Introduction

An array variable in Dotidot is different from standard variables. While most variables hold just one value (even if it’s a long string), an array is designed to handle multiple values. This is incredibly useful when working with product data that includes multiple attributes — like sizes, brands, or subcategories — within a single field. Imagine you have a product with multiple sizes stored in one string: S > M > L. With an array variable, you can split this string into individual size values and use each of them in your campaign logic.

We’ve prepared a webinar where our marketing specialist Marek explains how to work with several variable types in Dotidot, including Conditional, Array, Remapping, and Countdown variables. This in-depth session is packed with real examples and tips. You can watch the full webinar here.

Below, we’ve selected the part of the webinar that focuses on array variable:

If you’d rather read through the content, we’ve put together this written guide summarizing everything covered in the webinar.

What this guide will teach

You’ll learn how to create an array variable, how to set the split key, and how to extract specific values for use in ads or feeds.

Who it’s for

Marketers, feed specialists, and anyone building product exports or category feeds in Dotidot.

Steps

1. Open the Variables tab
   

   In your data source, navigate to the Variables section and select "+" button. Then select Array Variable from the list.

   
   

   
   

2. Name your variable and set input source

   Choose the variable that contains multiple values in a single string (e.g. S > M > L > XL)
   

3. Set the split key

   Define how the values should be split (e.g. >, ,, |, etc.)
   

Or you can use Array to extract specific item. Use the output setting to get thefirst or last value - this is useful for taxonomy where you only need the most specific category:

Expected result

You should see:

• A list of values separated into multiple rows within the array variable.

This allows you to:

• Generate long-tail keywords (e.g. T-shirt S, T-shirt M, etc.)
• Use only the last category in your ad templates
• Populate feeds with grouped values like all available colors or brands in one category

To verify success:

• Check the variable preview to see if values are correctly split and displayed row by row, or extracted.