Managing user fields

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">As described inAbout user fields, user fields allow you to store additional customer details in Zendesk.</p>
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<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can use user fields to store extra customer details, control who can see them, and keep profiles organized. Admins and agents with permission can create, edit, activate, deactivate, and delete custom user fields, while standard user fields are fixed. On Enterprise plans, you can limit field visibility by custom role. End users can’t view or edit these fields.</p>
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<p class="p" dir="ltr">As described in <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11157865314842" target="_blank">About user fields</a>, user fields allow you to store additional
customer details in Zendesk.</p>
<p class="p">There are two types of user fields:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_i2j_xqz_nrb__ul_grf_4z1_3kc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Custom user fields</strong> are fields that an admin creates for their own account.
Admins and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882" target="_blank">agents in custom roles with permission</a> can
view, create, edit, and manage any custom user fields. </li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Standard user fields</strong> are predefined by Zendesk and available only on <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8836478757914" target="_blank">Zendesk Employee Service Suite</a> plans. These fields can't
be edited or deleted, but admins and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882" target="_blank">agents in custom roles with permission</a> can set their
view permissions.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">On Enterprise plans and above, user fields are visible to agents based on their
custom role. In addition, agents must have the <strong class="ph b">Manage user fields</strong> permission
enabled for their role to edit end user fields. On all other plans, user fields are
visible to all agents. They can also edit these fields for themselves, but not other
agents.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">End users can’t see or edit user fields.</p>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic_i2j_xqz_nrb__ul_jgt_f4g_4rb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_szf_5r1_3kc">Viewing user fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_nj1_g4g_4rb">Editing user fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_n1z_gsy_j3c">Setting view permissions for user
fields (Enterprise plans only)</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_cfp_rpg_4rb">Deactivating and reactivating custom user fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ayc_1pg_4rb">Deleting custom user fields</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_szf_5r1_3kc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Viewing user fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">View and manage user fields on the User fields page in Admin Center.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To view user fields</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_szf_5r1_3kc__ul_sph_wr1_3kc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_szf_5r1_3kc__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">The User fields page appears. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_szf_5r1_3kc__image_hzt_qrw_xcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/user_fields_view_2.png" width="850"></p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_nj1_g4g_4rb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Editing user fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Everything is editable on custom fields except the field type and key, which can't be
changed after the custom field is created.</p>
<p class="p">Standard user fields can't be edited, but you can modify <a class="xref" href="#topic_n1z_gsy_j3c">view permissions</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To edit a custom user field</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_nj1_g4g_4rb__ol_m3q_bwp_5k">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_nj1_g4g_4rb__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Hover over the row of the field you want to edit, then click the option menu
icon (<img class="image" id="topic_nj1_g4g_4rb__image_frw_s4g_4rb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">) and select <strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Edit the settings as needed, and click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Setting view permissions for user fields (Enterprise plans only)</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Customers on Enterprise plans and above can restrict the visibility of user fields to
agents in specific custom roles. </p>
<p class="p">Note the following limitations when setting view permissions:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__ul_hh5_nsy_j3c">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Agents must be assigned a custom role to be granted granular view
access. Legacy agents (agents without a custom role assigned to them) will have
access to fields that agents in all roles can view on the account.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Permissions around viewing user fields are not automatically honored
in Explore. To restrict access to Explore, use the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882#topic_tep_mig_bd" target="_blank">custom role permissions</a> for each agent
role.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Triggers may run that automatically add tags to end-user records.
Since tags don’t have permissions, these triggers may expose sensitive
information. Review your triggers with tagging actions.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The trigger configuration user interface and API may reveal values of
user custom fields, specifically, dropdown and multi-select field types.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Business rules configuration pages may allow you to set conditions
that reference custom user field values.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Placeholders may still expose custom user fields regardless of
permissions.</li>
<li class="li">When a dropdown, multi-select, or checkbox is being created/updated, tags can
expose custom user field values. You can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829424794" target="_blank">turn off ticket tags</a> if you’d
like.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">If your account has more than 100 custom user fields, you must <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410715696410#topic_ayc_1pg_4rb" target="_blank">delete excess fields</a> (including
inactive fields) before you can apply these permissions.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To set view permissions for a user field</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__ol_nql_cvy_j3c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Hover over the row of the field you want to edit, then click the option menu
icon (<img class="image" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__image_tyz_fvy_j3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">) and select <strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Select an option for <strong class="ph b">Select how field permissions are assigned to
role</strong>:<ul class="ul" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__ul_gy3_hvy_j3c">
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">All roles can view this field</strong> to make the field visible to
agents in all custom roles.</li>
<li class="li">Select <strong class="ph b">Manually assign permissions for existing roles</strong> to make the
field visible to agents in select custom roles. Then, select the
<strong class="ph b">View</strong> check box for each role to give agents in that role view
permissions.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_n1z_gsy_j3c__image_knc_34m_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/user_field_role_permissions.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Deactivating and reactivating custom user fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can set custom user fields to be active or inactive. Inactive fields are hidden
in the user profile view and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829170458" target="_blank">customer context panel</a>. New custom user fields are
active by default. </p>
<p class="p">Standard user fields can't be deactivated.</p>
<div class="note tip" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__note_tpf_km5_33c">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> If you don't see a field you're looking for,
click <strong class="ph b">Filter</strong> to check the applied filters.</div>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To deactivate a custom user field</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__ol_id1_5qg_4rb">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Find the custom user field, then click the option menu icon (<img class="image" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__image_yv2_zqg_4rb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">), and select <strong class="ph b">Deactivate</strong>.<p class="p">Deactivating
a custom user field removes it from the user profile view, but the field
can be reactivated at any time.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Deactivate</strong> to confirm you want to deactivate the custom
field.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To reactivate a custom user field</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__ol_lmr_jrg_4rb">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Find the custom user field, then click the option menu icon (<img class="image" id="topic_cfp_rpg_4rb__image_nmr_jrg_4rb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">), and select <strong class="ph b">Activate</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ayc_1pg_4rb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Deleting custom user fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can delete custom user fields on the edit page. Deleting a custom user field is
permanent. The field and data stored in that field can't be recovered.</p>
<p class="p">Standard user fields can't be deleted.</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To delete a custom user field</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_ayc_1pg_4rb__ol_k1q_2pg_4rb">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_ayc_1pg_4rb__d8e735" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Configuration &gt; User fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Hover over the row of the field you want to edit, then click the option menu
icon (<img class="image" id="topic_ayc_1pg_4rb__image_c4k_fpg_4rb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">) and select <strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Actions</strong> menu at the top of the page, then click
<strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.<p class="p">When you delete a custom user field, that field and any
associated data are removed from all users. The data is preserved only
if the custom field also adds a tag to a user. The two custom fields
that add tags are the drop-down list and the checkbox. If you delete one
of these custom fields, then the data in users persists as
tags.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Delete</strong> to confirm that you want to delete the custom user
field.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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