New SORMAS Tutorial: Customizable Fields

Need to collect information that isn't part of the standard SORMAS forms? With the Customizable Fields feature, you can add exactly the questions your investigation needs directly in SORMAS, without touching source code or waiting for a custom software build.

Customizable Fields lets System Administrators create, modify, and manage custom data fields right inside SORMAS forms. Our latest video tutorial shows how it works using a real-world scenario: a suspected Salmonella outbreak at a food festival, where investigators need additional information for the exposure investigation.

What you'll learn

The tutorial takes you step by step through the full workflow, from creating your first field to arranging several fields on one form. You'll learn how to:

• Find and filter all custom fields by entity, such as Cases, Epi-Data, or Exposure

• Create a new field and choose its type, from text and dates to checkboxes and drop-down lists

• Place the field in the right form and section using Context and UI Group

• Control its behavior by making it active or inactive, mandatory, or read-only

• Limit a field to specific diseases, such as Salmonellosis

• Add labels and descriptions in multiple languages, including English and French

• Arrange several fields on one form using Line Position and Line Weight

Once saved, your custom field appears instantly in the form, ready for data entry. It's a simple way to tailor SORMAS to your national surveillance needs.

Before you start

To follow along, make sure you are logged into SORMAS with a user profile that has Administrator rights. You'll find the feature under Configuration > Customizable Fields. Custom fields can currently be added to the case investigation, Epi-Data, and Exposure forms, with more forms planned for the future.

Watch the tutorial

Watch the full tutorial on YouTube

For detailed specifications, visit the Customizable Fields page on the SORMAS Wiki.