When a reference field on the form is set to read only, all child field from the reference field will be read only - Support and Troubleshooting

When a reference field on the form is set to read only, all child field from the reference field will be read only Issue On a form, if a reference field is set to read only, adding fields from the reference field will also show up as read only.

Steps to reproduce:

Go to sc_task and open a record to bring up the form Go to Configure -> Form Layout and bring over the following fields: Request Item Request Request Item.Request.Special instruction Click Save Notice all Fields are readable Right click on Request Item and click on Configure Dictionary Check the "Read Only" box and save the changes and navigate back to the sc_task record. Notice now Request Item is read only but Special Instructions is also read only Release London, Madrid

Cause Setting a reference field to read only will cause all dot walked fields to also become read only due to the fact that the reference link has been restricted. The same behavior can be seen if an ACL was put on a reference field restricting all dot walked fields.

Resolution To restrict a reference field it would be better to use a business rule or a UI policy since this will not affect dot walked fields