Organise fields into groups

Field groups

organise related fields into named sections on a record's Details tab and when you add or edit a record. Each named group can have its own icon, colour, starting state, and rules for where it shows. Grouping changes how a record is presented. It does not change the fields' stored values, and Kinabase still checks those fields when the record is saved.

You need Configure permission

Permission

The level of access — No Access, View Only, View & Edit or Not Enabled — granted through a Role for a specific area of Kinabase, such as records, tasks or configuration.

for the collection to create or change field groups.

Organise related fields

Place fields under headings that match the information people need.

Show a group where it applies

Show, hide, or limit a named group on the Details tab and when you add or edit a record, by the record's type and workflow stage.

Keep longer records manageable

Choose which named groups start collapsed, while allowing people to expand them when needed.

1. Open the Fields settings

1. Open the collection.
2. Open the options menu (⋯) and select Configure, or right-click the collection in the sidebar and select Configure.
3. Under Setup, select Fields.

2. Create a field group

1. Click More actions below the field list.
2. Select Add group.
3. Enter a Group name.
4. Click Add group.

The new group appears with the default group above it. The default group contains every field that has not been placed in a named group.

3. Move fields into a group

Drag a field by its handle and drop it into the required group. You can also:

1. Open the field's Actions menu.
2. Select Group.
3. Select a named group, the default group, or New group…. For several fields, that last choice reads New group from selection.

To move several fields together, use Ctrl-click on Windows or Command-click on macOS to select them. Select Group on the selection bar, then choose their destination. The field menu labels this action with the number selected, such as Group 3 fields.

You can reorder fields within a group by dragging them. To create a field directly in a section, select Add field at the bottom of that section.

4. Edit a group

Click Edit on the group heading, or open the group's menu and select Edit. You can then:

• Change the Group name.
• Choose an icon and colour.
• Open Visibility to choose where the group shows, and whether it starts collapsed.

Click Save when you have finished. Click Cancel to leave the group as it was.

Group names must be unique. A named group also cannot use the current name of the default group.

5. Show or hide a group

1. Edit a named group and open Visibility.
2. For Details and for Forms, select Shown, Hidden, or Custom.
3. Click Save.

Details is the record's Details tab, and its printout. Forms is what you see when you add or edit a record. The group's row on Fields shows the current choice.

• Hidden on Details takes the group off the Details tab, but it's still included when you print the record.
• Hidden on Forms leaves the group out when you add or edit a record. Its fields keep their values and are still checked when the record is saved - if one needs attention, the group appears so it can be fixed. The group's fields can't be edited from the Details tab either.
• Custom appears when the collection has types or a workflow. Click Add condition to show the group only for a particular type, workflow stage, or both. If you add several conditions, all of them must match. A type or stage limit applies to the printout too.

The same Details and Forms choices are available for a Collection List

Collection List

A subcollection nested inside a record for repeating line items — such as order items or components — shown as a table within the parent record.

and for child collections. See Choose where a list shows.

6. Limit a group for one type or stage

You can also set this while editing a type or a stage - both places change the same setting.

1. Open Types or Workflow under Setup.
2. Click Edit on a saved type or stage.
3. Open Groups and Lists.
4. Tick Details, Forms, or both for each group.
5. Click Save.

Unticking a group on every type or stage hides it everywhere, and ticking it on all of them removes the limit. A tick on a type only sets the type part of a rule - change any stage limit or custom condition from the group's own Visibility tab, and the same the other way round when you're editing a stage.

Hiding a group for a type only hides it - its fields keep their values. To take fields off a type altogether, use the Fields tab. See Types.

7. Start a group collapsed

1. Edit a named group and open Visibility.
2. Under On forms, tick Start collapsed.
3. Click Save.

The group opens folded when you add or edit a record and on the Details tab, and people can expand it to see its fields. On the Details tab, Kinabase remembers if someone expands or collapses a group, so the next record in that collection opens the same way. For more on the Details tab, see Record Tabs.

Start collapsed isn't available when Forms is Hidden, or for the default group.

8. Reorder or delete groups

Drag a named group heading to change the order of the groups. You can also open its menu and select Move up or Move down.

To remove a group, open its menu and select Delete, then confirm. Its fields move back to the default group. No field or record data is removed.

9. Work with the default group

The default group is called General until you rename it. Click Edit on its heading to change its Group name, icon, or colour. Clear its name and save to return to General.

The default group stays first. You cannot move, delete or hide it, and it has no Visibility tab, so the fields that are not in a named group always have somewhere to appear.

When named groups are also on the page, these fields appear under the default group's name. When they are the only fields on the page, they appear without a heading.

10. Understand validation and hidden fields

Collapsing a group, or hiding it from the Details tab or when you add or edit a record, does not clear its fields. Their values remain part of the record.

When you add or edit a record, a hidden group's fields are still checked on save. If one blocks the save, Kinabase shows the group and keeps it open so the value can be corrected.

Read our Configuring fields guide for help creating, editing, and validating fields.

Read our Product Update for more.

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Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.