Custom Fields

Custom fields (also called profile fields) allow you to store additional information about your contacts beyond just email addresses. This data can be used for personalization, segmentation, and targeted campaigns.

Overview

Custom fields extend your contact database with additional data points like:

• Personal information (name, birthday, phone)
• Business details (company, title, industry)
• Preferences (product interests, communication frequency)
• Geographic data (city, state, country)
• Any custom data specific to your needs

Default Fields

Mumara Campaigns comes with pre-configured default fields:

Field	Type	Description
First Name	Text	Contact's first name
Last Name	Text	Contact's last name
Birth Date	Date	Contact's date of birth
City	Text	City of residence
State	Text	State/province
Country	Dropdown	Country (with predefined list)
Zip Code	Text	Postal/zip code
Mobile	Text	Mobile phone number
Phone	Text	Home/work phone
Fax	Text	Fax number
Company	Text	Company/organization name
Title	Text	Job title

These fields are available for all lists and can be assigned as needed.

Viewing Custom Fields

Navigate to Lists → Custom Fields to see all available fields.

Filtering Options

Use the filter options at the top of the page:

• Our records / User records: Toggle between admin-created fields and user-created fields
• Filter by admin: Filter fields by the admin who created them

Field Information

Column	Description
Name	Field name (used as merge tag)
Group Name	The group this field belongs to (Default or Unsorted)
Sorting Order	Display order when adding contacts (lower numbers appear first)
Type	Field type (Text, Numeric, Dropdown, etc.)
Required	Whether the field is mandatory (Yes/No)
Default	Toggle to mark as a default field
Created on	Date the field was created
Actions	Action menu (three dots)

Creating a Custom Field

Navigate to Lists → Custom Fields and click Add New.

Custom Field Details

The form has two sections: Custom Field Details on the left and Prioritize Groups on the right.

Default

Toggle this option to mark the field as a default field. Default fields are automatically included in new list configurations.

Name

The field name serves multiple purposes:

• Displayed as the field label in forms
• Used as a merge tag in email content
• Referenced in segmentation filters

Naming rules:

• First character must be a letter
• Only letters, numbers, underscores, and spaces allowed
• Must be unique across all fields

Examples:

• Industry
• Company Name
• Product Interest

Reserved Names

Avoid names that conflict with system fields or common variables.

Group

Select which group the field belongs to:

• Default: Standard profile fields
• Unsorted: Additional custom fields

Click the + button next to the Group dropdown to create a new group.

Field Grouping

Groups organize how fields are displayed when adding or editing contacts. Fields in the same group appear together under a collapsible section.

Field Order

Determines the position where this field appears within its group when adding or editing contacts. Lower numbers appear first.

Required

When set to Yes:

• The field becomes mandatory when adding contacts to lists that have this field assigned
• Import validations will flag records missing this field
• Web forms will require the field to be filled

Type

Select the field type based on the data you want to collect:

Type	Description	Use Case
Text Field	Single line text input	Names, short answers
Numeric	Numbers only	Age, quantities
Multiline Text Field	Multiple lines of text	Comments, notes
Checkboxes	Multiple selections	Interests, preferences
Dropdown	Single selection from list	Country, category
Radio Options	Single selection, all visible	Yes/No, rating
Date Field	Date picker	Birthday, anniversary

How Types Render

Each field type renders differently when adding or editing contacts:

• Text Field: Single-line input box
• Numeric: Number input with validation
• Multiline Text Field: Textarea with multiple lines
• Checkboxes: Multiple selectable checkboxes
• Dropdown: Select dropdown with predefined options
• Radio Options: Radio buttons showing all options
• Date Field: Date picker calendar

Value Options

For Checkboxes, Dropdown, and Radio Options types, you must provide the list of available values.

Enter each option on a new line:

Option 1
Option 2
Option 3

No Commas

Commas (,) are not allowed in the list of values. Use separate lines for each option.

Example for a "Product Interest" dropdown:

Software
Hardware
Services
Consulting
Support

Assign to Contact Lists

A tree structure shows all available contact lists organized by their groups. Each list displays the contact count in parentheses.

• Check the group name to select all lists in that group
• Check individual lists to select specific ones

Field Availability

A custom field must be assigned to a list before contacts in that list can have values for that field.

Assign/unassign to the existing contacts

Enable this checkbox when editing to:

• Add the field with empty values to contacts in newly assigned lists
• Remove field data from contacts in unassigned lists

Data Loss

Unassigning a custom field from a list will permanently delete that field's data for all contacts in that list.

Prioritize Groups

The right panel allows you to arrange the order in which groups appear in the dropdown list and when displaying fields in contact forms.

1. View the list of groups (Default, Unsorted, and any custom groups)
2. Drag and drop using the handle (≡) to reorder groups
3. Save to apply the new order

The group order affects how fields are organized when adding or editing contacts.

Editing a Custom Field

Navigate to Lists → Custom Fields and click the actions menu (three dots), then select Edit.

Editable Properties

You can modify:

• Default status (toggle)
• Group assignment
• Field order
• Field type
• Required status
• List of values (for selection types)
• List assignments

Field Name

The field name cannot be changed after creation. This ensures data integrity and prevents broken merge tags.

Using Custom Fields

In Email Content (Merge Tags)

Use custom fields as merge tags in your email content:

Hello %%first_name%%,

We noticed you're interested in %%product_interest%%.

The merge tag format uses double percent signs (%%field_name%%) with the field name.

In Segmentation

Custom fields can be used as segment filters:

1. Create a new segment
2. Under "Apply Filters", select a custom field
3. Set the condition (Is, Contains, Starts with, etc.)
4. Enter the value to match

Example: Segment contacts where Country is United States.

In Import Mapping

When importing contacts, map CSV columns to custom fields:

1. Upload your CSV file
2. In the mapping step, select the custom field for each column
3. Values are automatically assigned to contacts

Field Types in Detail

Text Field

Single-line text input for short strings.

Best for:

• Names
• Phone numbers
• Short identifiers
• URLs

Segmentation options:

• Is / Isn't
• Contains / Doesn't contain
• Starts with / Ends with
• Domain is (for email-like fields)

Numeric

Accepts only numeric values (integers and decimals).

Best for:

• Age
• Scores
• Quantities
• Currency amounts

Segmentation options:

• Is / Isn't
• Greater than / Lesser than
• Between

Multiline Text Field

Multiple lines of text with a larger input area.

Best for:

• Comments
• Notes
• Descriptions
• Address blocks

Segmentation options:

• Contains / Doesn't contain

Checkboxes

Allow multiple selections from a predefined list.

Best for:

• Interests (can select multiple)
• Preferences
• Product categories

Segmentation options:

• Contains any of
• Contains all of
• Doesn't contain

Dropdown

Single selection from a dropdown list.

Best for:

• Country selection
• Category assignment
• Status indicators
• Single-choice questions

Segmentation options:

• Is / Isn't
• Contains

Radio Options

Single selection with all options visible.

Best for:

• Yes/No questions
• Small number of mutually exclusive options
• Rating scales

Segmentation options:

• Is / Isn't

Date Field

Date picker for capturing dates.

Best for:

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Registration dates
• Event dates

Segmentation options:

• After / Before / Exactly on
• Between
• Occurring after / Occurred before
• For the past / Older than
• Day of month / Month of year
• Is today

Birthday Campaigns

Use the "Month of year" filter to segment contacts with birthdays in the current month.

Making a Field Default

Default fields appear automatically in new list configurations.

To set a field as default, you have two options:

From the list view:

1. Navigate to Lists → Custom Fields
2. Click the Default toggle in the table row for the desired field

When editing a field:

1. Edit the custom field
2. Enable the Default toggle at the top of the form
3. Click Save

Existing Lists

Changing a field's default status doesn't affect existing lists. Only new lists will include the field by default.

Deleting a Custom Field

Deletion Requirements

Before deleting a custom field:

1. The field must be unassigned from all contact lists, OR
2. You must confirm that associated data will be deleted

Deletion Process

1. Navigate to Lists → Custom Fields
2. Click the Delete icon for the field
3. Review the dependency check:
   • If assigned to lists: Unassign first or confirm deletion
   • If contains data: Confirm data will be removed
4. Check the confirmation box
5. Click Delete Field

Permanent Action

Deleting a custom field removes all associated data from all contacts. This cannot be undone.

Best Practices

Field Design

• Plan ahead: Design your field structure before importing data
• Use consistent naming: first_name not FirstName or First Name
• Keep it simple: Only create fields you'll actually use
• Choose appropriate types: Use dropdowns for standardized data

Data Quality

• Standardize values: Use dropdowns instead of text for consistent data
• Validate on import: Check field mapping before large imports
• Regular audits: Review fields and remove unused ones

Personalization

• Collect useful data: Fields should serve a personalization purpose
• Default values: Set fallbacks in your email templates for empty fields
• Privacy considerations: Only collect data you need and will use

Performance

• Limit field count: Too many fields can slow down the interface
• Archive unused fields: Remove fields no longer needed
• Optimize for segments: Index frequently filtered fields (contact support)

Troubleshooting

Field Not Showing in List

Cause: Field not assigned to the list.

Solution: Edit the list and assign the custom field, or edit the custom field and add the list to its assignments.

Import Not Mapping Field

Cause: Column header doesn't match field name or wrong column selected.

Solution: Verify the column mapping in the import step. Field names are case-sensitive.

Merge Tag Not Working

Cause: Incorrect tag format or field has no value.

Solution:

• Verify tag format: %%field_name%%
• Check that the contact has a value for the field
• Use inline conditional tags for fallbacks:

  [if:first_name]Hello %%first_name%%[else]Hello Friend[endif]

Can't Delete Field

Cause: Field is still assigned to lists or has data.

Solution: Review the dependency check and either unassign from all lists or confirm data deletion.

Next Steps

• Contact Lists - Assign custom fields to lists
• Contacts - Manage contact data
• Segments - Use custom fields for filtering