Thread fields

Today, we're making the core of Plain's data model completely extensible with the introduction of thread fields.

Thread fields allow you to customise the data stored on a thread object to your liking. For example, you can use thread fields to:

• Keep track of the product area that the customer is asking about

• Save important IDs and details about the support request.

• Track simple todos before snoozing a support request for later

While many products have a "custom fields" concept, they often feel secondary – custom – to their products, rather than native and fully integrated. With our thread fields feature, we want to bring the same programmatic extensibility our customers already love about Plain, to our data model.

Thread fields in Plain are:

Completely integrated into the Plain workflow. You can either set their values in the sidebar, or we'll automatically ask you to fill in any required fields using just a couple of keystrokes (or clicks, if that's your thing) when you mark a thread as Done. Try it – it's so fast it feels a little magical. ✨

Nestable. You can show fields conditionally based on the value of a different field. For example, setting a Product Area field to Dashboard can then show another field Dashboard Version with a dropdown list of options.

AI-powered. You can enable individual fields to be populated with AI using information in the thread.

A core part of our API. As with all Plain features, you can interact with fields both in the app and using our API.

Start using thread fields

Thread fields are powered by a strict schema that you control, making them powerful yet predictable:

• Fields can be of a specific type (e.g. text, boolean, dropdown etc.).

• As noted above, fields can be nested to show conditional fields based on the selected value of a different field.

• Fields can be required before a thread can be marked as done to encourage good data collection. If you try to mark a thread as done before completing the required fields, a small screen appears to allow you to quickly fill out required fields and move on to the next thread.

You can implement thread fields by heading to Settings → Thread fields, or read more in our docs or API reference.We're really excited to be releasing this feature, and can't wait to hear what you think. We already have a long list of further improvements planned and can't wait to share them with you soon.