Buttons let you add your own one-click actions to records in Simply CRM, for example "Close ticket" or "Mark as won". A button can update fields, open a short form, create a related record or start a workflow.
Tasks that normally take several steps are done with one click, and the button only appears when it is relevant. Your team saves time, makes fewer mistakes and follows the same process every time.
Administrators set up the buttons. Users just click them.
What a button can do
- Update fields in a popup: the user fills in selected fields and clicks Save. You can make some of the fields required.
- Set a field automatically (silent field update): sets a dropdown or checkbox field to a fixed value.
- Create a record in another module: for example a ticket from an organization.
- Run workflows: for example to send an email or calculate dates from what the user entered in the popup.
A button can combine these.
Where a button is shown
- Detail: on the record page.
- List: in the list view of the module.
- Related list: on each row of a related list tab. For example, a button on membership lines is shown on every membership line under a contact. The button runs on that row, not on the contact.
- Summary widget: on each row of a "Related module" widget on the summary view (Custom Widgets), in its own column at the end of the row. It runs on that row, and only the widget refreshes afterwards. It is independent of Related list: a button can be in the widget without being in the tab.
- Summary widget header: in the header of one chosen widget on the summary view (Custom Widgets), for example "Copy water volumes" in a water volume widget on a company. It runs on the record itself (the company), and only that widget refreshes afterwards. Choose the widget under Widget.
A button can be shown in several places at once. A workflow can also open a button's popup by itself right after a record is saved, see "Ask the user in a popup after a save" below.
Create a button
The Buttons app is active by default. You can deactivate it under Settings > App Management > Apps if you do not want to use it.
- Go to Settings > Other Settings > Buttons.
- Click New Button.
- Select the Module first. The other options depend on it. For a related list or summary widget row button, choose the module of the rows (for example Membership lines), not the module of the page. For a summary widget header button, choose the module of the page (for example Organizations).
- Fill in the settings below and click Save.
Basic settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Module | The module that gets the button. |
| Button Title | The button text. |
| Select View | Detail, List, Related list (row action), Summary widget (row action) and/or Summary widget header. Choose one or more. |
| Widget | For Summary widget header: the Custom Widgets widget whose header shows the button. The list shows the widgets of all modules; pick one on the button's module. |
| Icon/Label, Button Color | Icon, color and style (Solid or Border). |
| Sequence | Button order. Lowest number first. If empty, buttons are shown in the order they were created. |
| Active | Turns the button on or off. |
| Popup Window Title, Popup Text | Title and help text in the popup. |
| Save button text, Cancel button text | The texts on the popup's buttons, for example "Cancel membership" instead of Save. Default Save and Cancel. A known text (Save, Cancel, Add Contact …) is translated into the user's language; other texts are shown as written. |
Modal Popup: update this record
- Fields on Popup: fields the user fills in. Leave empty for a one-click update.
- Required fields on popup: popup fields that must be filled in. The popup cannot be saved while they are empty, and the silent update and workflows do not run.
- Silent Field Update: a dropdown or checkbox field and its new value. Set on click, or on Save if the popup has fields.
- Workflows: run after saving, in the chosen order, and can use the values entered in the popup. Only active, manually triggered workflows in the same module.
- Activate RichText for TextAreas: allows text formatting in the popup.
Module Popup: create a record
- Select Module: where the new record is created.
- Fields on Popup: fields for the new record.
- Popup Width %: width of the popup.
Conditions (optional)
Show the button only on records that match, for example when Status is not Cancelled. Choose whether all or any conditions must be met. Without conditions, the button is shown on all records. On a related list or summary widget, the conditions are checked for each row; in a widget header, on the record itself.
Mobile app
- Used in browser / Used in Mobile: where the button is available.
- Mobile Function: call, SMS, email, map or quick create.
- Mobile Location: top or bottom of the screen.
Example: cancel a line from the related list
A button "Cancel" on membership lines, shown in Related list:
- Fields on Popup: End date. Required fields on popup: End date.
- Save button text: Cancel membership.
- Conditions: Status is not Cancelled, so the button disappears when the line is cancelled.
- Workflows: a manual workflow that copies the end date to the cancellation date and sets today's date as the date the cancellation was received.
The user opens a contact, clicks Cancel on the line, picks a date and clicks Cancel membership. The line is updated and the list refreshes. Select Summary widget as well (or instead) to offer the same button in a membership widget on the summary view.
Ask the user in a popup after a save
A workflow can open a button's popup for the user right after they save a record. Use it for optional questions, for example "Do you want to send a welcome email?" when a contact is created without an email address.
- Create the button as described above: the fields on the popup, required fields, silent update and workflows.
- Create a workflow in the same module. Choose when it runs: Only on the first save, Every time the record is saved or Every time a record is modified. Add conditions to limit it, for example "Email is empty", or "has changed" on a field.
- Add the task Ask user (Button popup) and select the button.
When a user saves a record that matches the workflow, the button's popup opens. OK saves the popup fields and runs the button's silent update and workflows, as a click on the button does. Cancel does nothing. If the button has no popup fields, the user is asked to confirm first. A save opens at most three popups, one after the other.
Good to know:
- Only the user who saves the record in Simply CRM is asked. Import, API calls and records saved by other workflows do not open a popup.
- The popup opens after the record is saved. It cannot stop the save.
- The user can close the popup. Use it for optional questions. Something that must always happen belongs in a normal workflow, or in a required field.
- It works in both the new and the classic interface.
Use a button
- On a record: open the record and click the button.
- On a related list row: in the classic interface, click the button on the row. In the new interface, open the row's actions menu and choose the button.
- On a summary widget row: click the button at the end of the row (classic interface).
- In a summary widget header: click the button in the widget's header (classic interface).
If a popup opens, fill it in and click the save button.
Troubleshooting
Buttons missing in Settings? The app has been deactivated. Activate it under Settings > App Management > Apps.
Button not shown? Check that it is active, set up for the right module and view, that the record matches the conditions, and that the user can edit the record.
Button not shown on related list or widget rows? Select Related list or Summary widget under Select View, and make sure the button is set up on the module of the rows. Buttons that only run JavaScript are not shown on rows. In the new interface, buttons that create a record in another module are not shown on rows yet, and summary widgets are not supported yet.
Button not shown in a widget header? Select Summary widget header and the right Widget, and set up the button on the module of the page, not of the widget's rows. Buttons that only run JavaScript are not shown there.
Button cut off in a summary widget? The widget is too narrow. In the widget's settings (Custom Widgets), choose Wrap, show everything under Long rows, show fewer columns, or move the widget to a wider column.
Popup cannot be saved? A required field is empty.
Save or Cancel text not translated? Only known texts are translated. Your own text is shown as written in every language.
Cannot choose fields? Select the Module first.
Workflow not in the list? It must be active, in the same module and set to run manually.
Field not available for silent update? Only dropdown and checkbox fields are supported.
Popup does not open after a save? Check that the workflow is active and that the saved record matches its conditions, that the task points to an active button in the same module, that the button's own conditions match the record, and that the user can edit the record. Records saved by import, API or another workflow never open a popup.