Customer Defined Fields in Infor M3
How can Customer Defined Fields enhance your Infor M3 experience?
Unlock the full potential of your Infor M3 system by avoiding common mistakes when creating Customer Defined Fields (CDFs). Enter your email address below to receive our comprehensive guide as a free PDF download.
Introduction
Creating and managing Customer Defined Fields in Infor M3 can significantly enhance your system's flexibility and efficiency. By following best practices and leveraging these fields effectively, you can tailor the system to better meet your unique business needs.
What are Customer Designed Fields?
Customer Defined Fields (CDFs) in Infor M3 allow businesses to create custom fields within the system to capture data specific to their operational needs. These fields can be added to various forms and screens, enabling a more tailored data collection and reporting process. CDFs enhance the flexibility and adaptability of Infor M3, making it possible to align the system closely with unique business processes and requirements.
Watch the webinar on Customer Defined Fields
Make yourself a cup of tea, find your headphones and settle in. In this webinar from May 2024, we went in depth about Customer Defined Fields. Hear what questions other M3 users had, and what answers they got from our experts. There is a lot to learn from this session!
Importance of CDFs in Infor M3
CDFs are crucial for businesses that have specific data needs not addressed by standard fields in Infor M3. They provide the following benefits:
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Customization
Tailor the system to collect and report on data that is critical to your business operations.
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Enhanced Reporting and Searching
Improve the accuracy and relevance of reports by including custom data points. -
Operational Efficiency
Streamline processes by capturing all necessary information in one place. -
Better Decision Making
Gain insights from custom data that can drive strategic decisions.
Three-part video series on CDF
To provide you with an in-depth understanding and practical demonstration of Customer Designed Fields in Infor M3, we've created a comprehensive video series. Each video in the series covers different aspects of creating and managing CDFs, ensuring you have all the knowledge you need to optimize this powerful feature.
Video 1: Introduction to Customer Defined Fields
In the first video, we introduce the concept of Customer Defined Fields, explain their importance, and provide a step-by-step guide on how to create them. You'll learn about defining field attributes, assigning fields to screens, and testing your custom fields. This video is perfect for beginners who are just starting with CDFs.
Video 2: Exporting Customer Defined Fields
The second video demonstrates how to build a workflow to export Customer Defined Fields using Vince Live. The video walks you through the process of creating a new workflow, configuring it to extract customer data and associated custom fields using APIs, and mapping these fields to an Excel component for output. You'll learn how to handle API limitations and ensure that all necessary custom fields are included in your export.
Video 3: Importing Customer Defined Fields
The third and final video in our series demonstrates how to import or update Customer Defined Fields back into M3 from Excel using Vince Live. This video shows you how to create a workflow that uses APIs to update customer records and their custom fields. You'll learn how to map inputs from Excel, handle multiple APIs, and verify updates in M3.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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What are the limitations of Customer Defined Fields in Infor M3?
While CDFs offer great flexibility, there are limitations such as field type restrictions and potential performance impacts if overused.
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Can CDFs be included in standard reports?
Yes, CDFs can be integrated into standard reports, but will require some customization in the reporting module. -
How do I delete a Customer Defined Field?
To delete a CDF, navigate to the field management section, select the field, and follow the prompts to remove it. Ensure that the field is not in use before deletion to avoid data loss. Caution: a CDF can be deleted even if it has data assigned to it, so proceed with caution when deleting a CDF.
Conclusion
Creating and managing Customer Defined Fields in Infor M3 can significantly enhance your system's flexibility and efficiency. By following best practices and leveraging these fields effectively, you can tailor the system to better meet your unique business needs.
At Vince, we're committed to guiding and supporting you through every step of optimizing your Infor M3 system. Feel free to reach out with any questions!