The Referral Fields screen is used to set up the fields that display on the referral form when adding a discipline referral for a student.
The Referral category houses the fields included on the referral form. Additional categories can be added if different schools will have different versions of the referral form.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
The Categories tab is displayed by default.
2. In the blank row at the top of the screen, enter a Title for the category.
3. Select the Schools who will use this referral form. One or multiple can be selected.
To assign the referral form to all schools, leave the Schools field blank.
4. Select the Default View Profiles and the Default Edit Profiles, if applicable.
When new fields are assigned to the category, the profiles selected in Default View Profiles will have view permissions for those fields by default. The profiles selected in Default Edit Profiles will have edit permissions for those fields by default. You can leave these fields blank, if desired. Profiles who can view or edit fields can be added or changed on a specific field when editing the field in the Fields tab. Please see Adding a Field for more information.
If an existing field is moved to a category with the Default View Profiles and Default Edit Profiles set, the view and edit permissions for the field will not be automatically updated.
If the category already has fields assigned, selecting Default View Profiles and Default Edit Profiles on the category will only affect new fields assigned to the category after the profiles are set, not fields that have previously been assigned to the category.
5. Press Enter.
The category is added to the list and is auto-saved.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. In the Categories tab, locate the category in the list and make the desired changes.
The changes will auto-save.
The fields in a category should be moved to another category or deleted before the category is deleted. A warning message will display if you attempt to delete a category that has fields assigned.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. In the Categories tab, locate the category in the list and click the red minus sign to the left of the Title.
3. In the confirmation message, click OK.
The category is deleted.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. In the Categories tab, locate the category in the list and click Edit Fields at the right side of the screen.
The Fields tab opens, displaying the fields that are assigned to the category.
3. To view the full list of fields, click the View all fields link at the top of the screen.
When updating to version 9.1, the fields set up in the Referral Form screen are migrated into the Referral category in Referral Fields. Additional fields can be added as needed, and assigned to the appropriate category.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. Click the Fields tab.
3. In the blank row at the top of the screen, enter a Title for the field.
4. Select the field Type.
| Field Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Text | Text fields work best for capturing information that has an unlimited number of potential answers. Text fields accommodate short answers, usually less than 50 characters in length, and can include numeric data. |
| Long Text | While text fields work well for short entries, long text is best suited to note-like entries. |
| Checkbox | Use check boxes to record information where a single option is going to be selected. This data type stores a "Y" or null and cannot be changed to a different data type once created. |
| Number | Number fields are used for purely numeric data. This data type works best when the combination of numbers is virtually unlimited, rather than strictly limited, like a range of zip codes in a school district. If a number field type is selected, the user will not be able to enter non-numeric characters into the field. |
| Date | Users can type in the date or select the date from the calendar. The date format stored is yyyy-mm-dd. |
| Time | Time fields allow users to enter a time. Users can only enter time in the hh:mm format. |
| Select One | This field type allows the user to select only one option from the pre-defined list. The list of options can be manually entered when setting up the field or defined with a query. |
| Select Multiple | This field type allows the user to select one or multiple options from the pre-defined list. The list of options can be manually entered when setting up the field or defined with a query. |
| Logging Field | Logging fields are used when several pieces of data make up a single record of information. Logging fields work best for providing comprehensive records of activity. Unlike the other field types, logging fields can be more extensive, involving a set of fields for entering data. View and edit permissions are set for the logging field and for each individual column. |
| Computed | This field type allows users to define a query that will be executed and the results displayed to the user when viewing the field. |
| Computed Table | This field type allows users to define a query that will be executed and the results displayed in a table. The table can have multiple columns of data. |
| File Upload | The File field type allows users to upload a file into Focus. Focus integrates with most commonly used formats, including Word, Excel, and PDF documents, as well as .rtf and .csv file formats. Once uploaded into Focus, users can click the file to download and view it. |
| Signature | The signature field allows users to digitally sign their acknowledgement or consent in Focus. Users can use their mouse to sign. When using a tablet, users can use their finger or stylus to sign. This field can be set up to require the user to enter their username and password to authenticate the signature. |
| Placeholder | Placeholder fields are used to separate sections on a page. A placeholder can function as a heading, can include a URL, or can include formatted text. |
5. Press Enter to add the new field.
The field is added to the list and is auto-saved.
On Local fields, the Alias can be changed for ease of identification and use when querying the field.
6. Click Edit Field next to the new field.
The Edit Field pop-up window is displayed. The setup for the field depends on the field type.
If you already know the category a field will be assigned to, you can click Edit Fields next to the appropriate category in the Categories tab, and then add the new field in the blank row at the top of the screen. This will automatically select the category when setting up the field.
1. Use the Select Categories pull-down to select the categories this field will appear in. One or multiple categories can be selected.
2. In the (Category) Sort Order pull-down, select where the new field should appear within the category. You can select to place it before an existing field, at the end of the category, or unsorted. If multiple categories were selected in the Select Categories field, a Sort Order pull-down will display for each category.
3. In the Options section on the right side of the screen, select New Referral to display this field on the Add Referral screen for administrators.
When New Referral is selected, the New Referral Sort Order pull-down is displayed. Select where to place the field in the list of existing fields on the Add Referral screen.
For more information about how sort order works for custom fields, see Sort Order for Fields.
4. Select New Referral - Teacher to display this field on the Add Referral screen for teachers.
Selecting New Referral - Teacher will automatically select the New Referral option, if not already selected.
5. Select Required if this field will be required on the referral form.
6. Select Restricted to hide this field in inactive student records.
Only users who have the profile permission "View Inactive Student Restricted Information" enabled in Users > Profiles can view this field in an inactive student's record.
7. Enter a Help URL if desired.
This will display a link icon next to the field title in the referral. Clicking the link icon will open the URL in a new tab.
8. Enter a Description if desired.
When the user hovers the mouse over the question mark icon on the field in on the referral, the description will display.
9. Select the profiles that will be able to view the field in the Profiles (View Access) pull-down. One or multiple profiles can be selected.
10. Select the profiles that will be able to edit the field in the Profiles (Edit Access) pull-down. One or multiple profiles can be selected.
For logging fields, select the profiles that will have the ability to delete records (rows) from the logging field in the Profiles (Delete Record) pull-down. Select the profiles that will by default have the ability to create new records in the logging field in the Profiles (Default Create Column). Select the profiles that will by default have the ability to view columns in the logging field in the Profiles (Default View Column) pull-down. Select the profiles that will by default have the ability to edit columns in the logging field in the Profiles (Default Edit Column) pull-down. Permissions for user fields can also be customized in Users > Profiles.
The Profiles (Restricted View) pull-down allows you to restrict profiles to only viewing records the user has created. For example, if the Teacher profile is selected from the Profiles (Restricted View) pull-down for this logging field, teachers will only have view access to log records created by themselves. Teachers will not be able to view log records by any other users.
Similarly, the Profiles (Restricted Edit) pull-down allows you to restrict profiles to only edit log records the user created.
11. When finished setting up the field, click Save at the bottom of the window.
1. In the Defaults section of the window, select or enter a default Value for New Referrals, if applicable. When defined, the selected value will default into the field when adding a new referral.
2. Select or enter a State Reporting Fallback Value, if applicable. When defined, the selected value will be included in extracts for state reporting unless the student has a value already selected in the referral.
1. (Select One fields only) In the Options, select Display as Radio Buttons to display the select one field as a set of radio buttons rather than as a select box.
This preference is stored in the column “display_as_radio.” If a field is not marked as Required, an N/A option will be included in the set of radio buttons.
2. In the Select Options section of the window, either define the Select Options manually or enter a Select Options Query.
Select Options:
a. In the blank row, enter a Code and Label (what will display for the user) for the option.
b. Enter a Sort Order for the option. This will display the options in the defined order.
c. If desired, enter the Min School Year and Max School Year, which are used to make these options only available for selection within the range of school years. Existing data will be maintained.
d. Press Enter to add the option.
The added row turns yellow. A new, blank row will display where you can add the next option.
e. Select the Inactive check box next to an option to inactivate it. Inactive options will not display for selection when the user opens the pull-down.
f. To delete an option, click the red minus sign to the left of the option and in the confirmation message, click OK.
Select Options Query:
Enter a query that defines the options in the pull-down.
The highlighted area provides instructions and an example query.
In order to search on the select options defined by the query, they must also be added in the Select Options section of the screen.
3. In the Defaults section of the window, select a default Value for New Referrals, if applicable. When defined, the selected value will default into the field when adding a new referral.
4. Select a State Reporting Fallback Value, if applicable. When defined, the selected value will be included in extracts for state reporting unless the student has a value already selected in the referral.
The Value for New Referrals and State Reporting Fallback Value pull-downs will be empty until select options are defined.
For file upload fields, you can optionally provide the URL to a blank form for users to access. When the user completes the form, they can upload the form into the file upload field.
For signature fields, select Requires Authentication to require the user to enter a username and password in order to save the signature. When this option is turned off, the user can save the signature without entering a username and password.
1. For placeholder fields, you may include a URL if desired. When the user clicks the placeholder title in the referral, the URL will open.
2. In the Options section of the window, select Rich Text to provide a rich text editor for the placeholder field.
3. Use the formatting options to enter the desired text.
1. In the Options section of the window, enter the Maximum Length of the field. The default maximum length is 255 characters. The length cannot be set to 0 or users will not be able to enter any text into the field.
2. To display suggestions when a user enters text into the field, enter a query in the Suggestions Query section of the screen.
The highlighted area provides instructions and an example query.
1. In the Options section of the window, select Rich Text to provide a rich text editor for the field.
2. Enter the Maximum Length of the field. The length cannot be set to 0 or users will not be able to enter any text into the field.
3. When using the discipline code suggestion feature, select the AI Accessible toggle on the field used for the referral description.
The "AI Accessible" toggle can be enabled on any Long Text field. Focus will use AI to suggest discipline codes based on the text entered in this field.
1. In the Options section of the window, select Show school year to add a School Year column to the logging field.
2. In the Columns section of the window, replace the New Column text with the column name.
3. In the column that will be the primary sort, select Ascending or Descending in the Primary Sort pull-down.
4. In the column that will be the secondary sort, select Ascending or Descending in the Secondary Sort pull-down.
Log entries can be sorted in ascending or descending order using one column as the primary sort (entries will be sorted by this column first) and one column as the secondary sort (entries will be sorted by this column second). Only one column can be set as the Primary Sort and only one column can be set as the Secondary Sort.
5. Select the Fixed Left check box to freeze the field in place when the user scrolls over to the right.
6. Select the field Type: checkbox, computed, date, file upload, long text, number, select multiple, select one, text, or time.
7. Click the Edit Field icon to set up or edit the field options, including profiles who can view and edit the specific field.
8. To delete a column, click the red X.
9. To add a column, click the green +.
10. To rearrange the order of the columns, click the left and right arrows.
Hover the mouse over the column name to view the log_field ID.
1. Select Rich Text in the Options to support HTML in the computed field's generated output.
2. Enter the query for the computed field in the provided area.
The highlighted area provides instructions and an example query. In addition to the listed substitutions that can be used in the query (highlighted in blue), {referral_id} can also be used in the query. When printing a letter from the Referrals screen, the current referral ID is referenced.
3. Either define the Search Options or enter a Filtering Options Query.
By supplying the select options or defining a filtering options query, users will be able to search on the computed field the same way other fields are searched on. If these options are not set up, then users will not be able to use More Search Options on the computed field as they can with other select field types.
Search Options:
a. In the blank row, enter a Code and Label (what will display for the user) for the first option.
b. Enter a Sort Order for the option. This will display the options in the defined order.
c. If desired, enter the Min School Year and Max School Year, which are used to make these options only active within the range of school years.
d. Press Enter to add the option.
The added row turns yellow. A new, blank row will display where you can add the next option.
e. Select the Inactive check box next to an option to inactivate it. Inactive options will not display for selection when the user opens the pull-down.
f. To delete an option, click the red minus sign to the left of the option and in the confirmation message, click OK.
Filtering Options Query:
Enter a query that defines the options in the pull-down.
The highlighted area provides instructions and an example query.
Enter a query for the computed table.
The highlighted area provides instructions and an example query. In addition to the listed substitutions that can be used in the query (highlighted in blue), {referral_id} can also be used in the query. When printing a letter from the Referrals screen, the current referral ID is referenced.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. Click the Fields tab.
3. Locate the field in the list and click Edit Field.
4. Make the desired changes and click Save.
Only Local fields (fields created by the district) can be deleted. System fields cannot be deleted.
1. In the Discipline menu, click Referral Fields.
2. Click the Fields tab.
3. Locate the field in the list and click the red minus sign to the left of the field.
4. In the confirmation message, click OK.
The field is deleted.