How to use your Organization's Information Database

Formatting for Reports

Many useful reports can be generated from the information you enter into your database.
For this feature to work efficiently, you must be consitent in following the data entry formatting guidelines presented here.

★  NAMES: Use the separated fields to enter last name and first name.


★ UNIT: This field is used to designate a specific number (or identifier) for a member of your organization
If you are an apartment building, this would be the atp. #
If you are a sports team, this number would be the jersey #
If you are a campground, this number would be the site #
etc ... You use this field for what suits your organization.
IMPORTANT to remember if you want to sreate a report generated by the UNIT ...
For this example, assume you are a condominium complex.
If you have 1 - 99 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 01
If you have 1 - 999 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 001
If you have 1000 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 0001
Without the "leading zeros" the report would not be created in numerical order correctly.

★ PHONE NUMBERS: Phone numbers must be entered in this format, 816-878-9742, do not leave out the dashes. A separate field is provided to show whose phone number it is.

★ BIRTHDAYS: Birth dates must be formatted like this, 02/11/1978, leading zeros must be included to insure 2 digit entries for the month and day. A separate field is provided to show whose birthday it is.

★ ANNIVERSARIES: Anniversary dates must be formatted like this, 06/23, then in the separate field, 1982. Leading zeroes must be included to insure 2 digit entries for the month/day. The year must be 4 digits.

★ ADDRESS: In separate fields, enter the street address, the city/province and the zip/postal code.
If you desire to generate a report of "Member's Home States", the state or province must be entered in this format:
For US States ... IA, MN, WI etc. For Canadian provinces ... QB CAN, ON CAN etc.

★ VETERAN INFORMATION: You may format your members's veteran information in any style you wish, but be consistent, enter them all in the same format. You may create "multiple lines" by using the "enter" key to drop to the next line.

★ ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR OFFICE USE: This feature allows you to create a great variety of reports.
The list of reports available is only limited by the information you put in.
The report is generated by clicking on a "keyword".
You create your own keywords according to the data you have entered and the type of report you want to generate.
Here are some examples:
(1) Show all volunteers ... the keyword would be volunteer, entries should be formated like "Joan is a volunteer in the activity office"
(2) Show kitchen workers ... the keyword would be kitchen, entries should be formatted like "Mary works in the kitchen"
(3) Show chair persons ... the keyword would be chair, entries should be formatted like "John is the chair person for bingo"
Be consitent in the way you format your entries. You may create "multiple lines" by using the "enter" key to drop to the next line.
You may have an entry with multiple facets, such as ...
Donna works in the kitchen
is a volunteer for toys for tots
and is the chair person for first responders
The more details you put into your Office Notes, the more useful this program will prove to be!

Enter Data into Your Database

There are only two "REQUIRED" fields, "LAST NAME" & "FIRST NAME 1".

All other fields are optional.

The "2nd LAST NAME if different" field is for use when a couple, being listed together, uses 2 different last names.

If any field is not applicable to the current entry, leave it blank.

The "MAILBOX" field is provided for situations where a mailbox number is different from a unit number.

Entering a UNIT #
Each unit entry must be the same number of digits using leading zeros.
For this example, assume you are a condominium complex.
If you have 1 - 99 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 01
If you have 1 - 999 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 001
If you have 1000 condos (units), unit 1 must be entered as unit 0001
Without the "leading zeros" a report ordered by UNIT NUMBERS would not be generated in numerical order correctly.

When entering PHONE NUMBERS, include the dashes between numbers (format: 111-111-1111)
When designating ownership of phone numbers, use only the first name of the associated person. (EX: 111-111-1111 Bob)
In some cases, the entry might be "cell" or "home" or "work". (EX: 111-111-1111 cell, 111-111-2222 home, 111-111-3333 work)

When entering an EMAIL ADDRESS, format it properly (format: bobjones@email.com)
When designating ownership of email addresses, use only the first name of the associated person. (EX: bobjones@email.com Bob)

ADDRESS ...
Fill in the correct information for the associated entry.

When entering a BIRTHDAY, use this format: 11/04/1978 (leading zeros must be included to ensure 2 digits for the month and day).
Including the birth year is required but the year does not show on the directory page.
When designating ownership of birthdays, use only the first name of the associated person. (EX: 11/04 Bob)

When entering the ANNIVERSARY
The first field is for month/day. FORMAT: 02/08 (leading zeros must be included to ensure 2 digits)
The YEAR field must be 4 digits. FORMAT: 1966

EMERGENCY CONTACT:
You may enter as much information as you desire and format it in any way you wish.
Line-breaks are allowed.
EX:
Son, John Smith
email johnsmith@email.com / 978-098-8787


SIGNIFICANT YEAR: This can be customized to your organization's needs
IE: Class of 1999, Member since 2013, Employed since 2016, Resident since 2003, etc

VETERANS INFO:
You may enter as much information as you desire and format it in any way you wish.
Line-breaks are allowed.
EX:
Bob is a veteran of the Marines
Mary is a veteran of the Navy

OFFICE NOTES:
You may enter as much information as you desire and format it in any way you wish.
Line-breaks are allowed.
EX:
Bob is the emcee of Friday Rock-n-Roll Jams
Mary volunteers in the kitchen
Bob heads up our first responders team
NOTE: For purposes of creating reports, be sure to include the words: Volunteer, Chair Person, Coordinator, Director, Supervisor etc.

WHEN ALL DATA HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO THE FORM ... CLICK "SUBMIT ENTRY".

Uploading Pictures for Your Directory

One picture may be uploaded per entry in the database.
This picture may be updated at any time.

If you desire to print a pictorial directory booklet, crop your pictures to 1.5in BY 2in at 300dpi resolution or 450px BY 600px
A vertical (portrait) orientation is best suited for printing the directory pages.
If you are not going to print the booklet, any size and orientation of picture may be used.
Remember, if you upload large size pictures, it will cause the web pages to load slowly.
A picture file size of less than 3MB is best.
Only these image file types are allowed:
jpg, JPG, jpeg, JPEG, png, PNG, gif, GIF
Trying to upload a non-accepted file type will result in an error message.

Image File Names
It is recommended that you name your image files according to the entry associated with the image using this format ... lastname-firstname
For Example: jones-bob (you may use upper or lower case or any combination thereof)

To upload an image:
1) Click on "Choose File" or "Browse" .. depending on the web-browser you are using.
2) In the dialogue box that opens, navigate to the image for upload, select it and click on "OPEN".
    ( "OPEN" may be a different choice in some browsers.)
3) Click on "UPLOAD".
4) A "SUCCESS" message will appear.
5) Click on the "Apply Now" button.

To change a picture, click on the "Change Pic" button and follow the procedure outlined above.

Manage Database Entries

On this page you will see all of the entries you have put into your database.
You may EDIT an entry or DELETE an entry as needed.
You can Add and Change pictures
NOTE: When you delete an entry, it is removed from the database and can not be recovered.

It is helpful to understand the keyboard shortcut "CTRL-F" when viewing this page.
CTRL-F is "Find on Page".
Hold the CTRL key on your keyboard while simultaneously pressing the "F" key.
A search box will open in your browser.
Type in a name and the browser will automatically find all instances of that name on the page, taking you to the first instance found.
This is helpful when you have a large number of entries and you want to view or edit one of them.

The information shown on this page is directly correlated to the "Form Fields" you activate from "Configure Data Entry Form" on your control panel page.(CPANEL)

Information shown on this page will not necessarily show on your on-line directory pages.
You control what will show on the directroy view pages from "Configure Your Directory Page" on your CPANEL.

Choose what to show on the online directory pages.

By DEFAULT, your directory pages are only viewable by you.
When you are ready to allow others to view the directory pages, you can change the status on your control panel page. (CPANEL)
Look for "Directory Viewing is set to Admin Only" click on "CHANGE STATUS".

By DEFAULT, the only information showing on the online directory page is a picture and the first and last name associated with that picture.

You may select, from all of the information you have placed into your database, the additional information to be displayed.

You do this from "Configure Your Directory Page" on your control panel page. (CPANEL)

Blocks of information are indicated as "SHOWING" or "HIDDEN".

If you want the information to be displayed, change the status to SHOWING.
If you do not want to display the information, change the status to HIDDEN.

You can modify these settings at any time.

By default, all entries in the database will show on the online directory view.
You can "hide" an entry if a resident does not want their information to be shown.
This is done by Clicking the "CHANGE STATUS" on the manage your entries page.
The entry will dispaly currently SHOWING in directory or currently HIDDEN from directory
You can do the reverse to add the entry back to the online view.

Managing Registered Viewers

No one can view your directory unless they have created an account to do so.
AND, you have changed the viewing status to "RESIDENTS ALLOWED" or "MEMBERS ALLOWED".

Registration is required, at which time the viewer will create a personal username and password.

Inviting people to register to view the directory.
Compose an email to send to everyone you want to invite to register to view your directory.
Include the following link in the email ...
https://rpgwebs.com/PICDIR/reg_viewers/viewer_reg_acct.php?code=&org=

When a new viewer registers an account, an email notification is sent to the Administrator Email Address.
The Administrator Email Address is the email that was entered when Organization Account was created.

You have the ability to "BLOCK" or "DELETE" a user if necessary.

You do this from "Manage Registered Viewers" on your CPANEL.
By DEFAULT, a new viewer is shown as "Access is Blocked".
If you want to allow a viewer access to the online directory, change the status to "Access is Allowed" by clicking on the "BLOCKED" button.
Conversely priveleges may be rvoked by clicking on the "ALLOWED" button.

If you DELETE a registered viewer, they are permanently blocked from viewing the directory pages or accessing their profile page.
Their information is NOT removed from the database.
If desired, they may re-register to gain back viewing priveleges.

On the Manage Registered Viewers page, you will see ...
★ The Name of the Viewer
★ The date they registered
★ Their viewing status
★ Their contact information
★ Their username and password

Allow Registered Viewers Editing Priveleges

You may choose to allow your registered viewers the ability to edit their own profile information.
They will only be able to edit the information which you have configured to display on the directory pages.
If it does not show on the directory page, they can not edit the information.
They can ONLY edit THEIR information.

By DEFAULT this feature is turned OFF.
If you want to allow this feature, look for "Registered Viewer Editing is Blocked" on your CPANEL.
Click on "ALLOW" to enable registered viewer editing.

You may turn off the feature at any time by clicking on "DO NOT ALLOW".