Custom Template Fields give your clinic the ability to add your own fields directly into SOAP record templates. Rather than adapting your clinical documentation to fit a fixed structure, you can build templates that reflect exactly how your team thinks, documents, and works — whether that's exotic species intake workflows, referral source tracking, triage scoring, or any other clinic-specific data point.

Custom fields are created and managed through the Custom Items Manager — a dedicated tool for building, editing, and organizing your field library. Fields cannot be edited directly inside a template; all field management happens through the Manager.

⚠️ Before you start: Custom Template Fields are currently in Early Access and only work with SOAP 2.0 records. We strongly recommend ensuring your clinic has the Default to SOAP 2.0 Only preference enabled before adding custom fields. Fields will not be visible in SOAP v1 records.

Before You Start

Your clinic has SOAP 2.0 enabled (Administration → Clinic Preferences → Default to SOAP 2.0 Only toggled on)
You have the correct user permissions: View Items, Create Items, Edit Items, and/or Delete Items under the Medical/Clients/General section of your user role
Contact your clinic Administrator if you cannot access template settings

Step-by-Step: Creating a Custom Field

There are two ways to access the Custom Items Manager — from the main SOAP Templates page, or from within an individual template.

Option A — From the SOAP Templates page

Navigate to Administration → under the Medical section, select SOAP Templates (new).
Click Custom Items Manager in the top right corner of the page.
Click + Add Custom Field.

Option B — From within a template

Navigate to Administration → under the Medical section, select SOAP Templates (new).
Open an existing template or create a new one.
In the template editor, click Add from Library at the bottom left.
Select the Custom tab, then click Custom Items Manager → + Add Custom Field.

Configure your custom field

Choose your field type from the following options:

Field Type	Best For
Text	Short single-line entries (e.g. referring veterinarian name, breed-specific flag)
Text Box	Longer free-text notes or multi-line observations (e.g. exotic species husbandry notes)
Dropdown	Single selection from a predefined list (e.g. referral source)
Multi-Select	Multiple selections from a predefined list (e.g. triage flags, presenting concerns)
Radio	Single selection displayed inline as radio buttons (e.g. pain score scale)
Checkbox	One or more labeled checkboxes (e.g. pre-anesthetic checklist items)

Name your field and, for selection-type fields (Dropdown, Multi-Select, Radio, Checkbox), add your Available Options.
Click Save to add the field to your library.

Add the field to a template

Inside the template editor, click Add from Library → Custom tab. Your new field will appear here.
Drag the field into the desired position in your template using the drag handle (⠿).
Click Save Template when done.

💡 How custom fields work in templates: When you add a custom field to a template, a snapshot of that field's configuration is embedded in the template at that moment. This means the template — and any records created from it — will always reflect the field exactly as it was when it was added, preserving the integrity of historical records.

How to Verify It Works

Open a patient visit using SOAP 2.0 and apply the template containing your custom fields.
Confirm all custom fields appear in the expected positions within the record.
Fill in each field type to verify options load correctly and selections save as expected.
If fields are not appearing, confirm the Default to SOAP 2.0 Only preference is enabled — custom fields are not visible in SOAP v1 records.

Managing Custom Fields

All custom field management — creating, editing, and deleting — happens through the Custom Items Manager. Custom Fields types and associated values cannot be edited directly inside a template.

Editing a custom field

You can update a custom field's name or available options at any time in the Custom Items Manager. When you save your changes, Digitail will confirm that the update does not affect templates the field has already been added to — those templates retain the snapshot of the field from when it was originally added.

If you want the updated field to appear in an existing template, you'll need to remove the old instance from that template and re-add the field from the Custom tab in the library.

Deleting a custom field

Deleting a custom field removes it from the Custom Items Manager. However, any templates that already contain the field are unaffected — the embedded instance remains in those templates and continues to function on records created from them.

Use the Used in: links in the Custom Items Manager to see which templates contain a field before deciding to delete it.

Tracking where fields are used

Open the Custom Items Manager from the SOAP Templates page or from within any template.
Each field displays a Used in: link listing every template it currently appears in.
Use the Only used in this template toggle to filter the view when working inside a specific template.

Related Settings

SOAP 2.0 Settings — Custom fields require SOAP 2.0; confirm your Default to SOAP 2.0 Only clinic preference is enabled before setup
User Roles & Permissions — Controls who can create, edit, view, and delete custom fields under Medical/Clients/General
Template Management — Where all SOAP record templates are created and organized
QuickSOAP Settings — If your clinic uses QuickSOAP, review how template changes may affect that flow

Common Questions

Who can create and manage custom fields?

Anyone with Create Items and Edit Items permissions under Medical/Clients/General in their user role. Depending on your clinic structure, this may be your hospital manager, medical director, or individual veterinarians. Your clinic Administrator can update permissions under Administration → Team → Roles.

Can I use the same custom field in multiple templates?

Yes — any field in the Custom Items Manager can be added to as many templates as needed. Each template stores its own snapshot of the field at the time it was added.

If I edit a custom field, will it update in my existing templates?

No. Editing a field in the Custom Items Manager does not update templates the field has already been added to — Digitail will confirm this with a notice on save. This is intentional: it preserves the state of existing templates and ensures historical records remain accurate. To apply an updated field to an existing template, manually remove the old instance and re-add the field from the library.

If I delete a custom field, will it disappear from my templates?

No. Deleting a field removes it from the Custom Items Manager, but templates that already contain it are unaffected. Those instances remain embedded and will continue to appear on records created from those templates. To remove a field from a template, open the template and delete it manually.

Why aren't my custom fields showing up in the record?

Custom fields only appear in SOAP 2.0 records. If your clinic hasn't enabled Default to SOAP 2.0 Only in clinic preferences, the fields will not be visible. Contact your clinic Administrator to confirm this setting is on.

Can I edit a custom field directly inside a template?

No — custom fields can only be edited through the Custom Items Manager. To change how a field appears in a specific template, edit the field in the Manager (noting it won't affect the existing template snapshot), then remove and re-add the field to that template.