Phone Field

Servis.ai
  • Updated

You can learn how to create a new Form Field from this article.

Contents

  1. Navigating to Form Fields
  2. Supported Phone Number Formats
  3. Configuring a Phone Field
  4. Phone Fields as a Unique Field

Navigating to Form Fields

Go to Settings > Apps, select the app you'd like to add the field to and select the 'Form Fields' tab.

Supported Phone Number Formats

When dealing with phone numbers globally, different formats are used depending on the context. Below are the most common formats and their purposes:

E.164 Format

The E.164 format is the most widely used and recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It ensures a standardized structure for international phone numbers.

  • Structure: + [Country Code] [National Destination Code] [Subscriber Number]
  • Example: A U.S. phone number would be represented as +1 555 1234567, where:
    • +1 = Country code (United States)
    • 555 = Area code
    • 1234567 = Subscriber number

National Format

Each country has its own national phone number format, which varies in length and structure. It generally includes the local area code and subscriber number.

  • Example (U.S.): (555) 123-4567

This format is commonly used for local dialing within a country and may exclude the country code.

International Format

Similar to E.164, the international phone number format includes the country code but omits the plus sign (+).

  • Example (U.S.): 1 555 1234567

This format is used in contexts where the plus symbol isn't supported.

RFC 3966 Format

RFC 3966 is a specification by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that defines how telephone numbers should be represented in Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for internet-based communication.

  • "tel" URI Scheme: Uses tel: followed by the phone number.
  • Example: tel:+15551234567 represents the U.S. phone number +1 555 1234567.

Configuring a Phone Field 

To set up a Phone field in your app, follow these steps:

  • Add a New Field: Click the Add Field button to open the Field Type selection window.

  • Select Choice Type: From the list of available field types, choose the Phone option.

phone field selecfion.png
  • Configure the Field: After selecting the Phone field, proceed with the configuration settings as needed.

phone field settings.png

Give your field a name and add a field hint if desired. You can then select the section in which the field will be created or keep the default option.

1. Type

The field type must be set to 'Phone'.

2. Default Value

If desired, you can set a default value for all new records. Team members will have the option to override the default value if needed. 

3. Calculated

Phone fields can also be calculated. Just enable the 'Calculated' checkbox and add your custom code in the space available for it. 

4. Required

Enable the 'Required' checkbox if the information for this field is mandatory. It means that if you enable this option, every time a team member creates a new record, they will need to input a phone number in this field in order to save it. 

5. Lock After Create

If you enable the 'Lock After Create' as its name implies, the field will be locked once the new record is saved and the value of the field will not be editable afterward. 

Once you are done setting your field, click the save button. 

Note: All new fields are added at the bottom of the form.

Phone Fields as a 'Unique' field

Phone fields can be set up as 'unique'. This means that the system will prevent duplicates of the Phone values from being added to the system. It is recommended to set up the Phone as a Unique field if there shouldn't be any duplicates. It helps prevent team members from adding the same phone for different records.

You can learn how to Import Data to a Unique Field right here.

To know more about Unique Fields, read this article.

Changing a Field's Type

In Servis.ai, once a field is created, its type (e.g., text, number, date, boolean) cannot be modified directly. This limitation helps ensure data consistency and prevents errors that could arise from incompatible data formats.

If you need to change the type of an existing field, you’ll need to follow these steps:

  • Create a New Field: Go to the Form Fields tab on your App's Settings and create a new field with the desired type (for example, switching from a text field to a number field).
  • Deactivate the Old Field: Once the transition is complete, you can choose to delete the original field or simply hide it from views to avoid confusion.

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