When to Use a Custom Field

A custom field is useful if you want to gather certain proprietary information from users as they print. There are several ways within Workflow to add a custom field to the Workflow Client, but you should also keep in mind how Workflow prioritizes custom fields.

• When the user prints from a specific Application – If you apply a custom field to a specific application, the custom field appears to a user who submits a print job from the specific application. Refer to Application Based Tracking for instructions to add the custom field.
• Within a User Profile – A User Profile allows you to track print jobs, set pricing, set page limits, or prevent users from printing to a printer altogether. When you add a custom field to a User Profile, all users that are tracked by the profile will see/respond to the Custom field. Refer to Create or Modify a User Profile for instructions to add the custom field.
• Within a Printer Profile – When you add a custom field to a Printer Profile, the custom field appears to any user attempting to print to the printer that is tracked by the profile. Refer to Create and Modify Printer Profiles for instructions to add the custom field.

Custom Field Prioritization

The custom fields used are determined by application, then user profile, then printer profile. If none of these settings change the custom field settings, then the entire list of custom fields is used. The diagram below illustrates the logic. At each level, Workflow determines if there are custom fields configured for the level. If yes, only the selected custom fields appear in the popup and Workflow stops looking for custom fields. If no custom fields are configured at a level, Workflow moves on to the next level. If custom fields are not applied to any of the Application, User Profile, or Printer Profile levels, Workflow refers to the Custom Field list and applies all custom fields. If no Custom Fields exist in the list, custom fields will not appear in the Workflow Client.