When setting up your workflows in Zapier, you’ll often need to enter a custom value in a dropdown menu field. To do so, you must enter the value ID, not its name.

This article explains how to locate the correct ID that your app expects, ensuring your Zaps run smoothly.

1. Review the field’s help text

To understand what an app field expects, examine its help text. To find help text for a field:

• Within the Zap editor, if a field label has a dotted underline this means the field has help text.
  • If a field label does not have a dotted underline, continue to step 2.

• Click the field name to display the help text.

• You can also click Explain field. Copilot will open on the left-hand side, with an explanation of how to use this field.

• If you located the ID, go to step 4.
• If you did not locate the ID, continue to step 2.

2. Review the dropdown menu field

• Click the dropdown menu field to display its options and their corresponding IDs (if the IDs are displayed). This can provide valuable clues about the expected format.
  • If the dropdown option displays gray field text underneath it, after the text ID: [ID value], the [ID value] portion indicates the app’s expected ID format. 
  • For example, in ID: txcd_99999999, txcd_99999999 is the ID.
  • The format can vary between apps. For example, some may be numbers, text, or a combination of the two.

• If you’ve identified the ID and your Zap:
  • Contains the relevant ID from a previous step or does not require dynamic changes each time the Zap runs, go to step 5.
  • Does not contain the relevant ID, go to step 4.
• If you’ve not identified the ID, continue to step 3.

3. Look directly in the app

Sometimes, the ID you need can be found within the app itself.

• URL patterns:
  • Many web applications use predictable URL patterns. For example, a customer’s profile URL might contain their ID. Examine the app’s URL to identify any patterns.
• App resources:
  • Help Center: The app’s help center or knowledge base may contain articles that explain how to find specific IDs.
  • API documentation: The app’s API documentation will provide detailed information about its data structure and how to retrieve IDs.
  • Customer support: When in doubt, reach out to the app’s support team. They can provide definitive answers on how to find the correct IDs.

4. (Optional) Add a search step

If previous steps in your Zap do not provide the ID, you must add an app search step.

For example, if you need a customer ID, add a search step that looks up customers based on their email address or name, such as a Find Customer action. This action outputs the customer’s ID, which you can use in subsequent steps.

5. Add custom value

Once you’ve identified the ID, you can set your field with a custom value.

Still having trouble locating an app’s ID?

• The Zapier Community is a valuable resource for finding answers to common questions and getting help from other users.
• If you’ve exhausted all other options, contact Zapier’s support team.