Custom Modules

Custom Modules

Overview 

Sometimes, an organization's needs may go beyond the scope of the modules present in the application. In other cases, the organization might need to collect and store additional data that cannot be categorized under our pre-defined modules. In such cases, administrators can create and customize a new module from scratch, based on the organization's requirements.

Role Required: SDAdmin

Info
You can configure access permissions to technicians for each custom module from Setup > Users & Permissions > Roles. Learn more.
Custom module is available only in the Enterprise edition of ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud. 

Info
 After a custom module is created, you can start adding the relevant data to it. The information entered in custom modules is collected and stored as Records. 

Benefits of Creating Custom Modules  

Custom modules enable you to design an entire module according to your preferences.
You can create forms and configure lookup fields to collect extra information.
You can configure custom modules to appear as a tab on the navigation pane. Alternatively, you can also place them under Setup to avoid crowding the navigation pane.
Technicians can also import data and generate reports based on the data collected in custom modules.

Create Custom Module 

In the Custom Modules list view, click New. This will open the New Custom Module form. You can create up to 20 custom modules.
The New Custom module form has two sections: Details and Fields.
Details: Specify the details of the custom module as explained below:
Fields
Explanation
Display Name*
Enter the name of your custom module that will be displayed in each record.
Display Name Plural*
The plural form of your display name will be displayed on the navigation pane and other places referring to the custom module as a whole.
API Name*
Enter an API name to enable API access to the custom module. An API name is written in snake case. It is pre-fixed by cm_ automatically.
Icon
Select from the list of built-in icons to represent your custom module. You can also import an image as your icon. Ensure that the image size is not more than than 2 MB.
Description
Describe the custom module usage.
Display Type
You can select the display type as Web Tab or Custom Configuration. Learn more about each display type.
Data Import Enabled
Select this checkbox to enable data import to the custom module. You can import data from .csv files into custom modules under Setup > Data Administration > Import Data. Learn more.
Reports Enabled
Select this checkbox to generate reports for the data in the custom module. Learn more.
* mandatory fields 

Click Save. You will be redirected to the Fields tab.


Fields: Create a form by defining fields to capture the relevant information in each custom module record. The Fields tab contains two sections: Canvas and Fields List.

Canvas
The canvas is where you build a template.
  1. Add fields and sections from the Fields List to the canvas using a simple drag-and-drop method.
  1. Rename sections by clicking on the section header and typing in the relevant section name.
  1. To add existing fields, drag them from the right pane to the canvas.
  1. To add new fields, drag a field type to the canvas and add the required details. Know more.
  1. Additional fields can be edited or deleted from the canvas. Hover over an additional field and click to edit and to remove the field.
  1. To add new sections, drag the New Section element from the right pane into the canvas and group the fields within the section. Hover over a section and click to set the section properties.
  1. Rearrange the fields and sections by using a simple drag-and-drop method.
  1. Hover over a field and use or on either sides of a field to resize the field length.
  1. Fields List
  1. The field list on the right pane contains two tabs:
  1. Available Fields - Contains predefined fields configured in the application that are not used in the canvas. The application comes with four default fields: Created By, Created Time, Last Update By, and Last Updated Time. When these default fields are used in a custom module form, they are auto-filled by the application. Drag any field from this list to the canvas.
  1. New Fields - Contains various customizable, undefined field types that you can use to create additional fields. To create a new field, drag a field type to the canvas and add the required details.
    1. Based on the selected field type, the field properties vary. Refer to this admin page to know how to configure different field types.
    1. You can also add sections to the template from the right pane. Use the New Section element to add sections to the canvas and group the fields within the section.
 
After configuring the fields, click Save.  

You can prevent users from entering duplicate data in a custom module field by checking Is Unique Field while adding/editing a field.

You can configure the records in custom modules as lookup fields (reference entities) in other custom modules, Assets additional fields, and CMDB CI types. Learn more.

List View Operations

  1. Edit/Delete Custom Module: Click beside a custom module name.
  2. Search: Click to perform a search based on the custom module name.
  3. Table Settings: Click to customize the list view layout.

 Web Tabs vs. Custom Configurations    

Depending on the display type, you can create two types of custom modules: web tabs and custom configurations. The major differences in both types of custom modules are mapped in the table below:
Web Tabs
Custom Configurations
Web tabs are displayed on the navigation pane along with the other modules.
Custom configurations are accessible only via Setup > Customization > Custom Configuration.
The history of web tab records is available on the details page.
The history of records is not shown.
You can upload/download and preview attachments in the records.
You cannot add attachments to the records.
You can filter the records in each web tab using custom views.
Custom views are not supported.
You can create up to 10 copies of a record.
You cannot copy records.
You can recover deleted records from Trash.
Deleted records cannot be recovered.
 
To learn more about web tabs and custom configurations, refer to the links below:

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