User profiles, like other content, can be found on searches. Because of this, what
people say about themselves — including interests and areas of expertise — can be a great
source of information for people looking to have a question answered.
A user's
profile can include biographical and professional information, along with
links to content they've contributed. Use the Profile Settings page to edit the fields
that show up in profiles and set up visibility options.
On the Profile Settings page, you'll find the Header and Other Profile Fields sections,
where you can define the exact profile template you want to provide users so they can
complete their profile. You'll see the Header Profile fields highlighted in the top left
of user profile if they are marked visible. The rest of the sections (User Profile
Fields and Other Options) give you a way to let others control their own settings. For
more on this, see Letting Users Control Their Own Settings.
Fastpath:
The application includes several commonly used fields by default, and you can add
custom fields as well. Order the fields in the same order you want users to see
them. Keep in mind that if you allow people to register themselves, you can define a
form with a subset of these customized fields for a person to complete when they
register. To create a custom field, click Create new field....
To change the behavior of a profile field, click the appropriate icon under Manage
Properties. These icons define the field's behavior in the system -- who can see it,
whether it's editable, and so on. Be sure to consider whether or how a field should
be visible. For example, in some communities people might not want their phone
number widely visible.
Note: Only visible fields are available when searching or browsing.
Give some thought to how people will be using profiles -- to introduce themselves or
to find other people, for example -- then select or clear attributes accordingly.
For example, making too many fields required could have the effect of discouraging
people from completing them. The following list describes the attributes you can
assign the profile field.
- Required -- People won't be able to save a profile when they leave a required
field empty.
- Filterable -- When a field is filterable, people can type or select values of
the field to make a list of people shorter. For example, someone viewing a long
list of people in the community could make the list shorter by filtering on the
hire date, specifying that the date be no earlier than last year.
- Searchable -- A searchable field is seen by the search engine.
- Users may edit -- People can edit their editable profile fields.
- User may configure visibility -- Enables users set this field to their own
visibility preferences.
Create New Fields
The Custom Profile Fields section is where you can create customized fields for user
profiles. When you add two or more custom fields, you can adjust the order by
clicking the up or down arrows in the Order column.
- Click Create New Field to create a new profile field.
- Select the field type. You can choose from date, text, number, or many more
types to help provide the best user experience for this field's
information.
- Click Continue.
- Enter the field name. This is a label that identifies the field content, and it
may be different than what the user sees in their profile.
- Enter the Language Display Name, and click Add Translation for each
language you want to provide translations for. This is what the user sees in
their profile field.
- Select the relationship to user for field visibility. This indicates how the
relationships between users determines who can see this field. Set this field
considerately because some sensitive information should have limited visibility.
You can also set the default and enable user's to edit their own profile field's
visibility. For example, some people may be more comfortable publishing their
phone number than others.
Note: Only visible fields are available when searching
or browsing.
- Select one or more of the following attributes for the field:
- Required -- People won't be able to save a profile when they leave a
required field empty.
- Filterable -- When a field is filterable, people can type or select
values of the field to make a list of people shorter. For example,
someone viewing a long list of people in the community could make the
list shorter by filtering on the hire date, specifying that the date be
no earlier than last year.
- Searchable -- A searchable field is seen by the search engine.
- Editable -- People can edit their editable profile fields.