Support

Documentation

This documentation page is for Joomla! 3.x

This documentation page does not apply to our software versions for Joomla! 4.0 and later versions. If you are not using Joomla 3 please consult the documentation index to find and read the correct version of the documentation.

Custom fields

This is accessible through the back-end Components, Akeeba Ticket System menu item and then clicking on the Custom Fields link below the component's toolbar.

Custom fields allow you to collect additional information from your user in an organised and efficient way. Custom fields can only be entered when the user files a new ticket and cannot be edited later on. Each custom field can be shown to one or more categories.

The parameters for each custom field are:

Title

The display title of the field.

Slug

The internal name of the field. It should consist of only lowercase, unaccented letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9). This is used internally to tell custom fields apart and should be unique.

When to Show

Fields can be shown for all categories or for a specific category only.

Category

If you set the option above to Specific category this defines for which categories the field will be displayed. When the When to show option is set to All categories this will be ignored.

Field Type

Chose the type of the field. The available options are:

  • Checkbox. Creates a single tick box.

  • Calendar. Creates a date picker field. The user will be able to type in a date or select a date using the standard Joomla! pop-up date picker.

  • Drop-down. Creates a drop-down selection field. Ideal for selecting between short descriptions or a lengthy list. You can define the available options in the Options field below.

  • Mutliple selection list. Creates a multiple selection list. You can define the available options in the Options field below.

  • Password box. Creates a simple password entry box.

  • Radio buttons. Creates a one-of-many selection field using vertically stacked radio buttons. Ideal for selecting between a few, described in great length, options. You can define the available options in the Options field below.

  • Text box. Creates a simple text entry box.

  • Text area. Creates a plain text area. You can specify the number of rows and columns in the Options field below.

Options

Its function depends on the field type:

  • Text and password box. Anything you type in here will be shown as a placeholder (gray text which disappears when you start typing) inside the box.

  • Text area. You can enter the rows and columns of the text area like this:

    rows=10
    cols=70
  • Checkbox. Anything you type in Options is ignored.

  • Everything else. For all other field types this is how you define options and their labels. The format is VALUE=LABEL, on pair per line. For example:

    1=One
    10=Ten
    100=A hundred
    1000=A thousand

    With the example above, a drop=down list would show you the options One, Ten, A hundred and A thousand. The value stored, depending on your selection, would be 1, 10, 100 or 1000.

    To make it clear: Each line defines one option to be shown to the user. Anything to the left of the equals sign is saved in the database and is made available to you when you display the contents of the field. Anything to the right of the equals sign is what your client sees in the front-end new ticket page.

Default value

The default value the field is set to. It depends on the field type:

  • Text and password box. The contents of the box.

  • Checkbox. Use ON, TRUE, 1 or ENABLED to have the checkbox checked by default. Anything else will result in the checkbox being cleared (unchecked) by default

  • Everything else. Enter the value (left-hand part) of an option you defined in the Options above.

Allow Empty

If checked the custom field is allowed to be left empty / unchecked by your client. If it's not checked (default), Akeeba Ticket System will not allow your subscriber to submit the new ticket form unless he fills in / checks the field.

Valid Field Label

If Allow Empty above is NOT checked, the contents of this field are shown next to your custom field when it's valid (filled in / checked).

Invalid Field Label

If Allow Empty above is NOT checked, the contents of this field are shown next to your custom field when it's invalid (not filled in / checked).