--- schema_version: "1" id: 6249c19eedbe52aad7bfc61a92e064b85660ae561c9f0c76c130d8e033b65672 title: Attribute Properties in Marketing Cloud Engagement collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/mktg/264-0-0/mc_es_subscriber_attribute_properties.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=mktg.mc_es_subscriber_attribute_properties.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: 5fb3ed334e426cbceecc0ed3af4a7b7cca56e3c55779b78f7f9dcfa611e5d935 description: Use this topic as reference as you configure subscriber attributes in Email Studio. products: - Marketing - Marketing Cloud Engagement release: "264" --- # Attribute Properties in Marketing Cloud Engagement Use this topic as reference as you configure subscriber attributes in Email Studio.
General Tab
Name

Enter the external name for this attribute. The name is what see when you choose attributes for personalization in emails and for group creation. Unless the attribute is defined as hidden, subscribers will also see this name in the Profile Center.

When you import subscribers, you are able to map subscriber data fields to attribute fields manually. If the data field name in your subscriber data exactly matches the profile name you enter here, the application is able to default the mapping of those fields to each other.

The first character of an attribute name must be alphabetic. Do not begin an attribute name with a number or any other kind of nonalphabetic character.
Description

Enter an internal description of the attribute. This description is displayed in the profile management workspace only and is not exposed to subscribers.

Descriptions are limited to 200 characters.
Display Order

The Display Order field reflects this attribute's placement among the profile attributes when displayed to subscribers in the Profile Center and also when displayed within the application in attribute drop-down lists, for personalization in emails and for group creation.

In the navigation pane of the application, the attributes are always displayed in alphabetical order; not in the customizable display order.

To change this attribute's placement in the list of attributes, click the Change button beside the Display Order field. The Profile Display Order dialog box that appears shows all the profile attributes in display order. Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to move this attribute up or down in the list.

You can change only a single attribute's placement at a time. To change another attribute's placement, you need to edit that attribute's properties.
Created or Modified

The Created and Modified fields automatically record when the attribute was created and when it was last modified.
Attributes

You define whether the attribute is required and whether subscribers can see and edit it.

Required: When you create or import subscribers, this attribute is a required field. Once an attribute is set up as required or not required, the configuration cannot be changed after creation.

Hidden: If you select this check box, the attribute will not be displayed in the Profile Center. Subscribers will not be able to view or edit this attribute.

Read-only: If you select this check box, the attribute is displayed but will not be editable in the Profile Center. Subscribers are able to see their value for this attribute but will not be able to change it.

Attributes that are both required and hidden must include a default value before a subscriber is added to the list using Forward To a Friend in an email send.

Do not update subscriber values with send time values. If the subscriber who exists in your system triggers a triggered send, this checkbox determines whether the system updates the attribute with the attribute values provided with the triggered send trigger.

Data Tab
Data Type

You have the following options for the type of data that this attribute will accept as values:

  • Text: Attributes of a text type accepts all alphanumeric characters and common symbols. The Text type is appropriate for strings of numbers that would not be involved in calculations. Use the Text type for zip codes, phone numbers, and credit cards.
  • Numeric: Use this data type only if your attribute values contain nothing but numbers. You will not be able to enter a dollar sign, a dash, or any other symbol or alphabetic character into a numeric field. For best results, do not use Numeric for such data as zip codes, phone numbers, and credit cards. Restrict use of the Numeric type to values on which you may want to perform calculations. Integers are supported in numeric fields. Scientific numbers and floating decimal points are not supported.
  • Date: Attributes of a date type will accept dates in various formats, such as 1/1/2005 or January 1, 2005. All dates are stored in the format MM/DD/YYYY, and if a date is entered in a different format, the system converts it to the proper format when storing it.
Default Value

If you specify a default value for this attribute, this value is used for all subscribers who do not have a value entered for the attribute.

  • If you're defining a set of possible values for this attribute, you must include the default value that you enter here in that list on the Values tab.
  • If you save the attribute with a default value that is then applied to all your existing subscribers, and you later delete the default value, that value will be deleted from all the subscriber records to which it was automatically applied.
  • Attributes that are both required and hidden must include a default value before a subscriber is added to the list using Forward To a Friend in an email send.
Minimum Length/Value and Maximum Length/Value

For text and date attributes, you can dictate the minimum number of characters that are accepted when a value is entered for this attribute.

For numeric attributes, you can dictate the minimum value that is accepted.

Likewise, you can control the maximum length or value as well. If no maximum is set, the application only allows 50 characters for Ent 2.0 accounts and 2,000 characters for all other accounts; however, if the attribute is set up as a triggered send send-time attribute, there is no character limit.

Minimum/maximum value refers to the amount, not the number of digits in the number. If you want to control the number of digits in the entry, then the data type of the attribute should be Text rather than Numeric. For example, a zip code, phone number, or credit card number is a case where you would want to specify the number of digits in the number, not the "value" of the number; in these cases, the attribute should be marked as Text, not Numeric. To specify a minimum and/or maximum, click the appropriate radio button and then enter the minimum or maximum in the corresponding text box.

For example, if the attribute is Year Born and you want to ensure that only four-digit years are entered, you would enter 4 as both the minimum length and the maximum length. To specify the number of characters that can be entered, the attribute data type must be text.
Values Tab
Add Value

To limit this attribute to a specific set of possible values, enter those values on the Values tab.

  • Once you define a value for this attribute, users and subscribers will no longer be able to type in their own value; they will only be able to select a value from the drop-down list of the values specified on the Values tab.
  • If you are defining possible values for an existing attribute that did not previously have value limitations, any values currently entered in subscriber records are retained, even if those values are not included in the list of possible values you've defined.
  • If you entered a default value on the Data tab, you must include that value in the list of possible values on the Values tab.

On the Values tab, follow these steps to define the possible values for this attribute:

  1. Click the Add button to generate a new blank value.
  2. Type in the value.
  3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to add more values.
Reorder Values

If you want to change the order in which these values appear in the drop-down list, click a value and then click the Move Up or Move Down button.
Remove Values

To remove a value from the list, click the value and then click the Remove button.

If any existing subscriber record contains the value you're removing from the list, the subscriber will not be affected. That value remains in the subscriber's record.
Salesforce Tab
Map to Salesforce Lead FieldSelect the field you'd like to link to in Salesforce.
Map to Salesforce Contact/Account FieldSelect the field you'd like to link to in Salesforce.
Display on Salesforce Profile Center for LeadsChecking this box displays the information in the Salesforce Profile Center.
Display on Salesforce Profile Center for ContactsChecking this box displays the information in the Salesforce Profile Center.
## Important Information About the Values Tab and Default Values If you specify a default value on the Data tab and then, on the Values tab, define a set of possible values that does not include the default value you entered, the application changes the default value on the Data tab to be the first value from the Values tab. If this attribute had existed with the original default value, then all subscribers to whom the default value was automatically applied is adjusted to have the new default value. Subscribers for whom a value had been entered manually by a user or by an import will not be affected.