Get Started with Group Connect
Here are some tips to set your groups up for success:
- Confirm your group leaders are the primary contact or have a Group Role Type of Leader.
- On the appropriate Group Role record(s), set Manages Volunteers to Yes.
- Confirm leaders and primary contacts have a User record if they want to send messages, mark attendance, and so on.
- Confirm leaders and primary contacts don't share an email address with another user. Each must have a unique email address.
- Confirm the Group record has Available Online set to Yes, and it is not a volunteer group (that is, its Group Type has Volunteer Group set to No).Note: Groups that have a Group Type with Volunteer Group set to Yes will only show in Volunteer Connect.
- To display groups on the Groups and Groups Map screens in your PocketPlatform app, confirm the Group record is marked with a Group Type that has Show On Group Finder set to Yes. By default, the app only shows groups that have a Start Date in the past and either no End Date or an End Date in the future. If you'd like to show future groups, contact Support to enable this in your app.
And here are some additional setup details you need to know:
- All dates and times display in the congregation's time zone.
- Group Connect uses the API User to send emails. Make sure your API User has both the Administrators security role as well as a sufficient email quota for any emails sent through Group Connect. Note: If you use a proxy email, replies may go to that proxy if the email provider doesn't honor explicit "reply to" settings.
- See your church's logo at the top of Group Connect? It's the default file attached to your Domain record.
- Review the following configuration settings:
- CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingEventTypeId: Set to the Event Type ID to use when events are created via Group Connect.
- CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingProgramId: Set to the Program ID to use when events are created via Group Connect.
- CLOUDAPPS, GroupMeetingRoomId: This is set to "1" or the lowest existing ID on deployment to ensure the flow works in every system at deployment. Set to the Room ID to use when events are created via Group Connect.
- CLOUDAPPS, ShowAddActivityButton: Set Value to "1" to allow leaders to add new activities.
- CLOUDAPPS, ShowAddParticipantButton: Set Value to "1" to allow leaders to add new participants.
- CLOUDAPPS, ShowEditGroupButton: Set Value to "1" to allow leaders to edit group information.
- CLOUDAPPS, ShowEditParticipantButton: Set Value to "1" to allow leaders to edit participant information.
- CLOUDAPPS, ShowGuestAttendance: Set Value to "1" to allow leaders to track guest attendance.
- CLOUDAPPS, DefaultHouseholdPosition: Set Value to the Household Position ID of the default Household Position for newly added participants.
Note: Don't be alarmed if you change a configuration setting and don't immediately see it reflected Group Connect. It may take up to 15 minutes for changes to display in Group Connect.