Editable label preview page?

[naacave]

Would it be possible to make the label preview page editable? Sometimes I find myself printing multiple labels I don't really need at a given time simply because there is no way to delete them from the preview and I don't want to de-select them from a group or groups only to have to re-select them into those groups so they'll be there for a later printing. Thanks. JMR

[jmuehleisen]

I'm not quite sure I follow what you mean.

Tell me a bit more about this so I can understand better.

[naacave]

Sometimes despite the ability to select and deselect categories for inclusion and exclusion for printing labels, I find multiple names when I generate a labels preview that for one reason or another I don't need to write to. I'd like to be able to have a way to select and edit out names I don't want to write to. Does that clarify it better? That may be impossible, and it's certainly not top priority. It is just something I've found myself wishing from time to time, mostly in order to not waste labels (especially when removing just a handful of people I didn't need to write to anyway would keep the file from running over onto a new labels page and printing just a few labels on a page of 30).

Related to this but looking at one aspect and from a different angle, I find myself wishing that I could print labels only for people who gave in a certain month. Does that exist, and if not would it be possible to add a feature like that? I know I can print a LIST of who donated in a given month, and I LOVE that feature and use it monthly. But I don't know how to generate LABELS for only those who gave in a certain month instead of for all donors who have ever given.

I sure do appreciate all the work you put into this program. I can't TELL you what a time-saver and brain-saver it is to me! The gyrations I used to have to do to manage all this information were ridiculous. Now with a couple of clicks on my computer, I can have reports and mailing labels and lists and information...this is a God-send, and I thank God for you!

[jmuehleisen]

Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for the extra explanation.

I think I follow you now.

Let me make a few comments:

Adding the ability to create labels for all who gave in a given month would not really be that difficult to add to the program. I'll put that on my list of "ideas to consider."

Now, you actually can do this now with a little extra work.

The DM currently can create an Excel file or a comma delimited merge file from those who gave in a given month.

ss-export-donors-to-xls.gif (23.14 KiB) Viewed 15727 times

Let's say you generate an Excel file and name it "thismonthdonors.xls."

Then start up Word (or whatever Word processor you use) and create a mailing label merge in Word, pointing it to that Excel file as the data source.

Save the file with a name you will remember, like "current month donor labels.docx".

Generate your labels.

Then, next month, in the DM, run that "export current month donors to Excel" export again, using the exact same file name.

Then, start up Word again, open that "current month donor labels.docx" document and it will freshly pull up the new donation data that you just exported.

A few clicks and you are there.

And, actually, it would give you greater control and flexiblity as the DM gives you very little control over the labels that it generates.

Let me know if you need a bit more of a "walk through" on how to do that and I'll see what I can write up for you.

[naacave]

Thanks, John! I think your write-up of instructions is probably clear enough for me to be able to follow.

If you ever do include a feature for creating mailing labels for a given month's donors, I will be very glad to know about it, though!

Oh, one other question...I currently print out a list of the donors in a given month so that as I go through writing thank yous I can check off the name manually and see at a glance how far I've gotten in my task. (I know you can mark "thanked" in DM, but I like to be able to see it on paper.) However, some of our people prefer email thank yous (or at the very least are glad for us to email them and save postage), so once I print out the list, I manually mark which donors are okay with emailed thank yous and which prefer hand-written and mailed letters of thanks. Do you already have a way for me to see on a printed out list which ones get which kind of thank you note, or is that something I will need to continue to do manually? I generally use a highlighter to mark the ones who are okay with email, but any kind of symbol or marking should work, and maybe I could use the "Okay to Email" checkbox to show who wants email thank yous? Or does that category have a different meaning?

Once again, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!

Judy