Session 7: Lookups

What is a Lookup?

View > Video: Using Lookups

View > Video: Lookup Donors

When using the database, there will frequently be a need to view one or more contacts who share a common attribute. Here are some examples of contacts who may make up just a portion of the database:

•Contacts who are donors (that is, have given a gift of any amount)

•Contacts who attend a certain church

•Contacts who live in a certain city

•Contacts who are also staff members

Lookups are useful in preparing reports, editing contacts, creating Saved Groups, etc.

The 2 Most Important Things To Know

1.Doing lookups cannot harm your database. Use trial and error to learn about them.

2.Lookups answer "Who" questions

•Who should I call for a decision right now?

•Who should I call to make an appointment with?

•Who should I call when I go to Gotham City next week?

•With whom do I have an appointment scheduled?

•Who gets my newsletter?

Lookups do not answer "How much" questions

•How much monthly support do I have?

•How much have support have I received this year?

As a new staff member, your list of Who? questions would be fairly straightforward. But for senior staff, the number of possible combinations could literally be in the millions. For example:

•Who supported our ministry between 1999 and 2001 and not since and gave more than $3000 but never more than $500 in a single gift and is married?

Tip: Learning Lookups

The easiest way to learn about Lookups is to use them by trial and error. Doing Lookups cannot harm the content of the database.

Basic Lookup concepts

Read More > Tutorial: Create a Basic Lookup

•When you perform any lookup, the resulting list of contacts is the Current Group.

•The Current Group is always the result of a lookup.

•When the database is opened, a lookup is performed immediately. The default lookup is <Everyone>, and the Current Group then is all contacts in database.

Menu Path: Lookup | Everyone

Tip: Lookup Everyone toggle button

You can view all of the contacts in your database by pressing a button on the button bar that looks like a funnel. Pressing the button again returns the Current Group to the previous lookup. "Everyone" is the default lookup upon opening TntMPD, but you can change that to one of three other options. (See Options for this.)

Menu Path: Tools | Options | User Interface tab

Read More > Lookups Overview

Read More > Setting TntMPD Options

•Lookups only return Contacts. Regardless of the specific criteria (such as a financial criteria such as amount donated), the result is a list of contacts who meet that criteria.

•When a lookup is performed from the Groups View, that is, when one of the Saved Groups is "looked up", that Saved Group becomes the Current Group.

Read More > Current vs. Saved Groups

•Lookups by nature are immediate. When a lookup is performed, it returns contacts that meet that criteria at that moment. A lookup on gifts received would be different one month than it would be the next month.

Relationship to the Current Group

When performing a lookup, the software needs to know how the results will impact the Current Group.

The number of potential lookups is infinite, so it is difficult to teach all the nuances of Lookups. Trial and error is the best way to learn about Lookups. This tutorial is designed to acquaint with the basic components of a Lookup.

Tutorial: Create a Basic Lookup

This tutorial is designed to determine the number of contacts who live in Metropolis, and how many of those contacts are donors.

1.Menu Path: Lookup | City

2.Enter the city in the <Value> field.

Notice that the selection option at the top is "Replace the Current Group". This means TntMPD will look for this city as the Mailing City for all contacts in the whole database.

3.Press the <OK> button.

4.Notice that the Current Lookup displays the criteria and the number of contacts meet this criteria.

5.Menu Path: Lookup | By Giving

This is to narrow the list to donors only. Change the relationship to <Lookup within the Current Group> so that the Lookup searches for donors in that city.

6.Press the <OK> button.

Note: Because the Lookup is <For Giving>, TntMPD is automatically looking only for those contacts who have given a gift. Therefore, it will check for any gift amount and any gift date even if all of the boxes are blank.

7.Note the additional criteria in the Current Lookup. And notice that the Current Group shows the number of contacts who meet all of the criteria.

Lookup Favorites

Although most lookups will be used once and then not again, any Lookup can be saved as a favorite. Once a Lookup is added as a favorite, it will appear on the list in the menu.

Menu Path: Lookup | Favorites | Add Current Lookup to Favorites

Lookup Category example

Renaming or deleting favorites

Menu Path: Lookup | Favorites | Edit Lookup Favorites

Favorites can be modified (name or category) or deleted from the Lookup Dialog Box.

Exercises Session 7: Lookups

1.Do the following Lookups: