Reference a custom field from another object in a calculated field | Community
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NickVa7
Level 9
October 13, 2022
Solved

Reference a custom field from another object in a calculated field

  • October 13, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 2911 views

Hi WF Community,

 

I'd like to do the following, when creating a new calculated field on a project form, and wondering how to go about it:

 

  • Create a calculated field called ABC on a task form
  • Create a calculated field called XYZ on a project form that aggregates field ABC from all related tasks

I'm uncertain how to reference fields from a child object.

Thanks,

Nick

 

    Best answer by William--

    Hi Nick, 

    Short answer is, you can't. Collections aren't accessible in a calculated field's expression. 

    A calculated field can only reference objects found in the "references" tab of the object in the API Explorer. So a task can reference its project, but a project can't reference its tasks. 

    If you have Fusion, a scenario can be designed to aggregate your task or issue data within Fusion and then write that to a calculated field on a project form. The expression of that calculated field only references itself so the value can only be overwritten by Fusion.

    IF(ISBLANK({DE:field_name}),"",{DE:field_name})

    Sorry that wasn't the answer you were looking for.

    3 replies

    William--
    Community Advisor
    William--Community AdvisorAccepted solution
    Community Advisor
    October 13, 2022

    Hi Nick, 

    Short answer is, you can't. Collections aren't accessible in a calculated field's expression. 

    A calculated field can only reference objects found in the "references" tab of the object in the API Explorer. So a task can reference its project, but a project can't reference its tasks. 

    If you have Fusion, a scenario can be designed to aggregate your task or issue data within Fusion and then write that to a calculated field on a project form. The expression of that calculated field only references itself so the value can only be overwritten by Fusion.

    IF(ISBLANK({DE:field_name}),"",{DE:field_name})

    Sorry that wasn't the answer you were looking for.
    If you like my content, please take a moment to view and vote on my Idea Requests: https://tinyurl.com/4rbpr7hf
      N
      NickVa7Author
      Level 9
      October 13, 2022

      Thanks, WE.  I now recall that information, after you explained it.  

      We do have Fusion, and that was my backup plan, so thanks for detailing a solution.
      Cheers!

      ChristinaJay
      ChristinaJay
      Level 4
      December 15, 2023

      Any chance you can share this Fusion recipe?

      KatharineSu
      KatharineSu
      Level 2
      October 17, 2022

      Hi @nickva7 We are running into something similar.

       

      Until the campaign object is released, we are using a workaround for campaign relationships. In other words, we want to tie projects to campaigns in a one to many ability.

       

      1. We create projects whose type is campaign and each campaign gets two calculated fields assigned:
        1. One that is the campaign custom ID used for internal reporting and UTM deployment
        2. Another that is a CONCAT of multiple fields, including the above ID, and more importantly is a user friendly/recognizable campaign name that users can pick from.
      2. We separately have a field called "related campaign" that is going to managed by our intake manager. Anytime a campaign project is created, the intake manager will copy the value of the CONCAT campaign name into this field.
      3. When a user creates a project that is a deliverable (a paid ad, for example), they'll be able to use a multi-select dropdown on "Related Campaign" thereby connecting all content and experience deliverables to that campaigns under which they are activated. 

      In an ideal world, after 1.b above, Workfront would automate and add the newly generated value to a running list that makes up the "Campaign Related" field and which could be used for reporting. Going to post this in the ideas section because it feels like a good workaround if they don't release campaigns.

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        NicoleCh7
        May 15, 2025

        Hi All,

         

        Has anyone successfully been able to reference a child on a calculated field?

         

        We have a custom form that is attached to a parent task and then a WIP Milestone on a child task. Have created a calculated field on the parent and child to remove reference to a completed task so we can try and filter it out of a task report, however it is not filtering out as it is not detecting the child. 

         

        Any suggestions?

         

        Thanks

        skyehansen
        Community Advisor
        skyehansenCommunity Advisor
        May 15, 2025

        per this previous post, you can only reference objects that are on the References tab in the API explorer.

        https://experienceleaguecommunities.adobe.com/t5/workfront-questions/reference-a-custom-field-from-another-object-in-a-calculated/m-p/552410

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