Using User-Definable Fields

This chapter provides an overview of user-definable fields and discusses how to set up user-definable fields.

Note. In the current version of PeopleSoft, the user-definable fields can also be used in PeopleSoft Payables through voucher entry and the Voucher Build process.

Understanding User-Definable Fields

PeopleSoft Purchasing enables you to define fields that can be attached to purchasing documents and passed through the system without affecting PeopleSoft Purchasing functions. You can populate user-defined fields using the PeopleSoft Application Designer or add them to browser pages for the end users. Because the structural design is provided, you do not need to extensively modify the system to take advantage of this feature.

Necessary changes include adding new subrecords to header, line, schedule, and distribution levels in PeopleSoft Purchasing. Each subrecord is delivered with a one-character field that can be edited, modified, and renamed to suit your needs. You can also add fields that you create to the subrecords.

The data from each level of a document’s subrecord flows to downstream documents. For example, if you source a requisition to a purchase order, the subrecord for each level on the requisition carries over to the purchase order accordingly.

Note. A header subrecord may not copy from one document to another if the target document can be sourced from multiple documents. For example, you may copy a new purchase order from existing requisitions. Because you can copy lines from multiple requisitions to a single purchase order, the system does not copy the header subrecord from the requisition.

There are six subrecords for adding user-definable fields to purchasing transactions:

Subrecord Type	Subrecord Name
Header Subrecord	PUR_USR_HDR_SBR
Line Subrecord	PUR_USR_LIN_SBR
Schedule Subrecord	PUR_USR_SHP_SBR
Distribution Subrecord	PUR_USR_DST_SBR
Receiving Subrecord	PUR_USR_RV_SBR
RTV Subrecord (return to vendor subrecord)	PUR_USR_RTV_SBR

To compile a listing of all of the PeopleSoft records that include these subrecords, you can use this sample SQL to query the PeopleSoft database:

SELECT A.RECNAME, A.FIELDNAME, B.RECTYPE, B.OBJECTOWNERID FROM 
PSRECFIELD A, PSRECDEFN B WHERE A.RECNAME = B.RECNAME AND A.FIELDNAME IN 
('PUR_USR_HDR_SBR', 'PUR_USR_LIN_SBR', 'PUR_USR_SHP_SBR', 'PUR_USR_DST_SBR', 
'PUR_USR_RV_SBR', 'PUR_USR_RTV_SBR')

Setting Up User-Definable Fields

Use PeopleSoft Application Designer to use the delivered fields, as well as to modify them or add new fields to the delivered subrecords.

You can add the fields to the pages and display them in the PeopleSoft Purchasing browser pages, or use them only behind the scenes. You can also populate the fields behind the scenes and then display them on the browser pages.

Note. If you choose to insert new fields into any of the subrecords, you must alter the tables to avoid losing application data that already exists in the tables.

Only those with technical knowledge of PeopleSoft Application Designer and PeopleCode should modify or add to the delivered subrecords.

To compile a list of tables that must be altered by a data base administrator, you can use this sample SQL statement, altering the criteria “A.FIELDNAME =” to reference the subrecord modified. This SQL lists the tables and views for the Header subrecord, PUR_USR_HDR_SBR:

SELECT A.RECNAME, A.FIELDNAME, B.RECTYPE, B.OBJECTOWNERID FROM PSRECFIELD A, 
PSRECDEFN B WHERE A.RECNAME = B.RECNAME AND A.FIELDNAME = 'PUR_USR_HDR_SBR'  
AND B.RECTYPE IN (0, 1, 7) ORDER BY B.RECTYPE, A.RECNAME