Hi everyone,
I am new to the community as well as to iMIS - so I apoligize if what I am asking is (I hope) an easy question.
We are in the process of implementing the fundraising module - in creating donor notes is it possible to have the note date field default to the creation date and the Author default to the user entering the note?
Also when reviewing the notes - is it possible to sort the note by Note Date and Note Type?
Thanks!!
Kris
As I am new to the community I am also new to iMIS. Since posting this I have learned that the Donor Notes tab we are using is actually a custom tab with a multiple instance table. We are using 15.0.3 Do you know of any ways to create a sort order in a multi-instance table - are any work arounds?
Kristin Johnson
kristin.johnson@aacr.org
Now this makes sense. I thought it might be something like that. Currently, even under iMIS15.0.3, multiple instance tables do not have the "click on column header to sort feature" like other areas of iMIS (a la Activities-All).
This relates to a session presented at the recent NiUG Discovery Conference: Custom Demographics vs. Activities. One of the biggest questions is when to use one over the other. Depending on the number of fields and type of information you need in these "Donor Notes," you may want to consider switching them to being an Activity type instead of a separate custom table. You could still set up a separate tab for these notes, which would appear at the bottom "History" area instead of the top right.
Doing this would also allow for you to be able to just click on any column header and sort by that column. Plus, the default sort order for all Activities is by reverse chronological order (most recent on top).
The only way to alter the record order of a multiple instance demographic table for the inside view of iMIS would be to change the SEQN (sequence number) for the records. This would require some sort of back-end programming, and is most likely unsupported.
You can always re-order records using SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) or Crystal Reports when running a report, but this would not affect the internal desktop view of iMIS.
If you use the Casual User web interface, you could change the default query that is driving a display of your records to sort by any given field. This might solve the problem on that side.
Hopefully, this gives you options, but I'd recommend swapping out the multiple instance table in this case for an Activity Type.
A good rule to go with when looking at where you should store this information is to think about whether the information you are going to track is "transactional" (meaning date-specific) or "general" (meaning the closest thing to a date you have is maybe a Year). "Transactional" records should go into the "History" area (bottom of the screen = Activity) while "general" records would go into a demographic area (top right).
There are occasional reasons where you may still go with a custom demographic multiple-instance table for tracking "transactional" information, but the general rule is "transactions = Activity" and "general = custom demographic."
-K
Kevin Blouin - enSYNC Corp.
Not sure what features you're using...
Are you creating the Donor Notes under Activities-All or some other direct entry Activity Type or are you talking about the notes you can enter along with a donation from the Fund Raising >>> Enter and Edit Gifts?
I'm not sure which direction you're going at this from, and that can make a distinct difference in your options.
Could you also list which verison of iMIS you are on? 10.5, 10.6, iMIS15? Sorting by column is a feature in 10.6 and iMIS15.
-K
Kevin Blouin - enSYNC Corp.