# Using Attributes in Messages

Attributes can be used in any message to customize the content. For example, the user's name can be added in the welcome message to personalize the experience.

<figure><img src="/files/QeKKAj33r2Lk2Y5R6KnZ" alt=""><figcaption><p>Edit Message screen</p></figcaption></figure>

### Notation

Attributes are added to messages using curly braces `{}` and inside the curly braces we first add the context name (very often and by default the context is "user"), next we add a period (`.`) and then the attribute name. For example, the attribute `first_name` stored in the `user` context looks like this:

```
{user.first_name}
```

If the value of `first_name` is John, the message will display as "Hello John and welcome back to Prime Brands."

Note - If the attribute has no value or does not exist in the context given, the attribute reference is removed from the final message.

### Message editor

<figure><img src="/files/7ygSG9vIIIllXiOcVErw" alt=""><figcaption><p>The attribute input field can be accessed within the message editor section of the conversation designer</p></figcaption></figure>

To access the Attribute Management feature within the message editor for a given scenario:

* Go to your workspace overview (Scenarios)
* Select the scenario you would like to update
* Select the message section under 'Design' in the left-hand menu
* Select the message you would like to edit
* Click within the 'Text' block for your chosen message
* Activate Attribute Management by inputting an opening curly brace `{`

{% hint style="info" %}
For more information around using, creating and finding attributes within the message editor, follow this link to the[ Attribute Management](/core-concepts/contexts-and-attributes/attribute-management.md#message-editor) documentation
{% endhint %}

### Attribute Filters

It may be necessary to filter or modify the value of an attribute before it is used in a message. To help with this, OpenDialog provides a number of built-in filters to use when referencing attributes in the message editor.

Filters are applied to attributes using a pipe (`|`) and they can be chained together with the result of a filter being passed through into the next filter. For instance:

```
{ user.age | number_to_words | uppercase_first }
```

The above takes the value of the `age` attribute in the `user` context, converts the number to words and adds an uppercase the first letter. If `age` was 30, the value placed in the message would be 'Thirty'.

{% hint style="info" %}
For a complete list of available filters including string, number, date, collection, encoding, and cryptographic filters, see the [Attribute Filters](/core-concepts/contexts-and-attributes/attribute-filters.md) documentation.
{% endhint %}

For video lessons and hands-on practice with these concepts, consider signing up for the OpenDialog Academy lessons by emailing <academy@opendialog.ai>.


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