Add Custom Fields with Extra User Data

Contents

• What are Custom Fields?
• How to add a Custom Field
• How to Populate the new Custom Field with data
  • Import data to a Custom Field from an Integration
  • Add data to a Custom Field using a Sub-task
• Use a Custom Field as a Variable

What are Custom Fields?

Custom fields are extra data fields you add to your user data beyond the default user fields used by Dado. These can then be used in different ways to customize dynamic content in experience tasks or messages.

For example, you could create a custom field called "Greeting", and fill it with different words for every user to ensure each employee is greeted in their favorite way.

When you create a new Custom Field, it's set as a new field in every employee's Dado Profile. Saving the data in the Profile allows you to reuse it in Target Audiences or as Text Replacement Variables in Tasks, Messages and Automations. Find instructions for how to do this below, under the heading Use a Custom Field as a Variable.

How to add a Custom Field

1. Go to Settings > Data Fields
2. Click the Add Field button in the top right of this screen

3. A new window will open in which you can define your custom field.

   

   
   
4. Start by choosing a Data Type, based on what kind of information you expect to be stored in this field. Your options are:
   1. Text: this is usually the correct choice for any data which isn't a date or user relationship.
      1. Even if you want to store a phone number or compensation info, we recommend using Text, because phone numbers can contain dashes and brackets, while comp info often includes currency symbols.
   2. Number: for quantities, IDs, etc. We don't recommend storing phone numbers as Numbers.
   3. Date: for extra dates not supported out of the box by Dado, e.g. Promotion date.
   4. User relationship: connect two different users who have a defined relationship, like a mentor, skip-level manager or buddy. Please note that Dado has a pre-defined Manager field.
      1. For detailed information, please see the related article Supporting Actors
5. Choose a Name: this should be something that makes it clear what kind of data will be stored in this field.
6. You don't need to specify a Data key – Dado will automatically generate this based on the name
7. Optionally, set a Description. This can be a useful way to remember what you're using this custom field for; or to communicate that to colleagues also using Dado.

How to populate the new Custom Field with data

You have several choices of how to populate a new field.

Import data to a Custom Field from an Integration

If you are importing users through CSV, Google Sheet, or Airtable you can link a custom field to a column in your data source. To do so, simply add a column with a name matching the  Data Key of a custom field. When you run an import, Dado will bring the data in that column to the appropriate field in each user's profile in Dado.

After adding the column and the data to your CSV/Google Sheet/Airtable table, run a user import to bring the custom data into Dado.

Add data to a Custom Field using a Sub-task

See full instructions in this article: Sending data from a sub-task to a Dado field or other data destination

Use a Custom Field as a Variable

Once you've created a custom field and imported the user data into, it can be used as a Variable. It can be added to the text in Tasks, Automations and Messages using the format {{role.dataKey}}. Note that variables are case sensitive so {{participant.HasPet}} is different than {{participant.haspet}}.

In the the Greeting example above, you could write a message like this:

{{participant.greeting}}, {{participant.firstName}}!
We're happy to have you here! Your manager is {{manager.firstName}}.

If you've added the greeting data "Hello" for a participant called Anna whose manager is Bob, she would see

Aloha, Anna!
We're happy to have you here! Your manager is Bob.

While a participant called Harry, who reports to Ingrid and who has the greeting "Hello" would see

Hello, Harry! <br>We're happy to have you here! Your manager is Ingrid.