Custom fields: how to select more than one item on dropdown list

Is there any way I can select more than one item in DROP-DOWN LIST of CUSTOM FIELDS? If NO, can that be added please.

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Where in the program are you referring to? You do not select custom fields. You create them for placement in various transaction forms.

I mean when I create a Custom Field, Type - Drop-Down List, 5 options list. I want user to select more than one option from the “Options for drop-down list”
Custom Field

What is your use case? In your example, if you want to be able to define a customer as Pink, Red, and White, why is a text field not adequate? The idea of a dropdown menu is to be able to select one and only one option. In other words, a dropdown menu is designed to limit choices, not expand them.

In UI/UX for a long time there 8s something called multiselect or multiple choice drop-down combobox. So his question is not out of sense from user point of view.

Just because something is available in an operating system does not mean it makes sense in all accounting situations.

I think that it is a field type nowadays very used that can be useful and it worth putting it into idea. Think of a sort of predefined tags to select from.

Our retail computer business will find a multi select option an absolutely great feature if added to in custom field options.
Here is a use case:
Customers come in with their laptops, PCs, AIO, phones, adapter, power packs etc. so the Receptionist / Tech establishes what the customer requirement or repair needs are and records the issue in a Sales Order. As part of that process the Sales Order importantly records all the accessories the customer may have dropped off with their system, tablet, phone, bag, protector, USBs etc. this last part is done by using a custom box with dropdown list. Now this works really well except that all combinations need to be in the dropdown to make ease of use. The list can get cumbersome and a multi select option of predefined items will be superior.
In the meantime we mitigate some hassle by selecting ‘other accessories’ and typing the item type into a field which appears in the Sales Order.

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I don’t think that we should start a lesson on how a database works, also because we don’t know very much of the structure behind Manager that @lubos is using for custom fields. It can be implemented as a field of fields, a field with comma separated values and so on.

Here is an example of how this kind of field is implemented.

It is very very common and I find it useful.

You show Zoho Creator multi-select field and that is just a standard used by many form generators such as Gravity Forms for Worpress.

What would be more important is to show where this is being used in any of the Zoho Accounting and Zoho Invoicing Applications.

@compuit mentioned a good use case as this would just build a free text line (as is currently the case) for multiple selected options. However, it may be more time consuming and error prone compared to the current method being used because now you will have to scroll and select several in a list rather than scroll and single click.

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Fir example I use a lot of custom fields under inventory kit to classify my products. Assigning a product to multiple categories would be useful.

In any case, I wouldn’t spend so much time imagining all possible uses of a custom field type as it is, by definition, custom. If all database implementations nowadays provide this kind of field it means that it is widely used.

@Davide, I did not see an answer to the question where multi-select as used in Zoho Creator is used in Zoho Accouting and Zoho Invoicing. As you are aware Zoho contains numerous applications.

There is no questions that custom fields are widely used and I even supported the use case by @compuit be it that I had some reservations related to time-saving and increased probability for errors.

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That’s because we are talking about Manager and not Zoho Books…

However since you are asking this data type it is used also in Custom Fields also in Zoho Books.

And I have never claimed such a thing, just pointed that multiselect drodowns exist and there are good reasons they exist. But use cases are there for sure even in accounting.

Yeah, it definitely saves us time and in many cases it has saved us at the point when the customer picks up their goods it ensures to some degree they get all their things back as supplied / recorded. That in itself saves a lot of time / embarrassment for the crew and of course on the other hand customer travel time and high blood pressure levels are avoided. They do not have to come back to collect missed goods. Once again this is a case where Manager assists with operational activities (Not really accounting as such) and it certainly puts forward the idea that Manager is now really a lot more than just an accounting system.

If considered the implement and orientation of the tick boxes / selection items should be arranged horizontally on screen and on print outs.

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@compuit, for the use case you describe, I can see a simpler implementation. Your dropdown list, with its many combinations, already shows that you are considering only certain accessories. Why not create a custom field for each accessory: Adapter, Charging Cord, USB Drive, etc. The receptionist then puts an X (or even a description) in the field for each accessory left by the customer. Those not left will not print on documents. This seems much more direct than scrolling through your current list of combinations, where it would be easy to mistakenly choose an option that includes an accessory not left.

As you know custom fields take up a lot of real estate and then one for each accessory… I think it will be a drawback. The thing that was pointed out in the beginning was the ability to make / pick multiple selections from a dropdown box or similar. That has got me to see a practical and useful application of such a feature.

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There will be no combination predefined. One item per line, but with a possibility to choose multiple of them. Far superior than for example 10 custom check boxes.

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Your are very correct. @lubos please what is your conclusion?

Thanks for providing an actual use case.

For creating a general database registering customer supplied equipment within Mangers accounting structure:

  • I would create several custom fields, repeating the contents of the drop down list if multiple items from a particular list are likely to be selected. So if customers mostly bring in less than 3 items then 3 drop down lists would be created.

  • However in practice, in such a database I would want information to identify what the customer actually supplied (what sort of bag, what sort of protector, what cables etc). To do so a free text field would be required adjacent to each drop down list items selected.

  • But within Mangers sales order / Invoice it would probably work better again to use zero value Non inventory Items, for example “Customer bag”, “Customer protector” etc. More specific information could then be added to each description as required.

In my opinion if Manager has multi-select lists added it should be a separate new data entry type so as not to compromise the usability of the single selections lists required for the majority of Managers use cases.