A population is a group of records with like attributes that are assigned a common label in through population rules in the rules editor. Populations can include person records, application records, or dataset records, and records can be included in multiple populations at the same time.

Records are included in a population when they meet the criteria defined by a population rule. If a record no longer meets the criteria of the population rules, it is removed from the population upon the next update to the record. 

Populations can be used in many ways in Slate. Some examples include:

• Being used as filters in queries to easily return records that belong to a selected population

• Serving as the foundation for drip marketing campaigns

• Managing user access to records

Create a Population

Use the following steps to create a population:

1. Click Database in the Slate navigation bar. The  Database page appears.

2. In the Automations section, select Populations. The Populations summary page appears with a list of existing populations.

3. Click Insert. An Insert Record in Populations popup appears.

4. Set the Status to Active.

5. For Folder, select an existing folder or select Other and enter a name for a new folder.

6. Enter a meaningful, descriptive value for Name. Displays name of the Population to appear in the Campaigns section of Deliver and in the Populations section on the Dashboard of the person record. 

7. Set the Scope:

   • Person/Application: Records can be added to the population by either a person population or application population rule.

   • Person: Records can be added to the population by a person population rule only.

   • Application: Records can be added to the population by application population rule only.

   • Dataset: Dataset records can be added to the population by a dataset population rule.

8. Click Save to save the population and return to the Populations summary page. The new population appears in the populations list.

Is that it?

A population in Slate is just a label for a group of records. Population rules are required to define and enroll records in populations.

Create a Population Rule

Use the following steps to create a population rule:

1. Click Database on the Slate navigation bar. The  Database page appears.

2. In the Automations section, select  Rules. The Rules summary page appears with a list of existing rules.

3. Click New Rule. An Edit Details popup appears.

4. Enter the following configurations:

   • Name: Give the rule a name that corresponds to the population.

   • Type: Set to Configurable Joins.

   • Category: Select Records.

   • Base: Choose the Person base for the rule.

   • Rule Type: Choose Person Population.

   • Folder: Select an existing folder to help keep your rules organized. Choose Other to create a new folder.

   • Exclusivity Group: Leave this blank, because records might be enrolled in multiple populations at the same time, and an exclusivity group for population rules is most likely not needed.

   • Status: Set to Preview.

5. Click Save. The summary page for the rule appears.

   

6. In the Filters section, choose the criteria to define the records that should be included in the population.

7. In the Action setting, select the population where the rule should enroll records.

8. Click New Query to create a quick query (a Quick Query page appears in a new browser tab) to review the rule and preview the records that will be enrolled in the population.

9. If you are satisfied with the rule, return to the browser tab where you created the rule, and click  Edit. An  Edit Details popup appears.

10. Set  Status to Active.

11. Click Save to return to the summary page for the rule.

12. Run a query on the rule and perform a retroactive refresh to enroll records in the population.

    Performance Tip

    Perform the refresh during off-peak hours (for example, at the end of the business day) to avoid causing a rules backup.

Population Filters

The Timestamp Days filter on the Population base looks at how long a record has existed in a population. The day a record joins a population is considered “day zero.” If a record joins a population at 11:59 PM ET today, it would be in the population for 1 day at 12:01 AM ET tomorrow; the duration doesn't count the total number of hours, but instead the number of unique days.