You can’t customise/filter the dropdowns for reference/choice[list] fields, but there are several requests of this nature and it’s something we’d like to do. In the meantime, here are some ideas:
- Add a hidden formula column to Messages that adds
[INACTIVE]to the label for an inactive message and make the reference column in Contacts show that formula column, so that it’s easier to avoid choosing an inactive message from the dropdown. - Add some conditional formatting to the reference column to highlight when the referenced message is inactive.
- Use access rules to prevent setting the reference column to an inactive message. This would not affect the dropdown or which data is visible anywhere, but it would prevent invalid updates. It could apply equally to all users, even owners. Doing this requires an access formula using
newRec- see the Checking new values section.