The List Builder lets you segment your database of People, Organisations or Roles using flexible rules and criteria, then act on the results — reporting, CSV exports, Documents mail merge, bulk updates, event/RSVP filtering and more. Lists power your outbound communications and ad-hoc reporting across SwiftFox.
What the List Builder does
- Segments Contacts — People, Organisations or Roles (a Roles list has one row per relationship) — using rules, criteria and And/Or logic.
- Powers Emails, Text messages and Calls by supplying targeted audiences.
- Builds event invite, attendee and non-response lists by filtering on event name and RSVP status.
- Produces ad-hoc reports, including CSV exports with the columns you choose.
- Feeds Documents mail merge to generate a personalised document for every contact in the list.
- Supports bulk maintenance — bulk update custom fields, add people to an organisation, and add to or exclude from existing lists.
Where it sits
Open Lists from the left-hand menu. You will see a table of your lists with key details and quick actions (view, clone, pin, move, convert, set as base list, delete). You can search and filter, switch between All lists and Folders, change the circle (for example Global) with the circle selector, open a list to review its results, or click Create list to build a new one. The dropdown beside Create list also offers Create folder. Full detail: The Lists table and controls (search, pin, three-dot menu) (Document ID: 223) and Creating and managing list folders (Document ID: 410).
List types
There are two kinds of list, and the difference matters for how results behave over time:
- Live list — updates automatically as contact data changes and criteria are met or no longer met. Use a live list when you want an always-current segment.
- Fixed list — a point-in-time snapshot that does not update automatically (people can still be added or removed by hand). Use a fixed list when you need a stable audience, for example the exact recipients of an email campaign. You can convert a live list into a fixed list at any time, but converting cannot be undone and removes the list's conditions.
Full detail: Live lists vs fixed lists (and converting) (Document ID: 215).
How a list is built
Every list is created in four stages, each covered in detail in its own guide:
- List Details — name the list; choose People, Organisations or Roles (see Roles lists (one row per relationship) (Document ID: 413)); set the list type; and choose which Circles can view it.
- Conditions (titled Search Criteria) — build Rules and Criteria using And/Or logic to define who is included. See Building conditions — rules, criteria and AND/OR logic (Document ID: 219) and List Builder field menus and operators (Document ID: 222).
- Results — review the matching records, choose which columns to show, and confirm the count. See Reviewing results and choosing columns for export (Document ID: 213).
- Actions — act on the results: save as a new or fixed list, add to / exclude from an existing list, export to CSV, generate documents, run reports, update custom fields, add people to an organisation, create an email campaign, call list or visit list, or create a Meta audience. See List actions in List Builder (Document ID: 221).
Move between stages with Next and Back (Cancel on the first stage), or click Save and close to save the list and leave the builder.
Related capabilities
- Emails, Text messages and Calls — lists provide the targeted audiences for outbound communications.
- Events — filter by event name and RSVP status to build invitee, attendee or no-show lists.
- Forms (forms, surveys and petitions) — build lists of contacts who have or have not completed specific forms.
- Finance (Subscriptions and Receipts) — segment by membership and payment details.
- Organisation connections — target contacts by their current organisation, position, category type, industry or region.
- Documents — generate personalised PDFs for list members using uploaded templates with SwiftFox mail merge fields.