Standard choices

Civic Platform uses standard choices to configure various functionality, such as system switches, values in various menus, or configuring EMSE master scripts. Standard choices are primarily made up of a name (such as CONTACT TYPE), standard choice values, and value descriptions to configure operations.

The Oxygen UI is gradually taking over the standard choice management which is previously solely available in the Classic admin page. You can maintain a few contact standard choices in the Oxygen Administration page.

Classic admin

All other standard choices (except the Contact management ones) should be edited in Classic admin.

Search for an existing standard choice

  1. Go to Classic admin > Agency profile> Standard choices.
  2. (Optional) in the Standard choices item name field, enter a part or all of the name.
  3. Select Submit. If nothing is entered in the Standard choices item name field, the entire list of standard choices comes up.
  4. Select the red dot () beside the desired standard choice item.

Create standard choices

The initial installation of Civic Platform includes the standard choices required for certain functionality to operate properly. Options include adding a new list of choices or a new system setting to a standard choice item.

Example: If your agency purchases GIS, you can set up GIS object set reports as standard choices. See Organizations and Users.

To create a standard choice:

  1. Go to Classic admin > Agency profile > Standard choices.
  2. Select Add.
  3. Update these fields (see Standard choice fields).
  4. Select Submit.
  5. Add other standard choice values as necessary.
  6. Select Update.

Edit standard choices

An example of updating or changing a standard choice is if your local government enacts a new law or a new ordinance regarding professional licenses, you can add a new status to the list of license statuses.

For some standard choices (such as LICENSED_PROFESSIONAL_TYPE), an Associated template link exists that can associate an application-specific information (ASI) groups to each value item. This is useful when, for example, some special professional fields require extra information. The extra fields can be pre-defined in the ASI group, which you associated with the licensed professional type. When agency users create a license record of that licensed professional type, the extra fields from the associated ASI group display during the license creation process. To learn how to create an ASI group, see the "Working with Application Specific Information" chapter in the Civic Platform Administrator Guide.

You can delete a standard choice value from a standard choice when you no longer want users to select the item, such as an out-of-date report from a list of reports. Alternately, you can choose to disable an item in a list of standard choices to use that item again in the list of choices, such as seasonal items in a list of standard choices that are not always valid options (like snow removal in a list of service requests in the winter that you disable in the summer).

To edit standard choices:

  1. Go to Classic admin > Agency profile > Standard choices
  2. Find the standard choice.
  3. Update the necessary fields.
  4. (Optional) select Delete to remove a Standard choice value line item.
  5. (Optional) deselect the Active check box to disable a Standard choice value line item.

  6. For certain standard choices that contain an Associated template link for each of its value lines, select the Application specific info group code menu, then either select the desired ASI group or use ---Select--- to disassociate any ASI group from the value line. Select Save.

  7. Select Update.

Administration

A few standard choices for Contact management must be edited in the Oxygen UI Administration instead of the Classic admin. Although you can access these standard choices from the Classic admin page, Civic Platform does not update the configuration functions available.

Create standard choices

  1. Go to the user menu > Administration > Agency profile > Standard choices.
  2. Select Create new standard choice.
  3. Update these fields (see Standard choice fields).
  4. Select Add new to value and any accompanying Value desc. Select Add when finished.
  5. Select Submit.

Edit standard choices

  1. Go to the user menu > Administration > Agency profile > Standard choices.
  2. Select a standard choice.
  3. Update the fields as necessary (see Standard choice fields).
  4. (Optional) select Add new to add a Standard choice value and any accompanying Value desc. Select Add when finished.
  5. (Optional) select the Delete icon () to remove a Standard choice value line item.
  6. Select Save.

Standard choice fields

Field Description
Standard choices item name The name of the standard choice. For many standard choices, enter a name exactly as instructed. For some, an intuitive descriptive name can be used.
Description Description that explains a standard choice item.
Status

Select Enableto enable the standard choice (or standard choice value). Select the Disable option to deactivate it.

Standard choices can only be disabled, not deleted.
Type

The Type indicates how the standard choice functions within Civic Platform.

  • System switch (default) often sets specific functionality with Yes or No values.
  • Shared drop-down allows for a shared menu list.
  • EMSE functions as an EMSE script.
  • Business configuration specifies items that are for configuring business functions.
Standard choice value Values are often screen items that users see as part of the functionality.
Value desc Modifiers for the standard choice value. In some cases, you can enter specific information, such as a report string or a URL.
Active Indicates if the item is on the list for the standard choice. Deselect the check box to remove an item from the list.