---
title: "Set up and manage field placeholders"
slug: "set-up-and-manage-field-placeholders"
updated: 2026-01-18T16:36:30Z
published: 2026-01-18T16:36:30Z
canonical: "help.gong.io/set-up-and-manage-field-placeholders"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.gong.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up and manage field placeholders

> **Who can use this**: Tech admin, Business admin
> 
> **Available on**: Gong Engage

Field placeholders (previously called variables) let Engage automatically pull CRM or system data into emails, templates, and flows.

As an admin, you can control which field placeholders are available.

## Enable and manage field placeholders

To create field placeholders from imported CRM fields:

[Set import of Salesforce fields](/v1/docs/set-import-of-salesforce-fields)

[Set import of HubSpot fields](/v1/docs/set-import-of-hubspot-fields)

You can also add custom field placeholders:

1. Go to **Admin Center** > **Custom field placeholders**(under **Engage**)
2. Click **Add field placeholder** to create a new one
  1. Give it a name, description, and type
  2. Save
3. Drag and drop field placeholders to set their display order in the field placeholder menu

Note: You can’t insert field placeholders directly into the email composer. They can only be used in templates, blocks, and flows.

## Additional types of placeholders

### Manual placeholders

Manual placeholders are short text reminders for human input, not for system data.

Use single curly brackets, like this: {Add your text here}

Manual placeholders appear in previews but must be replaced or deleted before sending.

Example:

Use manual placeholders to remind reps to personalize a line, such as: {Add a reference to the company’s latest project}

### Custom field placeholders

Custom field placeholders are fields you or your team define in Gong that are just for your company. They’re used when the information you want to include in messages doesn’t already exist as a standard Gong field. Once created, custom field placeholders behave like standard Gong field placeholders. You can insert them into templates, blocks, and flows and Gong will automatically populate them as long as the value exists in Gong.

### Third-party field placeholders

Third-party field placeholders let you insert values that come from outside of Gong. These placeholders are not filled by Gong. Instead, they are filled by other integrated tools. Use third-party placeholders when you’re sending messages outside of Gong (for example, adding people to flows via API) or when you want to pull in data that Gong doesn’t store (for example, website activity). Once you create the third-party field placeholder in Gong, you can use it in templates, blocks, or flows. When the message is sent, the third-party tool replaces the field placeholder with its own data.

For example, let’s say you work with a lead enrichment tool like Clay. You could create a third-party field placeholder in Gong called {{company_funding_round}} and add that field placeholder to anywhere in Gong that supports field placeholders. When Clay sends the message, Clay replaces {{company_funding_round}} with the real value.

To leverage third-party field placeholders via the Engage API, use the [assign prospects endpoint](/v1/docs/gong-engage-api-capabilities#assign-prospects-contacts-or-leads-to-an-engage-flow-v2flowsprospectsassign).

## Error handling

When you add field placeholders in Engage, they’re validated automatically using different indications.

Underline colors indicate status:

- Purple underline = valid placeholder
- Red underline = invalid placeholder

### Types of errors

- **Missing or deleted fields:**A field name is mistyped, or the field was removed from Gong or your CRM.
- **Syntax errors:**Missing a curly bracket or an error in a conditional statement such as if or else.

If you see an error and you’re not sure of its cause, check for variables inside URLs. There may be invalid field placeholders inside hyperlinks.

## Hyperlink field placeholders

You can hyperlink text with a field placeholder in templates, blocks, or flows in two ways.

### Method 1

1. Highlight the text you want to hyperlink.
2. Click **Insert link.**
3. In the link box:
  1. Text: Confirm the text you want to display.
  2. Link: Enter the field placeholder (e.g., {{sender.primary_scheduling_link}}).

### Method 2

1. Insert the field placeholder (e.g., {{sender.primary_scheduling_link}}) directly into the body of the template.
2. Highlight the field placeholder.
3. Click the **Insert link.**
4. In the link box:
  1. Text: Confirm the text you want to display.
  2. Link: Enter the field placeholder (e.g., {{sender.primary_scheduling_link}}). ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/2837c190-3ec8-4120-9116-6d427e774667/Images/Documentation/image(746).png)

## Field placeholders in URLs

You can embed field placeholders inside URLs. For example:

[https://www.google.com/search?name={{recipient.first_name](https://www.google.com/search?name={{recipient.first_name)}}

## Formatting dates and numbers

You can use the format_date and format_number functions in field placeholders to control how values appear in your emails, without editing the original CRM field.

### format_date function

Use format_date to change how a date field is displayed. The default output is typically ISO format (2025-07-08), but you can make it more readable or conversational.

Format: {{format_date object.field ‘format_string’}}

#### Supported date formats

| Format string | Output example (July 8, 2025) |
| --- | --- |
| ‘MM/dd/YYYY’ | 07/08/2025 |
| ‘dd/MM/YYYY’ | 08/07/2025 |
| ‘MMMM d, YYYY’ | July 8, 2025 |
| ‘d MMM YYYY’ | 8 Jul 2025 |
| ‘MMM d’ | Jul 8 |
| ‘dddd, MMMM d’ | Tuesday, July 8 |

Example usage:

{{format_date opportunity.close_date ‘MMMM d, YYYY’}} → July 8, 2025

#### Date format reference

When using format_date, make sure to match the correct uppercase and lowercase formatting strings. These formatting strings are case-sensitive. For example, writing mm instead of MM will return minutes instead of months.

| Format | Example output | Meaning | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| d | 2 | Day of week (0–6) | Lowercase |
| dd | Tu | Min day name | Lowercase |
| ddd | Tue | Short day name | Lowercase |
| dddd | Tuesday | Full day name | Lowercase |
| M | 10 | Month number | Uppercase |
| MM | 10 | Month number | Uppercase |
| MMM | Oct | Short month name | Uppercase |
| MMMM | October | Full month name | Uppercase |
| YY | 24 | 2-digit year | Uppercase |
| YYYY | 2024 | 4-digit year | Uppercase |

### format_number function

Use format_number to control how numeric fields appear. You can add commas, decimal points, or currency formatting.

Format: {{format_number object.field ‘format_string’}}

Supported number formats

| Format string | Output example (1234567.89) |
| --- | --- |
| ‘0,0’ | 1,234,568 |
| ‘0,0.00’ | 1,234,567.89 |
| ‘$0,0’ | $1,234,568 |
| ‘$0,0.00’ | $1,234,567.89 |
| ‘0%’ | 123456789% |
| ‘0.00%’ | 123456789.00% |
| ‘0,0’ | 1,234,568 |
| ‘0,0.00’ | 1,234,567.89 |

Example usage:

{{format_number opportunity.amount ‘$0,0.00’}} → $1,234,567.89

## Reviewing migrated content from Outreach or Salesloft

If your team migrated templates or flows into Gong Engage, review each item to ensure variables were converted correctly.

You can only review and update each user’s personal templates and flows if you’re a Gong technical admin. To do this, go to **Admin center >** **Team members** and select **Log in as** for each user.

### What Gong auto-converts:

- {{recipient.first_name}}
- {{recipient.last_name}}
- {{recipient.company_name}}
- {{recipient.job_title}}
- {{sender.first_name}}
- {{sender.last_name}}
- {{sender.job_title}}
- {{sender.phone_number}}
- if, if/else, and unless statements

### What you need to fix manually:

Field placeholders that couldn't be converted will appear as placeholders ({...}).

Replace these with the correct field placeholder format:

- Contact first name → {{contact.first_name}}
- Sender company name → {{sender.company_name}}
- Nickname → {{account.nickname}}
- Account ID18 → {{account.account_ID18}}
- Lead 18 Digit ID → {{lead.lead_18_digit_id}}

### Field placeholders in URLs

Before:

https://calendly.com/{sender.custom1}/english-optimization-call

After:

https://calendly.com/{{sender.calendly_username}}/english-optimization-call

Conditional URLs are supported too. For example:

`https://calendly.com/{{sender.calendly_username}}/sync?sfid={{#if contact.Contact_18_Id__c}}{{contact.Contact_18_Id__c}}{{else}}{{lead.Lead_18_Digit_ID__c}}{{/if}}`

Or outside the URL:

`{{#if contact.Contact_18_Id__c}} <Insert link version 1> {{else}} <Insert link version 2> {{/if}}`

#### Replace outdated field placeholder formats in the body:

- Recipient first name → {{recipient.first_name}}
- Sender company name → {{[sender.company](http://sender.company)_name}}
- Nickname → {{account.nickname}}
- Account ID18 → {{account.account_ID18}}
- Lead 18 Digit ID → {{lead.lead_18_digit_id}}

#### Replace outdated field placeholder formats in the subject line:

- {{RECIPIENT_FIRST_NAME}} → {{recipient.first_name}}
- {{SENDER_COMPANY_NAME}} → {{sender.company_name}}
- {{ACCOUNT_Nickname__c}} → {{account.nickname}}
- {{ACCOUNT_ID18__c}} → {{account.account_ID18}}
- {{LEAD_Lead_18_Digit_ID__c}} → {{lead.lead_18_digit_id}}

#### Update conditional logic

Old format:

`If Recipient first name {{Hi}} Else {{Hi there}} Endif`

New format:

`{{#if recipient.first_name}} Hi {{recipient.first_name}}, {{else}} Hi there, {{/if}}`

Other examples:

- {{#if recipient.first_name}} Hi {{recipient.first_name}} → “Hi” or “Hi John”
- {{#if recipient.first_name = Gal}} Hello Gal {{else}} Hello {{/if}} → “Hello Gal” or “Hello”

#### Update placeholder text

Old format:

{{Insert some research about the customer}}

New format:

{Insert some research about the customer}

## 

A team member who manages and configures the Gong platform and handles CRM integrations, user provisioning, permissions, and system settings. [Find my Tech admin](/v1/docs/find-your-technical-or-business-admin).

A team member who manages the business entities in Gong, such as deal and forecast boards. [Find my Business admin](/v1/docs/find-your-technical-or-business-admin).

Gong’s AI-driven sales engagement solution that helps sales teams prioritize, personalize, and automate outreach activities to accelerate their pipelines. Access to features depends on your [company’s plan and your assigned seat](/v1/docs/plans-and-seats).