How do I use Hidden Metadata Fields?

Hidden Metadata Fields allow you to track complex information about your supporters without displaying additional fields on your forms. 

Step 1: Create new Hidden Metadata Fields 

1. Open Online Actions from your EveryAction menu 
2. Click on "Settings" in the top navigation 
3. Select "Hidden Metadata Fields" from the dropdown 
4. Click "Add a New Field" 
5. Enter the identifier for your field (must start with "oa_" and cannot contain spaces or special characters) 
6. Add a description to help others understand the field's purpose 
7. Click "Save" to create the field 

Step 2: Understand metadata field usage 

1. Hidden Metadata Fields can track information such as:
   • Referral sources
   • Campaign identifiers
   • A/B test variants
   • Device or browser information
   • Affiliate codes 
2. These fields are invisible to form users but store valuable tracking data 

Step 3: Populate fields with query strings 

1. Add your metadata field as a parameter in the URL when linking to your form:  https://yourorg.everyaction.com/page/12345/action/1?oa_source=email&oa_campaign=spring2023 
   • ​​​​​​​In this example, "oa_source" and "oa_campaign" are Hidden Metadata Fields
   • The values "email" and "spring2023" will be stored with the form submission 
2. Include these parameters in links from emails, social media, or other sources 

Step 4: Use metadata in reporting 

1. Hidden Metadata Fields are available in the Online Forms Custom Questions Report 
2. Navigate to Report Manager and select this report 
3. Filter by specific metadata fields or values 
4. Group results by metadata fields to analyze performance 
5. This helps identify which traffic sources or campaigns are most effective 

Step 5: Use metadata for segmentation 

1. Create a List based on Hidden Metadata Field values 
2. Go to "Create a List" in EveryAction 
3. Under Online Actions filters, select your Hidden Metadata Field 
4. Choose the value(s) to filter by 
5. Use these lists for targeted follow-up communications 

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