What are Custom Fields? 


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Custom fields allow you to upload information about your contacts beyond our standard fields (first name, last name, and phone number). Custom fields have two main uses in GetThru: to append information that you want available on export or to add information to ThruText messages or to a ThruTalk script.

  • For some integrations, you will need to map VAN IDs (or other unique IDs) to be available on export.
  • If you want to, for example, add the name and address of a contact's polling location to a ThruText or ThruTalk script, you will need to upload that information as custom fields.


NOTE - Custom fields are limited to 255 characters.


Creating a Custom Field

Before you can map any custom field during group upload, you must first create the custom field in your account. Start by going to the Custom Fields section under the Account Tools menu:

A screenshot of the GetThru dark blue left-side navigation bar with white text. The navigation bar features drop-down menus for Groups, Users, and Account Tools, each on separate lines. While the Groups and Users drop-downs are collapsed, the Account Tools menu is expanded. Below the words 'Account Tools' are navigation options for Custom Fields, Usage Analytics, and Voicemail Greeting. A magenta dot is situated to the left of the words 'Custom Fields', indicating the current page.

Next, click the "New Custom Field" button at the top of the page:

A screenshot of the header section of the Custom Fields page in GetThru. The title 'Custom Fields' is presented in black text against a beige background. Adjacent to it, a magenta-colored button with white text reads 'New Custom Field'.

Then, specify a title and code for your custom field - the code is just a shorter version of the name that will be used for inserting the field into messages. For example, if the custom field is Polling Location, you might choose PollLoc as the custom field code. 


Editing a Custom Field

You can edit a custom field's name by clicking the "Edit" button:

A screenshot of a single entry from the Custom Fields page in GetThru. The text is displayed in black on a beige background. On the left side, the label 'Polling Location' is shown. In the middle, the code for the custom field is displayed as 'PollLoc'. To the right, two dark grey buttons with white text are visible. The first button, labeled 'Edit', is highlighted with a dark green rectangle with rounded edges. The button on the right reads 'Archive'.

Once you've completed your edits, click "Update" to save your changes and return to the custom field landing page:

A screenshot of the Edit Custom Fields page. At the top of the image, the page name is displayed in thin black text on a beige background. To the right of the page name, a magenta button with white text reads 'Back'. Below are two text input fields: the top field displays the word 'Accounts' in black text on a white background, representing the title of the custom field. The bottom text input field displays the code for the custom field in black text on a light grey background. Below the input fields is an unchecked checkbox positioned to the left of black text on a beige background, which reads 'Include in exports?'. Below the checkbox is a magenta button with white text that reads 'Update."

NOTE - Custom Field codes cannot be edited.


Archiving a Custom Field

The archive button is a convenient way to clean up your list of custom fields and hide custom fields that you are no longer using. Archived custom fields will be hidden from view while uploading new groups to eliminate unwanted clutter from your field mapping.

A screenshot of a single entry from the Custom Fields page in GetThru. The text is displayed in black on a beige background. On the left side, the label 'Polling Location' is shown. In the middle, the code for the custom field is displayed as 'PollLoc'. To the right, two dark grey buttons with white text are visible. The first button, is labeled 'Edit'. The button on the right reads 'Archive' is highlighted with a dark green rectangle with rounded edges.

Archiving a custom field hides the field from use on new uploads - the field will remain attached and in use on all existing groups that it is mapped to and can be unarchived later if you would like to use the field again at a later date.


An archived custom field will still be viewable from the Custom Fields page and will be denoted with an "archived" tag. Use the "unarchive" button to make the field usable again on group uploads:

A screenshot of a single entry from the Custom Fields page in GetThru. The text is displayed in black on a beige background. On the left side, the label 'Polling Location' is shown. In the middle, the code for the custom field is displayed as 'PollLoc'. To the right of the code is a dark grey tag with white text that reads 'Archived.' On the far right of the line, two dark grey buttons with white text are visible, reading 'Edit' and 'Archive'.


Deleting a Custom Field

Custom fields can only be deleted if they have never been used on a group. Once a custom field has been used on any group upload, it can only be archived or edited. You will see a "delete" button in place of the "archive" button if your custom field is unused and able to be deleted:

A screenshot of a single entry from the Custom Fields page in GetThru. The text is displayed in black on a beige background. On the left side, the label 'Ballot drop off' is shown. In the middle, the code for the custom field is displayed as 'drop_off'. On the far right of the line, two dark grey buttons with white text are visible, reading 'Edit' and 'Delete'. The 'Delete' button is highlighted with a dark green rectangle with rounded edges


Including a Custom Field in Exports

1-3 Custom fields can be configured to be included in your ThruText and ThruTalk exports. Simply edit the custom field and check the "Include in Exports?" box, and update. You may need to edit a custom field to remove the  "Include in Exports?" flag to add a new custom field if a maximum of 3 is already set.

A screenshot of the Create Custom Fields page. At the top of the image, the page name is displayed in black text on a beige background. To the right of the page name, a magenta button with white text reads 'Back'. Below are two text input fields displayed in black text on a light grey background: the top field shows the words 'VAN ID (Voter File)', representing the title of the custom field. The bottom text input field displays the code for the custom field, containing the words 'van_id'. Below the input fields is a checked checkbox positioned to the left of black text on a beige background, which reads 'Include in exports?' and is surrounded by a solid lined green rectangle. Beneath the checkbox is a magenta button with white text that reads 'Update'.

This is how it will appear in your custom field index:

Custom field index displaying black text on white background. These entries in the table have a green tag that reads "Included in Exports" on each line.

NOTE - If your account is configured with one of our integrations, certain custom fields must be included in exports for the integration to work as expected. Please reach out to [email protected] prior to removing an exportable custom field to ensure the health of your integration.


Using Custom Fields

Once you've created your custom fields, you can add them as variables to your ThruText messages or ThruTalk Script. For more detailed information on how to do this, check out our guides:

For ThruTalk, open your custom fields page and copy and paste the custom field "code" directly into your script. Then add % symbols before and after the code. This is especially helpful when adding custom field variables to your ThruTalk Script.