Mapping Form Fields to Person Profiles

One of the most powerful features of TimelyChurch Forms is the ability to map form fields directly to Person profile fields. When a form is submitted, the mapped data can automatically update the submitter's record in your People database -- eliminating manual data entry.

How Field Mapping Works

Each form field can be mapped to a corresponding field on the person's profile. When a submission comes in:

1. TimelyChurch identifies the submitter (via Member Portal login or by matching the email address to an existing person record).
2. If no matching person is found and sufficient data is provided (name and/or email), a new person record is created automatically with a "Visitor" membership status.
3. Mapped field values from the submission are synced to the person record, based on your Profile Sync settings.

Standard Person Fields You Can Map To

The following built-in profile fields are available for mapping:

Name Fields

• First Name
• Last Name
• Middle Name
• Nickname
• Prefix
• Suffix

Contact Fields

• Email
• Secondary Email
• Mobile Phone
• Home Phone
• Work Phone

Address Fields

• Address Line 1
• Address Line 2
• City
• State
• Postal Code
• Country

Personal Fields

• Gender
• Birthdate
• Marital Status
• Anniversary Date

Church-Related Fields

• First Visit Date
• Baptism Date
• How They Found Us
• Previous Church

Emergency Contact Fields

• Emergency Contact Name
• Emergency Contact Phone
• Emergency Contact Relationship

Custom Person Fields

If your church has defined custom Person fields (under People settings), those fields also appear in the form editor's "Custom Profile Fields" palette. When you add a custom field from this palette, it is automatically pre-mapped to the corresponding Person custom field -- no additional configuration needed.

Tip: Custom Profile Fields are shown in a purple-accented section at the top of the field palette. Adding one of these fields sets up the mapping automatically and labels the field with a "Profile" badge.

How to Map a Field

Option 1: Add from Custom Profile Fields Palette

The easiest way to create a mapped field:

1. Open the form editor and look at the left sidebar.
2. Find the Custom Profile Fields section at the top (purple header).
3. Click on any custom field to add it to your form.
4. The field is created with the correct type, label, and mapping pre-configured.

Option 2: Manual Mapping on Standard Fields

For standard fields (not custom), mapping works through smart field name matching:

1. Add a field to your form (e.g., a Text field).
2. Set the field label or name to match a recognized profile field name. For example:
   • A field named like "Email" will automatically be matched to the person's email.
   • A field named like "First Name" will be matched to the person's first name.
   • A field named like "Phone" will be matched to the person's mobile phone.

TimelyChurch uses intelligent matching that recognizes many common naming variations. For example, all of the following will match to the email field: email, email address, e-mail, your email, contact email.

Smart Prefill for Logged-In Members

When a member is logged into the Member Portal and opens a form, TimelyChurch automatically pre-fills fields based on the field names and mappings. The system matches:

• Field names (e.g., First Name, Email, Phone)
• Field labels (e.g., "First Name", "Email Address", "Phone Number")
• Fields you have explicitly mapped to a profile field

Pre-filled data includes:

• Name (first, last, full name)
• Email and phone
• Address (street, city, state, zip -- including family address as fallback)
• Date of birth
• Gender

Tip: Even parent/guardian fields on registration forms are automatically pre-filled with the logged-in member's information, making child registration forms fast and easy.

Identity Field Protection

To prevent accidental overwrites, certain "identity" fields are treated specially:

• First Name, Last Name, and Email are never overwritten on existing person records during sync.
• These fields are only set when a brand-new person record is created from the form submission.
• All other mapped fields will fill in empty values on the person record (existing non-empty values are preserved by default).

Automatic Person Creation

When a form is submitted by someone who is not logged in, TimelyChurch will attempt to:

1. Find an existing person by matching the submitted email address.
2. If no match is found and the submission includes a first name and/or last name, create a new person record with:
   • Membership status set to "Visitor"
   • The record marked as active
   • The record hidden from the directory (new visitors are not shown in the directory by default)
   • All available mapped fields populated

This means your People database grows automatically as new visitors submit forms.

Verifying Mapped Fields

In the form editor, fields that are mapped to a Person profile field display a purple "Profile" badge next to their label. This badge provides a quick visual indicator of which fields will sync to member records.