Create custom fields for subscribers

This article demonstrates way how to programmatically create a custom field for email subscribers. You can use this field as a custom field in the email campaign - for example, for title or country.

NOTE: By default, this field can not be accessed in the backend. If needed, you can create your own widget and place it on a page to display the field. For more information, see Develop widgets.

The example below creates two custom fields for subscribers - Title and Country.
First, create the fields in the database, by running the following code:

using Telerik.Sitefinity.Data.Metadata;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Newsletters.Model;

namespace SitefinityWebApp
{
    public class Marketing_CreateCustomFieldForSubscribers
    {
        public void CreateCustomFieldForSubscribers()
        { 
            var metadataManager = MetadataManager.GetManager();
            var dynamicType = metadataManager.GetMetaType(typeof(Subscriber));
            if (dynamicType == null)
                dynamicType = metadataManager.CreateMetaType(typeof(Subscriber));
  
            // Create a field for Title in the database
            var metaField = metadataManager.CreateMetafield("Title");
            metaField.DBSqlType = "NVARCHAR(100)";
            metaField.DBType = "LONGVARCHAR";
            metaField.ClrType = typeof(string).FullName;
            dynamicType.Fields.Add(metaField);
  
            // Create a field for Country in the database
            var metaField2 = metadataManager.CreateMetafield("Country");
            metaField2.DBSqlType = "NVARCHAR(100)";
            metaField2.DBType = "LONGVARCHAR";
            metaField2.ClrType = typeof(string).FullName;
            dynamicType.Fields.Add(metaField2);
  
            metadataManager.SaveChanges();
        }
    }
}

Then, fill out the fields by using the code bellow. The following sample fills the fields of all the subscribers with the same data:

using System.Linq;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Model;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Modules.Newsletters;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Newsletters.Model;

namespace SitefinityWebApp
{
    public class Marketing_FillOutCustomFieldForSubscribers
    {
        public void FillOutCustomFieldForSubscribers()
        {
            NewslettersManager newslettersMamager = NewslettersManager.GetManager();

            // Get the mailing list you need *
            MailingList mailingList = newslettersMamager.GetMailingLists().FirstOrDefault();

            if (mailingList != null)
            {
                // Get all subscribers (or the subscriber you need **)
                var subscribers = newslettersMamager.GetSubscribers().ToList();
                for (int i = 0; i < subscribers.Count(); i++)
                {
                    subscribers[i].SetValue("Title", "Mr.");
                    subscribers[i].SetValue("Country", "BG");

                    // Save the changes
                    newslettersMamager.SaveChanges();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

The fields, created above, can be used in the Like a web page mail template the same way as the other dynamic fields - {|Subscriber.Title|} and {|Subscriber.Country|}

The complete method for getting the fields' values looks like this:

using System.Linq;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Model;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Modules.Newsletters;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Newsletters.Model;

namespace SitefinityWebApp
{
    public class Marketing_GetCustomFieldForSubscribers
    {
        public void GetCustomFieldForSubscriberse()
        {
            NewslettersManager newslettersMamager = NewslettersManager.GetManager();

            // Get the mailing list you need *
            MailingList mailingList = newslettersMamager.GetMailingLists().FirstOrDefault();

            if (mailingList != null)
            {
                // Get all subscribers (or the subscriber you need **)
                var subscribers = newslettersMamager.GetSubscribers().ToList();
                for (int i = 0; i < subscribers.Count(); i++)
                {
                    var title = subscribers[i].GetValue("Title");
                    var country = subscribers[i].GetValue("Country");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

This section contains

Import subscribers with custom fields

Import subscribers with custom fields by creating in Sitefinity CMS a separate user widget or page for this specific purpose.

Export subscribers with custom fields

Export subscribers with custom fields from Sitefinity CMS to a dedicated CSV file by creating a separate user widget or page.

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