With the new Vs 9, adding names to an activity has been complicated greatly, unless I am missing something! As near as I can tell, to add group of people to an actvity you must Find the person, then click on Add, which now takes you to a new screen, where you must scroll through all the activities to find the one you need, double click, then click save. Then you must repeat this for each person you want to add. In the 8.5 version at least you had a split screen, and the activity you were adding stayed highlighted until you changed it. Please tell me you are planning to fix this! It took 3-4 times longer than it used to take to enter our 68 greeters for the new year, and I'm dreading entering the rest of the new officers.
A much earlier (but still windows-based) version of PC+ (I've been a user since 1989...remember DOS??) allowed you to actually enter the activity number and the process was even faster. It's frustrating when "improved upgrade" translates to more time-consuming!
Activities and Skills Data Entry
Moderators: Moderators, Tech Support
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Joetta Trimble
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:37 am
- Location: Mountain View Presbyterian Church
- Contact:
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Jeff
- Program Development
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 11:43 am
- Location: PowerChurch Software
- Contact:
Joetta,
We changed the screen to make it easier to add the new activity role information. There just wasn't an easy way to accomplish that task with how the screen was working. We tried to make the maintain activity skills screen easy to use if you are adding a person new for the first time and you have to add them to multiple activities at once.
If you are doing the opposite, adding several people to one activity, try the maintain list of attenders screen. This screen has been in PC+ since version 4.3, but many people did not know it existed because it was on the attendance menu, not the activity & skills menu. We have added to the activity & skills menu in version 9. On this screen you are adding people to an activity.
To add a person on this screen:
1. Click in the all profiles list
2. Start typing the name of the person you wish to add
3. When you find the name, hit enter and PC+ will add the person to the activity.
4. To add another person, just start typing their name and repeat the process.
We changed the screen to make it easier to add the new activity role information. There just wasn't an easy way to accomplish that task with how the screen was working. We tried to make the maintain activity skills screen easy to use if you are adding a person new for the first time and you have to add them to multiple activities at once.
If you are doing the opposite, adding several people to one activity, try the maintain list of attenders screen. This screen has been in PC+ since version 4.3, but many people did not know it existed because it was on the attendance menu, not the activity & skills menu. We have added to the activity & skills menu in version 9. On this screen you are adding people to an activity.
To add a person on this screen:
1. Click in the all profiles list
2. Start typing the name of the person you wish to add
3. When you find the name, hit enter and PC+ will add the person to the activity.
4. To add another person, just start typing their name and repeat the process.
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peabodyumc
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:11 pm
- Location: Peabody UMC
Well I have to say that is pretty slick. I will definitely use that feature!
One thing that bothers me is the "start typing the name" thing. Do you mean instead to type the first letter of the last name and then scroll because that is all I can do. If I am trying to find someone with the name Windsor I type a W then I have to scroll -- even typing another W doesn't move the bar down to the next name. Is this the way it is supposed to act? This isn't a membership issue but I have noticed the same thing when, for example, I am adding a new person and I type an "M" to pull up "Member". however, I realize that I really wanted "Constituent". I cannot, at this point, type a "C" and have it go to constituent -- i have to then open up the list and scroll to constituent. Is that normal operation as well?
Laurie
One thing that bothers me is the "start typing the name" thing. Do you mean instead to type the first letter of the last name and then scroll because that is all I can do. If I am trying to find someone with the name Windsor I type a W then I have to scroll -- even typing another W doesn't move the bar down to the next name. Is this the way it is supposed to act? This isn't a membership issue but I have noticed the same thing when, for example, I am adding a new person and I type an "M" to pull up "Member". however, I realize that I really wanted "Constituent". I cannot, at this point, type a "C" and have it go to constituent -- i have to then open up the list and scroll to constituent. Is that normal operation as well?
Laurie
Yes, those are drop downs, and they do act differently than the name lists in that I've notticed that once you've gone past an letter, it won't let you backup by typing in a letter. That may be a bug, but a minor one, as these drop downs have very few selections.peabodyumc wrote:Well I have to say that is pretty slick. I will definitely use that feature!
One thing that bothers me is the "start typing the name" thing. Do you mean instead to type the first letter of the last name and then scroll because that is all I can do. If I am trying to find someone with the name Windsor I type a W then I have to scroll -- even typing another W doesn't move the bar down to the next name. Is this the way it is supposed to act? This isn't a membership issue but I have noticed the same thing when, for example, I am adding a new person and I type an "M" to pull up "Member". however, I realize that I really wanted "Constituent". I cannot, at this point, type a "C" and have it go to constituent -- i have to then open up the list and scroll to constituent. Is that normal operation as well?
Laurie
However, in the name lists, if you're looking for a Windsor, just start typing Windsor ... if the name is in the list, you will get the first Windsor in the list. If you then keep on typing the full last name, and start in on the first name, you'll get the exact person you're looking for.
Neil Zampella
Using PC+ since 1999.
Using PC+ since 1999.
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Jeff
- Program Development
- Posts: 1225
- Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 11:43 am
- Location: PowerChurch Software
- Contact:
Here is some more information on how the incremental searching works in lookup list, locate windows, etc. As you type, your position in the search cursor is moved. So in the first example above, when you are looking for "Windsor" start by typing a "W" and the list will move to the first "W" type an "i" and the list moves to the first record with a "Wi" type an "N" and the list moves to first record with "Win" etc.
PowerChurch is keeping track of what you typed so it knows what to look for. This buffer is reset if you have not typed anything for 2 seconds. So if you have not entered another letter within 2 seconds, PowerChurch assumes you changed your mind and are now looking for something else and begins a new search.
Another method that will start a new search is if you use on of the navigation keys. (Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Page Up, Page Down, etc) If you type "W" to start looking for Windsor, but change your mind and then want "Abrams", hit the up or down arrows, this will clear the search buffer without having to wait the 2 seconds. You can then type "A" to look for the Abrams family.
Note: This information here only works with lists that open in a new window. Drop down lists from combo boxes, we have no direct control on the searching methods in those as they are native FoxPro controls. I do believe that if you wait the 2 seconds a new search will start in those lists as well.
PowerChurch is keeping track of what you typed so it knows what to look for. This buffer is reset if you have not typed anything for 2 seconds. So if you have not entered another letter within 2 seconds, PowerChurch assumes you changed your mind and are now looking for something else and begins a new search.
Another method that will start a new search is if you use on of the navigation keys. (Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Page Up, Page Down, etc) If you type "W" to start looking for Windsor, but change your mind and then want "Abrams", hit the up or down arrows, this will clear the search buffer without having to wait the 2 seconds. You can then type "A" to look for the Abrams family.
Note: This information here only works with lists that open in a new window. Drop down lists from combo boxes, we have no direct control on the searching methods in those as they are native FoxPro controls. I do believe that if you wait the 2 seconds a new search will start in those lists as well.
Last edited by Jeff on Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Joetta Trimble
- Posts: 62
- Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 9:37 am
- Location: Mountain View Presbyterian Church
- Contact:
Data Entry-Activity and Skills
Jeff,
Thanks for the tip! After all these years, using PC+, I never knew about that feature. It will help greatly.
Thanks for the tip! After all these years, using PC+, I never knew about that feature. It will help greatly.
Joetta
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peabodyumc
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:11 pm
- Location: Peabody UMC
I must have waited the two seconds. I was trying out the feature in the Maintain list of attenders like you suggested and typed Wi but it stayed on the first Wa and wouldn't move. I had noticed that same characteristic as I said on membership boxes etc. so assumed (there I go again!) that it was similar. I am really glad to know these tips. Every day PC+ becomes more and more powerful to me with these little tips I learn!!
Thanks a lot.
Laurie
Thanks a lot.
Laurie