Numeric field type
We had an old discussion about adding new type for a custom field - numbers:
http://forums.wildapricot.com/forums/308920-archive/suggestions/8834458-create-numeric-fields-7304
When we started our analysis work on this problem, we realized that we have no clear vision of what is underlying problem that our clients want to resolve with this new field type.
Most comments were about export into Excel, so it can properly recognize numbers. But from our point of view, export itself is a workaround to another problem - something is missing in Wild Apricot functionality and you try to substitute it with export. This means that adding new field type will not truly resolve initial problem, so at some level it's not a real system improvement and we usually try to avoid such system changes.
On the other hand, we might miss something important and Numeric field type can really be useful and fulfill some of an organization necessities (please, do not mix Numeric type with dates and other field types - for dates we can clearly see scenarios). For example, to validate user input when your members apply for membership (but in this case what in particular the field is about?)
So can you please help us:
1) We need your reasons and examples of why your particular organization would benefit from having Numeric field - ideally, not as a workaround of a bigger problem.
2) Do you need to have ability to search on this numbers like "less" or "greater" or "between"?
3) Do you need integer type, decimal or both?
4) Do you need special validation rules for the field like "cannot be less than..." or "not greater than"?
From version 8.2 the Numeric field type and Numeric extra charge field type are available on Contact, Membership and Event forms.
With a new version of API (2.3) we also added the proper recognition of these fields.
You can find detailed information in our help site: https://gethelp.wildapricot.com/en/articles/1959-numeric-field-types
Please, continue to share your feedback with us. Thanks for your support!
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rjcheramie commented
According to Katya Tyukina's Resolved post on Sep 22, 2023, the issue with Extra Charge Calculation event fields should be fixed. When exporting event registrants with Extra Charge Calculation fields, the amount of Extra Charges is not numeric since we cannot sum that column. The amount of the total charge (amount times multiplier) is correctly added to the total billed. Maybe we are not on the correct version of software and API. How do I check this?
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For transferring existing fields you will need to
1. Create a new field of desired type (numeric in your case)
2. Export current data
3. Import it back, but change mapping of Age field during import to new field type
4. Delete old fieldAdvanced search for numeric field types will allow you to do basic comparison search (greater, less, equal, etc), so you will be able to search for members of age groups
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Walt Bilofsky commented
Thank you for this feature.
We have membership fields for, e.g., year of birth. How can we change that text field to a numeric field so that we can search for members in an age range? And will advanced searches handle numeric fields?
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David Poynter commented
When members register for a motorsport event we have a field on the event registration form for their 'Best lap time in seconds'. This text field gets all sorts of useless details entered so an integer or decimal field type would really be a big help for us. Thanks, David Poynter, Secretary Porsche Club of NSW
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Roger Brooks commented
The "old discussion about adding new type for a custom field - numbers":
http://forums.wildapricot.com/forums/308920-archive/suggestions/8834458-create-numeric-fields-7304 now produces a 404 error. -
Charlotte McRanie commented
Okay, as an accountant, I view this as VERY simple -- I think ya'll are making this difficult! Numeric values are 0-9, stop and end. That's all there is to it. All we are asking for is the ability to define data fields as either "text" (any value allowed) or "numeric" (only the characters 0-9 allowed). The reason is because any values OTHER than 0-9 interfere with the ability to sort in numerical order, no matter what medium you are using. And if WA allows non-numeric input into a field that should ONLY have numeric input (such as phone number or zip code fields (or, in other custom fields that are being defined), then those of us doing data exports have to spend valuable time doing data cleanup before we can utilize the data from WA. This is NOT rocket science!!! And should NOT be difficult to accomplish -- LOTS of other software out there provides this functionality.
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rjcheramie commented
Have a default for the Extra Charge Calculation function. This would allow for a 0 amount of units to be charged also along with any other number the member inputs. The Extra Charge Calculation field should also be numeric and not text in the spreadsheet exported of registrants allowing that column to be summed.
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Alan Guggenheim commented
Yes, we need it. Examples: we have custom fields for Badge location, Gate codes, membership bundle number,... We need to easily sort (Member List with custom layout) by these numbers so that they display 1,2,3,... and not 1,10,11,100,... And we need all sorts to have a sort order option: Ascending or Descending. To find the last number assigned for example.
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Deborah Stoll commented
I need to be able to sort the directory numerically using the directory gadget. I don't need a lot of function, just a field that is restricted to numbers so it will sort. No decimal places not validation, just the correct sorting. Thanks.
See comment from support below.
I'm afraid when it comes to ordering text field types, sorting is done alphabetically. This means numbers inserted into such fields are sorted based on their initial number rather than the actual amount. For example you'll see that the sorting goes from 18, 19, 2:
This is occurring since the system sorts by the order of characters within the string of text instead of a numerical value.
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Laura Palickar commented
i would like to be able to sort by address number in our online directory. currently our address number sorts as text which is not helpful.
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Malcolm de C commented
I have always found it difficult to understand the argument that numeric fields are unnecessary. I cannot imagine Excel or any database not having numeric fields! To answer Evgeny's specific questions:
1) We are a golf society catering for members between the age of 20 and 100 years old. We capture, currently in text fields: 'Year of birth' (members do not always wish to disclose their date of birth for privacy reasons; 'Golf handicap' (number between -8.0 and +57.0). We have tournaments that we enter where there are age restrictions, for example, over 55 years of age, over 70 years of age. We also need to differentiate between category 1 golfers (handicap 5.0 or less), category 2 golfers (handicap 6.0 to 12.0) and so on
2) Yes, we do need to have the ability to search on the above numbers, including 'less', 'greater' and 'between'. We would like to be able to perform a search of any member over the age of 55 with a handicap of 12 or less, and use this to create a directory of members who satisfy this criteria
3) As explained, we need integers, decimal and positive/negative
4) Validation would be helpful because we don't want new members putting in the wrong birth year, so we would only allow birth dates between 1900 and 2050
Hopefully this can be addressed in the very near future. Even though it doesn't appear to attract many votes, I am sure that there are many, many organizations that would use numeric fields if they were available -
Roger Brooks commented
In a way, Evgeny is correct in calling export a workaround. Providing numerical fields would at least be a partial and superior workaround for two other deficiencies in Wild Apricot:
https://forums.wildapricot.com/forums/308932-wishlist/suggestions/41953792-advanced-search-needs-more-fields
https://forums.wildapricot.com/forums/308932-wishlist/suggestions/8826766-database-fields-custom-validation-e-g-regular-e -
Gary Pendleton commented
A current issue of mine is to search for zip codes within a specific range. Being able to all for between 21000 and 21200 is much easier than "starts with 210 or starts with 211 or starts with 212"
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Dana Robb commented
Understanding that this is on hold, but wanting to add my two cents... I have a number of clients that are chapters of a national association. In order to become a chapter member, you have to be a national member. So when someone fills out an application, we want to collect their national member number. As it stands now, they can just type "none" or "pending" or anything else. We need a field that can only accept numbers, not letters.
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Rob commented
We are an alumni group. Much of our communications is based on class year.
I'd like to be able to search for people who, for example:
-graduated before 1970
-after 2000
-between 2014 and 2017
-entered only a 2-digit date instead of 4-digit (field value <100) -
Buttons Padin commented
Help! the Viper 640 Class Association is a group of boat owners who identify our boats by sail numbers. I have created a common field for sail numbers, but when creating a layout, the sail numbers are alpha and not numeric. As such, 23 is followed by not 24 but 230!
Please add the capability of a common field that is a numeric datapoint and please let me know when it's done so I can convert my data.
Yes, there are workarounds, but WA would be more effective for us were this possible.
Thanks,
Ed Padin
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Malcolm de C commented
We are a golf society and I am working with two other societies who use the Wild Apricot. For every member we capture his or her golf handicap, which takes two possible forms. Firstly, an exact handicap (1dp) and secondly, a playing handicap (0dp, rounded up). We need to able to sort on handicap and search for members in handicap ranges (or less than or more than). We cannot do this without a numeric field
Handicaps typically range between 0 (scratch) and 45 but as a further complication, which I don't expect Wild Apricot to address, a player who is better than scratch can have a 'plus' handicap (e.g. plus 2). I would be happy to accommodate this as a negative number, so, ideally, the numeric field should be able to accommodate a negative number for sorting purposes. -
Thanks for the reminders, Walt :)
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Walt Bilofsky commented
Today I am trying to add up the number of people at an event who are participating in three different activities.
Because there is no numeric field, some of them type "Two" instead of 2, so I have to change those so they will auto-sum in our hand-coded workaround.
If I export to a spreadsheet, even "2" comes in as text, so I can't add them up in the spreadsheet without a lot more work.
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Walt Bilofsky commented
I just started to draft an email blast to members in nearby zip codes.
Then I realized I could not do an Advanced Search to select them because the zip code is not a numeric field. :(
Your design example is for numeric field in registration forms. But I hope you will also provide it in contact and membership fields.
I think you will satisfy most of our needs with a simple integer field that accepts any number. And you already know my feeling that a partial solution now is better than a full solution later. :)