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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-03-13
Configure Optional Fields

Configure Optional Fields

Security:
Set Up: Configure Optional Fields
 domain in the System functional area.
To have more control over what is visible to users when they access tasks, you can set up optional fields as:
  • Hidden for all users, select security groups, or a specific group of workers.
  • Required for all users or select security groups.
  • Not enterable for all users or select security groups.
  1. Access the
    Configure Optional Fields
     task.
  2. From the
    By Functional Area
     prompt, select a business process or task.
  3. Complete the task:
    Option Description
    Condition Rule
    This field:
    • Is available depending on the business process or task of the functional area that you select.
    • Enables you to apply a condition rule to control the visibility of the option for a specific group of workers who meet specific criteria.
    Field
    Available options depend on the business process or task.
    Criteria
    Select
    Security Group
     to display the security group prompt on the
    Hidden For
    ,
    Required For
    , or
    Not Enterable For
     columns.
    When a user is a member of a security group that doesn't have the field display configured as hidden, the field is visible to the user. The visibility persists even when Workday hides the field for other security groups that the user is a member of.
    Security Group
    Select the groups for which the field configuration applies.
    Evaluate All Security Groups
    Enables control over how Workday evaluates security groups on the field display options:
    • Hidden (checked by default for backwards compatibility)
    • Required
    • Not Enterable
    Select this check box to ensure that field configurations apply only when your access to the business process or task equals the access of the selected security groups. If you clear this check box, Workday applies the field configuration when you are a member of at least one of the selected security groups.
    Enforce Required in Web Services
    You can only select this check box if the functional area supports web services. Select to enforce required fields on all web services within the functional area. Clearing this check box enables you to correct data without populating every field on the web service.
    Example: The
    Correct Award
     web service enables you to update information in Workday without populating every field. When you select this check box, and leave any required fields blank on the web service, you'll get an error.
    Hidden For
    Select the users and security groups to hide the field from.
    Required For
    Select the users and security groups to require this field for.
    Not Enterable For
    Select the users and security groups to display the field for. The field isn't editable.
    When the task or business process that you’re configuring optional fields for doesn't support view-only fields, Workday displays this column but doesn't display a prompt.
When you select the
Evaluate All Security Groups
 check box for a field, Workday identifies equal values in the
User's Access to Process
 and
User's Access to Field Configuration
 columns. When the values are equal, Workday applies the field behavior, as shown in row 3 of the table. Conversely, when the values are not equal, Workday doesn’t apply the configuration, as shown in row 5.
The check box indicates that Workday must evaluate all security groups and find the
User's Access to Process
 is equal to the
User's Access to Field Configuration
 for the field behavior to apply.
Evaluate All Security Groups
User’s Security Groups
Process Security Groups
Field Configuration Security Groups
User’s Access to Process
User’s Access to Field Configuration
Result
Unchecked (False)
A, C
A, B, C
A, B
Not Applicable
A
Applied
Unchecked (False)
C, F
A, B, C
A, B
Not Applicable
empty
Not Applied
Checked (True)
A, B, F
A, B, C
A, B
A, B
A, B
Applied
Checked (True)
A, E, F
A, B, C
A, B
A
A
Applied
Checked (True)
A, B, C
A, B, C
A, B
A, B, C
A, B
Not Applied
Checked (True)
E, F
A, B, C
A, B
empty
empty
Not Applied
You can’t use a proxy to test this feature. Instead, you must use the
Test Optional Field Evaluation
 task to test field configurations for a given user.