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Creating & Managing Multiple Directories

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Attention: This page is about a feature that is not included with XM Directory by default. If you do not have the ability to create multiple directories and would like to purchase access, contact your Account Executive.

About Multiple Directories

XM Directory allows you to have multiple directories at a time. This is helpful for situations where you need to create separate groups of contacts with different directory-wide settings.

Example: You want to save employee contacts and customer contacts in separate directories. Since external emails must follow stricter laws and regulations than internal company emails, this allows you to apply GDPR-compliant contact frequency rules and/or any other local data protection regulations for your customers. On the other side, you can set employees to automatically deduplicate based on employee ID (set as External Data Reference), a field that cannot be used to deduplicate customers, who have no such IDs.

Only Brand Administrators are able to create and manage multiple directories.

Qtip: If you are not using roles, all Qualtrics users in your license will have access to all directories. While standard users do not have access to the Directory Contacts, Directory Settings, or Automations tabs, they can upload mailing lists to and distribute from any directory in the brand.

Creating Multiple Directories

Qtip: You can create up to 5 directories by default. Certain CX licenses allow you to be granted up to 20 directories; if you are interested and would like to know more, reach out to your Customer Success Representative or your Account Executive.
  1. Go to the Directories page.
  2. Click the directory dropdown at the top.
    Clicking toolbar top-left and selecting last option, Create Directory in blue
  3. Click Create Directory.
  4. Name your new directory.
    New window opens with field for directory name and blue Save in bottom-right of window
  5. Click Create.

Determining Which Users Have Access to Each Directory

You can determine which users have access to each directory in your license. You can even determine whether or not this directory access should be admin-level, allowing certain users to manage the directory’s settings.

To learn more, see our XM Directory Roles support page.

Editing Different Directories

You can navigate between directories using the directory dropdown menu at the top of the page.

Qtip: The default directory will be the first directory listed in the dropdown menu.

Topmost navigation bar of the screen. Clicking the name of the directory and seeing a dropdown with a list of all other directories

Once inside a directory, you can make edits in each of the tabs just as you normally would. However, when editing one directory, you have absolutely no effect on the others. This means contacts and mailing lists uploaded in one directory only exist in that directory, and directory settings, such as contact frequency rules or duplicate contact consolidation, are unique to each directory.

Renaming a Directory

  1. Go to Directory Settings.
    Image of directory settings, manage directory selected to left, renaming option along top of page
  2. Select Manage Directory.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Type a name.
    Entering name in field and clicking blue Save
  5. Click Save.

Deleting Directories

Qtip: You cannot delete the default directory. The delete option will be grayed out.
Attention: Deleting a directory will delete all its data, including contacts, embedded data, experience data, lists, message triggers, saved searches and automations.
  1. Select the directory you’d like to delete from the dropdown.
    Image of the directory settings page with manage directory open to the left; the deletio button is at the bottom of the page in red
  2. Go to Directory Settings.
  3. Select Manage Directory.
  4. Click I would like to delete this directory.
  5. Read the options carefully. Select both checkboxes.
    Warning window
  6. Type the name of the directory.
  7. Click Delete Directory.

Distributing from Your Directories

You can distribute to a mailing list in any directory you have access to from the Distributions tab of your directory.

  1. Go to the Directories page.
  2. Select your directory.
    Distributions tab of the directory
  3. Go to the Distributions tab.

To learn more about your distribution options, see the Send Emails in XM Directory, Export Unique Links in XM Directory, SMS Distributions in XM Directory, WhatsApp Distributions, or Web and App Feedback Distributions in XM Directory support pages.

Qtip: You can distribute to mailing lists in any directory two ways:

  1. The Distributions tab in the directory (shown above)
  2. The Distributions tab in the survey