---
title: How to share a field between forms and update it in one place
description: Set a field up once in Settings, add it to any form, and update it in one place instead of opening every form by hand.
published: 2026-09-18
updated: 2026-09-18
---

# How to share a field between forms and update it in one place

The same question often sits on a dozen forms, and each form holds its own copy of it.
Adding one option to a dropdown means opening every one of those forms, and a form that is
missed keeps the old list. We have seen one question carry three different option lists
across those forms, so the same answer was recorded three different ways.

Stratum Track lets you set the question up once as a **common field**, add it to any
form, and change it in one place for every form that uses it.

Setting one up takes about five minutes. Every change after that is one save.

## What you need

- A manager login. **Common Fields** is in **Settings**, and only a manager can open it.
- A computer. The template editor is built for a desktop screen.
- A question you ask on more than one form, such as an oil grade, a paint system or a motor frame size.

The example below is an **Oil Grade** dropdown asked on four gearbox forms.

## Step 1: Make the common field

Go to **Settings** and open **Common Fields**, under **Job Data**. Press **New common
field**.

![A new common field for oil grade, with five options typed one per line](/assets/screens/common-fields-02-new-field.webp)

Type the question in **Field label** and pick the **Field type**. For a dropdown, type the
**Dropdown options** one per line, then set **Code meanings**, **Answer style**, **Option
colours** and a **Starting value** as you would on any form.

**Report name** is the name your report document uses for the answer. Stratum Track fills
it in from the label and adds `common_field.` before it, so this example prints as
`common_field.oil_grade`. If you change it, use lower-case letters, numbers and
underscores, starting with a letter. Press **Save**.

## Step 2: Link the forms that already ask it

Press **Edit** on the new field. Under **Same field on other templates**, Stratum Track
lists the fields on the live forms you can edit that ask the same question with the same
field type and are not linked yet. **Also offers**
lists an option on that form that the common field lacks. **Does not offer** lists a
common field option that form lacks.

![Three gearbox forms that ask the same question, with a Link button on each](/assets/screens/common-fields-03-same-field.webp)

Press **Link** on one form, or **Link all**. Before anything is saved, Stratum Track shows
what linking changes. Each field takes the common field's label, type and options. If the
field is a row in a two-column table, the row heading keeps the text you wrote. Where
linking removes an option from a form, Stratum Track tells you how many jobs have recorded
it. Those jobs keep their answers.

The list matches on the words of the label, ignoring capitals and extra spaces, so a field
labelled **Lube Oil Grade** will not appear. Open that form on the **Preview** tab, select
the field, and press **Link to a common field**. The same window offers **Make this a
common field**, which creates a new common field from that field's label, type and options.
On a form with a draft open, the link is saved to the draft.

## Step 3: Add it to another form

On the form's **Preview** tab, press **Add to this step** and pick the field from the
**Common fields** group in the list. To add it as a row of a two-column table, pick it
from the **Common fields** group under **What goes in it**.

![Oil Grade under Common fields in the add list, found by typing oil](/assets/screens/common-fields-05-add-list.webp)

On a form that already has jobs, Stratum Track adds the new field to the draft like any
other change. Those jobs get it when you press **Activate Template**.

Each form gets its own report name. The first copy prints as `common_field.oil_grade`,
and a second copy on the same form prints as `common_field.oil_grade_2`. You set **Required**
and any visibility rule on each form.

## Step 4: Change it once

Open the field from **Settings**, or press **Edit common field** beside it on either tab of
the template editor. A new option, a colour, a code meaning, the answer style or the
starting value saves straight away.

![The Common Fields list, with each field's report name and the number of forms using it](/assets/screens/common-fields-01-settings-list.webp)

Removing an option, renaming the question or changing the type opens **Check before
saving** first. It lists each change, how many jobs have recorded any option you are
removing, and the forms it will save to.

![Check before saving, naming the option being removed and the four forms it saves to](/assets/screens/common-fields-04-check-before-saving.webp)

Press **Save to 4 job templates**. Stratum Track saves the change to every form using the
field at once, including forms with jobs under way, with no draft to activate.

## Worth knowing

- **Not every field type can be shared.** Text Input, Text Area, Number, Decimal, Measurement, Date, Time, Dropdown and Yes/No can. Photos, signatures, lookups, calculations and specifications are set up on each form.
- **A common field is a field on its own or a row in a two-column table.** A cell in a grid or a repeating table is named by its row and column, so it cannot be linked. A field from a [step template](/articles/share-steps-between-forms.html) is linked on the step template.
- **The type and the report name lock once they are in use.** The type is fixed once jobs have recorded answers, and the report name once a form uses it. A field in use can be archived but not deleted, and the forms using it keep it.

## Common questions

#### Does changing a common field affect jobs already under way?

Yes. Stratum Track saves the change to every form using the field, including forms with
jobs under way, so a technician partway through a job sees the new options the next time
they open that step. An answer already recorded stays on the job even if you remove its
option. The form shows it marked **(no longer offered)**, and saving that step again does
not clear it.

#### Will my report documents still work after I link a field?

Yes. Linking changes the question, the type and the options. The report name stays as
it was, so a Word report document that already prints that field keeps printing
it. Only a field you add from the **Common fields** group gets a new `common_field.`
name. The form's **Field Reference** page marks each linked field with a **Common field** tag.

#### Can I take a form off the common field later?

Yes. On that form, select the field and press **Edit common field**, then **Unlink this
field**. Stratum Track keeps the label and options the field has at that moment and
makes it an ordinary field on that form, which you edit there like any other. The common field and
every other form using it stay as they are. On a form with a draft open, the unlink is
saved to the draft and reaches jobs when you press **Activate Template**.

#### Do I need to ask you to switch this on?

No. **Common Fields** is in **Settings** for every company, and any manager can set one
up today. If you would rather we did it with you, send us the forms that ask the same
question. We will set up the common fields, link the forms and hand them back for you to
approve.