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Types of Segment Data Fields

After your data has been uploaded to LiveRamp, LiveRamp creates fields from your segment data and classifies each field into one of the following field types, based on the data type and the number of distinct values.

In some cases, the field type will determine the types of operations you can perform with those fields.

File-Wide Fields

A file-wide field is a way to send data where all the records in the file are members of one particular segment. The name of the file indicates the segment name for the file-wide field.

Note

  • File name limit: Because segment names are limited to 250 characters, file names for file-wide field files must not be longer than 248 characters, including the file extension, to allow for the addition of "=1" at the end of the file name.

  • Additional fields are allowed: Files that contain file-wide fields can also contain additional fields with segment data.

For example, a file named "LiveRamp_test_field.csv" would result in a segment named "LiveRamp_test_field.csv=1" where every record in the file is part of the segment.

Binary Fields

A binary field is a a field with only two values (for example, a field with values of only "0" or "1", or a field with values of only "true" or "false"), which is used to indicate whether a particular audience member is member of a certain segment.

Note

What about empty binary field values? If a binary field value is empty for a given record, it is assumed that that record is not a member of that segment.

For example, you may have a field "ownsCar" with values of "0" or "1,." You can use the segment of records which have a value of "1" for that field to target all car owners.

Numeric Fields

A numeric field is a type of data field that only contains numeric values.

LiveRamp can map raw numeric data (like annual income or date of most recent purchase) into segment ID codes that you can later modify into segment ranges using LiveRamp’s Segment Creator.

Caution

Including dates? If the field represents a calendar date and you want to use that field to create derived segments, use one of our preferred date formats: YYYYMM or YYYYMMDD. Do not include forward slashes (/) or hyphens (-).

String Fields

A string field is a text-based field whose entries can contain letters, numbers, and special characters.

LiveRamp can ingest string data values, such as "blue" and "red" for a field named "favoriteColor", and then target based off the segment of users who have "favoriteColor=blue."

Enumerated Field

A field in a given file that has 250 or fewer distinct values, which can then be separated out and managed individually in Connect.

Note

For files for EMEA countries (countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, such as the United Kingdom, France, or Germany), the limit for an enumerated field is 100 distinct values. All other raw field limitations for U.S. files apply.

Here's an example of what an enumerated field looks like in Connect when you go to the Audience Segments page (from the Connect navigation menu, hover over Audiences and then select the appropriate audience):

Enumerated Field in Connect.jpg

This allows you to select specific segments (field/value pairings) for distribution or reporting.

Non-enumerated fields (raw fields) have very diverse values. Think of the large number of distinct values fields like "Last Purchase Timestamp" or "Transaction Amount" would contain. Depending on the size of your input file, there could be millions of distinct values; far too many to use effectively in Connect or destination platforms. For more information, see "Raw Field".

To use the data in a raw field for distribution, create a derived segment.

Note

  • How many distinct values can be enumerated? By default, LiveRamp enumerates field values in Connect if there are 250 or fewer distinct values.

  • A field with more than 250 distinct values is considered a "raw field", and those distinct values cannot be separated out and managed individually in Connect.

  • Field values accumulate with each import and can turn an enumerated field into a raw field. For more information, see "How Accumulated Values Can Create Raw Fields".

Raw Field

A raw field is a field in a given file that has over 250 distinct values, and so cannot be separated out and managed individually in Connect.

Note

For files for EMEA countries (countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, such as the United Kingdom, France, or Germany), the limit for an enumerated field is 100 distinct values. All other raw field limitations for U.S. files apply.

Caution

A field with 250 or less distinct values is considered an "enumerated field", and those distinct values are enumerated (separated out) as segments so that they can be managed individually in Connect.

A raw field will appear in Connect with the appropriate field name but with no segment values or segment counts.

How Accumulated Values Can Create Raw Fields

Because the number of distinct values can accumulate with each additional file that's ingested in an audience using the "incremental" update option, enumerated fields can become raw fields over time in audiences that use that update option.

Note

This issue is only possible if the audience is using the "incremental" update option, where data from subsequent files is used to add to any previously-onboarded fields contained in the file. This issue cannot occur if the audience uses either the "segment refresh" or "full refresh" update option. For more information on audience update methods, see "Ways to Update an Existing Audience".

For example, if the first imported file for a given field has 175 distinct values, we will enumerate those values. But then if a second imported file has that same field with 85 new distinct values (now a total of 260 distinct values), that field will be passed as raw in the second import rather than enumerated.

This would then cause there to be two fields with the same name in Connect, but only one will show the field values (the enumerated field from the first import) and the duplicate field (the raw field from the second import) will not show any enumerated values to activate on.

If the original enumerated field is being distributed, that field will not get refreshed with the new data. If this occurs, you can create a support case to try to remove any unused values or have LiveRamp perform a segment refresh to change the overall number of distinct values.

Platforms that Do Not Accept Raw Fields

The following platforms cannot accept raw fields, so raw fields can often only be distributed to these platforms by creating derived segments from them in Connect. If you try to distribute a raw field to one of these platforms, the delivery will fail.

For more information on raw fields, see "Raw Field".

Enumerated Fields vs. Raw Fields

At LiveRamp, the number of distinct values a field contains determines whether that field is a raw field or an enumerated field.

  • If a field has 250 or fewer distinct values, the field will be an "enumerated" field and the values for that field will be viewable as segments (enumerated) in Connect.

  • If a field has more than 250 distinct values, this will be a raw field and the values for that field will not be viewable in Connect.

Note

For files for EMEA countries (countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, such as the United Kingdom, France, or Germany), the limit for an enumerated field is 100 distinct values. All other raw field limitations for U.S. files apply.

Caution

  • Before uploading files containing fields with more than 250 distinct values, talk to your LiveRamp account manager.

  • If the audience is being updated with the "incremental update" option, the field values can accumulate with each import and can turn an enumerated field into a raw field. For more information, see the "Platforms that Do Not Accept Raw Fields" section above.

Raw fields have some additional limitations:

  • Stats are not calculated on individual raw values. Instead, stats will be calculated at the field level.

  • Many destinations (such as Facebook and Google Customer Match) cannot accept raw fields (for a list of platforms that do not accept raw fields, see the "Platforms that Do Not Accept Raw Fields" section above.

  • Data Marketplace segments cannot be created from raw fields.

Note

You can use raw segments to create derived segments in Connect.

For more information on raw fields, see "Raw Field".

In this section:

A set of segment data that holds a specific category of values, such as "Car_Owned."

Data you use to group your records based on certain attributes (such as “Gender=Female” or “Income=25,000-49,999”) so you can distribute those records to one of LiveRamp’s partners, typically for targeting, measurement, or personalization.

A group of your records that are defined by a specific attribute (a field/value pairing, such as "Gender=female"). For example, a field for "Gender" might contain segments for "Gender=Female" and for "Gender=Male."

Within a column of segment data in a data file, the entry for a given record that indicates a trait or attribute value, such as "BMW" in a field named "Car_Owned." A group of users with a specific field-value pairing creates a segment.

A value or set of values that are distinct from all other values for a given field in a data file.

A field in a given file that has over 250 distinct values, and so cannot be separated out and managed individually in the UI.

A field in a given file that has 250 or fewer distinct values, which can then be separated out and managed individually in the UI.