How to use Custom Fields

While Maropost provides you a set of predefined fields, you can define new fields, referred to as custom fields, as per your needs. You may need new fields that can be used to identify contacts in the imported contact data. For example, you want to differentiate between contacts based on their location, so you can create a field for it and select the appropriate value (say, the country or city) while storing contacts in Maropost.
📋 Note: When you create a new field, it is not added to existing contacts; however, when you update the contacts, the field is created for them.

The default fields available to you are first name, last name, email, phone, and fax.
📋 Note: You can set the default value for the 'First name' and 'Last name' default fields on the field index page. If a default value if set, a default value will be added for the contacts whose first name or last name is not present at the time of import. This is useful while using contact tags in the content or subject line of campaigns.

The following data types are supported for custom fields:

• Strings – A string can be anything (alphabets, numerals, symbols, special characters, etc.) It has a maximum length of 255 characters. (No default value required)
  
• Integer – An integer is a whole number (not a fraction) that can be positive, negative, or zero. It has a maximum length of 11 digits. (Default value is needed to save this field)
  
• Boolean – Boolean field type is a binary variable that can have one of two possible values, 0 (False) or 1 (True). This is also known as a True/False field. (Default value is ‘True’, but can be changed to ‘False’)
  
• Date/Time – This field type is used for values that contain both date and time parts. We store it in 'YYYY-MM-DD/HH:MM:SS-05:00' format. (No default value required)
  
• Text – A text field type can be anything in the text. (No default value required)
  
• Float - A number with decimal points (example - Currency)

Creating a New Custom Field

Perform the following steps to create a new custom field:

1. In Navigation, go to AUDIENCE, and select Fields. Then, on the Custom Fields page, click the Add (+) icon.
   
2. On the New Custom Field dialog box, select from or enter values for the following:
   
   • Name – Enter a name for the new field.
   • Field Type – Select a data type for the new field.
   • Default Value – Enter a default value for the new field.
   • Add to edit profile page – 
   • Display Name – Enter the name to be displayed on the screen.
   • Description – Enter a short description of the new field.
     
     
3. Click Save.