ChilliDB's notes function allows users to add notes to many of the modules in the system, including Contacts. Organisations; Events; and Case Management. As multiple instances of notes can be attached to a record, they function as a vital tool in tracking interactions and/or keeping your users updated on the progress that has been made in the areas your organisation operates within. For example, users can record interactions they have had with one of their contacts:
Or they could records notes against an event so users can keep updated with what has been happening from an event management perspective:
The following guide takes you through the steps required to start adding notes to your records in ChilliDB.
Considerations Before Creating a Note
Are your notes' categorisations set up? Categorisation is a key part of record creation in ChilliDB. Almost every record you create will require categorisation. As such, before you create a note, you will want to make sure you have the note categorisations you require in place so they can be applied to the new records you are creating. If you haven't yet set up these categorisations in your system, please read our 'ChilliDB Admin Essentials: Customising Reference Data' article first to learn how to do so.
Are the necessary fields in place? To to collect the data you require for your notes, the fields allowing you to do so will also need to be in place first. If this is not the case, please read our 'ChilliDB Admin Quick Start: Custom Fields' article on creating custom fields first to learn how to set up sections and fields in ChilliDB.
Note: if you have a IT admin person, or a dedicated ChilliDB system admin person, at your organisation, check with them first before adding any categorisations or custom fields to your system.
Creating a Note in ChilliDB
This is done by clicking on the ‘Notes’ main menu item and then selecting ‘Create’.
In the dropdown options under the Notes main menu item, users are given the choice of creating a ‘New’ note or choosing from any previous templates that have been saved.
If the ‘New’ option is chosen, a new window opens that allows the user to record the details of the new note and save them in the system against the relevant record type.
Note: Notes created from the Notes module via the steps outlined above can only be linked to a Contact or an Organisation. To add notes to an Event; Case; or any other module that allows notes to be added, users have to do this by navigating to that module first and linking a note from the Notes tab.
If a note template is selected, the note prefills with whatever information was saved against the template when it was created and the user is able to add whatever other details are relevant, like the contact(s)/organisation(s) the note is being recorded against.
The fields we see available in the screenshot below are the ChilliDB base system fields for a note, however users are able to add their own custom fields to collect data against as well (as per item no.2 in the 'Considerations Before Creating an Note' section above).
As indicated by the 'Note' above, any fields with a red triangle next to them are required, and thus data must be input before saving a record. One key required field to be aware of at this stage is:
1) Categorisation: every record in ChilliDB features categorisation as a required field. When first starting out with the system, there will be a few categorisations available to users to choose from that are preset. If these categorisations do to meet your needs, you are able to create your own - see item no.1 in the 'Considerations Before Creating a Note' section above to find out how to do so.
Once the key data required has been recorded, click 'Save' to complete the addition of the new note.
Once all relevant information has been entered, users have the option of simply ‘Saving’ the note against the contact(s)/organisation(s), or to ‘Save as a Template’ for later use.
Note: if you choose to save a note as a template, the only field that is required is the ‘Categorisation’ field. This means you can leave fields like ‘Contact(s)/Org(s)’ blank to fill in when using the template.
To view an in-depth overview of the system fields visible when creating a new note record, see our 'ChilliDB Basics: Notes - System Field Type Glossary'.
Viewing a Note
After a note has been saved, users will be taken to the Note Details overview screen. This is the same screen users will see if they search for a note and click on the record. The note display page features two sections containing information about the note:
i) Note Record Details: this is an overview of the information that you entered when creating the note in the top half of the screen.
ii) Note tabs: this section features a row of tabs that either pull in information recorded against the note in other modules (sections) in ChilliDB; or that allow you to add further information to the note. The advantage of having certain types of information collected in tab format is that a user can create multiple instances of the same type of data. For example, Normal fields do not allow you to do this.
Below the Note Details overview is a row of tabs (see above picture - 'Note Tabs') that can be used to add additional data to the record. Some of this data is pulled in from other modules when the note is linked to a record in that section - e.g.: the 'Contacts' and 'Cases' tabs. Others display items linked to the note, like files, as well as allowing these to be uploaded post-saving the note via the tab - e.g.: 'File Attachments'.
To learn more about interacting with the tabs available on the Note Details display screen, please see our 'Working With Note Tabs' article.
Editing / Deleting a Note
To edit a note in ChilliDB, simply find the note record in your system (typically done via the Notes main menu item - Search option) and then click on the Note title to access its details. Once on the Note Details page, click the 'Edit' link in the top right-hand corner of the screen to edit the note details.
After the 'Edit' link has been clicked, the fields open to allow you to make any changes. The 'Edit' link will have also changed to an 'Delete' link should you want to delete the note record instead.
For a more detailed explanation of editing/deleting notes, please see our 'ChilliDB Basics: Editing / Deleting Notes' article
Further Information
i) To find out more about the options available to you in the 'Actions' menu on the Note Details screen see our 'Notes - Action Menu' article.
ii) Looking to search for an organisation you have created? The 'Introduction to ChilliDB Search' article will outline how to do this. For further information on the options available under the dropdown arrow in the top right-hand corner of the search results list, see the 'Search Grid Actions Menu' article.
We hope you have found this Notes Quick Start article useful. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch, either through our Help Desk or by contacting us at info@chillidb.com
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