Not able to sync Custom Prop with Pipedrive (Ops Hub Starter)

[Jonno_Price]

Hello. 

I've got a client using Pipedrive and they want to sync with Hubspot. As per the docs I've got them to add Ops Hub Starter so that they can do custom field mappings. 

I've created a property in Hubspot: 
Custom Field in Hubspot

And a corresponding custom field in Pipedrive

Custom field

I've been careful to ensure options are exact match with no typos etc. 

However in the Sync settings I am not able to select this property. 
Can't sync

I've tried refreshing, deleting props and recreating from scratch etc. and no joy... 

Any ideas/assitance appreciated as I really need this sorted asap to bring the project to a close. 

Thanks in advance!

[jbogaert · Accepted solution]

Hi Jonno!

Dropdown fields cannot be mapped at the moment. This is due to a limitation of our data sync integration engine, so it won't work on any data sync integration.

@FransLeys, do you have any suggested workaround, or insights into the roadmap?

[Jonno_Price]

@FransLeys  - this is HUGE.. completely snuck under the radar and had no idea you have this ability to sync picklist properties. Noted that we have to create at the time of turning the sync on. Thanks 🙂

[CGrowth]

Thank you @FransLeys 

[FransLeys]

Hi @Jonno_Price 

Currently, the Salesforce sync still runs on an older, albeit 'optimized for Salesforce' sync engine. 

The Salesforce integration was developed years ago and focused on just one thing: integrating Salesforce with HubSpot. In developing this sync, they could ensure that drop down fields could sync. 

In contrast, the Pipedrive integration is part of the newly built data sync framework, and allowing 2 way syncing of dropdowns generically across hundreds of apps is technically many times more challenging, which is why this hasn't hit production yet. As I said: we do plan on making it possible. 

[Jonno_Price]

Fair enough @FransLeys and thanks for the clarification. Personally I think there could be some improvement in the way that Ops Hub data sync is presented in the promotional literature to make it clearer that the sync has limitations in the current iteration.  If you look at how 2 way sync is presented here you can see that it is easy to infer that mapping dropdown properties is probably possible. I suppose it is a case of managing expectations. But either way all noted and good to know this is improvement is on the roadmap. 

[Jonno_Price]

Thanks @jbogaert  and @FransLeys 

A bit surprised as I'm pretty sure in the HS to SFDC native integration we can sync dropdown fields without any issue. It is good to hear this is on the roadmap for improvement. 

In this particular scenario we want to be able to sync both ways. 

E.g. the marketing team (using Marketing Hub Pro) generate MQLs and then apply the relevant Contact Type (in a drop down).. this then feeds the lead into PipeDrive so that the sales team can pick up. 

However, the sales team also research and prospect their own leads which they add directly to Pipedrive. They need the ability to enter the Contact Type so that this enters HubSpot.. As it stands we are now forced to use a plain text field in Pipedrive - which means the sales team will not be able to update the property on their end to update the record in HS. 

Less than ideal as advice was given to the client to upgrade to paid Ops Hub so that we can allow custom field mapping. I don't recall any clarification in the promotional material to highlight that custom field mapping is so limited. 

Best

Jonno

[FransLeys]

The dropdowns that can sync, can sync one way into a text field.

It is definitely roadmapped  to make improvements to this.

The following workaround is valid for those sync scenarios whereby you need a dropdown for validation, but you dont necessarily expect this value to be changed on both sides of the sync.

1) define the dropdown in the app where you expect manual user input going into this dropdown (for validation). 

2) create a corresponding text field in the other app where you dont expect users to manually make changes to this field.

3) set up the field mapping in data sync - it will automatically default to one-way.

[SKnurr]

Hi, can we get an update on deployment of this functionality?

Thanks!
-Steve

[FransLeys]

We don't have an exact ETA yet, there's a couple more hurdles to jump through first. We're rolling out owner sync first which sort of acts as the preamble to this functionality.

[carleynolan]

Hi @FransLeys - could you please provide an update on when we might expect to be able to use dropdown and multi-select fields bi-directionally? We're currently onboarding/implementing Marketing Hub and weren't aware of this limitation when we were evaluating the platform. We use these fields a lot in Pipedrive and this creates an issue for us. Thank you!

[FransLeys]

Hi @carleynolan  - there's no update to give other than that the sync platform team has continued working on this, and still has a lot of work to do.

[RB-DerbySoft]

Hi @FransLeys,

Just bringing this thread back to life to see if there is an ETA on custom drop down field mappings inside the PipeDrive <> HubSpot sync.

Cheers,

Ravian

[FransLeys]

While this thread was quiet, can confirm the team hasn't stopped working on this. Our sync platform doesn't just service the Pipedrive connector, there's dropdowns in nearly 100 different connectors that we're trying to solve for in our framework.

We should expect to see some improvements soon!

[RB-DerbySoft]

Thanks @FransLeys, is it possible to import dropdown field data manually using a CSV file?

[FransLeys]

Yes the import wizard shouldn't have difficulty with that. KB confirms your import file's values must match either the label or internal value of the property's defined options.

[caiodonald]

Hi @FransLeys is there any updates on this? 

[jbogaert · Accepted solution]

Hi Jonno!

Dropdown fields cannot be mapped at the moment. This is due to a limitation of our data sync integration engine, so it won't work on any data sync integration.

@FransLeys, do you have any suggested workaround, or insights into the roadmap?

[CGrowth]

Hi jbogaert,

Is the below still true of the data sync limitation? 

"Dropdown fields cannot be mapped at the moment. This is due to a limitation of our data sync integration engine, so it won't work on any data sync integration."

I am working with Pipedrive <> HubSpot data sync and just wanted to re-check any sync limitations.

Please share all you have 🙂 

Many thanks

[FransLeys · Accepted solution]

We launched a form of picklist sync earlier this year.