Create Projects On Behalf Of Users - User Profile Smart Fields

What You'll Learn

In this article, you'll discover how to:

• ✅ Understand how user profile smart fields work
• ✅ Apply user information to designs quickly
• ✅ Create projects on behalf of other team members
• ✅ Use smart fields for entire documents
• ✅ Generate personalized materials at scale

What are User Profile Smart Fields?

User profile smart fields are dynamic placeholders that automatically pull information from a user's Marq profile and populate it into your design. Instead of manually typing each person's name, title, email, or phone number, you can select a user and have all their information fill in automatically.

Common user profile fields include:

• Name
• Job title
• Email address
• Phone number
• Department
• Location
• Profile photo
• Custom fields (if configured by your admin)

Perfect for creating:

• Business cards
• Name tags and badges
• Email signatures
• Organizational charts
• Team directories
• Personalized presentations
• Employee onboarding materials

How to Use User Profile Smart Fields

Setting Up Smart Fields in Your Design

1. Create or open a project in the Marq editor
2. Add text boxes or image containers where user information should appear
3. Open the smart fields panel (look for "User Profile" or "Smart Fields" in the right toolbar)
4. Select which user field should populate each element:
   • Name field → connects to user's full name
   • Title field → connects to user's job title
   • Email field → connects to user's email address
   • Photo field → connects to user's profile picture
5. Repeat for all personalized elements in your design

Your template is now ready to populate with any user's information.

Applying User Information to Your Design

Once you've set up smart fields, you can quickly generate personalized materials:

1. Open your project with user profile smart fields
2. Click the "On Behalf Of" button or "Select User" option
3. Choose a user from the list of team members
4. All smart fields automatically populate with that user's information
5. Review the populated information
6. Download, share, or create the personalized project

New Enhancement: You can now apply user smart fields to the entire document at once instead of applying them individually to each shape or group. This saves significant time when creating materials with multiple user-specific elements.

Creating Materials On Behalf Of Users

Quick Creation Workflow

When a team member needs personalized materials but doesn't have time to create them:

1. Open the relevant template (business card, name tag, etc.)
2. Use the "On Behalf Of" feature to select the user
3. Their information automatically populates
4. Make any necessary adjustments
5. Share or download the finished project for them

The user gets their personalized materials without needing to create them themselves.

Bulk Creation

Need to create materials for multiple users?

1. Open your template with user profile smart fields
2. Select the first user → download/save their version
3. Select the next user → download/save their version
4. Repeat for all users

This workflow is much faster than creating individual projects manually for each person.

User Profile Smart Fields vs. Impersonation

These two features serve different purposes:

When to use User Profile Smart Fields: Creating new personalized materials for users
When to use Impersonation: Accessing or editing a user's existing projects and seeing their view

Benefits and Improvements

Recent Performance Enhancements

The On Behalf Of feature has been improved with:

Faster User Loading - Users load much more quickly in the selection panel
Entire Document Application - Apply smart fields to all elements at once, not just individual shapes
Cleaner Experience - Error messages and notifications have been streamlined
Improved Reliability - Fewer errors when populating user details

These improvements make creating personalized materials faster and more efficient.

Time Savings

Before user profile smart fields:

• Manually type each person's name, title, email, phone
• Risk of typos and inconsistent formatting
• Time-consuming for bulk creation

With user profile smart fields:

• Select user → information populates automatically
• Consistent formatting and accuracy
• Create personalized materials in seconds

Best Practices

Setting Up Templates

Include all relevant smart fields:

• Don't just add name—include title, contact info, and other relevant fields
• Consider what information each type of material needs

Design for variable content:

• Name lengths vary—ensure text boxes can accommodate long names
• Job titles can be lengthy—allow flexible sizing
• Test with several different user profiles to ensure design works for all

Provide clear placeholders:

• Use placeholder text that indicates what information will appear
• Example: "[User Name]" or "[Job Title]"

Creating On Behalf Of Others

Verify information first:

• Make sure the user's profile is up-to-date before creating materials
• Check for typos or outdated information in their profile

Communicate with the user:

• Let them know you're creating materials for them
• Get approval before sharing externally
• Provide them with the finished files

Keep templates accessible:

• Make templates with user profile smart fields easy to find
• Use clear naming: "Business Card Template - User Smart Fields"
• Add to a shared folder or category for quick access

Troubleshooting

User's Information Doesn't Populate

Possible causes:

• User profile is incomplete or missing fields
• Smart field mapping is incorrect
• User doesn't have permissions set up

Solutions:

• Have the user (or an admin) update their profile information
• Verify smart fields are connected to the correct user profile fields
• Check that the user exists in your account and has required fields filled in

Information Appears Cut Off or Doesn't Fit

Possible causes:

• Text box is too small for the content
• Font size is too large
• Field contains more information than expected

Solutions:

• Make text boxes larger or enable auto-sizing
• Reduce font size slightly
• Consider abbreviating long titles or using line breaks

Can't Find the User I Need

Possible causes:

• User isn't in your account or groups
• User list hasn't loaded yet
• You don't have permission to access that user's information

Solutions:

• Verify the user is part of your Marq account
• Wait for the user list to fully load (improved in recent updates)
• Check with your admin about user access permissions

Common Use Cases

New Employee Onboarding

Scenario: New employees need business cards, name tags, and email signatures.

Solution: Create templates with user profile smart fields for each material type. When someone new joins, select their profile and generate all their personalized materials in minutes.

Event Preparation

Scenario: You're hosting a conference and need name badges for 50 attendees.

Solution: Create a name badge template with user smart fields (name, title, company). Generate badges for all attendees quickly by selecting each user profile.

Team Updates

Scenario: Team members' roles change and their business cards need updating.

Solution: Update user profiles with new titles or information. Regenerate business cards using the smart field template—information automatically updates.

Departmental Materials

Scenario: Create team directories or org charts that need to stay current.

Solution: Use user profile smart fields in directory or org chart templates. When information changes, simply update user profiles and regenerate the materials.

Setting Up User Profiles (Admin)

For user profile smart fields to work effectively, user profiles need to be complete:

Ensuring Complete User Profiles

1. Go to Admin Settings → Users
2. Review user profiles to ensure they include:
   • Full name
   • Job title
   • Email address
   • Phone number (if applicable)
   • Department
   • Any custom fields your organization uses
3. Encourage users to keep their profiles up-to-date
4. Consider making certain fields required

Adding Custom Profile Fields

If your organization needs additional user information beyond standard fields:

1. Navigate to Admin Settings → User Profile Settings (or similar)
2. Add custom fields such as:
   • Employee ID
   • Office location
   • Direct phone line
   • Professional credentials
   • LinkedIn URL
3. These custom fields can then be used in user profile smart fields

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do users need special permissions to create materials on behalf of others?
A: Typically, any user with access to templates containing user profile smart fields can select other users and generate materials. Check with your admin about specific permission settings.

Q: Will the user be notified when I create something on their behalf?
A: Marq does not automatically notify users when materials are created using their profile information. It's best practice to communicate directly with them.

Q: Can I edit the information that populates from a user's profile?
A: Once information populates from a user's profile, you can manually edit it in that specific project. However, this won't change the information in their profile—only in that instance of the design.

Q: What happens if a user's profile information changes after I create their materials?
A: Materials created with user profile information are static once generated. If a user's profile changes, you'll need to regenerate their materials to reflect the updates.

Q: Can I use user profile smart fields with Creative Studio?
A: Yes. Templates with user profile smart fields work in Creative Studio just like other templates.

Q: Is this the same as mail merge?
A: It's similar in concept—both populate variable information into templates. User profile smart fields specifically pull from Marq user profiles, making it ideal for creating personalized materials for team members.

Q: Can I create materials for users outside my organization?
A: User profile smart fields only work with users in your Marq account. For external contacts, you'll need to manually enter their information or use a different approach.

Next Steps

Ready to explore more productivity features? Check out these related articles:

→ User Impersonation
→ Creating your design
→ Admin panel overview

Questions or feedback? Contact your Customer Success Manager or reach out to Marq Support.