Members can choose how they appear in a member directory in two places. They can use the account-wide Portal setting later, and you can add a step to a membership application form so applicants make the same choice when they join. This article covers the application-form step. For the account-wide field list and the Portal question it uses, see Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members.
What This Controls
- Which member fields you can offer as fields members may hide from a directory.
- Whether applicants set their directory listing while completing a membership application form, and whether they can opt out of the directory entirely or only choose which fields appear.
Where to Find It
The field list that controls what members can hide is on your Rhythm account’s Membership settings record. See Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members for that setting.
You add the application-form step in the form designer at Setup › Applications › Forms. Open or create a membership application form, then drag the Directory Opt Outs tile from the toolbox onto a page.
Tip
This field list decides which fields members can hide from a directory, such as a member’s Profession. It does not control the choices inside a picklist field. To add a new choice to a picklist field, such as adding an option to a Profession field, edit that field’s picklist under Setup › Applications › Custom Fields.
Add a Directory Options Step to an Application Form
- Go to Setup › Applications › Forms and open the membership application form you want to change.
- In the form designer's toolbox, find Directory Opt Outs — "Allow members to decide what information appears in the member directory" — and drag it onto a page.
- Select the tile to open its settings.
- On the Directory Opt Out Options tab, optionally check Hide the "Do Not Show in Directory" checkbox, only allowing members to choose the fields that appear.
- On the Header & Text tab, optionally set a Heading Text: and explanatory Html: for applicants to read.
- Select Save Changes in the dialog, then save the form.
Tip
If this application is part of a change-of-affiliation process, add this same Directory Opt Outs tile to that form too. Rhythm saves a directory choice made during change-of-affiliation processing only when this component is on the form; without it, the applicant’s choice is not retained.
Result
The step appears on the form where you placed it. Applicants see the heading and text you entered. Depending on the checkbox setting, they see both the full opt-out choice and field choices, or they see field choices only.
Warning
You can add the Directory Opt Outs tile, including its "Do Not Show in Directory" checkbox, only to a membership application form. It is not available when you edit a contact form or a profile form, so a member cannot change this choice through a standalone profile edit. To change it after their membership exists, use the account-wide Portal setting described in Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members, or use an application-related process such as a change of affiliation.
The Settings
| Setting | Where | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Field list members may hide | Account settings; see Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members | Contact, organization, and membership fields, plus their custom fields | Empty | Controls what this application-form step and any other directory-options control can offer. You can offer a field here even if no directory publishes it, so applicants can choose to hide a field that no directory shows |
| Hide the "Do Not Show in Directory" checkbox, only allowing members to choose the fields that appear | The step's settings dialog, Directory Opt Out Options tab | On, off | Off | Off: applicants can hide themselves from the directory entirely or, depending on your Rhythm account's field list, choose which fields show. On: applicants can only choose which fields show; they cannot opt out of the directory completely |
| Heading Text: / Html: | The step's settings dialog, Header & Text tab | Any text / HTML | "Directory Opt Outs" / a default explanatory sentence | Controls what applicants read above the choice |
Warning
A dropdown on this step, or elsewhere on a membership application form, opens with its option list at the top of the page instead of next to the field when there is not enough room below the field. The dropdown control works this way, and you cannot configure around it. Scrolling and reopening the dropdown usually resolves it for the applicant.
Tip
Some fields you offer here use a generic label instead of one that names the feature. For example, an accreditation status field may appear in the field list simply as "Status." If you’re looking for a specific field and do not see an obvious option, search the list for a more generic term like "status."
Dependencies and Precedence
- This step's setting is independent of the Portal's own directory-options question. An application form can let applicants opt out entirely while the account-wide Portal setting lets existing members only choose fields, or the reverse. The two settings do not depend on each other, so decide each one separately.
- The field list decides what any directory-options control offers, both on this step and in the Portal. If your Rhythm account has no fields configured to hide, this step still lets applicants opt out of the directory completely unless you hide that checkbox, but they have nothing to choose if they only want to hide individual fields.
- This designer offers no way to see which fields are configured. It does not show your Rhythm account's field list, so check Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members separately if you need to confirm what applicants will see.
- Conditional visibility on a membership application form cannot use selected add-ons as its criteria. If you turn on conditional visibility for this step or any other step, the Add Ons form-data parameter does not offer add-on values as a selectable criteria source, so you cannot show or hide a step based on which add-ons an applicant chose.
- Rhythm's built-in referral contact field offers a searchable lookup in the Console. This article does not establish whether that same lookup behavior is supported on a portal membership application form, so verify it on your own form before relying on it.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Changing this step’s settings, or removing it from the form, affects only applications submitted after you save the form. It does not change how existing members appear in the directory, and it does not change the account-wide Portal setting. To restore the previous behavior, reopen the step’s settings and change the checkbox back, or re-add the tile if you removed it.
Permissions
To edit an application form, including this step, you need permission to edit membership application forms in Setup. A Membership Administrator has this permission.
Validation and Errors
This step has no validation rules of its own. It blocks saving the form only if you turn on conditional visibility for the step and leave the condition incomplete. In that case, the Form Errors card on the designer’s save lists the missing condition, and you complete it or turn conditional visibility off.
Related
- Directory and Self-Service Settings for Members
- Group Application Processes
- Fill Out and Submit Your Application Form
- Choose Your Directory Listing Options
- Web Forms