Preferred name on a person record

If a person’s preferred name doesn’t match their first name, the preferred name appears in parenthesis.

The standard preferred name field can be merged into form or event communications as sys-preferred. This is possible even when preferred name is not collected on the form itself.

📝 Note

This field must appear as an option in the merge fields bar of the message in order to be used.

Preferred name as a merge field

In Deliver messages, the preferred name export can be added and included as a merge field.

The preferred name merge field in a Deliver mailing automatically merges in and displays the preferred name if one exists. Otherwise, data in the first name field appears.

No liquid markup is required to conditionally display the record's first name if no preferred name is provided.

Form and event communications

The sys-preferred merge field for form-based or event-based communications considers the values of preferred name and first name in the following order:

1. sys:preferred from the form response

2. sys:first from the form response

3. sys:preferred from the student record

4. sys:first from the student record

If a form only collects sys:first, the sys-preferred merge field selects sys:first from the form registration (number 2, above).

If no preferred name is entered on the form, Slate automatically merges in the first name entered on the form for the sys-preferred merge field.

Custom dashboards and portals

If using sys-preferred for a custom dashboard or portal and no preferred name exists on the person record, Slate automatically merges in the first name from the person record for the sys-preferred merge field.

✨ Tip: Lived Name Custom Field

Creating a Custom Field for lived name is another option for handling multiple preferred name fields. Use the Community Forums for suggestions.