Parse custom full name field to first and last name

[Tamir_Belzer]

Hey, in our online SAAS app there's an option to add users directly from within the app. In this option we ask for a full name. It's not a Marketo form and changing the full name to first and last is not option right now. 

Also from what I understood, the full name field cannot be written to from an external API. 

Is there a way to use a custom full name field and parse it somehow to first and last name? I saw the article about using a JS script but it only applies to a Marketo form and this is not. 

Thank you. 

[SanfordWhiteman]

There are 2 problem areas here...

The smaller problem is simply having a way to reparse & calculate fields. This (and more) can be done using a webhook.

The bigger problem is the parsing logic itself. There's no way to accurately slice Full Names that have more than 3 words. "Billie Joe Armstrong" and "Brian De Palma" split differently. Also consider Romanized Japanese names, which might be in Japanese order (Abe Shinzō) or Western order (Shinzō Abe) depending on the source.

So any approach you take is going to be necessarily naïve (unless you prime it with machine learning) and is going to get some things wrong.

[Tamir_Belzer]

Hey Sanford, thank you for your reply. 

Given the fact that we cannot change the full name in our app I think we'll have to live with the possible mistakes. 

Do you have a link maybe to a documentation about the solution? 

Thanks

[SanfordWhiteman]

Can't be more specific due to Community rules, but as we already work together I'll update you offline...