The Groups feature was introduced in version 2.0 in 2006 and is a way to combine contacts into relevant, well, groups, that may not be conveniently done using Lookups.
Saved Group
The Groups feature always refers to Saved Groups, which is a group of contacts that is saved for future use. In this reference guide, the word "Group" always refers to the saved groups unless otherwise noted.
Difference Between a Lookup and a Group
A lookup is an on-demand query of your contact database. Every time you run a lookup, TntMPD checks the database to find all contacts who meet the criteria you have selected. A group, however, is a set of contacts that does not change except when you manually add or remove contacts.
Difference Between a Saved Group and the "Current Group"
Current Group
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Saved Groups
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Only 1 current group at a time.
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Unlimited number of saved groups.
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Current group is always "current", whether you are in the Contact View, or some other view.
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Only relevant when you are in the Groups View.
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Can become a Saved Group by creating a saved group, then adding all of the members of the current group.
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Can become the current group by pressing
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Deleting the current group removes the contacts from the database permanently.
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Deleting a saved group simply removes the saved group from the list of groups, but has no impact on the contacts.
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Reasons you might use Saved Groups
| • | You have multiple language newsletters, or multiple newsletters (such as an email newsletter, a Christmas/family update, etc.) |
| • | You are working on an MPD strategy and moving partners through various phases but don't want to change their MPD Phase. (For example, all partners who you need to call back, all partners who need to make a decision, etc.) |
| • | Partners who get special email prayer updates |
| • | Partners who attend your annual SuperHero Fundraising Banquet |
| • | Partners who have cats or dogs |
| • | Partners who are alumni of your university |
Setting up a new Saved Group
| 1. | Press the Groups button on the button bar. |
| 2. | Press  |
| 3. | Name the group. Category is optional. |
| 4. | Press  to see the editing tools. You'll need to do this to add members to your group. |
| 5. | Add members to the Group. You have several options on how to add members. You can view a list of all contacts, members of the current group, and contacts from the result of a lookup. |
| 6. | Select the contacts to add. You can select one, many, or all. The buttons in the middle move contacts back and forth. Remember, these contacts are just being assigned or removed from groups. These actions do not impact the contacts' task, history, or MPD data in any way. |
Notice that some contacts are grayed-out and italicized. That means these contacts are already members of the selected Saved Group.
| 7. | Once you are finished adding members to the Saved Group, you can lookup these contacts by pressing . |
| 8. | You can also do lookups on individual groups – or categories – by selecting . |
| 9. | You can view and edit the Saved Group membership for any individual contact by selecting the Groups tab in the Contact View. |
See Also
Groups
Current Group