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Question

Handling comma separated Tags in Zapier tables

  • 14 February 2024
  • 5 replies
  • 56 views
R

Hello,

I am attempting to integrate Mailchimp with a Zapier table to add new Mailchimp submissions to one of the Zapier table fields (Tags). The original data includes email address (which of course contains special characters such as @, ., etc.), as well as a list of comma-separated tags (formatted like ‘Tag 1, Tag 2, Tag 3’ or maybe from Mailchimp it is “Tag 1”, “Tag 2”, “Tag 3”).

 

I keep running into an error code 400 that the ULID cannot be created from the string length (see the screenshot below). I have all Zapier table fields set up for ‘long text’ (up to 10,000 characters). Looking up ULID formatting though, it seems I cannot use special characters such as ‘,’ or ‘@’, etc.. ULID does not even handle spaces, making no effective way to reformat characters but keep the integrity of these important characters along the way. 

 

I have switched from a Google Sheet Zap to a Zapier Table because Google Sheets was taking way too long to synchronize through a Webhook and I read that Zapier Tables should be more instantaneous.

 

But, I am not sure how to work around the ULID formatting limitation while supporting the special characters I want in the text strings. If anybody has any tips on getting Zapier tables to handle this data, I would greatly appreciate them.

 

 

5 replies

R

Hello again,

I should also add another important concern in the utility of this Zap…

I am not really sure how long it will take Mailchimp updates to synch with my Zapier table. I could not find a clear answer online and wanted to put this to the test. But I cannot put this to the test unless I can get the Zap to work. 

If Mailchimp updating Zapier tables is not 1 minute or less, then this workflow may not be meaningful to me anyhow. Though, I (and others with similar errors) would surely like to know how to help Zapier tables handle inbound data. 

SamB
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Hi there @rutscje! 👋
 

I am not really sure how long it will take Mailchimp updates to synch with my Zapier table.

There’s no specific time as often depends on external factors like how long it takes third party apps to send the information to the Zap to trigger it. But the New or Updated Subscriber Mailchimp trigger is an instant trigger rather than polling trigger so the Zap should run pretty instantly. So as soon as a subscriber is added (and Mailchimp has sent that information to the Zap), then it would be passed over to the Zapier Table right away - in my experience this usually happens in a matter of seconds. 

 

I keep running into an error code 400 that the ULID cannot be created from the string length

When using an Update Record action you’ll be expected to supply the ID for the table record you’re wanting to update. I’m guessing that ID won’t have already been stored in Mailchimp so I expect whatever has been selected for the Record ID field on the Update Record action is what’s causing that error.

To fix this I’d suggest adding a Find or Create Record (Zapier Tables) search action to find the relevant record that’s in the table and obtain it’s ID:
0450d265d02f2ca4f29655fa043b8518.png

 Then in the Update Record action you’d select the Record ID field from the search action:

cb66aacf33d9d148266d441b32c4896d.png
Can you give that a try and let us know how you get on?

R

Thanks SamB,

 

Your suggestion worked and instantaneously! However, it only seems to Zap new subscribers’ data and not update Tags fields for existing subscribers whenever these are added. The Find or Create Record option required I added a filter rather than Record ID, which worked when I filtered Tags fields that contain “All” (a Tag for all users); it seems “@” would work as a filter for the email field as well.

 

It doesn’t seem there is a Zapier Tables event that would sychronize fields for existing subscribers, except maybe a Custom Actions formula.

 

It could also be that Mailchimp’s trigger, set to New or Updated Subscriber, doesn’t extend to any updates to a subscriber’s Tags field… I am not sure if any of the other Mailchimp options will help me accomplish this: https://zapier.com/apps/mailchimp/integrations

 

I welcome any other tips/tweaks you can think of that will also Zap whenever subscriber Tags are updated in Mailchimp!

 

I really appreciate your support!

 

R

Hello,

It should have been obvious…

 

I set the Lookup Field to email address and it works now, it just creates a new record row in the Zapier table even when the subscriber is listed previously. However, for my purposes, this more recent duplicate record shouldn’t be an issue.

 

Thanks!

SamB
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Thanks for giving those suggestions a try, @rutscje. 🙂 

The Find or Create Record option required I added a filter rather than Record ID, which worked when I filtered Tags fields that contain “All” (a Tag for all users); it seems “@” would work as a filter for the email field as well.

Apologies for any confusion caused by my previous reply. To clarify the Record ID field would need to be selected in the Record ID field on the Update Record action: 
b6034cbed92b2d1244f81c95312e2781.png
And not in the Find or Create Record action itself.

It could also be that Mailchimp’s trigger, set to New or Updated Subscriber, doesn’t extend to any updates to a subscriber’s Tags field… I am not sure if any of the other Mailchimp options will help me accomplish this: https://zapier.com/apps/mailchimp/integrations

I’d have thought that the New or Updated Subscriber trigger would have been able to see the updates to a subscribers tags. Might be worth turning the Zap on and running a live test (by adding a tag to a subscriber) to see whether it triggers the Zap. 

If it doesn’t, then there’s a New Subscriber in Segment or Tag trigger available that you could use:

e06b471cce5ee68c8e056787b228d863.png

That trigger would run the Zap whenever a specific tag is added to a subscriber. It’s not able to trigger on the addition of all tags, only the tag that’s selected in the Zap. So you’d need to set up separate Zaps to trigger on each specific tag individually.

I set the Lookup Field to email address and it works now, it just creates a new record row in the Zapier table even when the subscriber is listed previously. However, for my purposes, this more recent duplicate record shouldn’t be an issue.

Something doesn’t sound quite right on the set up of those Zapier Tables actions if it’s creating duplicate records. Can you share some screenshots showing the current fields and settings you’ve got selected in the Action section of both of those Zapier Tables actions? I’d like to take a closer look to see what might be causing that to happen.

Thanks, I look forward to your reply! 

Reply


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