User Definable Fields Preferences

StarShip provides User Definable fields at the Item, Order, Packaging, Pallet and Shipment levels. You can customize the field label, i.e. how the field name appears in StarShip. User Definable fields can be mapped to source interface fields in order to import whatever custom field data you wish. You can also use User Definable fields in freight rules, ship via rules, and more. For a complete list of uses, click here.

Navigating User Definable Fields

This section explains where you can find and use StarShip user-definable fields.

Item User Definable Fields

These fields display on the Line Item tab, and on the User Defined Fields tab for an item in Maintain > Inventory. If mapped to the source interface, they can be populated by documents that support line item level information. They can also be mapped to a fixed value.

See also : Inventory Items

Order User Definable Fields

These fields display on the Order tab when shipping against a source interface order.

Pallet (Freight mode) User Definable Fields

Pallet fields are only available when in Freight mode. These fields display on the Packaging tab.

Packaging (Parcel mode) User Definable Fields

These fields are accessible from the Packaging tab, by clicking the User Fields button. Packaging User Definable fields may also be mapped to source interface documents that do not support package level information, such as customers.

Shipment User Definable Fields

These fields are accessible from the Shipment tab in the Transportation section, by clicking the User Fields button.

In addition to the locations above, User Definable fields can be accessed and used from :

• Customize Interface : Fields can be mapped to the source interface or a fixed value.
• Write-back : Fields can be used when defining custom write-back.
• Freight Rules and Ship Via Rules : Fields can be used when building conditions.
• Printing : For Documents and Templates, fields can be used when defining printing conditions.
• eNotify : Fields can be used in Email Templates.
• Shipment Defaults : Default values can be set for the User Definable fields.
• Carrier Reference Fields : Can be used when defining Reference Fields for each carrier (if supported). See Setup > Carrier Interfaces for specific carrier information.

Set Up User Definable Fields

You may define an unlimited number of User Definable fields of various formats. User Definable field names must be unique.

This dialog, accessible from Setup > Preferences > User Definable Fields, is used to customize User Definable fields.

Field ID

This value is a unique identifier for the user definable field. A default ID is provided. Though you can change the ID, keep in mind that changing the ID is the same as deleting the existing ID and replacing it with a new one.  This means any field mappings, freight rules, or conditions, as well as the data in shipments, will be removed. Note : If you change the Field ID and then want to recover any lost information, you can create a new User Definable Field with the original ID.1

The Field ID cannot be left blank.

Field Level

This value defines whether the user definable field is at the Item, Package, Pallet, Order, or Shipment level.

Item level fields are available for both Inventory Items (Maintain > Inventory) and for line items in the shipment.

Field Name

The Field Name defines how the field label appears in StarShip.1

Field Type

This value defines the data type of the field. Use the Field Testing area to view how field data will display in StarShip. Choices are :

• String : This type can be any value or limited to a list of values that you define.2
• Boolean :  This is a True/False data type, so the field will display as a check box in StarShip. "Checked" is True, and "unchecked" is False.
• Integer : This type can be any value or limited to a list of values that you define.2
• Decimal : This type is a numeric field that allows you to set the number of decimal places.
• Money :  The Money data type  will display the value in dollar/cents format; for example, 1000.25
• Date Time : For this type, you can select to use both date and time, only the date, or only the time.
  

1 For information about the what happens to the original User Definable field names and IDs, see Existing Field Conversion.

2 To add a list of values, select "One of a list of values" in the Value Types field. Define values by typing them in the New Value field and clicking Add.

When values are specified, the user definable field will display as a list of selectable values in StarShip. The field will default to the first value in the list.

Source Interface and User Definable Fields

General Field Mapping Information

User Definable fields are available for mapping to the source interface in  Setup > Source Interface  > Customize Interface according to the following rules :

1. • Order User Definable fields : You can map these fields to a fixed value, and Order/Invoice level fields. Package Content and Line Item fields, however, cannot be imported.

   • Package/Pallet User Definable fields : If mapping for Orders or Customers, you can only map Package types (not Pallet types) under Shipment > Packaging > Type. To get Pallet types, you must be mapping a shipment type document, such as Invoices, and then the selection under Shipment > Handling Unit > Type will include Pallet types.

   • Item User Definable fields : You can map these fields to a fixed value, Order/Invoice level fields, and Line Item level fields, but not Package Content fields.

   • Shipment User Definable fields : These fields can be mapped to a source interface field or fixed value.

Importing Values from the Source Interface

When mapping to User Definable fields from your source interface, although it is possible to map StarShip User Definable fields to different level source fields, we recommend that you only map User Definable fields to the same level fields from the source interface. For example, you might want to map StarShip Line Item User Definable fields  to an order or invoice level field, like Order Number. This can produce unpredictable results when there are multiple orders on the same shipment containing the same line item. In that case, StarShip would use the first value it receives to populate the User Definable field to which you mapped.

Existing Field Conversion

StarShip previously included 5 User Definable fields at the Shipment, Order, Pallet, Package, and Item level. The original fields will either retain the Field Name if you have renamed them, or use the default Field Name.

The Field IDs have been converted to follow the naming convention of the new fields as follows.

Order Fields

Order User Definable Field 1 - Order User Definable Field 5 are now UserField1 - UserField5.

Pallet Fields

Pallet User Definable Field 1 -  Pallet User Definable Field 5 are now UserField6 - UserField10.

Pack Fields

Pack User Definable Field 1 - Pack User Definable Field 5 are now UserField11 - UserField15.

Line Item Fields

Item User Definable Field 1 - Item User Definable Field 5 are now UserField16 - UserField20.

Shipment Fields

Shipment User Definable Field 1 - Shipment User Definable Field 5 are now UserField21 - UserField25.

Inventory Items

Item level User Definable Fields appear on the User Defined Fields tab in Maintain > Inventory for each inventory item.

When the two Preferences settings "Use line item information in StarShip database" and "Save line item information in the StarShip database" are checked in your setup, User Definable fields will be updated and used based on the shipment line item data (whether imported from the Source document or typed on the screen manually).

If only "Use line item information..."  is checked, the user-defined fields will be read from StarShip's inventory but not updated.