How to do Multiple staff in one database with advanced filte

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jmuehleisen
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How to do Multiple staff in one database with advanced filte

Post by jmuehleisen »

I recently received the following excellent question:
I’ve recently begun using your program. Mostly to use as a database for sending newsletters for 3 missionaries from our church.

I’m doing one bulk mailing for all 3 in one shot. One has no email addresses at this point so no problem sorting and printing theirs.

The other two have partners with both a mailing address and an email address. I’ve checked the appropriate boxes for each in the database. I want to email those who we have an email address for rather than using the bulk mail. However, when I do the set-up to print the envelopes, it won’t filter out those I can email (even though I’ve checked to not include) and sets up an envelope for everyone on the list.

Also, is there a way to filter out those (don’t want an envelope for) who have moved, etc. and have out-of-date address. I don’t want to remove them from the database as when the missionary if home, they may be able to find the individual as they visit their churches? Most of these are grouped so I could pick print and only print Envelopes for #1-33, skip #34, and then print #35 thru the full group. But is there a better way?

Thanks for your help!

Here is my reply:

Thanks for your good note.

You present an interesting scenario. Let me see if I can figure out a solution for you.

To do what I think you want to do, you need to somehow get 6 lists set up.

One for missionary 1 - email. Another for missionary 1 - mail

Then missionary 2 - email, and missionary 2 - mail. etc.

If that is right, then you will need to use the "Custom Filtering" routine to set up these 6 filters (which can then be "saved" and recalled at any time).

Let me walk you through the process.

From the "home" page, click on the item "Tools / Define Custom Filters"

On the screen you see, click <Add> to add a new custom filter.

Then, set up the screen like this (assuming that you have set up user defined checkboxes for each of the missionaries). For example, this is what the custom filter for "John Smith / E-Mail Address" would look like:

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Once you set this up, save it with a name that you can remember. Then, when you need to use this filter in other parts of the program, just click on the "Advanced Filter" tab of the filter screen, and you can then pull up this predefined filter by name very quickly.

Hmm. Does that make sense ?

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Now, the filter for John Smith's "Hard Copy of the Newsletter" would look like this. Again, this assumes that you are using the "Send Newsletter" check box to mean "Send newsletter by mail." If you have set up another checkbox to mean that, than that is fine. Just make the appropriate adjustment.


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Now, let's take one more issue that you asked about. You mentioned that there are a number of partners that you do not have a good mailing address for. You don't want to remove them from the database (which is absolutely right) because you assume that you will get a good address for them at some point.

Now, there are a couple of ways to handle that. Notice above I have a check box titled "Need Info." That's what I use to mean "I don't have a good address for this person." I put a check there, then I can easily get a list of people that I need to do some research on to find out where they are.

When doing your paper newsletters, if you are printing mailing labels, you can just let those labels print, then not put them on the newsletter as you see that they don't have an address.

Or, you could put a check mark in the "Exclude" box, and those names would be left off of the list. For example:

Image


I hope that makes sense!

Let me know how this works out.

John


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John Muehleisen
Mentoring Emerging Christian Leadership in Africa for Excellence / Integrity / Innovation
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