How to add a manual field

The Add a manual field feature allows you to add your own notes or details to a Collection in the form of text, numbers, checkboxes, or dates. This is similar to adding a new column to an Excel spreadsheet to type in notes about a line item or file.

Extraction fields vs. Manual fields

Extraction fields

Single text value, checkbox, and table fields are used to extract data fields that appear visibly on a file itself.

Manual fields

Manual fields are additional details you’d like to include that aren’t visible on a file. These provide you and your team with details beyond what’s seen on a page.

Some uses for adding manual fields are:

• Noting an internal staff member responsible for a certain file.
• Adding a checkbox to indicate the approval status of a document.
• Including a date for an internal process associated with a file.

Let’s go in-depth with two example uses cases:

Example 1

Let’s say you’ve extracted data from a group of invoices, but you’d also like to add a column to your Collection noting the salesperson associated with a certain invoice, but that information doesn’t appear on the invoice itself.

This is where manual fields can help.

Step 1: Add a manual field

1. Open your desired Collection.
2. Click the + button to the right of your Collection data to add a new field.
3. Name your manual field — e.g., “Salesperson”
4. Select Add a manual field from the dropdown menu under Type.
5. Choose Text for Value type and click Create.

Step 2: Add your notes

You can add salesperson names from either Collection view or Extraction view.

Collection view

Extraction view

Example 2

In this example, you’re responsible for organizing the data from a group of application forms. You’ve already extracted a few fields from your invoices.

However, you’d also like to note:

• Whether or not an application has been approved
• The approval date

You can add both items as a manual field in the form of a checkbox and a date:

Add manual checkbox field

• Click the New field + button
• Name your new note field — e.g., “Approved?”
• Select Add a manual field under Type.
• Choose Checkbox for Value type and click Create.

Add manual date field

• Click the New field + button
• Name your new note field — e.g., “Approval date”
• Select Add a manual field under Type.
• Choose Date for Value type and click Create.

You can edit these fields from both Collection view and from Extraction view:

Add manual fields from Extraction view

You also have the option to add a manual field in Extraction view:

1. Open any file in Extraction view.
2. Select New field.
3. Click the three dots at the top and select Add a manual field.
4. Give the field a name and choose the value type (Text, Number, Checkbox, or Date)
5. Click Create field.