Types of Custom Fields and what to use them for

Match the type to the answer you want and the data comes back clean and ready to segment.

• Text: Any written response such as company name, city or state
• Date: A date chosen from a calendar, in DD/MM/YYYY format
• Country: A country chosen from a list, with your preferred country already filled in as the response
• Number: Numbers only, such as team size, years of experience or budget
• Checkbox: A single tick box for consent, which you can pre-select, for example agreeing to be contacted via SMS/WhatsApp/Phone Calls
• Dropdown: One answer from a collapsed list of options you define, best for long lists such as industry
• Single-select: One answer from a visible list of options, best for short lists such as which best describes your role
• Multi-select: More than one answer from a list of options, such as topics of interest

Adding a custom field

A new field is built in one panel, and the settings on offer change with the type you choose. Here's how to enable this.

• Log in to your Publisher Account
• Go to Settings > Signup and Checkout > Custom Fields
• Click Add Field
  
• Select the Field type, then enter the Field label users will see
• Complete the settings for that type:
  • Dropdown, single-select and multi-select: enter each choice under Enter option, then click Add Option for more
  • Country: set the Preferred country
  • Checkbox: select Check this box if you want it pre-selected
• Set the display options for the field, covered under Field display options below
• Click Save
  

Field display options

These three options control where a field turns up and whether the user can skip it. They are available on every field regardless of type.

• Required field: The user cannot complete signup or checkout without filling this field.
• Display on signup and regular checkout: Turn off to keep the field out of the signup and regular checkout flow while still using it on the profile page or Enhanced Checkout.
• Display on user profile page: Shows the field on the user's profile, where they can update their own answer.

Reorder custom form fields

The sequence in this list is the sequence users see, so arrange it before you go live.

• Drag and drop any field using the dots on the left of each row.
• Reordering changes only the display order, not the data already collected.
• Custom fields cannot be moved above the standard fields.
  

Edit or delete a custom field

A new field is yours to change however you like. Once a user has submitted their details, their answer is stored against the options that were on the field at that moment, so the system steps in to protect it when you edit.

• If a field has no responses yet, edit the label, type, options and display settings freely, then click Save.
• When you edit a saved field and change the options in it, you will see this message if one of the options you removed or renamed has already been chosen by a user during signup or checkout: 1 saved answer is not in your options: "[the saved answer]". Add it as an option to keep that answer, or delete this field and create it again to discard every saved answer for it.
• The message is simply telling you that the option in question is a real response from a user. You have two ways forward:
  • Keep that option in the list as it is, make your other changes, then click Save.
  • Delete the field completely and create a new one with the options you want, which also removes that saved response.
• Deleting a field removes only the responses to that field. The user's primary details such as name, email ID and phone number stay exactly as captured.
  

Note: Export your user data before deleting a field if you want a copy of the responses first.

Choose which fields display for individual courses and bundles

The Custom Fields tab is the master setting. Every field you enable here becomes available across the account, and each product then draws only the fields it needs.

• Admins, co-admins and instructors with the relevant permissions can select which of these fields display on the Enhanced Checkout of each course and bundle they have access to.
• Open the individual course or bundle > Enhanced Checkout settings > select the fields to display > Save Changes.
• Fields left unselected stay in the master list and simply do not appear on that checkout.

What users see on their profile page

Users can review and update their own answers from their profile page, which keeps your data current without any admin effort.

• Their name and email ID appear at the top of the page, with an option to edit their details.
• Below that, the profile shows every custom field you enabled for the profile page and that the user has answered.
• Users can change any answer shown and click Update Profile to save. Updated responses flow straight back into the user record and the export.
  

Note: A field appears only when both are true: Display on user profile page is selected on the field, and the user has given an answer. An optional field the user skipped at signup will not show up here. Mark a field as Required field if you need it both captured at signup and visible on the profile afterwards.

Access and export custom field data

Responses sit against each user record, ready to read on screen or to be pulled out as an export. Here's how:

• Access the section from Users > All Users
  
• Select the Date Range and Search Type
  
• Click Search
  
• Select specific users with the check boxes or select all using the header check box
  
• Click Export
  
• On the pop-up, click the link - you can track the export here
  
• Download the report generated on the next screen
  

The exported file includes the responses to your custom fields alongside the standard user details.

• A pre-selected consent checkbox may not satisfy consent requirements in some regions, so leave it unticked wherever you need an explicit opt-in.
• Fields added after a user has signed up are not asked retroactively, and a blank field does not appear on that user's profile page, so collect that data through a separate form or campaign.
• Export your user data before deleting any field, since the responses collected in it are cleared with it and cannot be recovered.
  
• Enhanced Checkout selection is made per course and per bundle, so a new field does not appear on existing Enhanced Checkouts until it is selected there.