An activity type is the kind of contact you record with a person or organization, such as a phone call, site visit, or board meeting. Every entry on a contact or organization activity timeline uses one activity type. This article explains how to create, rename, retire, and delete activity types.
Prerequisites
- You need access to Activities setup in your Rhythm account.
Where to Find It
Go to Setup › Activities › Types to see every activity type defined in your account. Select Create Custom Activity Type, or select a row’s edit or clone icon, to open the type form.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Any text | Empty | The label staff see when they choose this type for an activity, and on every activity that uses it |
| Identifier | Letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens; no spaces | Suggested from the name | The permanent identifier, which you cannot edit in this form after saving |
| Active | On/off | Active | Controls whether staff can choose this type when they record a new activity |
This form stores only the activity type’s name, identifier, and active status. An activity type also supports a timeline icon and color, but this form does not include controls for them. A type created here has no icon or color, so its timeline entries use whatever default the timeline falls back to when a type has no icon set.
Dependencies and Precedence
- Renaming a type changes what every existing activity of that kind shows. Each activity points to its activity type instead of storing a separate copy of the type name, so past activities show the new label immediately.
- Names are not checked for uniqueness. You can save a type with the same name as another type, and Rhythm does not stop you or warn you.
- A type in use can be renamed freely. Only deleting a type is blocked when recorded activities still use it.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Marking a type Inactive is the safe way to retire it. Staff no longer see it when they record new activities, but the type remains in place for activities that already use it. There are no transition rules, so you can switch the type active again at any time.
After nothing uses a type, deleting it from this setup page is permanent. There is no restore option.
Why You Cannot Delete a Type in Use
You cannot delete an activity type while any recorded activity still uses it. The delete option still appears on every type, and Rhythm shows the refusal only after you try to delete, as an error instead of an earlier warning. If you need to retire a type that is still in use, mark it Inactive instead of deleting it.
Permissions
Creating, editing, cloning, and deleting activity types requires access to Activities setup, specifically Types.
Validation and Errors
| Message contains | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The save is refused with a validation message | The name is missing, the active status is missing, or the identifier contains characters other than letters, digits, underscores, pipes, and hyphens | Fill in the name and correct the identifier |
| The delete is refused | An activity still uses this type | Mark the type inactive instead of deleting it |