How to Link Directories in Planfix and Filter Entries
Link directories in Planfix when the same reference data lives in two lists and somebody has to update both by hand. Directories in Planfix hold the lists a team reuses — equipment, branches, contracts, ready-made replies — and one directory can point to an entry in another. This two-minute video collects four ways to work with them faster: links, filters, quick replies and instant access to a single entry.
What you’ll learn: linked directories, filters and quick replies
- How linking directories protects data integrity: change an entry once, and every linked directory shows the new value (0:07).
- How to filter directory entries, for example all contracts expiring this month (0:41).
- How quick replies pull their text from a directory when you type an asterisk in a comment (1:03).
- How mentioning a colleague and attaching an entry grants access to it on the spot (1:37).
How to optimize work with directories in Planfix, step by step
Step 1. Link one directory to another
Only an account administrator or a technical administrator can create and edit directories. Open Main menu → Directories, open the directory you want to extend and add a field. Choose the Directory entry field type and point it at the directory you are linking to; Set of directory values stores several links in one field. In the video, the location field of an equipment directory refers to an entry in the company branches directory. The field stores a link rather than a copy, so editing the source entry updates every directory entry that refers to it.
Step 2. Filter directory entries
Every directory can be filtered, which matters once a list runs to hundreds of entries. Use the button for adding a new filter, then set the selection parameters: pick a field, a condition and a value. The video’s example is a contracts directory — select the expiration date field and set the condition to the current month. The directory then shows only the contracts running out before the month ends.
Step 3. Set up quick replies from a directory
Quick replies take their text straight from a directory. First create a directory of answers, with a field for the question and a field for the reply text. Then open Account management → System settings → Advanced features → Quick replies, turn the option on, select that directory and name the field holding the response text. In a comment, type an asterisk (*) followed by a few words from the question or the answer; word order does not matter. Replies accept variables, so a template can greet a customer by name. Quick replies are an account-wide setting, disabled by default and available in paid accounts only — useful when a team fields the same questions across email, chats and messengers.
Step 4. Share an entry through a task comment
You do not have to open permission settings for every colleague. In a task comment, mention the person and insert a link to the directory entry with the icon in the text editor panel: choose the directory, then the entry. Everyone notified about that comment is automatically granted reading access to it, so answering the question and granting access become one action. That is what turns a directory into a shared password manager with controlled access. One limit is worth knowing: a link inserted into a custom Multi-line text field grants nobody access.
Example from the video: equipment, branches and expiring contracts
Each branch is described once in the branches directory, and every piece of equipment inherits its current address instead of a stale copy typed into a text field. When a branch moves, a single edit updates every item linked to it.
In the contracts directory the filter does the job: set the expiration date to the current month, and a long reference list turns into a short agenda — what to renew, who to call and what to let lapse.
Who it’s for
Directories repay the setup wherever the same values are reused across tasks and conversations:
- Support and sales: quick replies from a shared directory, so customers hear the same wording.
- Office and facilities: equipment linked to branches, so inventory always shows the current address.
- Legal and finance: a filter that surfaces the contracts ending this month.
- Administrators: credentials stored in a directory and passed to a colleague through a comment.
- Analysts: reference values entered once, so reports group records instead of splitting them across spellings.
FAQ
How do I link one directory to another in Planfix?
Add a field of the Directory entry type to the directory and select the directory it should point to. Use Set of directory values when one entry has to reference several.
Do linked directories update automatically?
Yes. A linked field stores a reference, not a copy, so when the information in a directory changes, every directory linked to it receives the updated value.
Who gets access to a directory entry linked in a comment?
Everyone notified about that comment is granted reading access to the entry automatically, which saves you from setting permissions by hand. A link placed in a custom Multi-line text field does not grant access to anyone.
Start with the list you retype most
Pick the directory your team edits most often and give it one Directory entry field pointing at the list it currently duplicates. Add a filter for the view you open every Monday, and decide who may see which entries: Planfix lets you control access for employees and contacts down to a single record. New to Planfix? Sign up to try it.
