--- schema_version: "1" id: 7d657908aaf22c50611e025290bf5f9c1bd38b4fccbfecfee6d7777aee026939 title: Get Started with Contact Builder collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/mc_cab_getting_started_with_contact_builder.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_getting_started_with_contact_builder.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 89ab52d8de790904671851ec68d0d1ec5346b611345db44b52df171f253f618c description: New accounts include Contacts and Contact Builder. Account administrators with existing accounts can opt to replace their current data structure with the new Contacts structure. After switching to the Contacts structure, your account can’t return to the previous data structure. products: - Marketing - Marketing Cloud Engagement release: "264" --- # Get Started with Contact Builder New accounts include Contacts and Contact Builder. Account administrators with existing accounts can opt to replace their current data structure with the new Contacts structure. After switching to the Contacts structure, your account can’t return to the previous data structure. When you use the Contacts data structure, you can expect these changes. - The Contact Builder app appears in the app switcher. Manage your contact data and data extensions in this app. - Subscriber information is stored in the Contacts framework and appears in the All Contacts view. A Contact Detail page is a cross-channel view of a single person and the associated information. - If your account doesn’t use data extensions, your subscriber information resides in an attribute group set up for your account. Use Data Designer to manage this attribute group. - All attributes from Email Studio and any Mobile apps are available in Data Designer. Manage, filter, and edit the attributes within Data Designer. - You must edit Email Profile Attributes in Email Studio at this time. However, Data Designer recognizes edits or additions and can use these values for filtering in Data Designer. - You can use Contacts and Data Designer without using the Subscriber Key feature. - Contact Builder uses customer-supplied data and app-defined data, such as data collected by Engagement or third-party apps. - Perform complex filters using the entire Contacts data model to create or edit lists for use in your cross-channel marketing efforts. 1. **[Navigate Through Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_navigation.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Find out how to get around the Contact Builder app in Marketing Cloud Engagement. 2. **[Attribute Group Creation in Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_create_attribute_group.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Attribute groups enable you to organize your data in Contact Builder. Each attribute group includes a data model consisting of data extensions linked to either the contact record or other data extensions. You can create attribute groups including all relevant data extensions at the same time to ensure that all necessary data resides in the correct group. 3. **[Data Extension Linking in Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_link_data_extensions_1.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Link data extensions in Contact Builder to relate data in existing data extensions to either the contact record or another data extension. 4. **[Data Source Creation in Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_create_data_sources.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Data Sources establish where the data contained within Contact Builder originates. You can assign attributes to these data sources and view precisely how data enters your account and how you can best use that data. 5. **[Contacts Configuration](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_configure_contacts.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** Use the Contact Configuration screen to enable Contact Builder functionality. 6. **[Data Import](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_import_data.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** You can import contact data into Marketing Cloud Engagement. You can also save and reuse import definitions that bring information into Contact Builder. 7. **[Contact Builder Access](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_enable_contact_builder_access.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)** A Marketing Cloud Engagement admin can restrict which Marketing Cloud Engagement users can access Contact Builder. #### See Also - [Data Extensions in Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_data_extensions.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Data extensions in Contact Builder form the basis of contact information in Marketing Cloud Engagement. By creating and linking data extensions, you can access information about contacts and use that information to segment, filter, and target contacts with relevant sends. You can also use this data to target contacts across multiple channels, such as email, social, and mobile messaging. Finally, you can use data extensions to hold information imported from external sources and use that information as part of your segmenting, filtering, and targeting activities.") - [Data Designer in Contact Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_data_designer.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "The Data Designer tool in Contact Builder defines, organizes, and relates information to contacts within your account. All contact information resides on subscriber lists and data extensions contained in Marketing Cloud Engagement. Data Designer enables you to manage how data extensions store that information and how those data extensions relate to each other.") - [Contact Builder Imports](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_cab_imports.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "The Imports tab in Contact Builder displays a complete list of the import definitions within your account. Use import definitions to bring data linked to your contacts into your account.")