Adding fields to a document type

What you'll learn#

• How to attach fields from your field library to a document type
• How to configure each field's settings (required, conditional, task-only)
• How to reorder fields on the form
• How to remove a field from a document type without deleting it from the library

How fields and document types fit together#

Fields in VAT Portal are defined once in a central field library (Utilities → Additional Fields) and then attached to any document type that needs them. The same "Amount" field can appear on Vacation Request, Supplier Invoice, and Expense Claim — all sharing one definition, one localization, one field type.

On each document type, each attached field also has per-type settings — whether it's required on this particular document type, whether it's conditionally required, whether it's a regular field or a task-only field, and what position it shows up in.

This article is about attaching fields to a specific document type and configuring those per-type settings. For creating or editing the field definitions themselves (name, data type, dropdown options), see Managing additional fields.

Opening the Fields card#

1. Open Document Flow → Document Types.
2. Click the document type you want to configure.
3. Scroll to the Fields card (or titled Additional Fields).

The card shows every field currently attached to this document type, in the order they'll appear to end users.

Attaching fields#

1. Click Add Fields in the card header.
2. A dialog opens showing every field in your company's field library.
3. Select the fields you want. You can pick several at once — they'll all be attached in one save.
4. Click Add.
5. The fields appear in the card's table, at the bottom of the list (you can reorder them later).

Newly attached fields start with default settings: Not Required, not a task field. You'll usually want to open each one and configure it — next section.

Configuring a field's settings#

Each attached field has an Edit (pencil) icon that opens a settings dialog specific to this document type. This is where you set the per-type rules.

Required mode#

A dropdown with three options:

• Not Required — the field is optional. Users can fill it or leave it blank.
• Always Required — users must fill it to submit or move forward (shown with a red asterisk).
• Conditionally Required — the field is required only if specified other fields on the same document type have specific values. See below.

Most fields are either Not Required or Always Required. The conditional mode exists for cases where a field's relevance depends on earlier answers — for example, an "Approval Reason" free-text box that's only needed when "Expense Over Budget" is set to Yes.

Conditional requirements#

When you pick Conditionally Required, a conditions builder appears below the dropdown.

1. Click Add Condition.
2. Pick a sibling field (another field attached to the same document type).
3. Pick the value that triggers the requirement:
   • Dropdown / list fields — check one or more of the possible options. If any of the checked values are picked, this field becomes required.
   • Yes / No (switch) fields — toggle the switch to either Yes or No.
   • Text, number, or date fields — enter the exact value (case-sensitive).
4. To layer multiple conditions, click Add Condition again and configure another sibling. All conditions must be true simultaneously for the field to be required (they combine with an AND, not an OR).

Each sibling can only be used in one condition per field. If you need an "OR" between values on the same field, use the multi-check option on dropdown fields.

Task field toggle#

At the bottom of the Edit dialog, there's a Task Field toggle.

• Off (default) — a regular field, filled by the document creator when they create the document.
• On — a task-only field. Instead of appearing on the creation form, this field appears on the approver's task detail page, so the approver fills it in as part of their step. Use this for data that only an approver would know — an accounting code, a reviewer's note, a specific approval amount.

Task fields don't show up on the creation form at all. They appear on the document's detail page later, once an approver has filled them in.

Reordering fields#

Fields are shown to users in the order defined here. To reorder:

1. Hover over the grip icon (the six dots) on the left of a row.
2. Drag the row up or down to its new position.
3. Release — the new order is saved immediately.

Reordering works for top-level fields. If the field has a parent-child structure (defined in the field library), children follow their parent automatically.

Removing a field from the document type#

Click the trash icon on a field's row. It's removed from this document type immediately.

• Removing a field does not delete it from the field library — other document types that use it are unaffected.
• If you need to delete the field entirely (across all document types), do that from Utilities → Additional Fields instead.
• Users' previously-entered values for this field on existing documents remain stored, but those fields will no longer appear on new submissions of this type.

Quick Required toggle vs. the Edit dialog#

Each row has a Required switch right in the table. Clicking it toggles between Not Required (0) and Always Required (1) — a shortcut for the common case.

• Use the switch when you just want to flip on/off required-ness.
• Use the Edit (pencil) dialog when you need Conditional mode, Task Field, or to see the full settings.

The switch and the dialog update the same underlying setting — editing one reflects in the other.

Common questions#