How to Create and Use Custom Project Properties

Last updated: August 19, 2025

Overview

Custom project properties allow you to capture specific, structured information for every project, ensuring consistency and making your data easier to filter and report on. Unlike freeform tags, custom properties can be configured as drop downs, checkboxes, or date pickers, and can be made mandatory. This tutorial will guide you through creating a custom "Project Type" property to better categorize your work.

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to create and implement a new custom property for your projects.

  1. Navigate to Project Settings

    • From the main navigation menu on the left, click Settings.

    • In the Admin Settings menu, select Projects.

  2. Configure Project Properties

    • At the top of the Projects settings page, click the Configure Project Properties button.

    • A modal window will appear, listing all existing system and custom properties. Click the New Property button in the top right.

  3. Define Your New Property

    • In the New property form, provide a Name. For this example, we'll use "Project Type".

    • Select a field Type from the dropdown menu. We will choose Single-select Dropdown to provide a predefined list of options.

    • In the Values field, enter the options you want in your dropdown list, pressing enter after each one. For our example, add "Residential," "Commercial," and "Municipal."

    • Check the box for Mark as required to ensure this field is always filled out when creating or updating a project.

    • Click Create to save the new property, then click Done to close the configuration window.

Insight: Using structured properties like a dropdown for "Project Type" is more powerful than using tags. It prevents typos and variations (e.g., "Comm" vs. "Commercial"), leading to cleaner data and more reliable filtering across your entire account.

  1. Apply the Property to Projects

    • The new property will now automatically appear on the "New Project" creation form.

    • For existing projects, navigate to a project, click the edit icon (pencil) in the header, and scroll down to find your new custom field. Select a value and click Update. The property will now be visible in the project's header.

  2. Filter and View Your Data

    • Go to the main Projects list. You can now use the search bar to filter by your new property. For example, search for "Project Type" and select "Residential" to see only those projects.

    • You can also add the property as a column in your list view. Click the Display button and check the box next to your new property name to make it visible in the table.

Troubleshooting

  • Can't find the property I created: Make sure you clicked Done after creating the property in the Configure Project Properties window to save your changes. The property will then be available when creating or editing any project.

  • I chose the wrong property type: You can edit a custom property by clicking the pencil icon next to it in the Configure Project Properties list. However, changing the type after data has been entered may have unintended consequences. If you need to fundamentally change the type, it's often safer to archive the old property and create a new one.

  • A property is required, but I need to create a project without that information yet: You must enter a value for any field marked as required. Consider creating a value like "TBD" or "Uncategorized" for your dropdown list to handle these cases.