Lookups FAQs
Use Lookups to change the displayed group of contacts. Lookups are a database query TntMPD runs for you on your database.
What are the basics of doing lookups?
TntMPD allows you to do a lookup either on your whole contact list or starting with the group you have displayed. You often have to do multiple lookups to get the final group you want.
Lookups are based on the group of contacts you have displayed. You can
- Replace that group with a new group based on the criteria
- Lookup contacts only in the current group (make a smaller list based on the results)
- Add to the current group (check the other contacts and add them)
- Take away from the current group (check only these contacts, and remove the ones that fit the criteria)
Once you select the criteria, you click OK and TntMPD returns the new group based on the criteria you chose. Sometimes you have to run multiple lookups, each one further modifying the current group, to get the results you want.
If the lookup is complex, you can save it as a Favorite for quick access in the future.
When I do certain lookups, the results appear in a random order instead of in alphabetical order. How do I change that?
Lookups generally return contacts in alphabetical order (that is, by the "File As" each contact is stored under). However, a financial lookup (such as lifetime gifts) or a date lookup (such last letter, last phone call, etc.) will often return the results either in dollar amount order (lowest to highest) or date order (most recent to earliest).
If you already have a current group and you want to re-sort it, right-click on it and select "Sort Alphabetically".
You can force the sort order to be whatever you want by selecting the Sort tab prior to running a lookup. If you have already run your lookup, open the criteria (by double-clicking on the Current Lookup) and then select the Sort tab.
How do I keep my list of partners separate from people I am working on challenging to join my team?
Look up everyone who has not made a decision using the two menu items shown below.
The current group does not show all that I need. Does "Delete Group" eliminate that group so I can create a new one?
No! That menu item actually DELETES the contacts from your TntMPD database! That is why TntMPD requires you to double confirm (type “DELETE”) so you do not delete them accidentally. To view a different group, just do a lookup that replaces the current group. You may also find it easier, logically, to start with your "Everyone" group and then do lookups from there.
Read More > Deleting Contacts
I made a mistake on my lookup and got bad results. Can I go back or do I have to start my lookups over again? Does TntMPD have a “back” feature to go backwards?
When doing multiple, successive lookups to get a specific group of contacts, it is not uncommon to select the wrong type of lookup (within current group / not in current group). As a result, your displayed group isn’t right. This happens to a lot of people—even expert users. You can double-click on the criteria in the Current Lookup box to edit the criteria you used. However, if you are running Successive Lookups and selected "Replace the current group", you may have lost your previous successive lookups and might have to start over.
Does TntMPD have a way to choose a default lookup when I open? I usually want to see my current team only.
The default group is “Everyone”, but you can change your default lookup in the Options on the. New users find that confusing because they are not used to seeing names of people who have not been on their list for years. You can get into the habit of immediately selecting your favorite when you open TntMPD.
Tip: Navigation to a Name
Quick jump to a contact by clicking inside the Current Group list (in the Contact View) and start typing the last name. This works most of the time--if your contact list is "sorted alphabetically" (which it always is when opening TntMPD, but sometimes not after Lookups). You can force an alphabetical sort by right-clicking in the list.
There are two ways to create lookups for your current team:
| 1. | People who receive your newsletter. |
| 2. | People whose MPD Phase is "PARTNER..." |
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Replace the current group: MPD Phase / is at least / PARTNER-Financial, then
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Lookup within current group: MPD Phase / is at most / PARTNER-Pray
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Can I lookup contacts who gave during a certain time period in the past?
Yes. There is a lookup where you can define the giving period, or amount, or both.
Lookup Menu Options
Menu Item
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Description
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Allows you to select any TntMPD field then define your criteria.
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Displays your current group of contacts. You can also switch to show all contacts. You can then manually check or uncheck contacts to make a new group.
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Lookup contacts based on their MPD phase and other key criteria. Primarily returns those contacts whose MPD Phase is n/a, Never Contacted, Ask in Future, or Call for Appt. (Also compares "Never Ask" and "Next Ask" fields.)
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Lookup PARTNER-Financial contacts based on their current status in fulfilling their pledge. (Same as running the Pledge Fulfillment Report, and then selecting Lookup Contacts for any of the four boxes.)
Read More > Pledge Fulfillment Report
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Lookup contacts whose addresses or phone numbers are out of sync with your organization’s records (if your organization supports this).
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Lookup contacts who are in a group—or category of groups— that you select.
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Lookup contacts who gave either during a certain time in the past (you choose start and end date) and/or a certain amount on a single gift. If you select both a time and amount, the lookup will return all contacts who gave any gift in that amount range during that time period.
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You can use the Custom box to write your own custom lookups. These can be very complex, however. Here, for example, is the criteria for the By Giving lookup above (all individual gifts of $50-$100 between 12/15/2000 and 12/15/2006):
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Makes a Current Group with one contact: You. Handy if you want to add a task or history on your own name, to print an envelope from a template, or whatever you choose.
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Makes a Current Group with one contact: The one you currently have selected from the existing group.
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Lookup all contacts in your database. This is the default lookup when you open TntMPD. You can also run this lookup by pressing the "Everyone" button on your button bar.
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By Field lookup with that field already selected. Note that the City and State lookups actually check the fields "Mailing City" and "Mailing State". The address that appears in the "Mailing Address" are from the address you selected as Preferred. the lookups will not check all cities for all contacts (that is, Home, Business or Other).
The Lookup dialog:
How the preferred address is displayed. You select the Preferred mailing address on address entry box. When you select a preferred address, that address will have a small black dot on the Address tab to indicate which one is selected as preferred.
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Three options:
| 1. | All returns all contacts for whom Send Newsletter = TRUE. |
| 2. | With Deliverable Mailing Addresses. Returns all newsletter recipients with a deliverable mailing address. |
| 3. | With Valid Preferred Email. Returns all newsletter recipients who also have a preferred email address. |
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By Field lookup with the desired field already selected.
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By Field lookup with Referred By already selected. This lookup will only look at the primary referrer for each contact. To find contacts from a referrer who is not a primary referrer (or is both a primary and secondary referrer), choose the field “Referred By List” instead; then you will have to switch the criteria to “contains” and type the referrer’s name.
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