CRM - Creating/Editing Layouts
Overview
As an administrative CRM User, you have access to almost all of the editable settings within your CRM. This includes creating new fields, adjusting the fields visible in a given View/Layout, and editing the values within an existing picklist field, among many other permissions.
Required Permissions
CRM Admin
Accessing the Tool
To access your CRM, sign in to your member website as an Administrator. Then, hover over the Admin toolbar in the top, left-hand corner of the page. The CRM link should appear in either the Communication or Content Management section, sometimes titled CRM & Data Warehouse.
The information covered in this section is mostly found in the Admin Dashboard of the CRM. To access this, while on the main CRM Dashboard, hover over your name in the top, right-hand corner of the CRM, and click the Setup option.
From here, you will see the CRM Admin Dashboard, which looks similar to the CRM Home Dashboard, but with a different sidebar on the left, and no Application Links at the top.
Adding/Editing a CRM Layout
A Layout in the CRM is a detailed listing of all fields being used to store data for every Record in a CRM Object. A Layout is typically accessed by clicking a Record Name in an associated View. Layouts are typically broken up into sections, and can have up to four columns to store information in varying configurations.
Adding a new Layout
To create your Layout, you’ll first need to access the Admin Dashboard. Similar to adding Fields and Views, you’ll need to think about which Object this Layout will reside in.
To add in your new Layout from here, you’ll first need to open your Contacts Object for editing. From the left-hand sidebar, click on Options to expand the list and display all of the Objects present in your CRM. Contacts should almost always be the first Object listed. Click on it to expand the list further, and then click on Layouts to be brought straight to the Layouts section of the Contacts Object setup screen.
You should now see a list of all available Layouts within the Object you are editing. To edit an existing Layout, click on the gray Edit button immediately to the left of its name in the listing. To add a new Layout, click on the large blue button titled + Add New Layout.
You should now see the Edit Layout Screen: When first creating a new Layout, you will only see sections 1-4. Section 5 will appear once you click the Save Properties button.
Properties: In this section, enter the basic identifying information for this Layout.
Name: Enter a name for this Layout. You will use this to reference your Layout in a View, or for future editing.
Description: Optionally, enter a description of this layout. This is only visible when editing the Layout, not when viewing data within the Layout, so most users will not see anything written here.
Object Default: Check this box to set this Layout as the default for this Object. Any links to records of this Object will open the default Layout unless the link specifically targets a different Layout.
Security: Generally, security options for Layouts are not configured from the Layout itself, but rather in the Role Groups section. By default, all options are set to “Inherit From Parent Object”. Please contact your CRM Support Team if you need to lock down a Layout from certain users, as we are happy to cover this with you on a one-on-one basis.
Header Text: This section is used by your CRM Support Team to add in client-side scripting or style code to this Layout. Generally, it is advised not to enter anything in this section yourself unless you are proficient in writing Javascript and/or CSS code.
Information: Displays system information about this Layout, and includes action buttons for the Layout.
Created: The time this Layout was created, and the user that created it.
Modified: The time this Layout was last modified, and the user that made the changes.
Save Properties: Saves the Properties of this Layout (anything entered in sections 1 -3 above).
Save As New Layout: Creates a brand new Layout in this Object, and gives it the exact same Properties and Structure as this Layout. Useful for creating two similar Layouts with only minor differences.
Archive This Layout: Will remove this Layout from the list of Layouts in this Object, and will prevent it from being displayed to Users.
Layout Structure: This section allows you to configure the structure of the Layout. Here you can determine which fields are shown in this Layout, and in which order. At the top of this section is a list of actionable items (Available Fields and + Add Section), which can be dragged below to place them in the Layout body.
Beneath layout structure is a canvas, on which you place Sections and Fields to display in the body of the Layout. This canvas is made up of Sections, and each Section is made up of Fields. When viewing a Layout from the user facing side, Sections keep fields organized within the Layout by providing a header/title, and each Section is also collapsible to enable the user to hide certain fields that they aren’t using at the current time. Typically, it is a good practice to have as many Sections as possible in your Layout to help group like fields together, and allow for a logical and visually pleasing display of data.
Utilizing these two sections, you should now be able to begin formatting this Layout by clicking any item in the top section, and dragging it to the desired location in the canvas below.
First, and most importantly, you’ll need to add in at least one Section, in which you’ll be able to place and order fields. Fields cannot exist in a Layout outside of a Section, so it is necessary to add in at least one Section before adding any Fields.
To add a new Section, find the tab at the top of the Layout Structure section titled + Add Section. Click and hold on this, and drag it down to the canvas section, then release it where you would like it to be placed. You can reorder existing Sections in your Layout by clicking on the Section heading and dragging it up or down in the Layout to its desired location.
By default, your new Section will not have a title, and it will contain only one column for Fields. To edit the settings of this Section, click on its title, and a popup will appear in which you can edit the Section settings. In the Section Properties window, you can edit the following information:
Title: Give a title to this Section, which will be visible to users when viewing this Layout.
Column Count: Choose how many columns of fields should be available in this Section. The minimum number of columns allowed is 1, and the maximum is 4. Fields will stretch to fill the entire screen regardless of the number of columns. Therefore, fields will appear larger in a Section with fewer columns, and will appear smaller in a Section with more columns.
Collapsed on Display View Load: If this box is checked, then this Section will default to collapsed when the Layout is first loaded. Users would have to click on the Section title to expand it and view the Fields within. If this box is unchecked, then this Section will default to display all Fields within, unless the User clicks on the Section title to collapse it.
Once you’ve configured the Section as desired, click on the Save Properties button and this window will disappear. Then the Section will update in the Layout Structure beneath. With a new Section in place, now you can place some Fields.
Adding Fields works very similarly to adding Sections - simply find the Field you would like to add in the list of available Fields in the top section, then click and drag it down to the canvas where you would like to place it. You can also reorder existing Fields in the canvas by clicking and dragging them around to their desired location.
Each field within a Layout has some basic properties that can be edited. To access these properties, hover over the field you need to access, and click on the small gear icon that appears over the bottom-right corner of the field. For most fields, there are only a few properties to edit:
Read Only: Mark this field as read only, so that users can view the content within it, but never edit it.
Required: Mark this field as required to be filled out before saving the record in this Layout. Choosing this option will only affect this field in this specific Layout.
Hide Label: When this box is checked, only the data contained within this field will be displayed - not the name of the field itself.
Finally, once all the Sections and Fields have been added to the canvas as needed for this Layout, click on the Save Structure button, which is located at the bottom of the list of available Fields.
Accessing Data From Outside Objects in a Layout
While using your CRM, you may have noticed cases in which data from one Object is displayed inside a Layout of a different Object. The Activities section within a Prospect Layout is a great example of this, as is the Notes section.
These sections within the Prospect Layout are what are called Parent-Child Relationship fields. They allow data from one Object, in this case either the Activities or Notes Objects, to be displayed within a different Object, in this case the Contacts Object. In order to display this kind of information in a Layout, the associated Parent-Child Relationship field should be added to the Layout.
Before editing the Layout, you should first determine which Parent-Child fields are available in your Object. Open up your Object for editing, and view the list of available Fields. You will be able to tell if a field is a Parent-Child field based on the Data Type of the field. Instead of showing a standard data type, a Parent-Child field will instead show the name of the Object that it is relating to.
Once you’ve identified a Parent-Child field, open up the Layout to edit, and scroll down to the Layout Structure canvas. To begin, add a new Section to house this field - generally you will want to have each Parent-Child relationship field to live in a section alone, as the field will display as a full section in the Layout. Typically, it is best to leave this section set to only one column as well, for the same reason.
Next, locate the Field that you identified earlier from the list of available fields, and drag it down to this new Section. Instead of appearing as most of the other fields, this field will instead say “Record Name Object View”.
Once the field has been added to the Layout, click the Save Structure button, and it should be ready to use. However, there are a few more properties that can be edited for this type of field, which can improve the user experience when viewing this Layout. To access the field Properties, hover over the field in the canvas, and click on the small gear icon that appears over the bottom-right corner of the field. This will bring up a popup window. Here you’ll see the same list of field properties that exists for all fields, plus two new options:
Display Type: Select from the list which View from the Child Object (in this case, Activities) to use to display the content within this Layout. The fields that will be shown in your Layout are determined by the View selected in this option.
Layout: Select from the list which Layout from the Child Object (in this case, Activities) to display when a record from within this View is clicked.
If none of the options available in these lists are what you need, you’ll need to open up the Child Object and edit/create the Views/Layouts as needed.
Additional Resources
Best Practices
Generally, it is easier for users to use a Layout that has more Sections, as opposed to those that have fewer Sections. Use Sections liberally to group like fields together. For example, have a “Prospect Information” Section containing basic identifying and demographic information about a Contact, a Section for Addresses, one for Opportunity information, and another for Spouse/Family information.
FAQs
Why can't I access the Object settings? I'm receiving an error 'Invalid Permissions to View This Page"?
Only Object Administrators have access to edit settings within an Object. If you are receiving this message, your account may not be set as an Object Administrator. Please note that CRM pricing is based on a per admin user basis, so adding additional Object Administrator accounts may incur additional fees. Contact your Account Manager to discuss this further.
