Make a new field or reuse one
Reuse a field when two card types ask the same question and you’d want the answers counted together. Make a new one when the question or its choices are really different.
Reuse or new: the test
Section titled “Reuse or new: the test”Ask these in order. The first one that fits decides it.
- Would one report column hold both sets of answers? If not, make a new field.
- Do both card types need exactly the same list of choices? If not, make a new field. A card type can’t use only part of a field’s list.
- Do the answers need different field types or units? If so, make a new field. Feet and each don’t add up.
- Should different people see or change it? Access is set on the field, across the company. If it should differ, make a new field.
- If you renamed it or changed a choice, would that be right on every card type? If not, make a new field.
- Otherwise, reuse it.
What isn’t a reason to make a new field
Section titled “What isn’t a reason to make a new field”- It should look different on this card type. Each card type sets what a field puts on its points under On the plan. Status can color the point on one card type and be a ring on another.
- It’s required here but not there. Required and Hidden are set per card type too.
- It should sit somewhere else on the card. So is its order.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”| Situation | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wall and Door both track To do, In progress, Done | Reuse Status | Same question, same list, one count |
| Issue needs Open and Closed; Wall needs To do through Done | New field | Different lists, and they’d be wrong on each other’s cards |
| Wall’s Status colors the point; Door’s should be a ring | Reuse Status | Only the display differs, and that’s per card type |
| Qty of hold-downs and Length of wall in feet | Two fields | Different units; adding them makes no sense |
| Only the office should see Cost, on every card type | One Cost field with its own access | Access belongs to the field |
| Inspection and Status both use Pass and Fail | Two fields | Same words, different questions |
Is it a field at all?
Section titled “Is it a field at all?”| If it’s… | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A different kind of thing, with different questions | A card type | Wall and Issue |
| The same questions, with different usual answers | A template | HDU2 and HDU5, both Hold-downs |
| Something you’d count or filter by | A field | Hold-down model |
| Who works on it, or who should see it | A layer | Framing, Electrical |
| One project’s own stages or areas | A layer or a Tags field | Phase 2 |
| Something Pointmap already records | Nothing new | Placed by, Page, Point created |
When you can’t decide between a card type and a field, ask if the questions change. A wall and a door ask different questions, so they’re card types. A 2×4 wall and a 2×6 wall ask the same ones, so Wall type is a field, and each can have a template.
Make only as many card types as you have different lists of questions. Every card type is another item in the list someone picks from on site.
Which field type
Section titled “Which field type”| The answer is… | Choose | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| One of a fixed list, and it shows progress | Status | Buttons on the card, colored choices, and it starts by coloring the point |
| One of a fixed list | Dropdown | Takes less room on the card; Multi-select allows several, but reports then can’t group by it |
| Words anyone can add to a list | Tags | Always several; shows on the point only as labels; reports can filter by it but can’t group by it |
| Steps to tick off | Tasks | Can show its count, like 2/5, on the point |
| Short words or a code | Text | Can be a card’s Name; Answer looks like sets the format |
| A count or a measurement | Number | Adds up in reports; the unit never shows on the point |
| Money | Currency | Adds up in reports |
| A date, a time or both | Date | Past dates turn red can make late work stand out on the point |
| Yes or no, to call attention | Flag | Shows as a corner flag, a highlight or a label |
| A picture chosen for each point | Icon | Always goes in the middle of the point |
| Pictures from site | Photos | Can show a corner mark or a count |
| Documents | Files | Can show a corner mark or a count |
Changing your mind
Section titled “Changing your mind”You don’t have to get it perfect. Names, choices, order, Required and everything under On the plan can change at any time. A few things work a little differently:
- Field type: a Select and Tags can switch to each other, and a Text field can change format under Answer looks like. For other changes, make a new field.
- Clearing things out: you archive fields and card types instead of deleting them, and their answers are kept. An archived card type’s points stay on the plan. An archived field leaves its cards and reports. Templates can be deleted.
- Names: two fields in use can’t share a name, so name them for the question: Inspection result, not Result.
Write a good description
Section titled “Write a good description”A field’s Description is the best few seconds you’ll spend in setup. It tells the next person setting up what the field is for, and it’s what AI apps such as Claude, ChatGPT and Grok Bot read before they fill in a card or answer a question about it.
Say what the question is for, and what each choice means:
| Field | Too thin | Better |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Status of the item | Where the work at this point stands. To do: not started. In progress: someone is on it. Done: finished. Blocked: waiting on something else. |
| Inspection | Inspection result | The result of checking the work. Not checked: nobody has looked yet. Pass: it meets the drawings. Fail: it needs to be redone. |
| Qty | Quantity | How many of the thing are at this point, as a whole number. |
Card types have a description too. One line is enough: “Something wrong that needs fixing.”