Custom Fields

What are custom fields and how can I use them?

Lineup Ninja has a pre-defined set of fields for data like Speakers and Sessions. For example a Speaker has a First Name, Last Name and an e-mail address, and a Session has a Title and Description.

Custom Fields are a way to add extra fields to Lineup Ninja that are specific for your event. For example for a Speaker you might want to add fields like

  • Number of hotel nights approved
  • Payment due date
  • Secondary phone number
  • Preferred Pronouns

Or for a Session you could add items like

  • Session contact
  • Rehearsal scheduled date
  • Stream ID
  • Q&A URL

etc..

You can also add custom fields to Labels, Locations, Tracks and Resources

What types of data can I store in a Custom Field?

The following data types are available

  • Short Answer (One Line) - A single piece of text
  • Paragraph (Multiple Lines)
  • Number
  • Choose Many - Allows the selection of one or more values from a list
  • Choose One - Allows the selection of a single value from a list
  • e-mail address
  • Website Address
  • Date

How do I create Custom Fields?

Custom Fields are easy to create:

  1. Navigate into your event and click on “Event Settings” in the left-hand menu
  2. Next click on “Custom Fields” in the left-hand menu. This brings up the Custom Fields List view
  3. Scroll down to the type of data you would like to add the fields to, eg “Speaker Fields”
  4. To create the new “Custom Field”, click the blue ‘plus’ button on the right hand side
  5. Enter a name for the label and choose the type of Custom Field.
  6. If you select ‘Choose One’ or ‘Choose Many’ then add the options you want to make available.
  7. Choose if you want the Custom Field to automatically show in tables. If you toggle this on then all team members will see the field in their tables. They can choose to customize their view to turn it off.

Can I change a Custom Field after creating it?

After a custom field has been created you can

  • Change the name of the field
  • Add, rename and delete the available options for ‘Choose One’ and ‘Choose Many’ fields
  • Choose whether the field should show automatically on tables. This setting applies to all team members. If you turn it off and on again then all team members will see the field, even if they have previously disabled it.

You cannot change the type of the field, for example you cannot change it from number to a text field after it is created.

How do I input the data for each Session, Speaker etc..?

There are two options.

  • Navigate to the item you want to set the values for, for example a specific Session or Speaker, scroll down and you will see the Custom Fields you have configured. Click the pencil ’edit’ icon and you can set the value for each field.
  • On the list pages click the ‘Settings’ wheel towards the top right of the table and then add the fields you want to show in the table. You can then edit the values as you would for any other column.

Can I use Custom Field data in e-mail templates

The data set for Custom Fields for Speakers and Sessions can be used in e-mails sent to Speakers if you have ‘Speaker Confirmation’ enabled.

You will see additional placeholder values you can use in your template. For example if you have a custom field called Rehearsal Date then you will see a placeholder {{rehearsal_date}}. You can click on the placeholder to copy it to your clipboard and then paste it into the template.

How do I export the data in my Custom Fields?

Custom Fields for Speakers and Sessions are included in the standard Agenda Reports

How do I use a Custom Field in a Submission Flow?

You can use Custom Fields with your Submission Flows to gather additional data from your submitters.

For example if you want to ask for a ‘Short Bio’ in addition to the regular ‘Bio’ question then you can create ‘Short Bio’ custom field and then ask the submitter to give the answer on your form.

When you do this the answer given by the Submitter will be added to either the Session or Speaker on the agenda as appropriate.

The following Custom Field types can be used in a Submission Flow

  • Short Answer (One Line)
  • Paragraph (Multiple Lines)
  • Number
  • e-mail Address
  • Website Address

If you require Choose One, Choose Many or Date please contact support to arrange this.

To set up a Submission Flow with a Custom Field follow these steps

  • Navigate to ‘Event Settings’ then ‘Custom Fields’
  • Create either a ‘Speaker Field’ or ‘Session Field’ depending on the type of data you want to gather.
  • Now navigate to the ‘Form Designer’ in the ‘Submission Flow’ you want to ask the question.
  • In the section you want to add a question, click ‘Add A Question To This Section’ to expand out the available questions.
  • Choose the ‘Custom Field’ at the bottom of the list by clicking the blue plus.
  • Choose the name of the field you created above.
  • The question will now be created and linked to the custom field. You can configure the question as normal.

How do I delete a Custom Field?

Warning

If you delete a Custom Field all data you have input for that field will be deleted and cannot be recovered.

  1. Navigate into your event and click on “Event Settings” in the left-hand menu
  2. Next click on “Custom Fields” in the left-hand menu. This brings up the Custom Fields List view
  3. Scroll down to the type of data you would like to add the fields to, eg “Speaker Fields”
  4. Click the trash can on the Field you wish to delete, then click Confirm.

What does changing the order of the Custom Fields do?

You can arrange the Custom Fields into a different order makes sense to you. Changing the order does the following

  • Changes the order in which your team members see the fields when looking at a table. Changing the order is particularly useful if you are also showing the fields by default as you can sort the fields by importance.
  • Changes the order in which the fields appear in a default Agenda Report. You can change the order of the fields in a custom report if needed.

How do I copy Custom Fields from one event to another?

You can copy Custom Fields as part of the Copy Event process. If you copy Labels, Locations, Tracks, Resources and Custom Fields at the same time, then the values set for those objects will also be copied.

Can I attach files to a Custom Field?

Files cannot be attached directly to a Custom Field, instead you should use File Types to add custom types of files.

Can I make a Custom Field show in tables for my team members automatically?

By default when you add a Custom Field it is hidden from a table until a user chooses to add that column by clicking on the settings wheel.

If you would like the field to show up automatically for your team members then edit the Custom Field and thun the ‘Show this field in tables by default’ option on.

Your team members will now see the field when they navigate to the table for the related item. They can choose to customize their view to hide the column if they don’t want it.