Local, Global and Custom fields

Local, Global and Custom fields

Fields define what can be collected in a form and what travels onwards with the lead. PalDock has three levels of them, and the difference is who defines them and how widely they apply.

• Global fields are defined by PalDock and exist in every workspace.
• Local fields are defined by an admin and exist in one workspace.
• Custom fields are defined inside one structure and exist only there.

Use global fields wherever you can

This is the one recommendation worth taking from this page.

• Integrations from the library work immediately. They are built against global fields, so an integration you add from the library can be ready as soon as you fill in a token, instead of after an hour of mapping. Every advertiser you add later is the same.
• Leads move between workspaces without mapping. When you send a lead to another PalDock workspace and both sides use global fields, the fields line up on their own. With custom fields, someone has to map them by hand, on both sides, and again whenever either side changes something.
• Reporting stays comparable. Email exports into the same column no matter which form or workspace the lead came from.
• Your partners save the same work you do. A structure built on global fields is one an affiliate or an advertiser can connect to without asking you what each field means.

The cost of not doing it is not one big decision. It is a small amount of mapping repeated in every integration, every export and every new partner, for as long as the workspace exists.

So use a global field wherever one fits, a local field when none does, and a custom field only for something genuinely one off.

Global fields

Global fields are the same in every PalDock workspace: same system name, same type, same meaning. First name, last name, email, phone, address, and many more. Because they are the same everywhere, nobody has to map them. That is what makes the library and cross-workspace delivery work.

Some of them belong to the person, not to you. First name, last name and email are linked to the user’s account, which spans every workspace they have access to. When the user changes their name, it changes everywhere, and an admin cannot change it for them. That is deliberate: the same person should not be called two different things in two workspaces.

This applies to the fields tied to the account. A global field describing a lead, such as an amount or a product, behaves like any other field.

Global fields use the g_ prefix, so a global email is g_email. The prefix is reserved and nothing else in the workspace can use it. It also replaces the data_ prefix that fields defined in a structure carry, so in a scenario a global field is written as {g_email}, not {data_g_email}.

You cannot edit a global field. If you need one that behaves differently, make a local field instead, and accept that it will not be linked to the account.

Local fields

Local fields are yours. You define them once in the workspace and reuse them across every structure, instead of building the same field again in each form.

They are for what global fields do not cover, and for anything specific to how you work.

• They can be edited and customised freely.
• Once created, they appear in a list and can be picked in any structure.
• When you use one in a structure, PalDock applies the prefix and locks the field name, so the same field cannot drift into two spellings.

A local field can still be modified inside a particular structure, so one structure can format it differently while the definition stays shared. The structure shows an icon when that is happening.

Custom fields

Custom fields live inside a single structure and nowhere else.

They are fully editable and quick to make, which is exactly why they multiply. Before making one, check whether a global field already covers it and whether a local field would serve the next form too.

Use them for what is genuinely unique to one form.

Creating a field

• In a structure, click Add and the field is created as a custom field, ready to use immediately.
• In the workspace, open the local fields section in Settings and click Add. This is the full editor, the same as in a structure.

You can also create a local field without leaving a structure: pick the local option and click Add. It is a shorter form, and the new field appears in the list of local fields straight away, ready for every other structure.

Using a local or global field in a structure

Instead of adding a new field, click the selection icon, the dashed square next to the field name. A panel opens with everything available, and you can search it by typing.

Choose one and the field name is filled in and locked, with the prefix applied. The structure then shows visually that this is a shared field rather than a custom one.

Picking a predefined field is never compulsory. It is just usually the better choice.

The list of global fields

These are the global fields available in every workspace. Use the system name in structures and integrations.

The person

• name_first : first name
• name_last : last name
• nickname : nickname
• email : email address
• phone_prefix : international dialling prefix
• phone : phone number without the prefix
• phone_full : the whole number including the prefix
• birth_date : date of birth
• age : age
• gender : gender
• nationality : nationality
• language : language
• marital_status : marital status
• education : level of education
• id_national_number : national identification number
• id_card_number : identity card number
• id_vehicle : vehicle registration plate

Household

• household_members : how many people live in the household
• household_children : how many of them are children
• household_members_income : the household’s combined income

Address

• address : the whole address in one field
• address_street : street
• address_street_number : street number
• address_city : city
• address_zip : postal code
• address_state : region
• address_country : country

Contact address

Use these when the contact address differs from the main one.

• address_contact_status : a checkbox saying the contact address is different
• address_contact : the whole contact address in one field
• address_contact_street : street
• address_contact_street_number : street number
• address_contact_city : city
• address_contact_zip : postal code
• address_contact_state : region
• address_contact_country : country

Company

• company_name : company name
• company_registration : registration number
• company_vat : VAT number
• company_address : the whole company address in one field
• company_street : street
• company_street_number : street number
• company_city : city
• company_zip : postal code
• company_state : region
• company_country : country
• company_invoicing_email : invoicing email

Bank

• bank_account_number : account number
• bank_account_code : bank code
• bank_account_full : the whole account in one field
• bank_iban : IBAN
• bank_swift_bic : SWIFT or BIC
• bank_name : bank name
• bank_address : bank address

Employment and income

• employ_type : type of employment
• employ_position : job position
• employ_time : how long they have been employed
• employer_name : employer name
• employer_address : employer address
• fin_type : type of income
• fin_income : income
• fin_income_gross : gross income
• fin_expenses : expenses

The product

• amount : amount of the product
• price : price
• quantity : quantity
• currency : currency
• discount : discount amount
• coupon : coupon code
• purpose : what the product or service is for
• period : duration
• period_sub : a second duration, when the product needs one
• period_unit : the unit of the duration, such as day or month
• period_start : start date
• period_end : end date
• home_type : housing classification

Items

For products with more than one line, following the structure used by analytics platforms.

• item : the list of items
• item_id : item ID
• item_name : item name
• item_brand : brand
• item_variant : variant
• item_category through item_category5 : up to five levels of category
• item_list_id : list ID
• item_list_name : list name

Assets

• asset : the list of assets
• asset_type : what kind of asset it is
• asset_status : its status
• asset_variant : its variant
• asset_value : its value
• asset_unit : the unit the value is in

Consents

• consent_processing : consent with data processing
• consent_marketing : consent with marketing

Other

• domains : websites
• type : a type of any kind
• status : a status of any kind
• quality : a quality of any kind
• consumption : a consumption of any kind
• notes : a free note

Missing something

The list grows over time. If you keep building the same local field in every workspace, or an advertiser keeps asking for something that is not here, tell us. When it is common enough to be useful to others, we will add it as a global field, and everyone stops mapping it by hand.