Custom Screen Setup (Training)

Updated on Jul 21, 2026

The Custom Screen Setup module replaces the use of Form Builder forms in SSS events. The primary advantage is the functionality of expanding text fields using rich text as opposed to the static nature of Form Builder text areas and text boxes. In this training, you will build a sample custom screen for the SSS module.

Understanding the Basics of the Custom Screens Functionality

Custom screens are set up using Categories and Fields, just like student fields, school fields, discipline fields, etc.

When building a custom screen, the Category Title is like the form name of a Form Builder form, and displays at the top of the screen for the end user.
In SSS > Setup > Sequences tab, the category titles will display in the Custom Field Category pull-down.

Within the Event, the custom screen is linked to a step in place of a Form Builder form.

The field types on custom screens use the same options as student fields, school fields, etc. The field type cannot be changed once saved; you must delete the field if an error was made in the field type selection.

End users will have the ability to view the fields on the custom screen in one, two, or three columns (excludes placeholder fields and long text areas) just as they can when viewing SIS categories in Student Info, User Info, School Info, etc.

When printing, the print layout uses the same layout the user has selected on the screen.

Creating a Category

1. In the SSS menu, click Custom Screen Setup.

The screen defaults to the Categories tab.

2. In the blank row, enter a Title (recommendation is to use all caps).

3. Tab out of the field or press the Enter/Return key; the row turns yellow and the Save button turns red.

4. Click the Save button.

Now that the Category has been created, we will create an SSS Event that we can attach the new Custom Screen to so that you can view the fields as you build them.

Creating an SSS Event and Sequence for the Custom Screen

In order to see the fields for the new custom screen as you build it, you need to ensure it is attached to an Event Sequence and that you have the profile permissions to view/edit the Event. For this training, we will use an existing Program and create a new Event.

1. In the SSS menu, click Setup.

2. Click the Events tab.

3. Enter a Name in the blank top row.

4. Select a Category (existing Program).

5. Set the Max Concurrent value to -1 (the event will always be available for selection in the Create New Event pull-down in SSS).

6. Set the Max Total value to -1 (there is no limit to Active, Locked, and Inactive instances of the event for individual students).

7. Press Enter/Return to save the row.

8. Click the Steps tab.

9. Enter a Step Name in the blank top row.

10. Press Enter/Return to save the row

11. Click the Sequences tab.

12. In the blank top row, select the Event and Step you just created in the pull-downs.

13. In the Custom Field Category pull-down, select your new Custom Screen title.

14. Scroll over to the Sort Order column, and enter a value of 10.

15. Select Required if you want the step to be required.

16. Press Enter/Return to save the row.

17. In the SSS menu, click User Profile Permissions.

18. Click the Event Permissions tab.

19. Select your profile in the Profile pull-down at the top of the screen.

20. Click the Filter button to turn the filters on, and locate the event you created.

21. Selet the check boxes for Initiate, View All, Edit All, Lock, Unlock, and Delete.

22. Click Save.

Creating a Field: Field Title, Alias, and Types

Now you are ready to add fields to your custom screen.

1. In the SSS menu, click Custom Screen Setup.

2. Locate your Category.

3. Click the green Edit Fields button.

The yellow bar at the top will indicate the Category under which the fields are being built.

Field Titles

All titles will display to the end user as they appear in the Title field. The only exception are Placeholder fields for which you may use the Rich Text editor to add formatting. All Focus System field titles will use sentence case capitalization.

There is a 122 character limit for the Title field; anything longer will be truncated when viewed by the end user. For titles exceeding the character limit, a Placeholder should be used with the Rich Text option enabled.

4. Enter a Title for your first field.

5. Press the Tab key (the field will highlight yellow and the Save button will turn red). DON’T CLICK SAVE YET!

Field Aliases

All fields require a unique alias that combines the field name with the name of its associated custom screen or an abbreviated version of the screen name. This will facilitate querying and report writing.

ALL aliases should:

use lower case text
include the custom screen name/abbreviation first, and then the field name
use _ to separate the screen and field names in the title
placeholders should use _text at the end

6. Enter an Alias for your first field.

7. Press the Tab key. DON’T CLICK SAVE YET!

Rules for Field Types

For any field that will pull in values from the SIS record, e.g. stu_name, stu_grade, 504/ELL status, etc.
- Use the Placeholder field type
- Enable the Rich Text editor so that the Insert Field option can be used
- End users will NOT be able to edit these fields
- This will function as collections do in Form Builder

Field Types

Once a field Type has been selected and saved, only the Title can be edited. To change a field type, you must delete the incorrect field and create a new one.

8. Select Text for your first field Type. This field type is used for short text entry by the end user.

9. Click Save.

The table will now show the Category the field is attached to, Local under System (as this is a user-created field and not a Focus-created field), and a blue Edit button. You will also see a red delete icon to remove the field if you selected an incorrect field Type.

10. Click the blue Edit button. This opens the options for the field.

Each new field will automatically be added as the last field (End of Category). As fields are added, you can change the location on the screen (Before field XXXX ).

All field types offer the Options displayed in the above screenshot; additional options will display for Text, Long Text, Placeholder, Signature, Select One, and Select Multiple fields.

Setting the field to Required places a red asterisk in front of the field title.
For text fields, select Autofill Suggestions to provide recently saved values as suggestions when a user focuses on the field. The user can navigate through the auto-fill suggestions using their keyboard (up arrow, down arrow, Enter). If the user tabs into the field and presses Enter, the most recently saved auto-fill value will be selected.
Set a Maximum Length if desired for text and long text fields only.

11. Scroll to the bottom of the popup and click Save.

The Fields tab will now display a number in the ID column.

For the next part of this training, you will create a new field for each field type, following the above instructions for the Title, Alias, and Edit button.

Long Text: Creates a dynamic field for text entry; option to enable the Rich Text editor to allow users to format their text, add images, dividers, etc.

Checkbox: Creates a single checkbox entry for the user; the Title you entered is the text that will display for the user to the left of the checkbox.

Number: Will only allow numerical characters (no spaces, dashes, parentheses).

Date: Valid formats will display under Defaults when you click Edit.

Time: Defaults entered time to am/pm based on the time of day the user enters a value, and can be edited; automatically adds the :

Select One: Defaults to a pull-down; has option to Display as Radio Buttons

When not set to required, select one fields displayed as radio buttons will automatically add an N/A option to the end-user’s view (you will NOT see it on the field setup).

Create a select option query if the options used are from SIS field values.
Enter options manually if no SIS field values exist or are used in the pull-down.

Select Multiple: Defaults to a pull-down; options can be entered manually or imported from a CSV file.

You have the option to Display as Checkboxes instead of a pull-down.

Create a select option query if the options used are from SIS field values.
Enter options manually if no SIS field values exist or are used in the dropdown.

For Multiple Select One/Select Multiple fields Using the Same Dropdown Options:

Click the Export button above the Select Options table.

On the new field, click the Import button.

Select the exported csv file and leave the box selected for File includes a header row.
Click the Import CSV button.

Click the Save button in the bottom right corner to save the imported codes.

If the select options are from multiple checkbox groups on a Form Builder form:

Open a blank Google sheet.
Open the form in preview mode.
Select and copy the list of options (exclude the checkbox) from the form.
Paste the options in to the Google sheet (Select: Paste values only).
Add a column to the left for the Codes and enter a Code value for each option.
Save and export the Google sheet to a csv file.
Open Custom Screen Setup to the select one/select multiple field.
Select the blue Import button.
Import the csv file.

Computed Field: Requires a computed query to return a value for the field

Pulls a value from a local SIS field

Computed Table: Requires a query that returns a computed table

Signature: Can require Authentication (user must be logged in to Focus to sign)

Student Field: Allows you to link a student field to an SSS field. When an event is initiated, the SSS field is automatically populated with the current value from the linked student field and can be edited during the event. Depending on the Sync Timing, the value in the SSS field can be written back to the linked student field when the event is locked or immediately on save.

Placeholder: Has multiple uses. See next section.

Options for Placeholder Fields

Placeholders as Section Titles:

are used for separating sections within a custom screen
use _text at the end of the alias

enable Rich Text to use all caps in the default font size; will be appear bold by default

Placeholders as Instructional or Descriptive text:

are typically used to provide a description of or instruction for completing a long text field within a section
use sentence case in the title
should use _text at the end of the alias

enable Rich Text slider to bold, underline or add other formatting to the title and add the instruction/description on a new line.

DO NOT COPY/PASTE from an outside source - font and font size will not match the default text
- should be placed before (above) the input (long text) field

Placeholder fields being used for instructional or descriptive purposes for a long text field should have the same name as the related field but end with _text to aid in querying (prevents text field from being pulled in to a report).

If there are multiple placeholder fields being used as descriptive or instructional text for the same (or related) long text field, use _text1, _text2, etc.

Placeholders as the text of a long question for a select one or select multiple:

Not recommended to use the title field for long questions as the field will only display the first 112 characters, including spaces, to the enduser. (The entire sentence/question will display when hovering over the field).

Instead, enable the Rich Text setting to construct the question
- recommend to use 14 font

Create another field for the select options

What the end-user will see:

Placeholders for Links

Enter the link title (can be shortened version of what displays to the enduser)

add _link to end of the alias (mtss_cover_tests_all_link)
- Click Edit
- Enable Rich Text
- Set font size to 14 and type what the end user should see

Highlight the link text and click the link icon

Enter the Link URL and click the check mark.

Good Things to Know

In this section are some helpful tips and suggestions.

Disable Cache when Testing Screens

At times, it may be necessary to temporarily disable the cache so that updates to custom screen fields can be viewed immediately.

1. Open a Chrome tab (a tester site, your sandbox site, etc.)

2. Right click anywhere on the screen.

3. Click Inspect.

4. Click on the Network tab (depends upon where you have placed your dock to open) and select the Disable Cache check box.

Rich Text and Placeholders

When the Rich Text option is NOT enabled for Placeholder titles, the font style and size will look different from the Default font option when Rich Text is enabled.

Spaced Between Placeholders and Other Field Types

If you want visual space between placeholders and other field types, e.g. a date field and a paragraph built with a placeholder, or just the title of a new section:

On the Placeholder field, enable the Rich Text toggle.
Place the cursor in the text editor, press the Enter/Return key, and begin typing on the second line.

Pressing Enter/Return AFTER the last text of a placeholder sentence will also insert a space before the next sentence or paragraph for a multi-sentence paragraph OR before the next field type.
You could also enter a horizontal line for visual separation within a paragraph or before/after a placeholder.

Documentation for Administrators