How to create custom data fields

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Where do I find it?

Setup > Products & Services > Products > Edit > Customer data

What does it mean?

In this article, we'll explain how to use Custom Fields in Palisis. This functionality allows you to collect specific, non-standard information from your customers during the booking process. Standard customer data fields may not cover all the details you need to manage your unique products and operations, so custom fields provide the flexibility to create your own data fields.

The benefits for a tour operator

Collecting extra information can significantly improve your operations. For example, if you run a food tour, you may need to be aware of your customers' allergies or dietary restrictions to ensure their safety and provide an excellent experience. For an adventure tour, you might need to know a customer's height or weight to prepare the correct safety equipment. Custom fields allow you to gather this crucial information easily.

What should I do?

How to create custom fields

Custom fields are linked to specific products. To create them, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Products page.
Edit one product.
Go to the Customer Data tab.
At the bottom of the page, click the button to create a new custom field.

You can create up to 20 custom fields. All will be available for every product. You can set each field as visible, mandatory, or hidden per product. When creating one, you'll need to give it a name of up to 25 characters. We recommend using a descriptive name that clearly asks your customers for the information you need.

There are four different types of custom fields you can create. We'll guide you through each one.

Free text answer

This is useful when you need customers to provide specific, open-ended information. The answer can be up to 255 characters.

Regex (Optional): You can add a regular expression (Regex) to the field to ensure the answers follow a specific format, such as an email or phone number. Here are the most common regex patterns:
- Any character string of any length
  - The . (dot) symbol, which matches any single character (a letter, a number, a space, a symbol, etc.).
  - The * (asterisk) symbol, which means "zero or more" of the preceding character.
  - Together, .* effectively tells a program to "match any character, any number of times." This makes it perfect for finding all text, matching a free-form input field, or acting as a placeholder in a broader pattern.
- Matching a phone number (e.g., 555-123-4567): \d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}
  - \d matches any digit (0-9).
  - {3} is a quantifier that means "exactly 3 of the preceding character."
- Matching an email address: ^[\w\.-]+@([\w-]+\.)+[\w-]{2,4}$
  - ^ and $ ensure the pattern matches the entire string.
  - [\w\.-]+ matches one or more word characters, dots, or hyphens for the username. \w includes letters, numbers, and the underscore.
  - @ matches the literal @ symbol.
  - ([\w-]+\.)+ matches one or more subdomains (like gmail.com).
  - [\w-]{2,4} matches the top-level domain (like com, net, or info).
- Matching a URL: ^(https?:\/\/)?([\da-z\.-]+)\.([a-z\.]{2,6})([\/\w \.-]*)*\/?$
  - https?:\/\/ matches http:// or https://. The ? makes the s and the http:// part optional.
  - This pattern is complex but is an excellent example of how regex can be used to validate web addresses.

If you need more help, you can visit this page.

Example: A "Special Request" field where customers can enter any needs or requests they may have.

Yes/No radio button

Use this when a question has only two possible answers: Yes or No. This is perfect for clear, unambiguous questions.

Example: "Are you 18 or older?" This is essential for tours with age restrictions, like alcohol tastings, as it helps ensure compliance with legal requirements.

This allows you to create a list of predefined options for your customers to choose from. It’s always a good idea to include an "Other" option along with a free-text field so customers can specify an answer that isn't on the list.

Example: A list for customers to select their "Allergies or Dietary Restrictions."

Number

This type of field only accepts a number as a response. It is ideal for collecting numerical data.

Example: Asking a customer's approximate weight for an adventure tour, such as zip-lining or bungee jumping. This information is crucial for fitting safety harnesses and ensuring the customer meets safety requirements.

Editing an existing custom field

You can edit an existing field, for example, to make its name more descriptive. However, if you need to track different information, we recommend creating a new custom field. We'll show you a warning when you edit a custom field to prevent any data from being misinterpreted, as the historical data will remain associated with the new field.

Displaying custom fields on reports

To include custom fields in your reports, you need to add them to your report templates.

Go to the Reporting section and then Templates.
Select an existing report to edit or create a new one.
In the Columns tab, scroll down to the Custom Fields section and enable the fields you want to export.

For more information, please visit the support article about report templates.

How custom fields are displayed

On both your Webshop and at the Box Office, custom fields can be configured as Mandatory, Visible, or None. Mandatory fields will be marked with an asterisk (*).

Webshop: The custom fields will appear as part of the booking form.

Box Office: The fields are visible when you make a booking, allowing your staff to quickly input the required information.

Customising your views

To display custom fields in your Booking Search, Booking Detail View, or Manifest, simply click the gear icon and select the fields you want to show. This makes your custom data easily accessible, allowing you to quickly find the information you need to run your tours efficiently.

After adding the custom fields to the views, they appear like this:

Booking search view:

Booking detail view:

Manifest view:

For more information, please visit the following articles:

How to create custom data fields

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Where do I find it?