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Add and edit document field select list values

Define values for your Document Fields such as disciplines, areas and other attributes.

Required permissions
Edit project settings

Follow these steps to edit Select List (Single) or Select List (Multiple) document field types.

 

Things to note:

  • Single select field types can be used in document auto-numbering schemes and require a Code.
  • You must complete the Code field for each single select list value to be able to save your changes.
  • The 'Type' single select field only lets you edit the Code for each value.
  • Some select list fields may have been relabelled as part of your project setup.

 

Tips when adding new values

  • If you entered values in a select list we recommend that you make it mandatory.
  • Follow existing naming and numbering protocols for the values you're adding, including upper and lowercase letters, prefixes, numbers, spaces, and dashes.
  • Avoid using characters other than letters and numbers within your values as much as possible (e.g. #, *, +). 
  • Check your spelling and ensure there are no spaces at the end of a value name.
  • Check the max length column to see the character limit for each value.

Add select list values

  1. Select your project in the Project Selector at the top of the page.
  2. Click Setup and under Project, click Project Settings.
  3. Click Documents, then select Document Fields.
  1. Find the field you want to add list values for.
  2. Click the three dots menu and select Configure select list values.

  1. Click the Add button.

  1. Enter the new value (and it's code if it's a single select list) in the fields provided. Click Add.

Tip!

The alphanumeric code is only available for single select list fields, and can be used in document auto-numbering schemes.

  1. Add as many values as you like and then click Add to Document Field.
  2. Click Save.

     

Tip!

The option to remove a value will be greyed out if your project has an active cascading metadata template. The cascading metadata will need to be removed first before the value can be removed.

Add select list values in bulk

If you have lots of values to enter, you can import them. You can add up to 200,000 values in a single import.

Download your template with or without values, then choose if you want to add or override the existing values. Override is useful to create a new set of values in one go but keep in mind it will remove all existing values for the document field. 

  1. Click Download Template and choose Download Empty Template to download the spreadsheet for entering your values.
  2. Follow the instructions in the spreadsheet to enter your values (and codes if applicable).
  3. Save the spreadsheet to your computer.
  4. Click Import Values and choose Add Values.
  1. Select the spreadsheet for importing and click Upload.
  2. You'll see your spreadsheet is ready to import.
  3. Click Save to start the import process.
  1. You'll see a message confirming the import has started.
  2. You will see a notification on the bell icon once the import is complete. Click the bell to see if the import was successful.

Validating duplicate values

Receiving a message ‘New values must not contain duplicates’?  

To prevent accidental duplication of values and avoid confusion, Aconex will try to identify if a variation of a newly entered value already exists. It temporarily strips (or ignores) certain special characters and runs a comparison against existing values. If a match is found, the new value will not be allowed.

The validation rules apply as follows:                                               

RULE EXAMPLE
Ignore UPPERCASE Value1 is a variation of value1
Ignore leading and trailing whitespace   value1   is a variation of value1
Ignore quotes value"1 is a variation of value1
Ignore hyphen/dash variations value-1 is a variation of value–1
hypen -, en dash (–), and em dash (—) are all treated as they were the same character.

Tip!

Aconex will allow value1 and value-1 to be entered as separate values.

The validation is only a temporary background process to compare and detect potential duplicates. If no duplicates are found, then the actual values stored in the system remain as they were entered.

This validation applies to Document Field types Select List (Single) and Select List (Multiple).

While special characters are allowed to be used in attribute values, we recommend carefully considering these rules before using them.

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