TopolearnMapping is what turns a fixed message into a personalised one; nearly every Zap depends on it.
Every step produces data: a set of named values called fields. A new form entry might produce the fields name, email and plan. Behind the scenes Zapier receives this as JSON, a common text format that writes data as "field name": value pairs inside curly braces, like the example below. You never have to type JSON yourself; it just helps to recognise it.
Mapping means filling a field in a later step with a value from an earlier step. In the action's field box, type / or click the insert button, pick the earlier step, then pick the field. It appears as a small coloured pill such as "1. Email".
The pill is a placeholder. On each run Zapier swaps it for that run's real value. If you typed ana@example.com by hand instead, every run would send to Ana.
You can mix fixed text and pills: Welcome, [1. Name]! Your plan: [1. Plan].
Some data is nested (a field inside a field, like the address inside the customer). Zapier shows nested fields with names such as "Customer Address City".
Lists of things, such as the products in one order, are called line items. Mapping a line-item field into a normal text box joins all values with commas. Later lessons show how to loop over line items instead.
Tip: test the trigger with a realistic sample. The fields you can map come from the sample, and a field that was empty in the sample may be hidden from the list.
Example
{
"name": "Ana Lopez",
"email": "ana@example.com",
"plan": "Team",
"address": { "city": "Lisbon", "country": "PT" },
"items": ["Mug", "T-shirt"]
}Remember
- Fields from earlier steps can be mapped into later steps as placeholders
- Mapped values change on every run; typed values stay fixed
- Nested fields and line items need a little extra care
Watch out for
- Typing a sample value by hand instead of mapping the field, so every run uses the same value.