Q1-2024 Release

To preserve data integrity during the merge process, BlueConic introduced a new set of out-of-the-box profile properties that are read-only with non-editable merge rules. This ensures that users cannot modify specific property settings and that no unexpected profile changes occur when a merge strategy is applied.

There are currently five designated read-only properties:

• Creation date

• Last visited

• Domain group

• Last modified date

• System has property

If you have a property in your system defined with the same ID as one of these read-only properties, then your original property:

• Was updated to be read-only, too, and now uses the configured settings of that read-only property.

• Now uses the data type of the read-only property (in the unlikely event your data type was different).

• Is now marked as "Created by BlueConic" on its property page.

• Has the same property name and labels you previously assigned (which can be edited).

Property values stored in your profiles were not affected.

Note: These read-only properties are automatically generated by the platform, appearing in read-only state on the Profile Properties page (More... > Properties).

UI updates

All read-only properties are listed in gray in the table on the Profile Properties page, distinguishing them from other properties. They are all clickable and lead to the dedicated page for that property.

When you open one of these read-only property pages, "Created by BlueConic" appears in the metadata section at the top, indicating that it is system-created.

Almost all fields under "Settings" and "Expert settings" are grayed out and uneditable. You can, however, edit the name of the property at the top, as well as the fields in the metadata section: Favorite, Labels, and Description.

Note: The one setting you can configure is "Hide from UI" at the bottom; when this setting is enabled, the profile property can be used for creating segments from server-side plugins but not from the Segments page.

Merge strategy

Read-only properties do not follow normal merge strategies. The merge strategy for these properties, which you cannot edit or alter, involves a "leading profile" that the other profiles get merged into. When a profile merge is enacted involving any of these read-only properties, the system automatically determines which is the leading profile.

For the properties "Creation date," "Last visited date," and "Last modified date," the value of the leading profile is always kept. The properties "Domain group" and "System has property" do not need to be merged.

For full details on these read-only properties and how they are merged, review the article Managing read-only, system-created profile properties.

Sample ID

Sample ID is another system-created property, but this one is not read-only (i.e., you can still edit its "Settings" and "Expert settings"). It is not listed in gray on the Profile Properties page like the five read-only properties.

Sample ID is calculated whenever two profiles are merged. It is never saved to the database and never involved in the merging process; thus, the Merge strategy setting is hidden from its property page.