Custom Fields
Create, upload and search custom field variables to give more information on your contact list.
Every Avochato account comes with a number of standard contact fields by default. These can be viewed by clicking on any contact in your account. These include basic information such as name, phone number, email address, and street address. If you would like to store additional contact information in Avochato, you can do so by creating new custom fields that will exist on every contact in your account.
How to Create Custom Fields
To add new custom fields, navigate to Settings > Custom Fields. If you scroll down, you will see existing custom fields (if any). To create a new field, type the desired name into the text box. Check the box ff you would like your custom field to appear as a column within the Contacts page (show as column in contacts list). Click "Add Custom Field" to create your field.
How to upload Custom Field Values
You also have the ability to upload values into custom fields on a mass-scale by including them in your .csv Contact upload. This is as simple as including a separate column header for the custom field and including the values for each contact in that column.
Before uploading your .csv with a Custom Field column, the field must already exist in Avochato (see above section). Once the field exists, simply use the field name as your column header and upload as you would normally.
Can I search by Custom Field Value?
Yes. Using Avochato's advanced search methods you can search contacts by custom field value.
What can I do with Custom Fields?
You can use Custom Fields to search contacts, mentioned above. Custom fields can also be used to insert custom values into broadcasts, templates, or 1-on-1 messages.
In a 1-on-1 direct message, click the $ in the message bar to view a list of available fields. This will display both stock and custom fields that you have added, and for which this contact has data. When you send the message, Avochato will automatically fill in the contact's data for that field.
To use custom fields in a broadcast, select the desired field from the "Personalize" dropdown on the side. If you send a message to a contact that does not have data for a particular field, the custom value will be blank.
How do I edit the data in a Custom Field?
Individual: Custom Field data can be edited on an individual contact basis by clicking Edit on the Contact details.
CSV Import: By default, when Contact CSV data is uploaded to Avochato, any net new Custom Field data will be added to the contact and existing data will not be overwritten.
This behavior is designed to protect the integrity of the data. When a contact already has the email address field populated, if a CSV is uploaded with a new email address on that contact, the contact’s existing email address is not overwritten.
Avochato provides the ability to override the default behavior
Steps to overwrite contact data with Contact CSV upload:
1) Go to Contacts - Import
2) Click Advanced Options
2) Select “Overwrite all existing data for each contact that matches a phone number in the uploaded CSV”
3) Upload the CSV file
How do I delete a Custom Field?
Users who are set as permission level Manager or Owner can delete custom fields.
Delete a custom field that is not used on any contacts:
Go to Settings → Custom Fields. Click the + expand the custom field you’d like to delete. On the bottom right, there is a Delete button.
Delete a custom field that is actively used on contacts:
If you need to delete custom fields that are being used by existing contacts, please follow the steps below
1) Export contacts who have the custom field desired to remove
- To search for a contact with a specific field, follow the steps in this article under the section “Search by Field Value”
2) Edit the CSV so the custom field is empty. Do not change any other values
3) On the upload contacts page, open the Advanced Options and select “Overwrite all existing data for each contact that matches a phone number in the uploaded CSV”
4) Upload the edited CSV that has empty values in the custom field
5) Once the contact upload is complete, go to Settings → Custom Fields. Click the + expand the custom field you’d like to delete. On the bottom right, there is a Delete button.