Who is this article for?

Administrators configuring email actions and custom fields.

Administrator role is required.

If an email action references a custom field using an environment variable, but the resulting email shows a blank value instead of the field's data, the cause may be the custom field's name itself.

This article explains why the issue occurs and how to resolve it.

Issue

Environment variables for custom fields containing HTML tags in their names do not display values correctly in email actions. The values are omitted from the email body without any error message.

Known issue

Environment variables for custom fields with HTML tags in their names do not show their values in email action bodies. This issue affects all such fields, not just those in subforms. A related enhancement request (IQMES-I-25) aims to improve support for HTML tags in custom fields or offer a native method to group custom fields without using tags.

Example

A custom field named <!Area>Laboratory uses the tag <!Area> solely for visual grouping in the Custom Fields list. However, when this field's environment variable is used in an email action, its value does not appear. The placeholder resolves to nothing, despite the field containing data.

Workaround

Some organisations use HTML tags in custom field names as a workaround, since the system lacks built-in grouping. This helps visually separate large numbers of custom fields into categories for easier navigation.

Note

This naming convention is unofficial and not supported by the system. It arose as a practical fix for organising custom fields but currently disrupts email action variable population for fields named this way.

Solution

If a custom field's environment variable is not displaying its value in an email action, check whether the field's name contains an HTML tag.

To remove the HTML tag from the custom field name:

1. Go to Administration.
2. Select Custom Fields.
3. Find the affected custom field.
4. Check the field name for HTML tags like <!Area> or similar.
5. Remove the tag, keeping only the descriptive text.
6. Click Save changes.
7. Re-test the email action to ensure the field value appears correctly.

Important

Removing a tag from a custom field name can change its visual grouping in the Custom Fields list if you used the tag for organisation. Balance this with the need for correct field values in email actions, and consider documenting your field structure separately if removing many tags.

Tip

If you use tags to organise many custom fields and can't remove them all, prioritise removing tags from fields used in email actions first. Fields not used in email actions are unaffected.

If your organisation relies on HTML tags to manage many custom fields and removing them isn’t practical, this is a known limitation with the product team. Currently, there’s no built-in way to group custom fields without affecting email action variables.

If this is a major issue, please contact your Account Manager and mention enhancement request IQMES-I-25 to highlight its priority. There’s no set timeline for this update, but your feedback helps guide future priorities.