#1 User Defined Fields

[Anonymous]

Feature Request:
User Defined fields

Scope:
Support for a number of user specified fields, both size
and type, with ability to dynamically create additional
fields within admin interfaces if possible.

Usage:
These could be used to specify build number, platform
type, etc...

Implementation Recommendations:
An additional possibility is a rename of the "Vantive
Reference" and "Vendor Reference" fields to something
specified to the install script as an optional param.

[Anonymous]

Logged In: YES
user_id=1111258

Something went wrong with the login session.

[AlanP]

Logged In: YES
user_id=1025885

I can see why this is necessary.

Implementation would be a pain, as not only do I have to care about the
fields in the db, but also in the html layout and the SOAP interface.
Db problems :
*) Difficult to change after system has been used for the first time
(adding columns to an existing table with populated data may be
difficult)
*) Catering for different field types is also difficult, as I have to 'police'
the data that goes into them in order to catch errors long before the db
does ! (ie validate user input)

User Interface problems
*) Fields appear in more than one place (displaying testcase details &
search to name two)
*) Making the interface nice despite size & type of field

Upgrade problems
*)Upgrading from one version of testmaster to another where the db
schema has changed would be even more hairy with custom fields

SOAP problems
*)have to find a way to let these custom fields be updated / queried

Possible solution
Offer a limited number of custom fields (say 2 - 3)
Custom fields are system wide - not limited to specific testsuites or
departments.
Managed (ie renamed) through admin screens
Make name and size configurable (but type always varchar)
Maybe two types of custom fields - one free text, the other drop down
with custom values.

I think this will probably be aimed for testmaster V1.2, as the db schema
is due for a rework then anyhow, and it makes sense to do it in one hit.

As an aside, I think vantive ref should be changed to something like Your
Ref instead, and vendor ref should stay as is, as these are pretty
important for customers logging problems with vendors.

Thanks for the request, I have another application I wrote some years
ago which used custom fields, which I'll dig out to see how I did it
before.