Maintain a dropdown list

Most choices in NirmaanOne's forms come from lists your organization keeps for itself: where leads come from, the kinds of contacts, activities, companies and bank accounts, parking types, amenities, and the unit types and configurations (Studio, 1 BHK, 2 BHK…) your projects sell. This guide adds a value, renames or reorders one, retires one that is no longer used for new work, and deletes one that was added by mistake.

Before you start

• Permissions, in the role editor's words: the View permission on Lookups to see the lists, the Create permission to add a value, the Edit permission to change or retire one, and the Delete permission to delete one. In the default roles every role can view the lists; the Finance Lead, Project Manager, Sales Manager and Rehab Officer can also add and edit; only the Administrator can delete.
• For a new unit configuration, the unit type it describes must already exist on the Unit types tab.
• A few values are used by the app itself: the Tenant and User contact types, the promoter company type and the RERA collection, RERA separate and GST bank account purposes. Rename them if you like, but keep them active.

Steps

1. Open the account menu in the top bar, choose Settings, then the Lookups tab (Lookups). The page reads "The dropdown values every form draws on. Each organization keeps its own lists; deactivate a value instead of deleting it once records use it."

2. Click the tab of the list: Contact types, Lead sources, Activity types, Company types, Bank account purposes, Parking types, Amenities, Unit types or Unit configurations. Its description appears under the tabs, and the grid shows each value's Code, Name and Order. Tick Show inactive to include retired values.

3. Click the New … button at the top right, named for the list: New lead source, New unit type, New configuration, New purpose and so on. The panel "New <item>" opens on the right, with Sort order set to the highest in the list plus 10, so the value goes to the end.

4. Type the Name (required, up to 100 characters). Code fills itself as you type ("Set automatically from the name; used in reports and integrations."): "Walk-in" becomes WALK_IN. Add a Description if it helps, and fill the list's own fields:

   • Amenities: Category ("Optional; groups amenities in pickers"), for example "Sports".
   • Unit types: tick Suits residential projects ("Offered on Residential and Mixed projects") and/or Suits commercial projects ("Offered on Commercial and Mixed projects").
   • Unit configurations: pick the Unit type (required) and enter Bedrooms ("2.5 allowed; blank for offices and shops").

   Change Sort order if the value should appear earlier ("Lower comes first in dropdowns").

5. Click Add <item>, for example Add lead source. You see '"<name>" added.' The value is in the grid and offered in the matching dropdowns straight away.

6. To rename or reorder a value, click the pencil icon on its row. The panel "Edit <name>" opens; the code is fixed ("Fixed once created; records refer to it."). Change Name, Description or Sort order and click Save changes (greyed out until you change something). You see '"<name>" updated.'

7. To retire a value that records already use, open it with the pencil, untick Active ("Inactive rows stay on existing records but are not offered in pickers.") and click Save changes. You see '"<name>" updated.' The value disappears from the grid unless Show inactive is ticked, where it carries an Inactive badge; tick Active again to bring it back.

8. To delete a value added by mistake, click the trash icon on its row. The dialog "Delete <item>?" says "<name> (<code>) will be removed. A value already used by records cannot be deleted; deactivate it instead." Click Delete. You see '"<name>" deleted.'

What happens next

• Renaming changes only what people see. Records refer to the code, so every existing record shows the new name at once and nothing else changes.
• Retired values stay on old records. An inactive value still shows on the records that use it but is no longer offered for new ones.
• A deleted lead source or unit configuration is cleared from the records that used it: the opportunities or units simply lose that value, without a warning. Retire these instead of deleting them unless you are sure nothing uses them.
• Unit types decide what a project may sell. A unit type is offered on Residential projects when it suits residential, on Commercial projects when it suits commercial, and on Mixed projects always.
• Changes to lookup values are recorded in the Audit log; the Lookups page has no History button.
• When whoever maintains the server reseeds the default lists, a default value you deleted comes back. One you deactivated stays as it is, so deactivate rather than delete the defaults you don't want.

If something goes wrong

• "Another <item> already has the code <CODE>; choose a different name." under Name: a value with that code exists, perhaps retired. Tick Show inactive and reactivate it, or choose a different name. See Already exists.
• "Code is required" under Code: the name has no Latin letters or digits to make a code from. Add some.
• "Required for a unit configuration." under Unit type: pick the unit type the configuration describes.
• Delete answers "That conflicts with existing data.", "<n> units still use this unit type; deactivate it instead" (or unit configurations, pricing plans, opportunities or allottees) or "System rows cannot be deleted. Deactivate the row instead.": the value is in use, or it is written by the app itself. Untick Active instead (step 7). See Lookup row cannot be deleted.
• Elsewhere in the app, "The 'Tenant' contact type is not configured. Ask an administrator to add it under Lookups.": a value the app relies on was deactivated or deleted. Reactivate or re-add it. See A lookup the app relies on is missing.
• "<X> is not a unit type for a <Residential/Commercial> project; …": the unit type doesn't suit the project's property type. Open the unit type with the pencil (step 6), tick the matching Suits … box and click Save changes.
• The New … button, pencil or trash icons aren't there, or the eye icon shows instead of the pencil: you lack the matching permission on Lookups. See No access or no permission.

Related

• Lookups
• Settings
• Contacts
• Companies
• Bank accounts
• Structure
• Parking
• Amenities
• Opportunities
• Lookups and their codes
• Unit types and configurations