Pick several options on an asset (multi-select attributes)
An asset type's attributes are the stored information every asset of that type carries: a serial number, a manufacture date, a sprinkler type. A Dropdown attribute holds one option from a fixed list. A Multi-select attribute uses the same kind of fixed list but holds every option that applies. For example, a Hazards attribute might hold both "Wet" and "Confined space" on one asset and just "Wet" on another.
Where to find it: Pick options on the asset group page, in the asset's Edit Asset form (or the Add Asset form), or in the technician app's asset form. Essential sets up the attribute itself.
Set up a multi-select attribute
Adding a Multi-select attribute to an asset type is part of asset setup, like any other change to an asset type's stored information. Essential handles it: the Assets & Reports settings area where it's configured is limited to Essential staff. Contact Essential through the Talk to a human tab. Tell them which asset type needs the attribute, the options it should offer, and whether every asset must have a value (Required).
The options work the same way as a Dropdown's. They're kept in a set order, and they can be renamed, reordered, or removed later. When an option is removed, it's dropped from every asset that had it picked. Its other picks stay.
Changing an existing attribute to or from Multi-select
Essential's setup screen shows what a type change would do to existing values before it's saved:
Dropdown or Typeahead → Multi-select: each asset's current value becomes its one pick.
Text (or another text type) → Multi-select: the text is split at each comma, and each piece becomes an option. "Wet, Dry" becomes two picks, Wet and Dry.
Multi-select → Dropdown or Typeahead: each asset keeps only its first pick, in option order. Any other picks on that asset are lost.
Multi-select → Text: the picks become one line of text, separated by commas.
If an option is removed from the list during a change to Multi-select, each asset loses only that pick. An asset loses its value only when none of its picks are left, and the setup screen's warning counts only those assets.
Recurring-service conditions can't use a multi-select attribute. So when an attribute changes to Multi-select, any recurring-service rule that tested it is removed.
Pick options on an asset
On the web. Open the asset group page. In Card View, open the asset card's menu and choose Edit to open the Edit Asset form. The attribute shows as a dropdown with the placeholder Select all that apply. Click it and pick each option that applies. Each pick shows as a chip in the field, and the list stays open so you can pick several in a row. To remove a pick, click the × on its chip. Click Save to keep the changes. The Add Asset form works the same way for a new asset.
The picks always save in the attribute's option order, whatever order you clicked them in. On the asset card and in the table they show together, separated by commas: "Wet, Confined space".
In Table View, a multi-select column is read-only, even in Edit mode. It shows a lock icon in its header. To change picks, use the asset's Edit Asset form.
In the technician app. The asset form shows the attribute with the same list of options. Pick every option that applies and tap Submit to save.
Multi-select attributes on inspection reports
A multi-select question on a report form can be linked to the asset type's multi-select attribute, just as a dropdown question can be linked to a dropdown attribute. A linked question offers the attribute's current options. When a technician opens the report, the asset's saved picks already fill the question. When the report is published, the question's picks are saved back to the asset.
When Essential changes a linked Dropdown question's attribute to Multi-select, the question becomes a multi-select question. Questions that were shown only for one of its answers are updated too: they show when that option is among the asset's picks.
Linking a question to an attribute is part of report setup, done by Essential. For how a multi-select question works while filling out a report, see The field types you fill in on a report.
Where multi-select values appear
Asset Group Labels: a multi-select attribute can be shown as a label. Each picked option counts as its own value, so a group whose assets hold "Wet" and "Wet, Dry" shows "Hazards: Dry, Wet". See Show asset attribute values as labels (Asset Group Labels).
Asset Groups list filters: you can filter by a multi-select attribute. is matches groups with an asset that has that option picked, and is empty / is not empty check whether any current option is picked (a deleted option no longer counts).
CSV export and the printable asset table: the picks print as their option names, separated by commas.
Customer Portal: when asset information is shown on the portal, the picks appear as a comma-separated list.
Quotes: when a quote line lists the assets it's based on (for example, a line from an AI-generated draft), each asset is labelled with its first attribute values. A multi-select attribute shows its picks there, separated by commas.
Where multi-select attributes are not available
Recurring-service conditions (the asset filter on a recurring service) can't test a multi-select attribute, so it isn't offered there.
Bulk add from a document never fills a multi-select attribute. After the assets are added, set their picks in each asset's Edit Asset form.
Related guides
Last updated
Was this helpful?