Alternative naming is a function in Aptly that allows you to add variant names to buildings, units, and ad sources. This can be helpful as internally you may refer to a location as “EB-126,” market it as “Sunset Vista by the River’s Edge,” and list it in your Property Management System as “Rivers Edge.”
It’s also useful in the case of Ad Sources where you might want to call ‘Apartment Guide’ something different on reports rather than the Aptly default (let’s say “Apt Gde”).
With this feature enabled, cards created via inbox rules or email parsers can identify a building, unit, or ad source by any of those names.
When Should I Use Alternative Naming?
When you see a red exclamation point in a building, ad source, or another field, it's a good indicator that Aptly is receiving data from an external source that doesn't match your setup. You'll copy the text from these tags and use them as an Alternative Name on the building so the system can automatically match them in the future.
Follow the process below - identify the correct item, open it up, and add the name variants to the card.
How to Set Up Alternative Naming
Alternative naming is available for Portfolios, Buildings, Units, and the Ad Source board. This section reviews how to set up alternative naming for Portfolios, Buildings, and Units. Ad Source board details are below.
From either Portfolios, Buildings, or Units, click on Card Settings in the Board Settings menu on the left.
- Locate the field titled Alternative Naming in the Card Details.
- Once the field is enabled, you can start to add the different iterations of your location's name. Click + icon and type the relevant aliases. Case matters - include both an uppercase and lowercase version if it appears in this manner.
- Enter the alternate name and hit Enter. Alternative naming works like a tag.
How about Ad Sources?
Ad source alternative naming works similarly. The Ad Source card's primary name appears in the card's title spot, and any aliases you want to roll up into that name are added to the alternative naming field.
For example, if you want "Apartment Guide" to appear as "Apt Gde" on reports, make "Apt Gde" the card title, then add "Apartment Guide" to the Alternative Naming field. This ensures Aptly will recognize both names as the same ad source.