A folder link data set populates InterAction folders with contacts. When configuring the folder link data set, users can choose from two options:
- Any Folder - Users can add any contacts (except sponsored ones) to any folder including non-sponsored contacts to sponsored or non-sponsored marketing lists.
- Sponsored Marketing Lists Only - Users can add sponsored or non-sponsored contacts into a sponsored marketing list only.
A sponsor is the professional user who wanted the contact included on the list. Sponsorship is frequently used to determine which users need to sign mailings being sent to the recipients on a marketing list.
When populating a marketing list with sponsorship, the data set can also set the sponsorship fields for contacts on the list.
You can specify how Application Collaboration should match the harvested data to existing folders, contacts, and sponsors (InterAction users). When transforming the data set, Application Collaboration does the following for each item harvested from the external system:
- Finds the folder to update.
- Finds the contact to add to the folder.
- If you are populating a marketing list that uses sponsorship, finds the user to add as the contact’s sponsor on the marketing list.
If you are populating a marketing list that uses sponsorship, links the specified contact to the marketing list folder, and updates either the primary sponsor or other sponsors field with the sponsor information, if relevant.
If the contact is already on the marketing list, Application Collaboration just updates the sponsor fields with the harvested sponsorship information.
You can configure the mapping method used to match the folder, contacts, and sponsors.
You can use folder link data sets to populate folders with any InterAction contacts - both those that came from an external system and native InterAction contacts entered by users or through import.
The folder link data set does not lock down any information. Users with appropriate access rights can always add and remove their own sponsorship of a contact on a marketing list. A user with appropriate access can also remove a contact from any folder, even if it was added by Application Collaboration.