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Availability: Custom fields are in beta and rolling out to accounts. If you don’t see them yet, the feature isn’t enabled for your organization. Today, custom fields apply to Devices; support for Employees is planned.

What are custom fields?

The dashboard includes a standard set of attributes on every device — model, operating system, serial number, assigned employee, and more. Custom fields let you add your own attributes to capture data that isn’t tracked out of the box. A custom field is a data attribute you define yourself — for example Department, Asset Tag, Warranty Expiry, or Criticality. Once created, it behaves like any other device attribute: you fill in a value on each device, then view, edit, and filter on it.

Why use them — and who they’re for

Custom fields address a few common needs:
  • Track data that isn’t modeled out of the box. Capture asset tags, purchase order numbers, warranty dates, and internal cost centers.
  • Segment your fleet. Group and filter devices by your own categories (for example, Department or Criticality) instead of only by built-in attributes.
  • Power Device Group rules. Use a custom field as a condition so the right devices automatically fall into the right Device Group and receive the right profiles and controls.
  • Report on your own data. Surface your own attributes alongside standard device data.
They’re built for:
  • IT admins who need the fleet to reflect their organization’s real structure and policies.
  • Asset managers who track ownership, warranty, and lifecycle data per device.

Key concepts

Field

A field is the attribute you define. Each field has:
  • A name (for example, Department).
  • A type that determines what kind of value it holds (see below).
  • An applies to scope that determines which records can hold a value for it.

Field types

Choose a type when you create a field. The type can’t be changed afterward, so pick the one that matches the data you’re capturing.
TypeUse this when…Predefined options?
TextYou need free-form text, like a note or an asset tag.No
NumberYou’re capturing a numeric value, like a cost or a count.No
DateYou’re recording a date, like a warranty expiry.No
URLYou’re storing a link, like a vendor or ticket page.No
Checkbox (yes/no)The answer is yes or no, like Under warranty.No
Select (one choice)There’s a fixed list and each device picks exactly one, like Criticality: Low / Medium / High.Yes
Multi-select (several choices)There’s a fixed list and a device can have more than one, like Installed peripherals.Yes
Options are the predefined choices you set up for Select and Multi-select fields. The other types don’t use options — the value is typed in directly.

Applies to

Applies to defines which records a field can hold a value on. Today, custom fields apply to Devices. Support for Employees is planned. You can expand what a field applies to later, but you can’t shrink it. Once a field is available on a type of record, that availability stays — so set scope thoughtfully.

Values

A value is the data entered for a field on a specific device — for example, the Department field with the value Finance on a particular laptop. Each device holds its own value for each field that applies to it.

Use custom fields

Create a field

1

Open Settings > Custom Fields

Navigate to Settings → Custom Fields and review the existing fields in the table.
2

Add a new field

Click Add field and give the field a name.
3

Choose a type

Select a type (see Field types).
4

Add options (if applicable)

If you chose Select or Multi-select, add the options users can pick from.
5

Set the scope

Set what the field applies to (today: Devices).
6

Save

Save the field.

Set values

Once a field exists, fill in its value on each device:
1

Open a device

Open a device to bring up its detail panel (the device drawer).
2

Locate the custom field

Find your custom field among the device’s attributes.
3

Enter the value

Enter or pick the value inline and save.

Edit a field

Refine a field after it’s created. From Settings → Custom Fields, open the field to:
  • Rename the field.
  • Add options to a Select or Multi-select field.
  • Rename options. Renaming an option does not lose data on devices already using it — those devices keep their value, now shown under the new label.
  • Widen what it applies to (for example, extend it to a new record type once that’s supported).
You can’t change a field’s type, and you can’t narrow what it applies to.

Filter and segment

Custom fields make your fleet easier to slice:
  • Filter the Devices list by a custom field to find a subset of devices.
  • Target Device Groups using a custom field as a rule, so matching devices are automatically included and receive the right profiles and controls.
Current limit: Filtering and Device Group targeting work with Select, Multi-select, and Checkbox (yes/no) fields. Text, Number, Date, and URL fields can’t be used as filters yet.

Delete a field

When a field is no longer needed, delete it from Settings → Custom Fields. You can delete a field only when it has no related entities (see below). A related entity is anything that depends on a field. A field gains related entities when you use it in:
  • a saved (custom) view that filters the Devices list by the field, or
  • a Device Group that uses the field as a filter.
While a field has related entities, you can’t delete it — the dashboard protects the views and groups that rely on it. A Related entities indicator shows exactly what’s referencing the field. To delete it, first remove the field from those views and Device Group filters; once it has no related entities, the delete becomes available.

What you can and can’t do today

You canYou can’t (today)
Create Text, Number, Date, URL, Checkbox, Select, and Multi-select fieldsChange a field’s type after it’s created
Give two fields the same name (names don’t have to be unique)Delete a field while a saved view or Device Group filter still uses it
Delete a field that has no related entitiesDelete a single option — remove the whole field instead if needed
Add and rename options on Select / Multi-select fieldsFilter by Text, Date, Number, or URL fields yet
Filter and target Device Groups with Select, Multi-select, and Checkbox fieldsNarrow what a field applies to
Widen what a field applies toApply fields to Employees yet
Edit values inline on a device

What’s coming next

These items are planned and not yet available. They’re shared to help you plan, not as committed dates.
  • Employee custom fields — define your own attributes on employees, the same way you do on devices today.

Availability and access

Custom fields are managed by admins with access to Settings, under Settings → Custom Fields. The feature is in beta and rolling out to accounts. If you don’t see it in your Settings, the feature isn’t enabled for your organization yet — contact your Primo representative to learn more.