Platform access level: Org Admins. Metadata fields are part of Organization settings, which only Org Admins can open, so adding, renaming, and removing a field is an Org Admin job. Managers still see your field names where they use them, in cohort rules, automations, and learner profiles.
A metadata field is one attribute you track about your learners, like their region, their job title, or their hire date. Defining these fields lets a dynamic cohort keep itself current and an automation enroll the right learners without anyone re-uploading a roster. On the Metadata fields page you create, edit, and remove the fields your organization uses.
1. Reviewing the fields your organization already has
Open Organization settings, then choose Metadata in the sidebar to reach the Metadata fields page.
The heading counts how many fields you have, and the table lists each one with two columns, NAME and TYPE. Select either column heading to sort by it.
Use Search to jump to a field by name once the list grows, and the row-count selector at the bottom of the page to fit more rows on screen. Start here before you add anything, since a field may already exist under a slightly different name.
Note: Arist does not ship any metadata fields with a new organization. Every field on this list came from your own workspace, whether someone added it here, created it while mapping a cohort file, or a data feed sent Arist a field it had not seen before.
2. Creating a metadata field
Select Create new at the top right to open the Create a new metadata field modal.
It asks for three things.
Field | What to enter |
Name | Type the name this attribute will carry everywhere in Arist, for example Region or Hire date. |
Type | Choose Text, Date, or Boolean, whichever matches the data you will load. |
Default value | Optionally fill in a default for the field, or leave it empty. |
A name has to be between 2 and 30 characters and cannot repeat a name already on the list. Arist shows field names with only the first letter capitalized, so a field you type as Sales Region appears in the list as Sales region. Select Create metadata field to save, or Cancel to close without adding anything.
There are three types, and each one changes what the Default value box accepts:
Text: A Text field takes words and free-form values, like a region, a job title, or an employee ID. It is the type already selected when the modal opens, and its Default value is a plain text box.
Date: A Date field takes a calendar date, like a hire date or a certification deadline, and its Default value is a date picker.
Boolean: A Boolean field takes a true or false value, which suits anything that is a yes-or-no flag. Its Default value is a choice of True, False, or No value.
Switching between types clears anything you have already put in Default value, so choose the type first and fill in the default afterwards.
Tip: Name fields the way your source system names them. When the column heading in your HR export and the field name in Arist read the same, each choice in the mapping step is obvious. See Managing Cohorts.
3. Editing or deleting a field
Select the three-dot menu at the end of a row to reach Edit and Delete, or select a field's name to open the same edit panel.
The Edit panel offers Name and Default value, and Save applies them. Cohort rules and automations point at the field itself rather than its name, so renaming one keeps every rule built on it working.
A field keeps the Type you chose when you created it. To change an attribute's type, replace the field:
Create a new field with the type you want.
Load the values against the new field.
Clear the values on the original field.
Delete the original once nothing points at it.
Selecting Delete asks you to confirm first, and the confirmation names the field so you can check you are on the right row.
Important: Arist keeps a field while any learner has a value stored against it, and asks you to clear the data first. A field with no learner values does delete, even when a dynamic cohort rule or an automation condition still points at it, and that rule then refers to a field that no longer exists. Check where a field is used before you remove it.
4. Using metadata fields in cohorts and automations
You will meet the fields on this page most often in these three places.
Dynamic cohort rules: Build a cohort from rules that match learner metadata, and membership stays current on its own as the underlying data changes. Rules read your metadata fields alongside built-in fields like first name, last name, email, and language, and they match without regard to capitalization, so a rule looking for a region of EMEA also finds learners stored as emea. See Managing Cohorts.
Automation triggers: The User data matched trigger fires when a learner's metadata matches conditions you set, so a new learner in a given region can be enrolled the moment their data arrives. See Setting Up Automations.
Learner profiles: Each learner's own values sit on their profile, where you can review and update them one at a time. See Viewing and Managing Learners.
Whichever of those you are setting up, load values consistently. Values that arrive as EMEA in one import and Emea in the next are harder to build on.
Tip: You do not have to come back here before every import. When you map the columns of a cohort file and one of them has no field yet, you can create that field from the mapping step and carry on. See Managing Cohorts.
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Note: Need help at any point? Reach out to your Arist Customer Success contact, or email support@arist.co.