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How to Create a Lookup List (Dropdown)

xAssets Configuration Guide
How To

How to Create a Lookup List (Dropdown)

This page explains how to create a dropdown list for a specification field so that users select from a controlled set of values rather than entering free text. This ensures data consistency and makes reporting more reliable.

Prerequisites

  • You must have Administrator permissions.
  • You need an existing specification field of type Lookup List or Lookup Array. If you do not have one, create it first (see How to Add a Custom Field).

Step 1: Open the Specification Field Editor

  1. Navigate to Admin > Custom Fields (Specification Data).
  2. Click the name of the Lookup List or Lookup Array field you want to add values to.
  3. The Specification Data Field Editor opens.

Step 2: Open the Lookup List Editor

  1. In the field editor, click the Edit Lookup List button.
  2. The Lookup List Editor opens, showing any existing values.

Step 3: Add Values to the Dropdown

  1. Click Add to create a new dropdown value.
  2. Enter the display text for the value (e.g., "Good", "Fair", "Poor" for a Condition Rating field).
  3. Repeat for each value you want in the dropdown.
  4. Use the reorder controls to arrange values in the desired display order.
  5. Save the lookup list.

Step 4: Test the Dropdown

  1. Navigate to an asset record that uses a form containing this specification field.
  2. Click on the field to verify the dropdown appears with the correct values.
  3. Select a value and save the record to confirm it works correctly.

Setting Up Dependent Lookups (Optional)

If you want one dropdown to filter based on another (e.g., "Model" filtered by "Manufacturer"):

  1. Create the parent field first (e.g., "Manufacturer") as a Lookup List and populate its values.
  2. Create the dependent field (e.g., "Model") as a Lookup List.
  3. In the dependent field's editor, set the Depends On property to the parent field.
  4. When adding lookup values to the dependent field, associate each value with its parent value. For example, associate "Latitude 5520" with "Dell" and "ThinkPad T14" with "Lenovo".
  5. Now when a user selects a Manufacturer, only the matching Models appear in the dropdown.

Setting Up Shared Lookups (Optional)

If multiple fields should share the same dropdown values (e.g., "Primary Location" and "Secondary Location"):

  1. Create the first field and populate its lookup values normally.
  2. Create the second field as a Lookup List.
  3. In the second field's editor, set the Use Lookup Data From property to point to the first field.
  4. The second field will share the same dropdown values. Any changes to the shared list are reflected in both fields.

Important Warnings

  • Deleting a lookup value does not remove it from records that already have that value selected. Those records retain the old value until manually updated.
  • Consider updating existing records before or after removing a value from the list.