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A customer attribute is an input that may be created to provide additional information for individual customer accounts.
Available attribute formats include checkbox, dropdown menu, list, radio button, and text field.
A customer field is another type of input that may be created to collect information from individual customers.
The creation and configuration of customer fields and customer attributes is very similar -- currently the options of the Customer Attribute Editor are identical to the options of the Customer Field Editor.
The difference between customer fields and customer attributes is that customers may edit the values of customer fields, while customers may only view the values of customer attributes.
All active customer attributes will automatically be displayed in the Customer Attributes section of the Customer Editor. Store admins may also assign attribute values to individual customers within the Customer Editor.
example: customer field vs customer attribute
One common form of input is a group of checkboxes. For instance, a checkbox group might be titled Colors, and include six checkboxes labled Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple.
In order to display the group of checkboxes on the checkout page, to allow customers to select their favorite colors when they place an order, first create a customer field in the Customer Field Editor.
The customer field would be of the Checkbox type, would be named Colors, and would have option values of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple.
As a result, the group of checkboxes will be added to the checkout page below the Billing Information section. When a customer places an order, the customer will be able to select any of the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple checkboxes before submitting the order.
The customer's selections will be saved in their account. If the customer places another order, the checkboxes they selected during the previous order will still be selected. The customer may select different checkboxes during each new order. The most recent selections will overwrite any previous selections.
Store admins will also be able to view the customer's color choices when viewing the customer's account in the Customer Editor. Store admins also have the capability of selecting different checkboxes, which would overwrite the customer's customer's selections.
In order to display the group of checkboxes within the Customer Editor, to allow store admins to quickly choose color values from the set group, while preventing customers from altering the selections, first create a customer attribute in the Customer Attribute Editor. The customer attribute would be of the Checkbox type, would be named Colors, and would have option values of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple.
As a result, the customer attribute will then be added to the Customer Editor for all customer accounts. Store admins will have access to the Colors attribute and the Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple checkboxes from within the Customer Editor.
The text associated with the checkboxes may optionally be displayed to customers in emails or added to pages of the storefront customer account area, but customers will never have access to the actual checkboxes to make different selections.
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