Transforming directory field data with regex and Liquid

Overview

Field transformations reformat data from your directory before it appears in email signatures, without changing anything in your identity provider. This is useful when your directory stores data in a format that differs from how it should be displayed, such as unformatted phone numbers, or names stored in last-first order.

Directory data only

Transformations apply to directory-synced data only. They don’t affect values entered manually through custom compose fields.

What you can do

Phone number formatting

Each input example is shown with its output format:

6043334567

(604) 333-4567

604-333-4567

604.333.4567

6043334567 x1234 (with extension)

604.333.4567

Any format stored in AD

604.333.4567 or 604-333-4567

Text formatting

Transformation	Input example	Output example
Flip name order	Doe, Jane	Jane Doe
All uppercase	jane doe	JANE DOE
All lowercase	JANE DOE	jane doe
Remove specific characters	Director - Sales	Director
Trim whitespace	[space] Jane Doe	Jane Doe

Two approaches

You can configure transformations with either regex transforms or Liquid, depending on what you need.

Regex transforms

Regex transforms are configured in the Transforms panel under each field mapping. Steps run in sequence, and each step receives the output of the previous one. Built-in keywords handle common operations, without your having to write custom patterns:

formatPhone

Normalizes digits into a standard phone format.

flipNameComma

Converts "Last, First" to "First Last".

toUpperCase, toLowerCase

Changes the case.

trim

Removes leading and trailing whitespace.

space

Inserts or matches a literal space.

Liquid

Liquid is entered directly in the Source field. It handles scenarios that regex transforms aren’t suited for, such as removing or replacing specific characters, conditional logic, fallback values when a field is empty, or custom string manipulation beyond what the built-in keywords support.

Which approach to use

Scenario	Use
Phone number formatting (any common format)	Regex transforms (formatPhone)
Name order (Last, First to First Last)	Regex transforms (flipNameComma)
Case standardization	Regex transforms (toUpperCase or toLowerCase)
Trimming leading or trailing whitespace	Regex transforms (trim)
Removing or replacing specific characters	Liquid
Conditional output or fallback values	Liquid
Complex multi-step logic not covered by built-in keywords	Liquid

What’s next

• Showing signature elements based on a field value (Liquid templates)
• How often Opensense syncs user data

For further help, contact Opensense Support at help@opensense.com.