August 20, 2026August 20, 2026| Soni YorkSoni York|
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Question:

My users keep forgetting to enter a Vendor on new Commitments. How do I make a field required, so that users have to enter a name (value)?

Answer:

You can configure any field on your document to be a required field. You can even control when the field becomes required (for example, before Approval vs. normal saves).  This configuration is done through the UI Configuration tool, assuming you have the proper permission to access it (as, for example, the System Admin).

To access the UI Configuration Tool in Power UX:

There are two main ways to get to the UI Configuration Tool in Power UX.  If you are currently in the document, use method A. Otherwise, use method B. If you are in the Classic UI, go to the System Admin Dashboard and select UI Configuration.

A.
  1. Click on the field that you want to make required.
  2. Click on the gear icon at the bottom of the document.  For example:

    –
  3. The UI Configuration tool will appear with filters for Doc type and field already filled out.
B.
  1. Select UI Configuration from the System Admin option. (You can also select Dashboard and then select UI Configuration.)

    –
  2. Use the Doc Type, Part and Item filters to get to the field that you want to configure.

To make a field required:

    1. Either copy a system-default row in order to edit options, or edit an existing user-defined row.
    2. Click in the Rq Flag column to control when the system will begin to require a value.  For example, requiring a value before a document can become Pending implies the value is also required before the document can be Approved or Closed.  When you click in the Rq Flag field, a pop-up will offer checkboxes.–
    3. Click on the appropriate checkbox(es) to enter a number in the Rq Flag field. Below is an explanation of the possible flags.
    4. Save.

When a field can become required:

 Value
 Means that
 0  no value is required in the field.
 1  First Save:  a value is required in the field before the document can be saved, even on a brand new document. This option should almost never be used!
 2  Normal Saves:  a value is required in this field before the document can be saved, after the initial save of the document. This option should be used only if 4, 8, 16 or 64 are not applicable. 
 4 Newly Pending:  a value is required in this field before the document can be saved into a pending state (e.g., Pending or Committed status).
 8  Exp. Committed:  a value is required in this field before expenses can be posted.
 16  Rev. Committed: a value is required in this field before revenue can be posted.
 32  Newly Closed: a value is required in this field before the document can be closed (any Closed status).
 64  Newly Approved: a value is required in this field before the document can be approved (any Approved status).
 2048  Route Forward:  a value is required in this field before the document can be routed on by the current routee.
This value can be combined with other values, for example:
2048+64 = 2110, which means that a value is required before the document can be routed on when it is in an approved state.
4096 Exact Only: a value is required in this field for the combination of all the checked values. Exact Only changes the criteria from an OR statement into an AND statement. Instead of First Save OR Route Forward, if you add Exactly Only, it would be First Save AND Route Forward.

Example:

requires the user to enter a value in the Source Contact (Vendor Company) field on a Commitment before the document can be saved as Committed. If such a field is empty, a message will inform that user that a value is required.

Additional Comments:

Character fields treat empty, null and ? as still required.

Hint: when using a drop down code set, use the code ? with a description that sorts to the top.

Caution: requiring a value can interfere with workflow scripts (unless the workflow takes into account the required values).  Required field validation is bypassed for reversal (reopening or uncommitting a document).

KBA-01949; Last updated: August 25, 2026 at 9:11 am; 
Keywords:  advanced customization; RequiredBefore; required value; required field

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