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Configure item types, fields & workflows

An end-to-end walkthrough — create a new kind of record, give it the fields it needs, back its dropdowns with picklists, and put it under a controlled workflow.

Configuration is how you shape TraceUnified around your own process rather than the other way around. This guide goes end to end: create a new item type, give it fields, back its dropdowns with picklists, and put it under a workflow whose controlled states carry the weight your quality system needs. For the concepts behind each step, see Item types & fields, Picklists, and Workflows.

Create the item type

An item type is a kind of record — a requirement, a test, a hazard, a part. Start by defining the type itself; you’ll add its fields next.

Before you start Open Administration and go to Item types & fields. You'll need administrator access.

  1. Create a new item type and give it a clear name.
  2. Set its API ID — the stable identifier used in imports, integrations, and the audit trail. Choose it deliberately; it shouldn't change later.
  3. Save the type so you can begin adding fields.

Result A new kind of record your projects can use. See Item types & fields.

Add its fields

Every type starts with core fields that all records share. Add the custom fields that make this type your own.

  1. Add each field and choose its data type — text, number, date, dropdown, and so on.
  2. Pick the right control for how the field is entered and displayed.
  3. Mark a field required when a record shouldn't be saved without it.
  4. Give each field an API ID so imports and integrations can address it reliably.

Result A record structure that captures exactly what your process needs — no more, no less.

Back dropdown fields with picklists

A dropdown field draws its options from a picklist — a reusable option list you maintain in one place and use across many types.

Before you start Go to Picklists.

  1. Create or open the picklist, and add its values.
  2. Set a default, assign colors where they aid scanning, and mark values active or retire ones you no longer use.
  3. Decide whether the list should allow custom values or stay strictly governed.
  4. Point your dropdown field at the picklist.

Result Consistent, governed options that update everywhere the picklist is used. See Picklists.

Define the workflow

A workflow is the set of states a record moves through and the transitions allowed between them. This is where a record type becomes part of your controls.

Before you start Go to Workflows.

  1. Define the states a record of this type can be in — for example Draft, In Review, Approved.
  2. Define each transition by its from and to states, and set who can execute it.
  3. Mark the states that are controlled — the ones that represent an approved, locked condition.
  4. Associate the workflow with the item type so its records follow these states.

Result Records of this type move only along defined paths, and reaching a controlled state means something. See Workflows.

Note Controlled states are where configuration meets compliance — entering one is the moment a record is locked and, where you require it, electronically signed. Plan your controlled states alongside your sign-off process, not after it.

Where to go next

Your type now has structure and a lifecycle. Next, define how it connects to other types — see Relationships for link types and trace rules. To put the configuration to work in a specific project, see Set up a project.

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