Is there a way to display a field’s value in a report instead of the label—without disabling inline editing? | Community
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February 20, 2026
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Is there a way to display a field’s value in a report instead of the label—without disabling inline editing?

  • February 20, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 34 views

We have a dropdown field (Project Scope) where the label and value differ (e.g., label = Maui SMA, value = SMA). I’m trying to build a report that displays the value instead of the label, but the only way I’ve found to do this is through text mode— which then disables inline editing.

Is there any way to show the value in a report while still keeping inline editing enabled?

Best answer by Patrick-antegma

Hi ​@KivetteKo1

 

This is a known limitation in Workfront, and unfortunately there's no fully native way to display a custom field's value (rather than its label) in a report column while keeping inline editing intact.

 

Why text mode breaks inline editing


When you switch a column to text mode, Workfront treats it as a calculated/display-only column. Even if the underlying field is editable, the report engine no longer recognizes the column as a direct field binding, so the inline edit.

Here are your options:

 

1. Rename the labels to match the values
The simplest fix, if your use case allows it. If the label and value can be the same (e.g., just use "SMA" as both), you get inline editing without any workarounds. The downside is you lose the human-friendly label in other contexts like forms.


2. Use a second calculated field for display
Create a separate calculated custom field (e.g., "Project Scope Value") that mirrors the value using a SWITCH or IF formula — something like:

IF({DE:Project Scope}="SMA","SMA",IF({DE:Project Scope}="XYZ","XYZ",""))

Add that calculated field as a separate column in your report. It shows the raw value, and your original dropdown column can still sit alongside it with inline editing enabled. It's two columns, but both can be present.


3. Accept the tradeoff and use text mode only for that column
If inline editing on the scope field specifically isn't critical (e.g., users edit via the object detail page instead), text mode on just that column is workable. You can still have other columns in the same report retain inline editing.


4. Use a View with grouped/filtered workaround
Some teams set up a second dropdown field whose labels are the values (used in reports), while the original field drives logic/automation. The report surfaces the "display" version and users edit the canonical one on the detail page. More maintenance overhead, but preserves clean reporting. You can use Fusion sync both.

2 replies

kautuk_sahni
Community Manager
Community Manager
February 24, 2026

@Richard_Le_ ​@Sven-iX Tagging you to see if you might want to share any best practices or insights on this topic. Your expertise would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Kautuk Sahni
Patrick-antegma
Patrick-antegmaAccepted solution
Level 4
February 24, 2026

Hi ​@KivetteKo1

 

This is a known limitation in Workfront, and unfortunately there's no fully native way to display a custom field's value (rather than its label) in a report column while keeping inline editing intact.

 

Why text mode breaks inline editing


When you switch a column to text mode, Workfront treats it as a calculated/display-only column. Even if the underlying field is editable, the report engine no longer recognizes the column as a direct field binding, so the inline edit.

Here are your options:

 

1. Rename the labels to match the values
The simplest fix, if your use case allows it. If the label and value can be the same (e.g., just use "SMA" as both), you get inline editing without any workarounds. The downside is you lose the human-friendly label in other contexts like forms.


2. Use a second calculated field for display
Create a separate calculated custom field (e.g., "Project Scope Value") that mirrors the value using a SWITCH or IF formula — something like:

IF({DE:Project Scope}="SMA","SMA",IF({DE:Project Scope}="XYZ","XYZ",""))

Add that calculated field as a separate column in your report. It shows the raw value, and your original dropdown column can still sit alongside it with inline editing enabled. It's two columns, but both can be present.


3. Accept the tradeoff and use text mode only for that column
If inline editing on the scope field specifically isn't critical (e.g., users edit via the object detail page instead), text mode on just that column is workable. You can still have other columns in the same report retain inline editing.


4. Use a View with grouped/filtered workaround
Some teams set up a second dropdown field whose labels are the values (used in reports), while the original field drives logic/automation. The report surfaces the "display" version and users edit the canonical one on the detail page. More maintenance overhead, but preserves clean reporting. You can use Fusion sync both.