Profile and Preference Attributes

Enter the external name for this attribute. The name is what you'll see when you choose attributes for personalization in emails and for group creation. Unless the attribute is defined as hidden, subscribers will also see this name in the Profile Center.

When you import subscribers, you will be able to map subscriber data fields to attribute fields manually. If the data field name in your subscriber data exactly matches the profile name you enter here, the application will be able to default the mapping of those fields to each other.

Note: The first character of an attribute name must be alphabetic (A to Z). Do not begin an attribute name with a number or any other kind of nonalphabetic character.
 

Enter an internal description of the attribute. This description is displayed in the profile management workspace only and is not exposed to subscribers.

Note: Descriptions are limited to 200 characters.
 

The Display Order field reflects this attribute's placement among the profile attributes when displayed to subscribers in the Profile Center and also when displayed within the application in attribute drop-down lists (for personalization in emails and for group creation).

Note: In the navigation pane of the application, the attributes are always displayed in alphabetical order; not in the customizable display order.

To change this attribute's placement in the list of attributes, click the Change button beside the Display Order field. The Profile Display Order dialog box that appears shows all the profile attributes in display order. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move this attribute up or down in the list.

Note: You can change only a single attribute's placement at a time. To change another attribute's placement, you need to edit that attribute's properties.
 

You define whether the attribute is required and whether subscribers can see and edit it.

Required or not:

• Required: If you select this check box, the attribute must be filled in for every new subscriber. When you create or import new subscribers, this attribute will be a required field for those subscribers.

Additionally, whenever an existing subscriber who does not have a value entered for this attribute is edited, the user editing the subscriber record will be prompted to enter a value.

If you have existing subscribers at the time that you make a new required attribute, you may want to set a default value (on the Data tab) so that every subscriber has a value for this required attribute.

Hidden, read-only Data, or neither:

• Hidden: If you select this check box, the attribute will not be displayed in the Profile Center. Subscribers will not be able to view or edit this attribute.
• Read-only: If you select this check box, the attribute will be displayed but will not be editable in the Profile Center. Subscribers will be able to see their value for this attribute but will not be able to change it.

Do not update subscriber values with send time values:

• If the subscriber who already exists in your system triggers a triggered send, this checkbox determines whether the system updates the attribute with the attribute values provided with the triggered send trigger.
   

You have the following options for the type of data that this attribute will accept as values:

• Text: Attributes of a text type will accept all alphanumeric characters and common symbols.

The Text type is appropriate for strings of numbers that would not be involved in calculations. Use the Text type for zip codes, phone numbers, and credit cards.

• Numeric: Use this data type only if your attribute values will contain nothing but numbers. You will not be able to enter a dollar sign, a dash, or any other symbol or alphabetic character into a numeric field.

Note: For best results, do not use Numeric for such data as zip codes, phone numbers, and credit cards. Restrict use of the Numeric type to values on which you may want to perform calculations.

Integers are supported in numeric fields. Scientific numbers and floating decimal points are not supported.

• Date: Attributes of a date type will accept dates in various formats, such as 1/1/2005 or January 1, 2005. All dates are stored in the format MM/DD/YYYY, and if a date is entered in a different format, the system will convert it to the proper format when storing it.

Default Value (see Note)

If you specify a default value for this attribute, this value will be used for all subscribers who do not have a value entered for the attribute.

Note:

• If you're defining a set of possible values for this attribute, you must include the default value that you enter here in that list on the Values tab.
• If you save the attribute with a default value that is then applied to all your existing subscribers, and you later delete the default value, that value will be deleted from all the subscriber records to which it was automatically applied.

For text and date attributes, you can dictate the minimum number of characters that will be accepted when a value is entered for this attribute.

For numeric attributes, you can dictate the minimum value that will be accepted.

Likewise, you can control the maximum length or value as well. (If no maximum is set, the actual maximum is 8000 characters. The application only allows 2000 characters; however, if the attribute is set up as a triggered send send-time attribute, there is no character limit.)

Note: Minimum/maximum value refers to the amount, not the number of digits in the number. If you want to control the number of digits in the entry, then the data type of the attribute should be Text rather than Numeric. For example, a zip code, phone number, or credit card number is a case where you would want to specify the number of digits in the number, not the "value" of the number; in these cases, the attribute should be marked as Text, not Numeric.

To specify a minimum and/or maximum, click the appropriate radio button and then enter the minimum or maximum in the corresponding text box.

For example, if the attribute is Year Born and you want to ensure that only four-digit years are entered, you would enter 4 as both the minimum length and the maximum length. (Note that you would need to define this attribute's data type as Text in order to specify the number of characters that can be entered and to allow for just a year, not a complete date, to be entered.)
 

To limit this attribute to a specific set of possible values, enter those values on the Values tab.

Note:

• Once you define a value for this attribute, users and subscribers will no longer be able to type in their own value; they will only be able to select a value from the drop-down list of the values specified on the Values tab.
• If you are defining possible values for an existing attribute that did not previously have value limitations, any values currently entered in subscriber records will be retained, even if those values are not included in the list of possible values you've defined.
• If you entered a default value on the Data tab, you must include that value in the list of possible values on the Values tab.

On the Values tab, follow these steps to define the possible values for this attribute:

1. Click the Add button to generate a new blank value.
2. Type in the value.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to add more values.
    

If you want to change the order in which these values appear in the drop-down list from which users (and subscribers, if applicable) will choose, click a value and then click the Move Up or Move Down button. 
 

To remove a value from the list, click the value and then click the Remove button.

Note: If any existing subscriber record contains the value you're removing from the list, the subscriber will not be affected. That value will remain in the subscriber's record. 

Enter the external name for this preference. The name is what you'll see when you choose preferences for personalization in emails and for group creation. Unless the preference is defined as hidden, subscribers will also see this name in the Profile Center.

When you import subscribers, you will be able to map subscriber data fields to preference fields manually. If the data field name in your subscriber data exactly matches the preference name you enter here, the application will be able to default the mapping of those fields to each other.

Note: The first character of an attribute name must be alphabetic (A to Z). Do not begin an attribute name with a number or any other kind of nonalphabetic character.
 

Enter an internal description of the preference. This description is displayed in the preference management workspace only and is not exposed to subscribers.

Note:  Descriptions are limited to 200 characters.
 

The Display Order field reflects this preference's placement among the attributes when displayed to subscribers in the Profile Center and also when displayed within the application in attribute drop-down lists (for personalization in emails and for group creation).

Note: In the navigation pane of the application, the preferences are always displayed in alphabetical order; not in the customizable display order.

To change this preference's placement in the list of attributes, click the Change button beside the Display Order field. The Profile Display Order dialog box that appears shows all the preferences in display order. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move this preference up or down in the list.

Note: You can change only a single preference's placement at a time. To change another preference's placement, you need to edit that preference's properties.
 

• Hidden: If you select this check box, the preference will not be displayed in the Profile Center. Subscribers will not be able to view or edit this preference.
• Read-only: If you select this check box, the preference will be displayed but will not be editable in the Profile Center. Subscribers will be able to see their value for this preference but will not be able to change it.
• Do not update subscriber values with send time values: If you select this check box, it prevents ExactTarget from changing the attributes of the subscriber record to new values at send time.