A database is a starting point to use multiple features of Acoustic Campaign suite. It's basically a set of contact information you can segment into lists. There are two types of databases in Acoustic: flexible and restricted.

Create a database

1. Name your database and designate a type. Go to Data > Databases and click Create.
2. Select the database type. Options are Double Opt-in, Single opt-in, Test List, Seed List, or Suppression List. Double opt-in databases require an email confirmation. Not all organizations are set up to allow double opt-in databases. If you have questions about your organization set-up, contact your organization administrator. If your database is a seed list, you cannot add fields to the database. Suppression lists require that the email field is the unique identifier (UID).
3. Type a name for your database in the Database or List Name field.
4. Select a folder where you would like to save your database: Private or Shared.
5. Choose whether to create a Flexible database or Restricted database.
   • Flexible database is required for SMS, mobile app messages, CRM, and strongly recommended for Acoustic Exchange customers. Select your database field(s) that you want to sync when adding or updating contacts.
   • Restricted database requires that you select at least one field as a unique identifier for your contacts. Typically, the unique identifier is email, but can be other fields. The field or fields that you select as your unique identifier are required when adding or updating contacts. 

     If you plan to use a relational table, you need to first create a database and then associate the table with the database. You can associate relational tables with multiple databases.

6. Click Next to display the Create Database/List Add Fields page.

Note: Be careful when naming fields because if you choose to merge databases, the field names in both databases must be the same.

• You can add fields to your database at any time. You can rename fields, but this can cause problems.
• You cannot change unique identifier after you create the database.
• For SMS and mobile push notification, you can only use one flexible database. This means no fields in your database, such as email, can have a unique identifier (UID) attached to it.

Create your database fields

1. Type a name in the Field Name field. Field names are required and cannot be changed after the database is saved. If you make a mistake, you must delete the field and create a new one.
2. Select a field type from the list. You can create up to 400 fields in any combination of field types.
3. Click Add Field. The new field appears in the list of fields. Edit or delete fields by clicking the Edit link next to the new field name. Add as many fields as you need.
4. If you've chosen a restricted database you need to choose your unique identifier (UID). The default for most Acoustic Campaign organizations is the email field. If you want to keep email as the UID for this database, continue to the next step. If you want to change the UID, click the Edit Unique Identifiers button.

   Note: Required for SMS, mobile app messages, CRM and strongly recommended for Acoustic Exchange customers. Select your database field(s) that you want to sync by when adding or updating contacts.

5. Choose the unique identifier that is needed by selecting the checkboxes next to the fields that you want to use. You can choose up to 10 unique identifiers.
6. Click Save when you are finished.
7. Click Create to continue.

Database limitations

• Each database is limited to a total of 400 columns of any type, except segmenting fields.
• Segmenting fields are limited to a total of 12 segmenting fields per database.
• Text fields have a maximum character length of 4,000 characters with 255 being the max when using default values.
• Numeric fields have a 255 maximum character length.
• All pods support UTF-8 for database data.

Modify a database

You can modify a database by selecting a database field and adding or changing the database fields.

Select the database field to modify and modify the fields as necessary.

Database fields

• Add Field - Add new data fields to the database.
• Edit Database Fields - Add or change field settings (deleting fields is not permitted).
• Edit Database Settings - Set a seed database to be included in all sends for this database. Enable/disable database functions which should not be accessible from the user interface or using APIs (Security Settings). Manage recurring import and export.
• Create Query - Create a dynamic view of a database by defining set criteria to be used for emails.
• Set Field Values - Assign values to all contacts or to a subset of contacts in a database.
• Export (a database) - Export contacts of a database, opt-outs, or others.
• Segment (a database) - Divide a database into numerical segments.
• Merge (a database) - Create new databases by merging two existing databases and queries.
• Purge (a database) - Permanently removes contacts from the database if they exist in a comparison Database or query.

Database summary values

You can view and manage (create, delete, export, and update) all existing New Values Reports on the Database Summary page's Values tab.

• To manage a New Values Report, check the box next to the report name and click the appropriate button (Delete, Export, or Update).

Search tab

Search lets you manage individual contacts, and databases of contacts matching certain criteria.

Queries tab

The Queries tab lets you view a database of existing queries, and query a database when you want to make a new database as a subset of an original database, based on some criteria related to the contacts. You can also edit an existing query.

Web Forms tab

The Web Forms tab lets you manage Web forms and create new ones. It displays a database of existing Web forms for this database.

Autoresponders tab

The Autoresponders tab displays a database of all of the autoresponders that are associated with this database. To view the autoresponder, click the email name.

Automated Messages tab

The Automated tab displays a database of all of the automated messages that are associated with this database. To view the automated message, click the email name.

Email tab

The emails tab displays a database of all of the emails that are associated with this database. To view the emails, click the email name.

• To view the email report for this email, check the box next to the email name and click View Mailing Report.

Move a database

Databases can be moved to folders (or to users) without affecting the operation of the database.

1. In Data > Databases select the check box next to the database name.
2. Click Move To.
3. Choose Move to folder or Move to user.
4. If you select Move to folder:, the Move Database dialog box opens. Do the following:
   1. Select the database type.
   2. Select a Shared or Private folder for the database.
   3. Click OK.

   Note: Campaign ONLY allows movement of objects from private to shared folders; not from shared to private folders. If you are working on a project in the private folder, you are allowed to move it to the shared folder where all users can view and use the object. However, once the project is in shared, it cannot be taken from organizational public visibility and placed in the private directory.

5. If you select Move to user, the Move to User dialog box opens. Select a user from the drop-down menu.

   Note: Only users within your organization appear in the drop-down menu.

6. Click OK.

   The database name no longer appears in View Data.

7. Enter a new unique name and click OK.

   The database appears in View Data in the new folder location and continues to appear in reports.

Merge a database

Both original databases are retained and unaffected by a merge. If the merged database does not meet expectations, you may try the merge again with different settings.

1. In Data, go to View Data or Manage.
2. Select the databases to be merged and click the Merge option.
3. Confirm the correct databases are selected and enter a name for the new database.
4. Determine which database will take precedence.

   If you allow the flexible database to take precedence, then your newly merged database data job will fail. The database that is restricted must take precedence, but either database's format can be used.

   Option 1: The restricted database takes precedence and the flexible database's contact source format will be used.

   Option 2: The restricted database takes precedence and the restricted database's contact source format will be used.

Delete a database

When you delete a database, all items associated with the database - known as assets - are also deleted. It is not possible to restore a database or its assets after the database has been permanently deleted.

1. In Data, select the database that needs to be deleted.
2. Click Delete and click OK in the confirmation dialog.

   The following message displays: You are about to submit a delete contact source data job that will run in the background.

3. Review the job details and choose whether you want to receive an email notification once the job is complete.
4. Click Submit to submit the data job. A data job runs in the background.

As an alternative to deleting a database, read about purging a database.

Delete a contact source without deleting the associated email

You can delete the contact source and still keep the email.

When you attempt to delete a contact source, the following warning message displays on the deletion data job submission screen:

Delete the contact sources and all associated items. Associated items include asset library rulesets, automated messages, contact lists, forms, queries, emails, recurring import jobs, reports, and templates.

However, you can delete the contact source and still keep the email template. When you create an email, it can be just a stand-alone template without a contact source. But, when you've added a contact source into the template, that email template has become an associated item of the contact source (a database, query or contact list). That means that the mailing template is treated as one of the associated items if the contact source is added to the template. This design applies to all types of contact sources, including databases, queries and contact lists.

1. Open the contact list and click the Templates tab to verify which templates are associated with the contact list.
2. Open the original email.
3. Click Select next to Contact Source under the Email settings tab.

   Select a different contact source to be associated with this template.

4. Click Save.

   The template is no longer an associated item of the Contact List.

5. Delete that contact source.

Database characters

Some characters are not allowed in folders, databases, queries, emails, or email template names.

Only spaces, single quote, and the following characters are allowed:

A-Z, a-z, 0-9, # - _ ( ) .

Characters not allowed:

" * / : < > ? \ |

Valid characters in email addresses

Some email addresses are considered invalid and are either not allowed to be imported into Acoustic Campaign or, if imported, will not be sent to.

There are a number of official specifications that are very broad in what is acceptable, but it mostly comes down to what an ISP will allow. Acoustic Campaign supports the majority of email addresses, but does not support every possible email address.

General description of what emails are valid:

username@domain

• The at sign ('@') must be present and not first or last character.
• The length of the name can have up to and including 64 characters.
• The length of the domain can have up to and including 64 characters.
• All email addresses are forced to lowercase when the email is sent. Therefore any email addresses requiring uppercase will most likely not be delivered correctly by the ISP as we will have changed it to lowercase.

username

Can contain:

• A-Z
• a-z
• 0-9
• ! # $ % * + - . = ? ~ | ` _ ^

The entire name can be surrounded by double quotes (though this is not supported by many ISPs). In this case, the following additional characters are allowed between the quotes - ( ) { } < > @ , ; : [ ] (space)

domain

Can contain:

• A-Z
• a-z
• 0-9
• -
• Cannot contain 2 or more consecutive periods
• Must contain at least 1 period
• Domain - Cannot begin or end with a period or dash
• The domain portion cannot be an IP address

Database summary

The Database Summary page lets you view and manage key information in the database and associated items. You can create, import, move between folders, merge, purge data, export, and add or modify data. You can also query data and split the database into numerical segments.

You can access most database-related information and functions from the Database Summary page like the database name, the database ID, number of contacts, the date the database was created, last modified date, and configured date. If the database is shared, the owner's name appears. You can also manually add contacts in this area.

To access this page, go to Data > Databases and then click the database name.

Databases are grouped by types, which are identified by tabs:

• Databases
• Test lists
• Seed lists
• Suppression lists
• Queries
• Archive

Each tab displays databases available in either Private or Shared folders, by selection.

In the database summary users of Acoustic Exchange can edit the field Publish data in Exchange to publish additional fields to Exchange.

Database settings

You can edit database settings after creating a database. Database settings set send parameters that are independent of emails.

Edit database settings

1. In Data select the database name.
2. Click the Settings button.
3. Once in the Settings area, you can do the following.
   • Set the VMTA to use for sending the database
   • Set the Reply To domain if there are multiple domains available to organization databases
   • Enable use of a seed list and set its position in the send
   • Enable a suppression list
   • Enable Send Time Optimization for the database
   • Set the number of days that contacts are kept in the database
   • Security settings for restricting editing, importing, and exporting for this database only
   • Set up and manage recurring imports
   • Set mobile settings
   • Set GDPR lookup fields

Note: The availability of these settings depends on the permissions and selections established by the Administrators for the system. Organization Administrators have access to all functions - independent of the database or organization settings.

Enable lookup keys

A lookup key is a user-selected data field that allows APIs to update faster. You can enable lookup keys on a flexible database. If you delete or rename a lookup key, the update impacts GDPR processing if the same lookup key is also used as the GDPR lookup field.

You can create up to five lookup keys. If you need more fields, contact Support to increase this limit.

If SMS or Mobile App Message is enabled in your organization, then their lookup keys are already selected. These fields do not count against your five field limit.

The values in each selected field uniquely identify a contact.

1. In Data, select the database that you want to use.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click LookUp Keys.
4. Click Save.
5. In the Status column, check the box next to the fields to be used as lookup fields.

The field limit counter shows how many lookup keys are available.

The selected fields are disabled to prevent changes while the fields are enabled.

After you select fields, the screen refreshes to the Database > Fields tab. A binoculars icon displays next to the lookup field

Note: Fields that are mapped as key fields in the Mobile Settings tab are automatically selected as lookup keys. These fields do not count toward your maximum five field limit. These fields cannot be deselected unless SMS or Mobile Push is disabled.