The Allow Free-Form States in Addresses preference controls how the State or Province field in addresses is formatted. This preference determines whether the field accepts free-form text or enforces standard state or province identifiers.
Key Details:
- The preference affects only cases where the state field appears as a body field on a record.
- For most addresses, where the state field is part of a subrecord, states entered as free text are automatically converted to abbreviations, regardless of this preference.
Steps to Set the Preference:
- Go to Setup > Company > Preferences > General Preferences (Administrator).
- Choose an option for the Allow Free-Form States in Addresses box:
- Clear the box: Disables free-form text entry in the State or Province field. Any text entered is automatically converted to standard state or province identifiers.
- Check the box: Enables free-form text entry, allowing any text to be entered without conversion to standard state or province identifiers.
- Click Save.
Important Note:
For accounts using India GST, ensure to disable the Allow Free-Form States in Addresses preference before setting up the India GST feature. This ensures the correct place of supply and classification of supply tax, preventing any errors during tax calculations.