Guide: Custom fields
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/people/custom-fields
Topic: People
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/people
Result when done: Fields of six types that your flows fill, your team edits, any message uses and any condition checks.
Context: A custom field is something to remember about each person beyond their name, email and phone: a size, a budget, a birthday, an appointment. Six types: Text, Number, Date, Date & time, Yes / No and Choice. A field is filled by a question's answer, a Set field step, an HTTP request's answer or a teammate; every field is a variable in messages ({{key}}) and can be checked by a Condition. A field's key never changes once made, and removing a field keeps every value people hold.

Before you start:
1. Up to 100 fields per account; a name up to 60 characters, a value up to 500.
2. Name, email and phone are built in, so they are not fields.
3. A choice field holds up to 30 choices; a question offers them as quick replies.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Open the Fields view.
Where: People, then Fields in the switch at the top (Contacts, Tags, Fields); the number beside it counts your fields.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox/people (Open People)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-people-fields-plain.en.webp (Fields: each field, its variable and its type.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-people-fields-plain-phone.en.webp (Fields on a phone.)
You should see: Field, In messages (the variable it is in a message), Type, Filled and Filled by for every field, and the built-in fields below. A phone shows Field, Type and Filled.

Step 2 of 3: Create a field and pick its type.
Where: New field, at the top of the Fields view, opens a panel: Name (for example Brew method), Type (Text, Number, Date, Date & time, Yes / No, Choice), Choices for a choice field, and an optional Description for your team. Once it has a name, In messages, under the name, shows the variable it becomes ({{brew_method}}). Then Create field.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-people-field-new.en.webp (New field: the name, its variable under it, and the six types.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-people-field-new-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Created, with its variable (for example {{brew_method}}); the variable stays the same if you rename the field.

Step 3 of 3: Fill it and use it.
Where: In a flow: Ask a question saves the answer to the field; Set field sets it, clears it or adds to a number (here Menu visits, Add to it, 1); an HTTP request can keep a value in it. On a contact: edit it by hand. In a message: insert its variable. In a Condition: check it.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-setfield.en.webp (A Set field step adding 1 to Menu visits.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-setfield-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: On the canvas the step says what it does (menu_visits +1). Back on Fields, Filled counts how many people hold a value.

If something is off:
Problem: Start the name with a letter
Fix: Some names, like name or email, are taken by built-in values. Pick another name.
Problem: You have 100 fields
Fix: Delete one you no longer need to add another; the values people hold in it are kept.
Problem: A name under Found in answers
Fix: Older flows saved answers under that name. Set up as a field gives it a type.

Common questions:
Question: What types can a custom field be?
Answer: Six: Text, Number, Date, Date & time, Yes / No and Choice. A number compares as a number in a Condition; a date can be checked against the next or the last few days.
Question: What happens to the data when I delete a field?
Answer: Every value people hold is kept. The name moves to Found in answers, where you can set it up as a field again.
Question: Can I name a field in my own language?
Answer: Yes. Names in any script work; a field named in Arabic or Japanese gets a variable like field_1.

Related guides:
- Create and rename tags: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/people/create-and-rename-tags
- Open a contact: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/people/open-a-contact
- Use the answer in your flow: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/http-requests/use-the-answer-in-your-flow

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/people/custom-fields.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt