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Fixing the [your-subject] Display Issue in Flamingo Inbound Messages

55 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Flamingo

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If you use the Flamingo plugin to archive Contact Form 7 submissions, you've likely encountered a common and confusing issue: all your saved messages display a generic [your-subject] in the subject line and [your-name] <[your-email]> as the sender, instead of the actual submitted data. This guide explains why this happens and provides the standard solutions to fix it for both new and existing forms.

Why This Happens

Flamingo is designed to work seamlessly with the default field names used by Contact Form 7. It specifically looks for the mail-tags [your-name], [your-email], and [your-subject] to populate the corresponding columns in its “Inbound Messages” list. The problem arises when you customize your form:

  • You change a field's name (e.g., from [your-name] to [client-name]).
  • You use a fixed subject line instead of a user-submitted subject field.
  • You use a different type of field for the subject, like a dropdown menu.

When Flamingo cannot find the specific default tags it expects, it falls back to displaying the placeholder text, making your message list unhelpful at a glance.

How to Fix It for Future Submissions

The primary solution is to use Flamingo's special settings within each Contact Form 7 form. You do not need to edit any plugin code.

  1. Edit your Contact Form 7 form.
  2. Locate the “Additional Settings” tab. If you don't see it, enable it by clicking “Screen Options” at the very top of your WordPress admin page and ensuring the checkbox for “Additional Settings” is ticked.
  3. Add one or more of the following settings on separate lines: 
    flamingo_name: [your-custom-name-field]
flamingo_email: [your-custom-email-field]
flamingo_subject: “Your Fixed Subject”

Examples:

  • If you renamed your name field to [first-name], you would use: flamingo_name: [first-name]
  • If you have a fixed subject that never changes (e.g., “Website Quote Request”), you would use: flamingo_subject: “Website Quote Request”
  • If your subject comes from a dropdown menu named [reason], you would use: flamingo_subject: [reason]
  • To pull the subject from the page title, you could use a plugin like “Contact Form 7 Dynamic Text Extension” to create a tag like [_post_title] and then use: flamingo_subject: [_post_title]

Once these settings are saved, all new form submissions will be displayed correctly in the Flamingo inbox.

Can Old Messages Be Fixed?

A common question is whether this fix can be applied retroactively to existing messages that were saved with the [your-subject] placeholder. Based on community reports, the settings only affect new submissions. There is no built-in feature in the Flamingo admin area to recursively update or reprocess old archived messages. The data was saved based on the form's configuration at the time of submission.

Troubleshooting Other Issues

  • Exports: If you use a fixed flamingo_subject setting, note that this subject text may not be included in CSV exports by default, as it is not a user-submitted field.
  • Plugin Conflicts: Some users have reported that other plugins, particularly those that intercept form submission data (like certain PayPal add-ons), can prevent the Flamingo additional settings from being read correctly. Isolating conflicts by temporarily disabling other plugins is a recommended troubleshooting step.

By using the flamingo_subject, flamingo_name, and flamingo_email settings, you can fully customize how your form data appears in Flamingo, making your workflow much more efficient.

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