Required Fields

Required Fields

There are two kinds of required fields in FIMS. Some are system-defined, and some are user-defined. System-defined required fields are those that you must enter information into before you can continue with the transaction or record entry process. If you skip a required field, you will receive an error message. User-defined required fields do not produce an error message if they are skipped.

Although FIMS requires certain data fields for minimal record entry, other fields can be just as important for information management at your organization. Every organization should determine which fields in FIMS are necessary, which are optional, and which should be skipped.

Once you identify the required fields, you can highlight the field label on the screen to serve as a reminder to enter any required information before moving on. There are two ways to use this functionality. You can use the highlight as a reminder to enter information in a particular field, without the system enforcing the requirement, or you can choose to have required fields enforced (the user will not be able to save if they do not put data in a highlighted field). Refer to Enforcing Required Fields for more information.