BillTrack50 Help Center

You can enter custom data into your Bill Sheet, such as you/your organization’s opinions on specific bills, or maybe to just put in a quick note for your own reference later. If you are using a Bill Sheet that already has columns where you can enter data, such as a position column or a comments column, then you can skip right to Step 6 to learn how to enter data into the grid. If you don’t have any custom columns set up yet then never fear, we will walk you through the steps to create the column(s) you need and to add your new column(s) to your bill sheet grid.

If you would prefer to watch a helpful video on this topic, then you can do just that by watching this video. 

Step 1. The first step is modifying your templates to include custom columns. If you have already done so then please skip down to Step 6. The un-modified default template does not contain any custom columns so the first several steps in this process involve setting up those columns.

You can manage your templates by clicking on the account menu in the top right corner, then clicking “Bill Sheet Templates”. Please note, that you need to have the right permissions to be able to modify/create templates; if you do not see the “Bill Sheet Templates” option then you do not have permission to change templates. Please contact your administrator or us to see about changing your permissions.

Step 2. The second step is adding the columns you need. Once on the Bill Sheet Templates page you can either choose to “Edit” your default template or you can click on the “Add Template” button to create a new template. But you need to configure the columns you want to use before you can add them to a template. If you only need a position column then you can skip to Step 4. Otherwise, if you want to add your own unique column(s), then you will want to click on “Add Column” and move on to the next step.

Step 3. The third step is configuring your new column(s). Once you have clicked on “Add Column” you will be taken to the Add Bill Sheet Column page as seen below. Fill in a name for your new column; this name will be displayed as the label of your column in the bill sheet (unfortunately, the “name” is hidden in the image by the drop down menu, but it will be right under the dropdown menu).

Then choose what type of data should go into this column. The data type you choose affects how data sorts and filters, so it’s good to choose the correct type where possible. If you aren’t sure then go with “Text”. You can’t change types later, though you can modify the name of the column anytime you like, and edit the drop down values for the dropdown type column. The types of data available are:

1. Text: This type allows you to input any text you want into the column, great for taking notes!
2. Number: This type is for inputting numbers.
3. Date: This type is for dates.
4. URL Link: This type allows you to enter a URL and link text to display in your column.
5. Dropdown: This type lets you enter a list of values which we will display in a drop down list. If you choose this type another option called “Dropdown Values” will appear to fill in. Type in the first value you want in the list and then type enter; your value will be added to the list. Continue typing in values until you have entered everything you would like to appear in your list. For example, you could type in the options Very Hot, Hot, Medium, Cold, Very Cold.

No matter which type you pick you will need to click “Save” when you are done to actually create the column. You can repeat the process to add as many columns as you need. For example, if you have a legislative committee you can add one column for each member for them to enter notes or alternately you could make a drop down column for each member with support, oppose, monitor, ignore as the options.

Step 4. Add your custom columns to your bill sheet template. When you click on “Add Template” or you “Edit” an existing template you will be taken to the Edit Bill Sheet Template page as shown below. Please note that editing a template will effect ALL of your Bill Sheets that are using that template, for all users!

At the top of the page you’ll need to enter a name for your template. You’ll also be given the option to make this your “default” template, that is, the template that will be used when making new bill sheets. (Making a template the default template will not affect existing bill sheets.)

The main part of the template page is a list of all the columns available to include on your bill sheet. Simply check the “visible” check box to include a column on your bill sheet, and uncheck the visible box if you don’t want that column on your bill sheet.

If you created a custom column with us in Step 3, then this is where you will find it also, it will be called something like “CustomTextColumn” in the “Data Column”, its name in the “Header Text” column will be whatever name you gave it.

You might also notice several more options to fill in.

1. Column Order: The first column has a draggy icon. You can grab that icon and drag the columns into the order you want them to appear on your bill sheet.
2. Width (px): how wide you want the column to appear on your bill sheet.
3. Pinned: Checking this box will freeze that column on the left hand side of your bill sheet and keep it visible even when you scroll. You can use this to always be able to see the most important column(s)! Please note, you must make the column visible to be able to pin it.
4. Initial Sort: When you first open the bill sheet you can have it be sorted in a specific order. Common choices are bill number (ascending) or created (descending) or action date (descending).

Make sure you click the “Save” button at the top when you are done. You can come back and tweak these settings at any time.

Step 5. Apply your template to your bill sheet. Now that you have a template ready to go, you need to actually connect apply it to your bill sheet. If you just modified the default template then you can skip this step if your bill sheet already uses the default template.

To set your template go to the bill sheet that you want to update and go to the Manage tab. Now click on the dropdown below “Grid Template” and choose the appropriate template from the list. Finally, click “Save”.

When you go back to the bill sheet grid the columns should appear just how you set them up in your template.

Step 6.  The final step is to add data in your new column(s). Now that you have everything all set up, you should see the new columns you added on your Bill Sheet. For most column types you simply double click on the appropriate cell to pop up the interface where you input your information. If you are navigating using your arrow keys instead of your mouse then typing “enter” will bring up the data entry interface. For a drop down type column, like the “Position” column, then when you double click (or type enter) a list of options will appear for you to choose from. For a date column you will be able to either enter the date or choose from a calendar.

Your entered data is saved when you click enter or click someplace else on the bill sheet to close the data entry interface. And that’s all there is to it.