The external ID field lets you identify users in the Webex Events Platform with your preferred unique identifier from a third-party or proprietary system. Using this field, you can identify users with their external ID throughout the Webex Events Platform.

The External ID lets you easily "match" users across systems. External IDs also let you export from our system and import into the system that uses that ID — and vice versa!

There are two ways to add External IDs to an attendee profile. You can update the field in bulk using the Attendee import template or individually in a user's Event App, Onsite, or Registration attendee profile.

To view and edit a single user's External ID field, first click Users & Groups under 'Event App' in your Event's navigation bar (or 'Community' in a Community) and click a user to view their profile.

⭐️ Keep in mind, you can also view and edit a user's External ID field in Registration and Onsite on the 'Attendees' page.

On the user's profile page, click the Settings (⚙️) icon, then click Edit. In the modal that appears, scroll down and expand the 'Advanced Settings' section. This reveals the 'External ID' field. Don't forget to click Save Changes after editing the ID!

⚠️ Caution, you can only edit the External ID field once. After you save a change, the field is locked.

When you edit a user's external ID in one Webex Events product, their profile in other products automatically updates as well. For example, if you edit the external ID in a Webex Events Registration, the Attendee Profile updates in Onsite and the Event App.

⭐️ Keep in mind, the maximum number of alphanumeric characters for the External ID field is 255.

If Lead Retrieval is active for your Event and you activate the Pass Data to URL option for an External Link, the passed data includes External IDs. This is a great option if you're linking to a survey and want to reference each response by external ID.

When used with Lead Retrieval, you can use the external ID to generate attendee QR codes.

If you want to use the External ID to populate the QR Code, click QR Codes under 'Lead Retrieval' in your Event's navigation bar (or 'Community' in a Community), then toggle the 'Use External IDs to Generate QR Codes' setting to Yes. Click Save when you're done.

Lead Retrieval will now use external IDs to generate the attendee QR codes. If an attendee doesn't have an associated external ID, the attendee is assigned a Webex Events QR Code.

If you're using Onsite as a standalone product without purchasing Registration or an Event App, you must import attendees into Onsite. When you import an attendee file, the values you include in the external ID column automatically generate QR codes, which you can then print on badges!

For more on importing Onsite attendees, refer to our Onsite Attendees and Attendee Types article.