Work With Custom Fields

Custom Fields can be used to categorize, prioritize or further diagnose conversations based on the support needs for your product or service. Fields can be required so that reporting data is always accurate month-to-month. Custom Fields work alongside workflows, reports and the API right out of the box. The Custom Fields feature is available on the Plus or Pro plans.

How Custom Fields Work

Each mailbox can have up to ten Custom Fields. There are five supported field types:

Dropdown: Your classic dropdown list with an option to select one choice. You can define your choices and drag-and-drop to order them below.
Single line: A traditional free-entry textfield.
Multi line: A larger text area for longer bits of free-entry text.
Number: This field type validates the entry to be sure it's a number (no letters allowed).
Date: This field type validates the entry to be sure it's a date. The date is determined by your company's timezone, which can be set by an administrator under Manage > Company.

You can specify that a Custom Field is required. Required fields will have to be filled in before sending a reply or adding a note and closing the conversation. Once you've created some fields, they'll appear in two places within the app:

At the top of a conversation when the editor is not open, or at the bottom of the editor when composing a reply.
On the new conversation page when sending a new email, or when logging a new phone conversation.

Creating and Editing Custom Fields

Creating a new field

Custom Fields is an option in Mailbox Settings for Plus and Pro plans. Only Administrators and Account Owners can add or edit custom fields.

1

To create new fields, open the mailbox where you'd like the fields to appear, then select Custom Fields from the mailbox settings dropdown.

2

Click on the New Custom Field button to start creating new fields.

3

Start building the field:

The Name will be visible to customers when using Custom Fields in Beacon. Note: The only special characters that are supported in the Name are exclamation points (!), dots (.), and commas (,).
Select a field type. You can create a field as a dropdown, single line, multi line, number, or date type.
Make the field required by flipping the Required toggle to the on position. If a field is required, it must be populated before the conversation can be Closed when adding a note or reply.

Our example below is a dropdown field. You can add new options by clicking the + button, then re-order each option by dragging and dropping. Click the Save Field button to save the field.

Editing existing fields

To edit existing fields, click on the field title bar to expand the field. You can change the field name, drop down options, or whether or not the field is required. You cannot change the field type after a field has been created.

Reporting on Custom Fields

Views make it easy to drill down on Custom Field values alongside other conversation values, such as tags and conversation types. Check out this article for more details.

Common Questions

Is it possible to show Custom Fields in a Beacon?
Yes! Check out Manage Beacon Contact Settings for the details.

How many Custom Fields can I have?
Each mailbox has a limit of 10 individual fields.

Is there a limit to how many options I can have in a dropdown field?
You can have a maximum of 100 options in a dropdown field.

Can I add Custom Fields to customer profiles?
Custom Fields can only be added to conversations at this time.

Will my data stay in place if I move a conversation to another mailbox?
Afraid not. A warning prompt will appear letting you know that the data will be lost if you move it to another mailbox, and you can then decide whether to keep the conversation in the same mailbox or proceed with moving it.

If I use the date field, what timezone will that be under?
The date is determined by your company's timezone (not user timezone), which can be set by an administrator under Manage > Company.