This article covers:
- About Custom Fields
-
Types of Custom Fields:
1. Text
2. Date
3. Drop-Down Menu
4. Numeric
5. Drop-Down Tree
6. URL Link - Access Custom Fields across Workspaces
- Edit Custom Fields
- Apply Custom Fields to a group of patents
- Convert Custom Fields
- AI Custom Fields
About Custom Fields
Custom fields are designed to be a helpful tool for recording your thoughts on a patent. There are different types of custom fields available to you which can be found by going to the Workspace area and clicking on the option of "My custom fields".
These fields are global to your entire account and can easily be shown or hidden in the different Workspaces based on your needs and objectives.
Types of Custom Fields
You can create six different types of custom fields:
1. Text
If the question is open such as "what is patented?", the text option could be most appropriate due to the broad number of words you may add in that field.
2. Date
Date allows you to add important dates you may want to add next to the patents.
3. Drop-Down Menu
If the question is closed such as "Patent of interest?", you can generate a yes/no binary drop-down menu or a numeric drop-down menu with numbers 1 to 5 to grade your results.
The limit of nodes for drop-down custom fields is 1,200 in total.
You can also create Smart Custom Fields for this option, where further details about these can be found in the following article: What Are Smart Custom Fields?
4. Numeric
A number can be useful when classifying patents by internal categories.
5. Drop-down Tree
A Drop-Down Tree supports the creation of multi-level annotation. This enables you to set up a detailed review process and allows for more customization and control over the review process.
Creating a Drop-down Tree (within Workspace):
A Drop-down tree can be created like all other custom fields by clicking on Add custom fields within a Workspace.
Enter a field name and then add the main node and sub-nodes to the drop-down tree. (Up to 1200)
The drop-down tree would now appear in the Workspace, where you can add detailed annotations for results in the Workspace.
You can also add patents to a custom field by dragging and dropping the patents to the correct node. You first have to select the patents, and then you can drag them from the little boxes to your desired node.
You can automatically apply drop-down menu and tree values to patents within a folder by setting rules for them. You can find more information about this in the following article: How Can I Automatically Apply Custom Fields To A Workspace Folder?
6. URL Link
A URL Link Custom Field offers you the chance to enter a singular URL in that custom field, that will open up a new tab once you click on it.
Please make sure and enter a valid link to this Custom Field. You will then notice that it will be highlighted in blue, meaning that the object can be interacted with by clicking on it. Upon clicking on it, a new tab will open, forwarding you to the mentioned URL.
When looking at the patent view, you will also see the URL Link in the Custom Field tab. When clicking on it, this will also open up a new browser tab for you.
How can I access custom fields across different Workspace folders?
You can access a previously created custom field across different Workspace folders by clicking ‘Manage Fields’ and scroll to the custom field name and turn on the switch to be displayed in the Workspace. Finally, click 'Apply to current folder', once done, the custom field would now appear as a column in your Workspace.
Alternately, you can also search for the custom field name in the search box available in the manage fields section.
How can I edit / update / delete a previously created custom field?
If you would like to edit/update/delete a previously created custom field, click the downward arrow next to the custom field, then 'Edit'.
Alternatively, you can also do so within the Custom Field Management area.
Can I apply custom fields to a group of patents?
You can apply custom fields to a group of 3000 patents at once. Here's an example below of how you could apply a drop-down tree field to a group of patents in a Workspace. In the case you're selecting multiple entries from a drop-down tree menu, you would need to add one entry at a time and submit before applying fields across the patent group.
Convert Custom Fields
You can now convert a custom field format by selecting the custom field and clicking on "Convert Custom field"
This allows you to change:
- Text fields to Drop down menus
- Text fields to Drop down trees
- Drop down menus to Drop down trees
A maximum of 3000 patents can be selected and the original custom field will not be deleted after the conversion.
AI Custom Fields (beta)
AI custom fields allows users to use our AI to automatically tag existing drop-down menu and drop-down tree type custom fields. The algorithm considers custom fields already applied to some of the patents within the folder and tag selected untagged documents automatically. To find out more see our AI Custom Fields article.