop-down field's items are entered separated by commas. The default value for a drop-down field is set by entering the value twice consecutively, separated by comma. The default can be set to any item in the list, no matter what position the item is placed in the list. In the screenshot below "Academic Staff" has been set as the default by entering it twice.

Once you have entered several fields, defining their type, options and visibility, you will see a list similar to this one:

Note in this graphic the "is main" column. A "y" or yes, means you have checked the "Column links to edit/view item?" checkbox. The list also indicates whether a field will be visible in the item listing, and allows you to edit or remove fields accordingly using this list's Actions.

Hint: One default field in any tracker is the "Status" field, which tracks whether an item is open or closed. This field is not visible in the Fields listing.

Explanation of Fields

Local URL: tiki-admin_tracker_fields.php?trackerId=2

Each form includes a number of different fields:

The Parameters of a Field

All tracker fields have parameters, which control how they work and display in the tracker. For more info see tracker field types. Here is an explanation of some of the options common to many fields.

For more detail Tracker Field Types

You can find more information on these tracker fields here: