Types of Custom Fields. How to Edit or Apply them to a group of patents?

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 
• 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 "Custom field" found under "Review".

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.

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 in this area or within the Workspace itself.. 

Enter a field name and then add the main node and sub-nodes to the drop-down tree. (Up to 1200)

Click the "Add a sub-node" button to enter sub-categories. A little "+" will show up on the main node when you hover over it with your mouse.

The drop-down tree would now appear in the Workspace, where you can add detailed annotations for results in the Workspace.

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 ‘Set field display’. Under the "Custom fields" tab, you can then select which custom fields to apply to the folder or the entire workspace.

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 patent on the left hand side, and then selecting "Batch custom field tagging".

This will open up a little window which will prompt you to select which custom field tagging you'd like to apply to the selected records:

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.