Attributes can be held against most concepts within Spektrix and are a customisable way for you to store additional information on your system.
For example, you could create:
- An Order Attribute to capture a customer's dietary requirements for any dining options purchased.
- An Event Attribute to store the genre of a show against an Event
- A Ticket Type Attribute to track the kind of complimentary tickets that have been issued without creating multiple Ticket Types
- An Instance Attribute to mark a particular performance as relaxed, captioned, etc.
These Attributes can be used for a number of purposes including searching, reporting, filtering, segmenting, and grouping.
NOTE: you'll need to have the Settings Administrator user role in order to create and edit Attributes; check out this article on Adding and Editing Users for more information on user roles in Spektrix.
In this article, we'll cover:
Creating Attributes
You can create an Attribute in Settings > Attribute Templates. Here you'll be able to choose the appropriate category for your new Attribute from a list on the left-hand side of the screen. The categories are:
- Customer
- Event
- Fund
- Instance
- Mailing
- Membership
- Merchandise
- Offer
- Order
- Price Band
- Seat
- Seating Plan
- Ticket
- Ticket Type
Once you've chosen the category you want, click New Attribute Template to get started:
Attribute types
There are five different types of Attributes available:
- Text Field
- Currency
- Date
- Dropdown List
- Check List
For reference, this is what each type will look like the in the Admin Interface and/or Sales Interface:
Text field:
Currency:
NOTE: the currency symbol here will reflect your system default, i.e. $ in North America, € in the Republic of Ireland.
Date:
Dropdown list:
Check box:
Regardless of which type of Attribute you're creating, you'll need to complete the following:
- Name: give the Attribute a clear and descriptive name, bearing in mind who will be able to see it (is it customer-facing? Which members of your team will be using it?)
NOTE: Attribute names cannot include specially characters (&, !, /, etc)
- Type: choose which type of Attribute you're creating from the dropdown list
- Description: though this field is optional, we'd recommend completing it to make it clear to other members of your team what the purpose of this Attribute is. This description will be pulled through to the Admin Interface and Sales Interface
- This attribute is visible in your API integrations: check this box if your web team will be making use of this Attribute as part of your API integration – more information on using Attributes in API integrations can be found at our Integrations Portal
NOTE: any Order Attributes with this ticked will appear as part of the booking pathway online; any Customer Attributes with this ticked will appear as part of account creation online.
- This attribute can be edited in your iframe integrations: check this box so that the Attribute can be edited online by customers, e.g. to give a response in a Text field Attribute; this can only be selected if the This attribute is visible in your iframe integrations check box has been ticked
- This attribute is always required: select this so that this Attribute cannot be skipped/left empty. Any required Attributes will appear with a red line next to it:
NOTE: Check box Attributes can never be set to required, as they work on a binary yes/no response; as such, leaving the box unticked is considered a valid response.
The next options will change depending on which category and type of Attribute you're creating:
Creating a Text field Attribute
- Length: choose the maximum characters that can be entered, or set the exact number of characters which have to be entered to proceed. A text field can contain a maximum of 255 characters
- Ensure users enter a unique value for this attribute: tick this box if you require a unique value to be entered every time
Creating a Currency Attribute/Date Attribute
- Ensure users enter a unique value for this attribute: tick this box if you require a unique value to be entered every time
Creating a Dropdown list Attribute
- Dropdown values: enter each value you want available in your dropdown list, typing each on a separate line. These can be reordered, deleted and added to at any time; just select the Attribute in the Settings Interface, then click Attribute Values. From here you can:
◦ Add a new value by clicking New Attribute Value:
◦ Delete them by clicking the trash can icon on the right-hand side of the value:
◦ Reorder them by clicking the dots to the left of the value, and dragging and dropping:
NOTE: if you need to rename an existing value, please get in touch with the Spektrix Support team.
- Allow users to enter free text for this attribute: add an additional, free text field to your dropdown list, so a custom option can be created when completing
Creating a Customer Attribute
- This attribute is protected: this will set the Attribute to only be visible and editable by users with the Can view and edit protected data user role – even people with the Settings Administrator user role will not be able to see or edit them. This may be useful if you need to hold sensitive information on your system, such as safeguarding info for young participants, etc.
TIP: Protected attributes cannot be made visible or editable online so this information cannot be collected from the customer during their account creation online.
Much like you can reorder values in a Dropdown list Attribute, you can also reorder your Attributes themselves; just click the dots on the left-hand side of the Attribute, then drag and drop as required.
Using Attributes
Once created, your new Attribute will appear in the Admin Interface as an additional field against each item type (e.g. Event Attributes are set in Admin Interface > Events, Merchandise Attributes are set in Admin Interface > Other > Merchandise) with just a couple of exceptions.
Using Attributes in the Sales Interface
Customer Attributes
These will be available in a customer record's Basic Details tab, beneath the standard fields:
Ticket Attributes
These will be available once tickets are in the basket. Highlight the tickets you you wish to apply this Attribute to, select the arrow on the Reserve dropdown, and find the Ticket Attributes option:
Order Attributes
These will be available once an order is active in the basket.
If you have Pre Payment Options turned on:
- Click to expand the Pre Payment Options above the Payments area:
Your Order Attributes will appear beneath any donation asks and the Customer Questionnaire.
If you have Pre Payment Options turned off:
- Click the Set order attributes option beneath the customer's details:
This will launch a pop-up where you can complete the Order Attributes. In this example, the button is outlined in red as there's a required Order Attribute that needs to be completed before the order can be confirmed.
Using Attributes online
Order Attributes
If you need to capture some additional information against an order made online, you can set Order Attributes to appear as part of the booking pathway on an Event-by-Event basis.
- Find and select the Event in question in the Admin Interface > Events > Event Search
- In the left-hand menu, select the Order Attributes tab to see all available Order Attributes:
NOTE: if you ticked the This attribute is visible in your iframe integrations check box, then the Order Attribute will appear as part of the booking pathway by default.
- Tick the On Web check box for any Order Attributes you want to appear as part of the booking pathway for this Event
- You can also choose to have an Order Attribute be required on an Event-by-Event basis; tick the Required check box and customers will have to give a response before they can complete their booking
NOTE: Check box Attributes can never be set to required, as they work on a binary yes/no response; as such, leaving the box unticked is considered a valid response.
Customer Attributes
Ticking This attribute is visible in your iframe integrations when setting up a Customer Attribute will make the Attribute appear as an additional field during account creation, or if the customer edits their account details online.
Confirmation Text Attributes
A neat trick with Attributes means you can use them to add more information to the plain text confirmation emails that are generated when someone makes a purchase, as well the Summary page customers see when completing a purchase online.
If you name a Text field or Dropdown list Attribute Confirmation Text, anything entered in it will be automatically pulled through to these emails. You can create these Attributes against:
- Events
- Funds
- Instances
- Memberships
- Merchandise
NOTE: as a reminder, you're limited to 255 characters so you'll want to be thoughtful about how you set these up.
You might consider setting up these Attributes to:
- Add extra information about your cloakroom facilities in a Text field Attribute for an Event that's set up as an immersive experience where audience members can't carry coats and bags with them
- Include a thank you using a Text field Attribute when someone makes a donation to a Fund
- Add some additional details on your accessible performances at the Instance level using a Dropdown list Attribute
Deleting Attributes
When deleting attributes, any report, customer list, tag, or anywhere the attribute has been used for eligibility will cause an error. For any report or customer list schedules using a deleted attributed as a criteria set, they will be unable to automatically run.
Deleted attributes will no longer output in any reports or customer list. The data will be retained, however, and recreating the attribute with the exact name (capitalization sensitive), type, and values will allow the data to be pulled again when running reports, customer lists, tags, etc.
Further uses
Once you've created your Attributes, you can also use them:
- In Criteria Sets for reports and Segments for Customer Lists
- To filter your iframes on your website
- To identify customers with access requirements
- To highlight your access performances
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If you have any questions about Attributes, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Spektrix Support team.