Creating draft custom fields

You can use draft fields to set up or edit custom fields without locking the Helix ALM project or affecting existing items. Draft fields are not active in the project when changes are saved.

Keep the following in mind:

You can copy existing active fields to create new draft fields similar to existing fields or to edit existing fields without immediately updating items in the project.
You can create multiple draft fields with the same name, but a draft field name must be unique before it is made active.
Draft calculated fields that use other draft fields as input values cannot be tested.
If a draft calculated field formula uses the Item.mappedValue function to query a draft pop-up menu field, input mappings cannot be configured for the draft pop-up menu field.
When configuring draft pop-up menu fields, changes to an existing value list also affect active fields that share the list.
New value lists can be added for draft pop-up menu fields, but the value list cannot be shared with other custom fields.
If you use an existing value list in a draft field and then delete all active fields that share the list, the list is deleted and you must reconfigure the draft field before making it active.

1. Choose Tools > Administration > Custom Fields.

The Setup Custom Fields dialog box opens.

2. Select an Item type. The fields displayed depend on the selected type.

3. To create a new draft field, click Add in the Draft Fields area. See Adding custom fields or Adding calculated custom fields.

4. To create a draft field based on an active field, select an active field and click Copy to Draft to create a copy.

5. Select a draft field and click Edit to make any changes. See Editing custom fields.

6. Select a draft field and click Delete to delete it.

7. Click OK to save the changes.

When you are ready to make a draft field available in the project, you can promote it to active or replace an existing active field. See Promoting draft custom fields or Replacing custom fields with drafts.