Configure Extra Table Fields

Use Extra Table Fields to define the complete column structure for supported Employee Hub tables, and the filters employees can use above them. Configure each column and filter with flair__Extra_Table_Field__mdt.

Who can use this?

Salesforce Admins who manage fields and the Flair Extra Table Field custom metadata type in Salesforce Setup. Employees see the columns and filters in the Employee Hub.

Before you begin

• Create the Salesforce field before adding it as a table column or filter, unless you use a supported $custom column.
• Record the object's API name and the field's API name.
• Identify the table ID when the column or filter should appear in one table only.
• Grant the Employee Hub integration user read access to any field you add, and for a filter also to the object it looks up and that object's Name field. A field you created yourself is not in the packaged Flair Hub permission set.

Review supported tables

Table	Table ID
My Absences	flair__Absence__c.MyAbsences
Manager Absences	flair__Absence__c.ManagerAbsences
My Expenses	flair__Expense__c.MyExpenses
Manager Expenses	flair__Expense__c.ManagerExpenses
Directory	flair__Employee__c.Directory
People overview (manager)	flair__Employee__c.TeamPeople
Absences → Colleagues calendar	flair__Employee__c.TeamCalendar
Time Tracking History & Overtime (employee)	flair__Time_Entry__c.HistoryEmployee
Time Management timesheets (manager)	flair__Time_Entry__c.ControllingManager

Only Directory, My Absences, and the Absences → Colleagues calendar (TeamCalendar) read filter records. Filter records on other tables do nothing.

The two time-entry tables behave differently from the others: their columns are off by default. Each person turns them on per table with the gear icon above the table, under Customize columns. Values are shown per day, so when a day has several time entries the distinct values are listed together in one cell.

Create an Extra Table Field

1. In Salesforce Setup, enter Custom Metadata Types in Quick Find.

2. Open Custom Metadata Types.

3. Next to Flair Extra Table Field, click Manage Records.

4. Optional: Under View, filter the existing records by object, such as Absence or Expense.

   

5. Click New.

6. In Object API Name, enter the target object, such as flair__Absence__c or flair__Expense__c.

7. In Field API Name, enter the field or supported $custom column.

8. Configure any optional settings in Review Extra Table Field settings.

9. Click Save.

   

Review Extra Table Field settings

Setting	What it does
Object API Name	Identifies the Salesforce object. This setting is required.
Field API Name	Identifies the field or $custom value to display. This setting is required.
Filter	Offers the field as a filter above the table instead of as a column. Lookup and picklist fields can be filtered. Only the packaged $filter. values listed below create filters rendered by the Employee Hub without a Salesforce field.
Active	Shows the column or filter. Clear it to hide it without deleting the metadata record.
Table Id	Limits the column or filter to one table. Leave it empty to show it in every supported table for the object.
Position	Sets the left-to-right order. Lower numbers appear first; the typical range is 0 through 9.
Column Title	Overrides the field label in the table header, or the placeholder of a filter's dropdown. Leave it empty to use the Salesforce field label.

Assign a unique Position to each column for predictable ordering. Fields with the same position can appear in an undefined order.

Use a $custom column

$custom columns are computed or special Employee Hub values that do not exist as Salesforce fields.

Object	Field API Name	Value
Absence	$custom.name	Absence name or title.
Absence	$custom.absenceCategory	Absence category.
Absence	$custom.approver	Approver information.
Absence	$custom.comments	Comments.
Absence	$custom.employee	Employee information.
Absence	$custom.loom	Loom video link.
Expense	$custom.comments	Comments.

For example, to show employees in Manager Absences, configure these values:

Setting	Value
Field API Name	$custom.employee
Object API Name	flair__Absence__c
Table Id	flair__Absence__c.ManagerAbsences

Configure a filter above a table

A record with Filter selected becomes a dropdown in the table's Filter by: row instead of a column. Employees then narrow the table by the selected lookup records or picklist values. A $filter. value is a special filter whose options and matching behavior are provided by the Employee Hub.

For a field-backed filter, Field API Name must name a lookup or picklist field. Any lookup field on the object works, including fields that have never had a filter before, as long as the Employee Hub integration user can read the field and the object it looks up. Lookup options come from records used by employees; picklist options come from the field's values. A filter record with a $filter. name does not point to a Salesforce field.

To let employees filter the Directory by manager, create a record with these values:

Setting	Value
Object API Name	flair__Employee__c
Field API Name	flair__Manager__c
Table Id	flair__Employee__c.Directory
Filter	Selected
Position	4

Position orders the filter row from left to right, and Column Title renames a dropdown, so Office can replace the Location field label. Clearing Active removes the dropdown, and a hidden filter stops filtering the table even when its record IDs are still in the page URL.

The same field can be both a column and a filter. Create two records: one with Filter selected, one without.

Review the Directory filters

flair ships three filters for the Directory, all active, so the filter row looks unchanged until you edit them:

Filter	Field API Name
Location	flair__Location__c
Department	flair__Department__c
Team	$filter.team

Team uses $filter.team because team membership lives on flair__Team_Member__c rather than in a field on flair__Employee__c. flair names filters like this one, so you can hide, reorder, and rename them, but you cannot create new ones. Organizations that do not use teams clear Active on this record.

A dropdown appears whenever its record is active, even when there is nothing to choose from. Clearing Active on every filter of a table removes the whole Filter by: row, including Clear Filters. The table and its search box keep working.

Configure filters for absence tables

Configure My Absences filters

The My Absences table uses two packaged $filter. records. You can edit their Active, Position, and Column Title values, and you can add a lookup or picklist field as another filter on flair__Absence__c.

Filter	Field API Name	Default label
Absence category	$filter.absenceCategory	Absence Type
Absence status	$filter.status	Status

The existing type and status URL parameters continue to work when you rename or reorder these filters.

Configure the Absences → Colleagues calendar filters

The Absences → Colleagues calendar uses flair__Employee__c.TeamCalendar. Its shipped filter row is configurable through the same metadata records, so you can hide, rename, or reorder the filters without a Hub release.

Filter	Field API Name	How it narrows the calendar
Location	flair__Location__c	Filters colleagues by the lookup field.
Department	flair__Department__c	Filters colleagues by the lookup field.
Team	$filter.team	Filters by team membership.
Reporting line	$filter.reportingLine	Filters by My Team, Direct Reports, or Indirect Reports.
Absence Type	$filter.absenceCategory	Filters the absences shown on the calendar.
Status	$filter.absentStatus	Filters colleagues absent today or this month.

To add another filter, create an active Extra Table Field record with Object API Name flair__Employee__c, Table Id flair__Employee__c.TeamCalendar, Filter selected, and the API name of a lookup or picklist field. Use Position to place it in the row and Column Title to override its label. The new field-backed filter narrows the calendar on the server.

The calendar keeps the locations and departments URL parameters for existing calendar subscriptions. Other field-backed filters use their field API names in the page URL.

Configure columns for specific tables

Use Table Id when two tables of the same object need different columns, such as My Absences and Manager Absences, or the employee History & Overtime and manager Time Management timesheets.

For My Absences, create a record with these values:

Setting	Value
Object API Name	flair__Absence__c
Field API Name	flair__Amount__c
Table Id	flair__Absence__c.MyAbsences
Position	3

For Manager Absences, create another record:

Setting	Value
Object API Name	flair__Absence__c
Field API Name	flair__Approval_Status__c
Table Id	flair__Absence__c.ManagerAbsences
Position	3

To show a time-entry field to employees only, and not to managers:

Setting	Value
Object API Name	flair__Time_Entry__c
Field API Name	flair__Onsite_or_Home_Office__c
Table Id	flair__Time_Entry__c.HistoryEmployee
Position	3

Add a standard Salesforce field

Standard Salesforce fields such as CreatedDate can also appear in an Employee Hub table. For example:

Setting	Value
Object API Name	flair__Absence__c
Field API Name	CreatedDate
Position	9
Column Title	Created Date or empty

Troubleshooting

A column does not appear

1. Confirm that Active is selected.
2. Confirm that Object API Name and Field API Name use API names, not labels.
3. Confirm that the Salesforce field exists or that the $custom value is supported.
4. Confirm that Table Id matches the displayed table.
5. In a time-entry table, confirm that the column is enabled under Customize columns, and expand a week to see the daily values.

A filter does not appear

1. Confirm that the Employee Hub integration user has read access to the field, to the object it looks up, and to that object's Name field. Without it the Employee Hub cannot read any extra field value for the table, so columns can disappear alongside the filter.
2. Confirm that Filter and Active are both selected.
3. Confirm that Field API Name names a lookup or picklist field, or a supported $filter. value.
4. Confirm that Table Id matches the table where you expect the filter, such as flair__Employee__c.Directory, flair__Absence__c.MyAbsences, or flair__Employee__c.TeamCalendar.
5. For a lookup filter, confirm that at least one employee references a record through that field. For a picklist or $filter. filter, confirm that the underlying rows contain values the Employee Hub can offer.

Related articles

• Configure Extra Fields
• Configure Extra Form Fields
• Configure flair table columns