Overview
Input Mapping allows selected inputs to be mapped to equivalent values which can be used as dynamic content inputs. This a great way to display user-friendly slide parameters to end users (such as Account Names), while utilizing less-friendly parameters in your queries and filters (Such as Account IDs). This has the potential to make presentations generate faster since data queries will typically run quicker when an ID is queried versus a string value. If you are already filtering on an ID field but using a dependent input on a name field to get the id, using an input mapping can reduce the number of inputs shown to the end user.
When to Use
This is commonly used when end users know the customer's name, but "Customer ID" is used in queries and filtering dynamic content. Since most end users aren’t familiar with backend data, they might only know their customer by name and not their ID. An input mapping between customer ID and customer name allows end users to select the customer name when generating presentations, while inserting the customer ID in the dynamic content query.
How to Create an Input Mapping
To create an Input Mapping, create a new input by clicking on “+ Add New” on the Inputs tab. Name the input and enter a display name for the end user. Note that end users won’t be able to see that an input is mapped. Fill out the description, Input Source, and Configuration fields as you would for any other input. Input mapping is only available for Query and API input sources.
Your data source and query or API should be configured to return two columns, which will be used to map input values. Once the query or API is configured, it needs to run—you can do this by clicking on “Test Query” or “Test API” so the Input Mapping tool can pull column names.
Once the data source has been tested, the inputs can be mapped by selecting the field visible to the end user and selecting the field to be inserted into your dynamic content. Be sure to finish by clicking "update" to save your changes.
Using this input in dynamic content will now input the mapped field.
Things to Look Out For
Null Values
If your input mapping query returns any null values, your input will throw an error. To prevent this, ensure you filter out null values in your input mapping query. See below for an example.
Duplicate Values
Be sure to check your input mapping data for quality issues. Any duplicate values can result in multiple values being displayed to end users, or the wrong data being selected. For example, suppose the table below is used for input mapping. In that case, the end user will see “Amazon” show up twice in the Customer Name dropdown when they go to generate a presentation, with no differentiation between the customer IDs.
To prevent this, admins can:
- Clean up the mapping data
- Use a different “Customer Name” field that differentiates the customer ID
- Concatenate additional information onto the “Customer Name” query to differentiate between the two customer IDs
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