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Field-level permissions & dependencies

Updated

Two ways to control field behavior: who can see a field, and which options a field offers based on another field’s value.

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Field-level permissions

Administrators on Enterprise plans can control which fields each user can access. Any field on any object can be restricted this way, as long as advanced permissions are enabled, which is how sensitive data stays visible only to the people who need it. Setting field permissions affects record layouts, list views, and reports.

To edit field-level permissions:

  1. Go to System Settings > Objects & Fields.
  2. Select an object.
  3. Select Object Fields.
  4. Choose a field.
  5. Select Set Field-Level Security.
  6. Click Edit Permissions.
  7. Click the check boxes to set permissions for different profiles. The field can be set to Read Only or Hidden. Setting a field to Hidden for a profile means it is not visible or included in outputs for users with that profile.
  8. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
Navigating to Contact Object in System Settings — The screenshot shows the System Settings > Objects page in Insightly CRM, displaying a list of all available objects such as Contact, Email, Lead, and Opportunity with their deployment status. The Contact object is highlighted with a red box, indicating it is the item the user should select to configure or customize contact fields.

1 Navigating to Contact Object in System Settings

 Navigating to Contact Object Fields — The screenshot shows the Object Fields section selected under Contact in Insightly CRM’s System Settings, with a list of available contact fields such as Assistant Name, Date of Birth, and Contact Owner visible on the right. This helps users locate where to view, manage, or customize the fields associated with the Contact object.

2 Navigating to Contact Object Fields

 Field Level Permissions Edit Button in Insightly — The screenshot shows the Field Level Permissions panel for the Email (EMAIL_ADDRESS) field under the Contact object in Insightly CRM’s System Settings. The highlighted “Edit Permissions” button allows administrators to control whether specific user profiles can view or edit this field, making it relevant for managing data access and privacy across user roles.

3 Field Level Permissions Edit Button in Insightly
Contact Object Field Level Permissions Settings — This screenshot shows the Field Level Permissions page for the Email field (EMAIL_ADDRESS) within the Contact object in Insightly CRM’s System Settings. It displays options to set the field as Read Only or Hidden globally, as well as per user profile, which is relevant for administrators controlling data visibility across different user roles.

4 Contact Object Field Level Permissions Settings

 Saving Field Level Permissions Settings — The screenshot shows a list of user profiles with unchecked permission checkboxes, and a highlighted Save button used to confirm changes. This illustrates where administrators click to apply field-level permission configurations after selecting the appropriate access settings for each profile.

5 Saving Field Level Permissions Settings

Field dependencies

When two dropdown fields relate to each other, a dependency makes the first field’s selection determine which options appear in the second. This keeps invalid combinations from being entered in the first place. Because a dependency requires a single selection, it works only for dropdown fields, not multi-select dropdowns.

To set up a field dependency:

  1. Go to System Settings > Objects and Fields.
  2. Select the object you want to create a field dependency for.
  3. From the Object Management list, select Field Dependencies.
  4. Click Add Dependency Mapping.
  5. Select your Parent Field and your Dependent Field.
  6. Select the dependent field values. To select more than one value, hold the Ctrl key while clicking on each value.
  7. Click Preview to test your mappings.
  8. Click Save Mappings.
Adding Field Dependencies in Organization Settings — The screenshot shows the Field Dependencies page under System Settings > Objects > Organization, with an “Add Dependency Mapping” button highlighted in the upper right. This feature allows users to create dependent dropdown fields so that selecting a value in one field filters the available options in another, helping maintain clean and consistent data entry.

1 Adding Field Dependencies in Organization Settings

 Field Dependency Setup Step 1 Interface — This shows the first step of creating a field dependency in Insightly CRM, where users select a parent field and a dependent field from dropdown menus. This step is important because choosing the correct fields determines how one field’s options will be filtered or controlled based on another field’s value.

2 Field Dependency Setup Step 1 Interface
Mapping Field Dependencies Between Relationship Types — This screen shows Step 2 of setting up a field dependency in Insightly, where the parent field “Relationship Type” controls which “Product Needs” values appear based on whether a contact is a Prospect, Customer, or Vendor. For example, Prospects see Residential and Commercial, Customers see Both, and Vendors see Commercial, allowing admins to tailor dropdown options to each relationship type.

3 Mapping Field Dependencies Between Relationship Types

 Dependent Dropdown Preview Modal in Insightly — A dialog box titled “Preview Dependent Dropdowns” displays two linked fields—Relationship Type and Product Needs—allowing users to test how selecting a value in the first dropdown affects the available options in the second. This preview feature helps administrators verify that their dependent dropdown configuration works correctly before saving or deploying it.

4 Dependent Dropdown Preview Modal in Insightly

⚠️ Check whether a field is synced via CRM Connector before editing its permissions or mapping. A field’s detail screen shows a note when it’s synchronized with a matching Marketing Prospect field (for example, Contact Email Address synced to Prospect Email Address). Editing or remapping a connector-linked field can disrupt that sync.

Contact Object Field Details with Sync Note — The screenshot shows the EMAIL_ADDRESS field configuration in Insightly CRM’s Contact object settings, including a highlighted warning that the field is synchronized with Prospect.EMAIL_ADDRESS via CRM Connector. This is important for users to understand because editing or mapping this field incorrectly could disrupt data synchronization between Contacts and Prospects.

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