Pathway and Pathway Step Custom Fields let teams collect structured information while managing a participant’s pathway progress. Pathway Custom Fields are captured once for the overall pathway enrollment, while Pathway Step Custom Fields are captured on individual step progress records.
📄 How It Works
Add custom fields to a pathway when the information applies to the full enrollment. Add custom fields to a pathway step when the information is specific to that step.
Open Pathways.
Create a new pathway or open an existing pathway.
Select Edit Pathway to manage pathway-level custom fields, or select a step and choose Edit Step to manage step-level custom fields.
In Custom Fields, select Add Custom Field.
Enter a Field Name.
Choose the Field Type.
If the field type is Select or Multi Select, add the available Options.
Save the pathway or step.
When a participant is enrolled in the pathway, pathway-level fields appear with the pathway progress details. Step-level fields appear under the matching pathway step.
🔐 Access and Permissions
Creating and managing fields — Pathway Custom Fields and Pathway Step Custom Fields are configured from the Pathways module by editing the pathway or step. This is different from User, Employment, and Employer field setup, which is managed from Account Settings.
Who can manage definitions — Users need permission to create or edit the pathway or pathway step to add, change, or remove these field definitions.
Entering field values — Staff with permission to edit a participant’s pathway progress can enter values for custom fields that already exist on the pathway or step.
Important distinction — A user may be able to update a participant’s pathway progress without being able to edit the pathway setup itself.
⚙️ Field Types
Text — Free-text information such as notes, identifiers, or short status details.
Number — Numeric values that may need numeric filtering or export review.
Date — Dates related to pathway progress or step progress.
True/False — Yes/no-style information.
Select — One choice from a predefined list.
Multi Select — More than one choice from a predefined list.
📍 Where Fields Are Found
Pathways → Edit Pathway — Create or edit Pathway Custom Fields that apply to the overall pathway enrollment.
Pathways → Edit Step — Create or edit Pathway Step Custom Fields that apply to a specific step.
Participant pathway progress — Enter and update values when adding or editing a participant’s pathway progress.
Pathway progress details — Saved pathway-level values display with the enrollment, and saved step-level values display in the Steps timeline.
Pathway Details Report — Pathway-level custom fields export as their field names. Step-level custom fields export as the step name followed by the field name.
✅ Benefits
More complete pathway records — Capture data that belongs to a pathway enrollment or a specific step.
Better step documentation — Track details at the point in the pathway where they matter.
Cleaner reporting — Include pathway and step-specific details in pathway reporting.
Flexible setup — Configure fields differently for each pathway and each step.
💡 Best Practices
Use pathway-level fields for information collected once per enrollment.
Use step-level fields for information that changes by step or only matters for one step.
Use clear field names. Field names must be unique within the same pathway or step.
Use Select or Multi Select when values should be consistent across participants.
Review fields before removing them, especially if participants already have saved values.
❓ FAQs
What is the difference between Pathway Custom Fields and Pathway Step Custom Fields?
Pathway Custom Fields are saved on the overall pathway enrollment. Pathway Step Custom Fields are saved on a specific step progress record.
Where do staff enter values for these fields?
Values are entered when adding or editing a participant’s pathway progress.
Do these fields complete pathway steps automatically?
No. These fields collect and report pathway data. They do not control pathway completion by themselves.
Can two fields have the same name?
Field names must be unique within the same pathway or step. This keeps values clear when moving or reporting pathway data.
Do Pathway Custom Fields appear in reports?
Yes. They can appear in the Pathway Details Report. Step-level fields are labeled with the step name and field name.
Related Articles
Introduction to Pathways
Assigning Forms to Pathway Steps
Pathway Details Report