Skip to main content
Custom Attributes

Create Custom Attributes for your Contacts and Matters in Docketwise

Allie Melhem avatar
Written by Allie Melhem
Updated over 9 months ago

Overview

With Custom Attributes, you are able to create customizable fields in Docketwise for Contacts and Matters. These Custom Attributes can be:

  • Tracked and filled on the Contact's/Matter's overview page

  • Asked on Custom Intakes to be filled out by clients

  • Included in Automated Templates

  • Reported on and utilized as filters in Contact and Matter Reports

In order to unlock this feature, you must be a Docketwise Pro or Advanced subscriber. If you would like to learn about the other features that you can unlock on a Docketwise Pro or Advanced subscription, you can click here.


Contents


Attribute Types

There are 5 different Custom Attribute types, allowing you to ask, document, track, and report on just about anything:

  1. Text: Answers may include any combination of text, numbers, space, and symbols

  2. Number: Answers may include numbers only

  3. Date: Answers may only be in date format

  4. Boolean: Answers may only be true/false

  5. List: Answer is chosen from a list of options

  6. Expiry Date: Answers may only be in date format


Creating Custom Attributes

To create a new Custom Attribute, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Click the + New Custom Attribute button

  2. Give your Custom Attribute a name

  3. Choose the Attribute Type (and include list items if creating a list type)

  4. Indicate whether the Custom Attribute is to be assigned to a Contact or Matter

  5. Click the Create button


Viewing and Updating a Contact's/Matter's Custom Attributes

In order to view and update a contact's/matter's custom attribute, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to the Contact's/Matter's overview page

  2. Click the pencil icon for the Custom Attribute value that you would like to set

  3. Enter the desired value

  4. Click the Update button

Contact:

Matter:


Custom Expiry Dates

Custom Expiry dates allow you to add additional customizable expiry dates, which behave like other Expiry Dates in Docketwise, allowing you to receive reminder notifications before the event.

Expiry Date Reminders Settings

In order to set up Automatic Expiry Date Reminder Settings for your Custom Expiry Date, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Click the New Reminder Button

  2. Select the Custom Expiry Date under Expiry Date Type

  3. Choose the Event Calendar

  4. Select the default recipient(s) of the reminder (admin/all firm members/assignee(s) of associated contact)

  5. Indicate how long before the expiry date you would like to have the notification sent by selecting the unit of time and entering a corresponding numerical value

  6. Click the Save Reminder button

Creating the Expiry Date Event/Reminder

In order to set up an expiry date reminder for a contact in Docketwise, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to the contact's overview page

  2. Select the Expiration Dates tab

  3. Enter the expiry date under the appropriate expiry date category

  4. Hit Enter/Return on your keyboard

Once the date is entered and you already had an expiry date reminder setting indicated, an event will be made with a corresponding notification based on the expiry date reminder settings.

Note: Custom Expiry Dates may only be made at the Contact level.


Custom Attributes in Custom Intakes

In addition to being able to set the value of a Custom Attribute on the contact's/matter's overview page, your can ask your clients to provide this information in a Custom Intake.

In order to ask your client to provide this information, you will need to either create a Custom Intake Template or add these questions to an already-existing Custom Intake Template under Settings > Custom Intakes; to learn more about Custom Intakes, click here.

To add these questions to a Custom Intake Template, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to the Custom section

  2. Locate the Custom Question relating to your Custom Field

  3. Click the pencil icon to edit the question being asked (optional)

  4. Click the slider bar to active and the question will be added to your Custom Intake

Note: If a Matter Custom Attribute is present in the Custom Intake, the Smart Form must be assigned to a matter to populate these fields.


Custom Attributes in Automated Templates

Automated Templates allow you to create templated documents in Docketwise that automatically populate said documents with information from Docketwise with Merge Tags.

Values for Custom Attributes can also be added as to Automated Templates with Merge Tags; to learn more about Automated Templates and Merge Tags, click here.

To view the list of Merge Tags related to your Custom Attributes, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Click the + New Template button

  2. Click the Custom Attributes tab


Custom Attributes in Reporting

Custom Attributes in Docketwise can be reported on and used as filters (along with other filters) for creating reports. Custom Attributes are available in the following type of reports:

  • Contact Reports

    • Contacts over time

  • Matter Reports

    • Matters over time

    • Matters by status

    • Matters by preference category

To report on custom attributes or use custom attributes in filters in reporting, you will need to follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to your Docketwise Dashboard

  2. Click the Create New ▼ button

  3. Choose the Report option

  4. Choose the type of report you would like to create

  5. Click the Filter by Attributes button

  6. Indicate the criteria for your Custom Attribute filters

  7. Click the Update button

Did this answer your question?