Introduction

Dependent profile fields in uKnowva HRMS help you create a logical relationship between multiple profile fields so that the options available in one field depend on the value selected in another field. This is particularly useful when you have a hierarchy of information such as Department → Function → Sub Function, where the options in the Function field should depend on the selected Department, and the Sub Function should further depend on the selected Function.

For example, when you select IT as an employee's Department, you may want the Function field to display only relevant options such as Development and QA instead of showing unrelated options such as Marketing or Sales. This reduces the chances of selecting incorrect information and helps maintain cleaner and more accurate employee data.

Using dependent profile fields can also help minimise errors while managing employee information, including errors that may occur during data imports, exports, reporting, dashboards, and other processes that depend on profile field values. In this article, we will learn how to create and configure dependent profile fields in uKnowva HRMS.

Step 1: Access the Profile Fields Manager

To begin, go to the top-right corner of the page. Click on your profile picture to open the list of available options. From this list, select uKnowva Configuration.

This will open the configuration page. From the left-side navigation menu, select Profile Fields Manager. The Profile Fields Manager page will display the profile fields currently available in your system.

Before creating a dependent profile field, make sure that the profile field it will depend on already exists in the system. In our example, we will use the relationship Department → Function → Sub Function, where each field depends on the previous field.

Step 2: Create a New Profile Field

To create a new profile field, click on the + icon available above the list of profile fields. This will open the profile field configuration form.

If you are not familiar with the process of creating a profile field, you can follow the How to Create Custom Profile Fields in uKnowva HRMS tutorial for detailed instructions.

For this example, we will create a profile field that depends on an existing Department field. You can repeat the same process to create additional dependent fields based on your requirements.

Step 3: Enter the Profile Field Details

In the profile field configuration form, enter or select the required details. Start by selecting the appropriate Category, entering the Name, and selecting Table Reference as the Type. You must select Table Reference when creating a dependent profile field because the field will retrieve its options from a database table.

Next, select the appropriate Group. The Field Code will be generated automatically by the system.

Continue configuring the remaining settings, including Is Unique, Published, Required, Searchable, Visible To, Access Level, and Editable By, according to your requirements. Make sure that Published is set to Yes so that the field is available for use in the system.

These settings control how the profile field behaves, who can access it, whether users must provide a value, and whether the field can be searched or edited.

Step 4: Configure the Database Table

Next, move to the DB Table section. Here, you need to enter or select the database table from which the profile field should retrieve its values.

After selecting the database table, select the appropriate Key Column. For example, you can use ID as the key column when the table uses the record ID to uniquely identify each option.

Then, select the appropriate Value Column. This column determines the value that users will see when they select an option from the profile field.

Step 5: Enable AJAX for the Profile Field

In the Is Ajax field, select Yes.

Enabling AJAX allows the dependent field to retrieve and update its available options based on the value selected in the related field. For example, when an employee's Department is set to IT, the dependent Function field can retrieve only the functions associated with IT instead of displaying every function available in the system.

This helps the system update the dependent options as soon as the related value changes.

Step 6: Configure the Dependent Fields

Now move to the Dependent Fields section. Here, you need to define the relationship between the current profile field and the field on which it depends.

You need to enter the dependency information in JSON format. For example:

[

    {

        "field_id": "#field156",

        "table_column": "department",

        "is_serialized": false

    }

]

In this configuration, field_id identifies the profile field that the current field depends on. You can find the field ID on the Profile Fields Manager page in the ID column.

When entering the field_id, make sure you follow the required format by adding # before the field ID. For example, if the field ID is 156, enter it as "#field156". The field ID must follow this format for the system to correctly identify the dependent profile field.

The table_column value identifies the corresponding column used for the dependency. If you are using a custom master, you can find the relevant table or column information in the Automation Hub configuration.

The Is_serialized value determines whether the data is stored in a serialized format. Select true if the data is in a serialized format; otherwise, select false.

Make sure you enter the JSON in the correct format so that the system can correctly read the configured values.

Step 7: Save the Profile Field

After entering all the required configuration details, review the settings and click the Save button to create the profile field.

You can now create additional profile fields using the same approach to build the complete dependency structure. For example, after configuring Department → Function, you can configure Sub Function to depend on the Function field.

Once the required fields are configured, open an employee's profile and check the fields. When you select a value in the parent field, the dependent field should display the relevant options based on the configured relationship.

Why Use Dependent Profile Fields?

Dependent profile fields help maintain consistency when employees or administrators enter profile information. In a structure such as Department → Function → Sub Function, selecting a department limits the available functions to the relevant choices. Selecting a function can then further restrict the available sub-functions.

This reduces the possibility of users accidentally selecting unrelated values and helps maintain more reliable employee data. Cleaner profile data can also improve the accuracy of reports, dashboards, data counts, imports, exports, and other processes that rely on these fields.

Conclusion

That’s it! 

You’ve now successfully created and configured dependent profile fields in uKnowva HRMS. 

By linking related fields such as Department, Function, and Sub Function, you can reduce incorrect selections and maintain more consistent employee data across your HR processes. 

If you have any questions or need additional support, feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..