Data Templates

Overview
Visual UGC offers the ability for clients to append their own Custom Data to any Tile or Tag on the Platform, allowing for clients to enrich the content on their Stack with additional data.
This custom data is appended to the Tile or Tag data and is available to be rendered through any Visual UGC output, plus the Visual UGC API.
The ability to append Custom Data to a Tile or Tag maybe useful for clients who may be aggregating from bespoke sources which have unique data points, or to add additional values to a Product Tag.
Data Templates allows for clients to take Custom Data one step further, by defining the data structure for these custom values, as well making it accessible via the Visual UGC Admin User Interface.
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Limitations
Custom Data and Data Templates within Visual UGC have the following limitations:
Property Values in any single field must not exceed 1024 bytes
Custom Data must match regexp a-zA-Z0-9_,
Custom Data stored in Visual UGC is not indexed and thus not searchable
Input names are shared between Data Templates
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Defining a Data Template
Data Templates allow developers to define a structure for the Custom Data within their Stack.
There is currently no limit as to how many Data Templates can be created for an individual Stack, however Developers should note that Input Names are shared between Templates on either Tiles or Tags.
In order to create a Data Template within Visual UGC the following values must be provided:
Data Template Name (name)
Data Template Title (title)
Scope of Template (scope)
Webhook Visibility (webhooks)
Data Template Schema (schema)
Data Template Options (options)
Name & Title
Your Data Template Name and Title are used as an Identifier for your respective template, and will be what is displayed if users access these templates via the Visual UGC Admin User Interface.
It is recommended that they have a unique name and that they describe what 'custom data' is associated with that template.
Scope
Your Data Template Scope defines where this specific Data Template is accessible. Within the Scope builder, clients will be presented with the option of selecting whether or not this template relates to Tiles or Tags.
From here, the client can elect to add additional conditions to the scope. For Tiles, the additional scope refinement options available are:
Media
Network
As such, it is possible for a client to make a specific Data Template for only Instagram (Network) Video (Media) Tiles, or for all Video (Media) Tiles except for YouTube (Network).
The only refinement option available for Tags is Tag Type.
Schema & Options
Your Data Template Schema defines the input type (ie. string, boolean), any default values and any validation for your Data Template, whilst your Data Template Options defines values relating to the presentation of the form, including the presentation type (ie. text, radio, select), and label.
Both the Data Template Schema and Options need to be built using Alpaca.
Alpaca leverages JSON Schema and simple handlebar templates to easily define the structure of your template and the values which are presented within Visual UGC as a form for your users.
To assist with the definition process, Visual UGC has included below some of the more common input types.
Text Field
Schema
        "custom_field_1": {
            "type":"string"
        },
Option
        "custom_field_1": {
            "type":"text",
            "label": "Custom Field 1"
        },
Pick List
Schema
        "custom_dropdown_1": {
            "type":"string",
            "enum": [
                "1",
                "2",
                "3"
            ]
        },
Option
        "custom_dropdown_1": {
            "type":"select",
            "label": "Custom Dropdown 1",
            "optionLabels": [
                "Option 1",
                "Option 2",
                "Option 3"
            ]
        },
Radio Button
Schema
       "custom_radio_button_1": {
            "type": "boolean",
            "enum": [true, false],
            "default": false
        },
Option
        "custom_radio_button_1": {
            "type": "radio",
            "label": "Custom Radio Button 1",
            "optionLabels": ["Yes", "No"]
        },
Textarea
Schema
        "custom_textarea_1": {
            "type":"string"
        },
Option
         "custom_textarea_1": {
            "type":"textarea",
            "label": "Custom Textarea 1"
        },
Checkbox
Schema
        "custom_checkbox_1": {
            "type": "boolean"
        }
Option
        "custom_checkbox_1": {
            "rightLabel": "Custom checkbox 1"
        }
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Accessing Custom Data
The Custom Data stored in the Data Templates can be accessed / updated through a number of methods, including both the Admin User Interface and via various Developer tools offered by Stackla.
Details on the respective Scopes and where this data can be accessed is outlined below.
Tile
Admin User Interface
Data Templates are available in the overflow menu on the Curate Content section of the Visual UGC Admin User Interface.
REST API
Custom Data is stored as a JSON String Data Type on the Tile record. As such, this data is available through all respective Tile and Content Feed endpoints available on the Platform.
A sample of how this data is stored on the Tile is available below:
custom_fields :{"custom_field_1":"Sample Data","custom_dropdown_1":"2","custom_textarea_1":"An Example of Sample Textarea Data","custom_checkbox_1":"true"} 
These values can be added, updated and removed via the relevant Tile API endpoints.
Webhooks
Custom Data, associated with a Data Template, can be made accessible in Visual UGC's Webhook Notification Setup.
Assuming that a client has enabled a specific Data Template to be available in Webhooks, this data will be presented in the following Notifications.
​TILE_CLAIM​
​TILE_STATUS_UPDATE​
​TILE_TAGS_UPDATE​
​TILE_LIKE_DISLIKE​
​TILE_INGESTED​
​TILE_VOTES_UPDATE​
Custom Data in Webhooks is Read Only and cannot be updated.
Zapier
Visual UGC's Zapier Plugin supports both sending and receiving Custom Data.
Custom Data that has been associated in a Tile can be passed via Zapier to one of the 1,000 pieces of Marketing Technology the Middleware tool connects with based upon one of the following Triggers.
Trigger
New Tile Tag
New Tile Published
New Tile Claimed
In addition, Custom Data can be passed into Visual UGC when performing one of the following Actions.
Action
Create Image Tile
Create Video Tile
Create Text Tile
Create HTML Tile
Tags
Admin User Interface
Data Templates for Tags is available within the Tag Editor. To access, simply go to Curate > Manage Tags and select the respective Tag you wish to edit. The Custom Data should be available as a Tab on the Tag Editor screen.
REST API
Custom Data is stored as a JSON String Data Type on the Tag record. As such, this data is available through all respective Tag endpoints, plus any Tile & Filter endpoints where Tag details have been rolled out on the Platform.
A sample of how this data is stored on the Tag is available below:
custom_fields :{\"custom_field_1\":\"Custom Value #1\",\"custom_field_2\":\"Custom Value #2\",\"custom_checkbox_1\":true} 
These values can be added, updated and removed via the relevant Tag API endpoints.
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Guides
Data Template Guides:
​Creating a Data Template​
​Create a Q&A Widget with Data Templates​
Enterprise Tools
Enterprise Admin User Interface (EAUI)
Last modified 14d ago