Creating a value list

Overview

Value lists allow you to define a set of values that users can select for a rule or metadata field. These values appear in a dropdown when configuring your metadata or rule. Using value lists guarantees that the correct values are being used for that piece of metadata or rule. There are two different kinds of value lists: local and database.

The video below reviews how to create both types of value lists, and how to create metadata for an audience definition using value lists.

Option 1: Local list

Local lists are user-defined value lists where the values may not exist in a database table, but are still needed for users to choose from. The values you create are completely customizable.

To create a local value list:

From the RPI Quick Access menu, go to Management > Configuration.
On the left side menu, select Value Lists.
Select the green plus sign icon from the toolbar, and choose Add New Local List from the dropdown.
Give your value list a name. All other fields under Selected Value List Details are optional.
Under List Items, use the green plus sign icon to add a new value.
Fill in the Label field. All other fields for each value are optional.
Repeat steps 5-6 for each value you’d like for your list.
In the main toolbar, select the Save icon to save your value list.

Option 2: Database list

Database value lists let you choose a column from a database table that will specify the values on the list based on the values in the database column.

To create a database value list:

From the RPI Quick Access menu, go to Management > Configuration.
On the left side menu, select Value Lists.
Select the green plus sign icon from the toolbar, and choose Add New Database List from the dropdown.
Fill in the following fields. All other fields under Selected Value List Details are optional.
- Name: the unique name used to identify the value list. Name is mandatory.
- Source table: this property represents the table from which values and labels are to be selected. A database table must be selected using the Choose Database Item dialog. Selection of a table makes the Value and Label column properties available. Changing Source table clears any existing column properties.
- Value column: this property represents the column from which list values are to be selected. It is unavailable until a Source table is selected. The property must be set to a database column from the Source table, using the Choose Database Item dialog. You can Clear the property once selected.
- Use SELECT DISTINCT: this checkbox ensures that only one of each distinct value from the column is available on the dropdown, rather than showing the individual value for each record on the table.
In the main toolbar, select the Save icon to save your value list.

Using a value list to create an audience definition metadata attribute

Now that we have our value list, let’s use it to create a metadata attribute for an audience definition.

To create an audience definition metadata attribute using a value list:

From the RPI Quick Access menu, go to Management > Configuration.
On the left side menu, select Audience Definitions.
From the list, choose the audience definition you’d like to create metadata for.
Once you’ve selected the audience definition, choose the Metadata tab below.
Select the Add button, and choose Add New Attribute based on a Value List. This adds a new row at the bottom of the list of Metadata attributes.
In the new row, fill in these fields. The rest are optional.
- Name: give a name to the metadata attribute. Consider using the same name as your value list.
- Value List: find the value list you want to use from the dropdown.
- Offer History Meta Name: this field represents the column name for the metadata attribute in the offer history meta tables. Consider using the same name you gave the metadata attribute, only without spaces.
In the main toolbar, select the Save icon to save your metadata attribute.

A warning will appear that states “you have made one or more changes to this audience definition’s tables' structure, and these may cause executing interaction workflows to fail. To avoid this happening, please manually pause any executing interaction workflows”.

If you have any campaigns running that use the audience definition that you’ve changed, pause them before saving the new metadata attribute.

Once you’ve saved, a job will start to validate the audience definitions. Once the job completes, the metadata attribute containing your value list will be available to use in the Audience Designer.

Overview