Attribute Collector node

The Attribute Collector node collects the values of attributes for use later in the flow; for example, to populate a new account during registration.

This node supports three types of attributes:
string
boolean
number

To request a value, the attribute must be present in the identity schema of the current identity object.

The node lets you configure whether the attributes are required to continue and whether to use a policy filter of the underlying identity service to validate them.

Use the node alone or within a Page node.

Compatibility

Product	Compatible?
Advanced Identity Cloud	Yes
PingAM (self-managed)	Yes
Ping Identity Platform (self-managed)	Yes

Product

Compatible?

Advanced Identity Cloud

Yes

PingAM (self-managed)

Yes

Ping Identity Platform (self-managed)

Yes

Inputs

For validation, this node reads the Identity Attribute (default: userName) from the shared node state. It uses the value to look up the identity object.

It prompts the user for the attributes to collect.

Dependencies

This node depends on the underlying identity service to store the user profile and perform validation.

Configuration

Property Usage

Property	Usage
Attributes to Collect	A list of the attributes to collect based on those in the identity schema for the current identity object. Default: none
All Attributes Required	When enabled, all attributes collected in this node are required in order to continue. Default: false
Validate Input	When enabled, validate the content against any policies specified in the identity schema for each collected attribute. Learn more in Use policies to validate data. If you enable this property, the collected identity attributes must be User Editable. To make an attribute user-editable in the IDM admin UI: Go to Configure > Managed Objects > object-name. Click the pencil () icon, then click Show advanced options. Select the User Editable toggle. For details, refer to Property Configuration Properties. Default: false
Identity Attribute	The attribute used to identify the managed object in the underlying identity service. Default: `userName`

Attributes to Collect

A list of the attributes to collect based on those in the identity schema for the current identity object.

Default: none

All Attributes Required

When enabled, all attributes collected in this node are required in order to continue.

Default: false

Validate Input

When enabled, validate the content against any policies specified in the identity schema for each collected attribute.

Learn more in Use policies to validate data.

If you enable this property, the collected identity attributes must be User Editable. To make an attribute user-editable in the IDM admin UI:

Go to Configure > Managed Objects > object-name.
Click the pencil () icon, then click Show advanced options.
Select the User Editable toggle.

For details, refer to Property Configuration Properties.

Default: false

Identity Attribute

The attribute used to identify the managed object in the underlying identity service.

Default: userName

Outputs

The node writes the attributes and their values to the shared node state.

Outcomes

Single outcome path; on success, downstream nodes can read the attributes from the shared node state.

Errors

This node does not log error or warning messages of its own.

Examples

Add date and datetime fields to a journey

The Attribute Collector node lets you add properties (attributes) that follow a date or datetime (date and time of day). The format of the date comes from the locale set in your browser.

The following table displays the differences between date and datetime:

Display format Managed object field format Notes

Date only

String format

For example, frIndexedString1.

The format of the date comes from the locale set in your browser.

For example, if the locale is English, then the format presented to the end user is MM-DD-YYYY. If the local is French, the format is DD-MM-YYYY.

Date and time

String format (date and time of day)

For example, frIndexedDate1.

The format of the date comes from the locale set in your browser.

For example, if the locale is English (United States), then the format presented to the end user is MM-DD-YYYY. If the local is French, the format is DD-MM-YYYY.

Use the date general purpose extension attributes for datetime only. Don’t attempt to use the indexed date properties with the date format.

While the rendering of the date to the end user changes depending on the locale set in the browser, Advanced Identity Cloud stores the date value in UTC format as YYYY-MM-DDHH:MM:SS. For example, 2023-09-13T08:01:00Z.

To render the date or datetime UI element to an end user with the Attribute Collector node, you must:

Specify the property to use as date or datetime:
- General purpose extension attributes — Recommended. Use OOTB indexed attributes:
  - Use the Date indexed properties, such as frIndexedDate for datetime only. Don’t use it as a date property.
  - Use String data types.
- Create your own custom attributes — Create custom attributes, prefixed with custom_.
Apply formatting and policies to the property in the IDM admin UI for Date or Datetime.

Apply formatting and policies

In the Advanced Identity Cloud admin UI, go to Configure > Managed Objects > Select object, for example, Alpha_user.
Select the property to use.
To select the format of the attribute, on the Details tab, click the Format field, and select one of the following:
- For date property — Date
- For datetime property — Datetime
Click Save.
On the Validation tab, click + Add Policy.
In the Policy Id field, enter one of the following:
- For date property — valid-formatted-date
- For datetime property — valid-datetime
  
  For more information on applying policies to properties, refer to Apply policies to managed objects.
Click Add.
In your journey, in the Attribute Collector node, add the property name to the Attributes to Collect field; in this case, the following properties are used:
- For date property — frIndexedString1
- For datetime property — frIndexedDate1

For an in-depth use case, add the date or datetime property to an Attribute Collector node in a registration flow. Learn more in User self-registration.

The following video shows an example of a journey collecting the datetime from an end user using the Attribute Collector node: