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How to Format Field Labels

The Form Editor in Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a plethora of configuration options to administrators. One of the easier configurations to achieve is creating a custom field. A common question clients of ours at xRM (www.xrm.com) ask us is, “How do I get the whole label to display?” Take a look at this screenshot Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 to see an example:

How to Format Field Labels

The custom field’s label, “Total Number of Members,” is cut off. Not only is it not aesthetically pleasing, but it can lead to confusion when filling out the form. Luckily, there are three solutions for this problem.

Solution One: Reword the Labels

An important part of good interface configuration is choosing label text that is short, sensible, and easy for users to read. For example, “Total Number of Members” could be, “Members,” or “Member Total.” However, sometimes the label simply cannot be reduced. In those situations, Solution Two or Solution Three can help.

Solution Two: Adjust Field Label Position

The first solution is to format the field labels so that they appear above the fields. This is done from the Form Editor. To get there, click the More Commands button (it looks like an ellipsis) in the command bar, and then select Form. Please note that you’ll need a Security Role of System Customizer or equivalent privileges to see that in the menu.

How to Format Field Labels

When the Form Editor opens, double-click the section of the form containing the field whose label was cut off. The entire section should be highlighted in a blue line when you double-click it.

How to Format Field Labels

The Selection Properties window opens. Click the Formatting tab and scroll to the bottom. In the Field Label Position section, select Top. Then click the OK button to accept the changes and close the window.

How to Format Field Labels

Back at the Form Editor, click the Save button. Then click the Publish button. The Form Editor can be closed once publishing is complete. Before the changes can take effect, the browser must be refreshed.

Once the window refreshes, notice that the field label appears in its entirety:

How to Format Field Labels

Solution Three: Field Label Width

This solution gives more space for the label to appear and keeps it on the same line as the field. Open the Form Editor once again by clicking the More Commands button and selecting Form.

How to Format Field Labels

When the Form Editor opens, double-click the section of the form containing the field whose label was cut off. The entire section should be highlighted in a blue line when you double-click it.

How to Format Field Labels

This time, when the Section Properties window opens, stay in the Display tab. In the Field Label Width section, increase the pixels to widen the allotted space for the field labels in this section. This might take some trial and error to get it to the ideal width for the form in question. To preview the changes without publishing them, click the Preview button in the ribbon and select Create Form.

How to Format Field Labels

After the pixels are set, save and publish the changes. Once the Form Editor is closed, refresh the browser to see the changes.

How to Format Field Labels

This particular example required 150 pixels to make all of the field labels fully visible. This number will vary depending on the number of characters in the longest field label and the width of the column in question.

All solutions covered in this post are perfectly valid options for making field labels fully visible, though one is preferable over the other in certain situations. Solution Two is better if the goal is to make better use of horizontal space. Placing the labels above the fields does not eat into the fixed width in pixels for the columns on the form. However, this solution will extend the vertical space occupied by the section, thus requiring users to scroll vertically slightly more. Solution Three conversely is ideal for conserving vertical space. However, extending the field labels in width eats into the space allowed for the data in the fields. This can lead to the data itself being visually cut off rather than the label. If the tab on the form containing the modified section is one or two columns in width, this may not be an issue. But in three to four column tabs, horizontal space becomes more limited. In summary, there is no perfect solution. It depends on the form and the interface experience you as an admin are trying to create for your users.

If you would like to learn more tips, tricks, and tutorials such as this one, please check out our xRM blog and our Success Portal. If you would like to receive training from our team of experts, please inquire about our QuickStart Training.

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