How can I delete or empty database fields?

Deleting and emptying database fields.

Before you begin

A database field can be deleted after the database has been saved. Database fields can also be renamed and their contents, if needed, emptied.

Run the Field Usage report as follows before making any modifications to the field.

  1. In Data, go to View Data or Manage.
  2. Click the name of your database, then, in the Fields tab, click Edit next to the field you would like to change.
  3. On the following screen(s), click Run Usage, then Submit.
  4. Click Data Job ID, then Download.
  5. Evaluate the results. Referenced items may need to be deleted from the Shared/Private directory and deleted tab directory in order to remove the database field. However, if the field is in use, you may not want to delete the field.

About this task

Any changes made to list name could affect existing personalization in emails. Review all emails attached to the modified database and change any personalization associated with the renamed field.

If a recurring import takes place and the field that was deleted in the database is present in the recurring import, that field is added back into the database.

Procedure

  1. Go to View Data.
  2. Click the name of your database, then, under the Fields tab, check the box next to the field you would like to modify.
  3. To delete a field, do the following.
    1. Click the Delete Field button, then click OK.
    2. Click Submit to delete your field.

      When you try to delete a database field, if the Field Usage report shows that the database field is in use in a number of locations (Queries, Emails etc) you cannot delete the field. Upon reviewing those locations, you find that the field is actually not in use.

      An issue may occur when a database field name matches exactly the name of a relational table field name. When the field usage report runs, it does not properly exclude the Relational Table fields, so if you have "FirstName" on the Database and Relational Table, there is a chance that the Usage Report will flag that incorrectly as "in use".

  4. To empty the contents of a field, check the box next to Empty the field's contents.

What to do next

If you delete a field from your Acoustic Campaign database, but you still see the field, this is because the field is referenced in a recurring Import field mapping file that was created before the field was deleted. Even after the field is deleted, the field is recreated the next time the import job runs.

To resolve this issue, cancel all recurring imports that were created since the field was created. Delete the field, then recreate the recurring imports so that the deleted field is no longer referenced.