Resource Search Fields Overview

When you search for resources during staffing, you can filter by the Role, Region, Practice, and Group fields on your contact records. If you want to use other contact fields as filter criteria, you can do so by creating resource search fields. For example, your contact records might have a custom checkbox that indicates if the person has a driver's license. By creating a resource search field for that checkbox, you can filter for resources with a driver's license.

You can create resource search fields for contact fields of the following data types:

  • Checkbox
  • Date
  • Formula
  • Geolocation
  • Lookup Relationship
  • Number
  • Percent
  • Picklist
  • Text
Warning:

Do not create resource search fields for currency fields because currency conversion is not performed.

You can create a maximum of 20 resource search fields in an org. Each one must reference a different contact field.

Resource search fields are available as filter criteria when you match resources in the following ways:

  • Using the Resourcing tab on a resource request
  • By auto-staffing resource requests
  • Using Resource Request Staffer
  • Using the Assign Multiple Resources to Project action on a project

Creating Resource Search Fields

There are two ways in which administrators can create resource search fields: using the Configure Resource Search Fields page, or using the resource search field record page.

Using the Configure Resource Search Fields Page

To create resource search fields using the Configure Resource Search Fields page:

  1. Click the Configure Resource Search Fields tab.
  2. Click New.
  3. In Resource Search Field Label, enter a descriptive name to identify the resource search field as a filter field.
  4. In Contact Field, select the field on the Contact object that you want to use as a filter when searching for resources.
  5. Click Save.

The Source Field on Resource Request column is populated automatically when a mapping is created from a custom resource request field to the contact field. For more information, see Configuring Mappings to Populate Resource Search Filter Fields below.

Using the Resource Search Field Record Page

To create a resource search field using the record page:

  1. Click the Resource Search Fields tab.
  2. Click New.
  3. In Resource Search Field Name, enter a name for the record.
  4. In Contact Field, enter the API name of the field on the Contact object that you want to use as a filter when searching for resources.
  5. In Label, enter a descriptive name to identify the resource search field as a filter field.
  6. Click Save.

You may now configure Resourcing Match Mappings to populate the resource search filter field automatically with the relevant value from the resource request that's being matched. For more information, see Configuring Mappings to Populate Resource Search Filter Fields below.

Configuring Mappings to Populate Resource Search Filter Fields

Once you create a resource search field, you may configure Resourcing Match Mappings to map a custom resource request field to the contact field. This is so that the resource search filter field is populated automatically with the value from the resource request, and resources can be filtered out if they do not match the value. These mappings are used by auto-staffing, Resource Request Staffer, and by the Resourcing tab.

For example, let's assume your contact records have a custom checkbox named Passport Holder which indicates if the person has a passport. You want to be able to filter by this custom checkbox, so you create a resource search field for it named Has Passport.

When a resource request involves travel abroad, you select a custom checkbox named Passport Required on the resource request.

So in Resourcing Match Mappings, you map the resource request's Passport Required field to the contact's Passport Holder field:

This means that when you staff a resource request that has the Passport Required checkbox selected, the Has Passport resource search filter field is selected automatically, and resources who do not have the Passport Holder checkbox selected are filtered out.

To configure your mappings, go to the PSA Administration page and click Resourcing Match Mappings. For more information, see Resourcing Match Mappings.

Note:

You cannot create mappings to formula fields on the Contact object. This means that when filtering by resource search fields for formula fields, their filter values are not populated automatically.

Weighting Resource Search Fields

By default, all resource search fields have the same weighting. This weighting is derived from the Custom Filter Fields Weighting in the Resource Search Service custom setting unless a resource search settings record applies. For information about how you can weight resource search fields individually, see Weighting Resource Search Fields Individually.