Who is this article for?

Users building or editing Workflow reports.

Access to Workflow reports is required.

When configuring a Workflow report, you may encounter an error that prevents the report from being previewed or run, caused by duplicate subform fields sharing the same underlying custom field.

Understanding what causes this error

Ideagen Quality Management does not allow two fields from the same subform to share the same underlying custom field in a single report. When both fields are added to the report, the system attempts to create two columns with identical names in its internal data table, which causes a conflict and prevents the report from generating.

This can happen when two subform fields appear to be distinct — for example, one labelled Expected Date and another labelled Completion Date — but both are built on the same underlying custom field type (such as Date). Adding both to a report creates the duplicate column conflict.

Example: A CAPA Workflow report is configured with two fields from a subform: Expected Date and Completion Date. Both are displayed under different labels in the form, but they share the same underlying custom field. When the report is previewed, an error appears. Creating a second, separate report with the same two fields produces the same error because the root cause — the duplicate custom field — is present in both.

Note: This error is specific to subform fields. Standard top-level Workflow fields that share a field type do not trigger the same conflict.

Confirming the cause

Before making changes, confirm that duplicate subform fields are the source of the error by checking the fields added to your report.

To verify duplicate subform fields:

1. Open the affected Workflow report in the report configuration view.
2. Locate the fields sourced from any subforms included in the report.
3. Check whether any two of those fields share the same underlying custom field.

Fields that use the same custom field will produce a duplicate column when both are added.

Tip: If you are unsure which fields share the same underlying custom field, navigate to Administration > Custom Fields and review the field definitions for the subform in question. Fields using the same base custom field entry are the ones to watch for.

Resolving the error

Remove one of the duplicate subform fields from the report. You only need to include one instance of a field that maps to the same underlying custom field.

To remove the duplicate field:

1. Open the affected Workflow report.
2. In the report's field configuration, locate the duplicate subform fields.
3. Remove one of the two fields.
4. Save the report.
5. Preview or run the report to confirm the error is resolved.

Important: Creating a new report does not resolve this issue if you add the same duplicate fields to it. The conflict is caused by the field configuration, not by the report itself. You must remove one of the conflicting fields from the report's field list.

Summary