Overview of common uses for Text Mode
You can expand your reporting capabilities by using text mode in reports and report elements. You can also use a version of text mode to build more complex calculated custom fields. For more information about text mode, see Text Mode overview.
This article outlines just a few common examples of where you would most likely need to use text mode to expand reporting or calculated custom fields capabilities in ۶Ƶ Workfront. For a more expansive list of examples, see:
For more information about creating reports using text mode, including classes, videos, and tutorials, see the Learn section on the ۶Ƶ Experience League site.
Instances where you might use text mode in lists and reports
We recommend that you use the report and list builder to build your views, filters and groupings. However, there are some instances where you can use text mode to enhance your reports and lists.
You can use text mode when you want to achieve the following in Workfront:
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Build custom calculated custom fields in a custom form.
For more information about calculated custom fields, see the Use Text Mode in calculated custom fields section in this article. -
Enhance filters, views, and groupings beyond what is possible in the report builder. For information about using text mode for filters, views, and groupings, see the following sections in this article:
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Create custom prompts. You can only create custom prompts using Text Mode.
For information about building custom prompts, see Add a prompt to a report.
Use Text Mode in calculated custom fields use-text-mode-in-calculated-custom-fields
You can use text mode to add a calculated custom field to a Custom Form.
For more information about adding a calculated custom field to a Custom Form, see Create a custom form.
For more information about creating a calculated custom field in text mode, see Add calculated fields to a form.
For example, you can add a calculated custom field that shows a time and date stamp of the moment when an item was marked as In Progress. You can use this calculation for other statuses.
For information, see Calculated custom field example: display a Status timestamp in a Custom Form.
Use Text Mode in views use-text-mode-in-views
You can use text mode in views to expand on the fields and objects you can display in the view.
For examples of the most common reasons for using text mode in a view, see the following articles:
- View: display objects that are not included in the standard interface
- View: display the result of a calculation between two fields in a column
- View: permanently edit the width of a column
- View: merge information from multiple columns in one shared column
- View: remove link to an object in a column
- Reference collections in a report
- View: hide the content of a column
- View: display an image instead of a string in a column
- View: display task indentations in a task list
- View: calculate time and date differences
Use Text Mode in filters use-text-mode-in-filters
You can use text mode when building filters to expand on the fields and objects you can filter by.
For examples of the most common reasons for using text mode in a filter, see the following articles:
- Filter: create multiple filter rules that reference the same field (“AND” statements)
- Filter: display only items in an approval status
- Filter: display items by same-name statuses when the statuses are associated with different groups
- Filter: eliminate items in a list by comparing two fields
- The section Examples of text mode filters that span multiple levels in the object hierarchy in the article Create complex Text Mode filters using EXISTS statements
- The section Create complex text mode filters for missing objects in the article Create complex Text Mode filters using EXISTS statements
Use Text Mode in groupings use-text-mode-in-groupings
You can use text mode when building groupings to expand on the fields and objects you can group by in lists and reports.
For examples of the most common reasons for using text mode in a grouping, see the following articles: