The Variables page is where your workspace's variables live. To open it, click Variables under Libraries in the left sidebar, or click Manage variables in the editor's variable panel.
Admins and creators can open the Variables page. Members with the User or Creator Lite role can't. Custom variables and profile custom fields are available on the Pro and Team plans.
The Custom variables tab of the Variables page
Tabs. Switch between Storydoc variables, Profile variables and Custom variables. HubSpot variables also appears when HubSpot is connected.
Add custom variable creates a new variable.
Upload imports many variables at once from a CSV file.
Row menu (···) lets you edit or delete a custom variable.
Storydoc variables
These are the built-in variables, grouped by category. Pick a category from the tabs at the top of the list, or choose All variables. For each variable you can see its type, its variable key (what appears inside {{ }}) and its fallback value. Built-in variables are read-only.
Profile variables
Profile variables are details about the sender and their organization: sender name, role, email, phone, calendar link, LinkedIn, picture, and your organization's name, logo and website. They fill in automatically from the sender's profile. When someone creates a version, the ones used in the story appear pre-filled, and they can be changed for that version only.
Edit a value: use the row menu. Some values change your own profile; organization values (logo, website) change them for the whole organization, and only admins on Pro or Team can edit those. Sender email can't be edited.
Add your own profile fields: click Add custom field, or import them with Upload. For example, add a "Booking link" that each person fills in once under My profile → Custom fields. Profile fields can be Input, Image or Video.
Custom variables
Custom variables are your own variables. They're shared by everyone in your workspace and can be used in any story.
Create a custom variable
Click Add custom variable. You can do this on the Variables page, or with Add variable in the editor's variable panel.
Enter a Name. Storydoc creates the Variable key from it, for example Plan tier becomes
plan_tier.Choose a Type.
Optionally, add a Fallback value. This is used whenever a version leaves the variable empty.
Click Add custom variable.
Choosing the variable type
A Select variable with three options
An Image variable with an image fallback
Variable types
Type | Use it for | Fallback value |
Input | Any text: names, job titles, pain points | Text |
Number | Amounts, seats, percentages; also usable in formulas | A number, e.g. |
Image | Logos, photos, screenshots | Choose an image or paste a URL |
Video | Personal intro videos, demos | Choose a video or paste a URL |
AI | Text that AI writes for each version. You write a Prompt, for example Welcome message about {{industry}}; up to 500 characters | — |
Select | One choice from a list, such as a plan tier. Add options with Add option | — |
Multiselect | Several choices from a list, such as products of interest | — |
Date | Go-live dates, deadlines | A date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
Color | A client's brand color on buttons and dividers | A hex color, e.g. |
Iframe | A page to embed, such as a calendar or demo environment | An HTTP(S) URL |
Data | The contents of a whole table or chart | — |
Rules for names and keys
A name must contain at least one letter or number.
Keys are lowercase, with underscores in place of spaces and symbols.
If a key is taken, Storydoc adds
_1,_2and so on.Built-in Storydoc names are reserved. You'll see This name is reserved by a Storydoc variable.
Edit or delete
Open the row menu (···) and choose Edit variable or Delete variable. Deleting can't be undone.
Import custom variables from a CSV
Click Upload, then Download blank template or Download example CSV. View CSV format guide shows what each column accepts.
Fill in one variable per row. Keep the six columns in this order:
name, key, type, fallback, options, prompt. Leave a cell empty when it doesn't apply to that type. Options contain commas, so wrap the whole options cell in double quotes.Click Upload → Upload CSV and choose your file. It must be under 2 MB.
Check the Review CSV import screen. Fix any issues it lists, then click Import variables.
Fallback values
A fallback value is what readers see when a personalized version doesn't fill in a variable.
Custom variables: set the fallback when you create or edit the variable.
Images and videos on a slide: the image or video you placed on the slide is the fallback.
Empty with no fallback: if a variable has no value and no fallback, that spot is left blank for the reader. Give text variables a sensible fallback so the sentence still reads well. For example, a first-name fallback of there turns "Hi {{first_name}}" into "Hi there".