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Value Lists Management

Introduction​

Value lists feed the dropdown menus in your forms (e.g., Country list, Complaint types, Root causes). Their centralized management ensures data consistency and facilitates maintenance: by modifying a value here, it is updated for all future forms.

Prerequisites​

Prerequisites
  • Functional Administrator or System Administrator rights
  • Knowledge of forms and fields using value lists

Tool Access​

Access path: Admin Tools > Value Lists menu

Direct URL: AdminTools/AdminValueList/Default.aspx

Management Interface​

Value lists management

The interface consists of three main areas:

List Selection​

At the top of the interface, you have the following controls:

  • "List:" dropdown menu: Choose the repository to modify
  • "Add" button: Creates a new empty list
  • "Delete" button: Erases the selected list (irreversible action)
  • Information icon: Opens contextual help for this tool

Values Management​

The central table allows you to manage the content of the selected list with the following columns:

ColumnDescriptionUsage
TextWhat is displayed to the userLabel visible in the dropdown menu
ValueWhat is stored in the databaseOften identical to text, can be a code
AbbreviationOptional short codeUsed for exports or compact displays

Available actions:

  • Add: Inserts a new entry in the list
  • Modify: Opens the row for editing
  • Delete: Removes the entry from the list
  • Drag-and-drop: Reorganizes the display order of values

Advanced Options​

Sort Mode​

Three organization modes are available to control the display of values:

  • Ascending: Sorts values in alphabetical order from A to Z (based on the "Text" field)
  • Descending: Sorts values from Z to A
  • Manual: Respects the order defined by the "Position" column
    • This mode enables the ability to reorganize rows by drag-and-drop
    • Allows defining specific business logic (e.g., display "Urgent" first)

Excel Import​

The import option allows loading an .xlsx or .ods file to bulk update the list.

Usefulness: Particularly convenient for long lists like postal codes, departments, or product catalogs.

Procedure: Create a New List​

To create a value list:

  1. Click the "Add" button at the top of the interface
  2. Enter the name of the new list in the dialog box
  3. Validate the creation
  4. Add values one by one via the table's "Add" button
  5. Fill in for each value: Text, Value, and Abbreviation (optional)
  6. Organize the order if necessary via drag-and-drop or automatic sorting

Expected result: The new list appears in the dropdown menu and can be associated with form fields.

Procedure: Modify an Existing List​

To modify the values of a list:

  1. Select the list in the "List:" dropdown menu
  2. Click the Modify icon of the row to modify
  3. Make your modifications (Text, Value, Abbreviation)
  4. Validate the changes
Tip

Prefer modifying existing values rather than deleting and recreating them, to avoid inconsistencies in historical data.

Procedure: Import a List from Excel​

To load a list in bulk:

  1. Prepare your Excel file with 3 columns: Text, Value, Abbreviation
  2. Check the "Excel Import" option in advanced options
  3. Click the import button that appears
  4. Select your .xlsx or .ods file
  5. Validate the import

Expected result: The values from the Excel file are added to or update the selected list.

Warning

The import overwrites existing values if they have the same key. Make sure to back up the current list before a bulk import.

Best Practices​

List Naming​

  • Use explicit names: List_Complaint_Types rather than List1
  • Prefix by domain if necessary: QM_Root_Causes, HR_Contract_Types

Values Management​

  • Keep "Value" codes stable over time (avoid modifying them)
  • "Text" can be adjusted to improve readability
  • Use abbreviation for exports and reports

Organization​

  • Favor manual sorting for business lists with specific logic
  • Use alphabetical sorting for generic lists (countries, cities)
  • Avoid overly long lists (> 100 entries): prefer dynamic search

Common Use Cases​

Priority List​

Recommended manual order:

  1. Critical
  2. High
  3. Medium
  4. Low

Document Status List​

Manual order according to workflow:

  1. Draft
  2. Under review
  3. Validated
  4. Published
  5. Obsolete

Country List​

Recommended alphabetical sort: Ascending (A-Z)

Last update: 2026-01-14 | Concerned APS version: 23.0+