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Profile Field Descriptions

Details for some of the fields you'll encounter when adding and editing profiles.

Depending on your setup, you may not see all of the following fields. You may also see custom fields your church added that are not described here.

Contact Information

Name
This field contains a button the pencil box icon to open a parser. You can either:
  • Enter a name into the field directly, such as "Mrs. Jennifer Shandy" or "Rev. Fred Saylor, Jr.". Individuals' names are parsed automatically for the database. In other words, the entry is broken down into parts: title, first name, middle name, last name, preferred name, and suffix.
  • Click the button and parse the entry manually, entering the different parts of the name into the respective fields.
    Note:

    Hyphens, Parsing, and Label Names

    If you forget the hyphen in dual last names, such as Mary Johnson-Smith, the parser will interpret the first half of the last name as a middle name when you save the record. In this case, the Individual Label Name (used for mailings) would read "Mary Smith" by default.

Full Name

People profiles include a section for Full Name. Enter the different parts of the name into the respective fields.

Individual and Family Label Names

These names are used when creating mailings and other communications. They display automatically based on the name you entered, but you can edit them if needed. To undo your changes, click the revert icon curved blue arrow pointing left.

Contributor

Labels and salutations are used when creating contributor statements. These display automatically based on the name you entered. Which formality is used (either formal or informal) depends on what you have set up in Name Formats. You can manually override these if needed. To undo your changes, click the revert icon curved blue arrow pointing left.

Address/Home (in edit mode)

Typically, you enter a family's primary address here. If the primary member of the family has a home address entered, it is automatically copied to other family member records, but it can be overwritten when adding or editing their profiles. A city is required when running certain reports. Without it, the entire address might display blank. Realm also periodically checks your records for invalid addresses.

This field contains a button the pencil box icon to open a parser. For United States addresses, you can either:
  • Enter an address, such as "1200 Griggs Drive, Grosse Point, Michigan 48215" or "456 E. Lyerly Ln., Blackfoot, ID, 83221" into the text box directly. The address is parsed automatically for the database. In other words, the address is broken into parts: country, address, city, etc. You can see the parser works by running this test: Enter the address 123 Commerce St. <Enter> Independence, MO 64050 in the Address text box. Click the button, and notice how the address has been parsed automatically.
  • Click the button and parse the entry manually, entering the different parts of the address into different fields. For addresses not in the United States, the parser opens automatically when you click in the address box.

For U.S. military addresses, AA, AE, and AP appear at the bottom of the State drop-down list. Use United States as the country. Here are some examples of generally accepted military addresses:

PFC Dan Jones

PSC 1234 Box 12345

APO AE 12345-1234

Dan Jones

USS Atkinson (DDG-29)

FPO AP 12345-1234

Dan Jones

Unit 1234 Box 1234

DPO, AE, 12345-1234

The parser places APO, FPO, or DPO in the city field and AA, AE, or AP in the state field. The presence of commas don't make a difference on this line. However, commas do matter in the second line of the address. If you enter "PSC 1234, Box 12345", the parser will place "PSC 1234" on address line 1 and "Box 12345" on line 2. If you'd rather avoid this, don't include the comma.

Country (in parser)

A country is especially important when creating address labels. The country name will not be included on a label unless it is different.

Add address (in edit mode)

Click to enter an Alternate address, such as a summer home. Select Use as mailing address to enter a date range during which mail should be sent here. During this period, label printing also uses this address. All other instances of addresses (reports, events, etc.) will reference the Home address. If the Home address is ever deleted, the alternate address will automatically replace it. We also periodically check your records for invalid addresses.

Copy from another family member (in edit mode)

Click to copy an address already entered for a parent, child, or spouse in the same family. Copying addresses does not automatically link them.

Link address (in edit mode)

Click to permanently tie this address with a spouse, parents, or children in the same family. Hereafter, a change to any family member's address will automatically overwrite the address of anyone it is linked to.

Phones

You can enter Home, Mobile, Work, and Other phone numbers. If you enter multiple numbers, you can select the Primary Phone used to contact the individual.

Note:

Non-US Addresses and Auto-Dialing

  • If you selected a Country other than the United States, a "+" displays in the phone field by default when you click in it.
  • When viewed on a mobile phone or on a computer enabled with a phone feature like Skype®, you can touch or click a phone number to dial it.
Send a Realm Invite (in add mode)

If selected, this individual will receive an email with a link to sign up and start using your website. Note that if you select this option, Birthday becomes a required field.

Email

If needed, individuals may have separate email addresses for their account login and where they receive email communication. Family members should not share email addresses if they intend to maintain separate logins.

Personal Information

Family Position

Someone with administrator rights can customize this field name and its list of selections. See Create New Family Positions. Family position is important because only primary family members (head, spouse, etc) can update a family's record.

Marital Status

Someone with administrator rights can customize these field names and the list of options. See Create Custom Profile Fields.

Add to a Pathway (in add mode)

Select if you want to automatically add the individual to an existing pathway once you save the profile. For example, you have a pathway (or workflow) for assimilating new members or onboarding new employees. Adding the individual to this pathway ensures that each step in the process is assigned to someone for follow up and completed. For more, see Pathways.

Opt in to Online Directory (in add mode)

Select if you want this profile to be visible to all people with a login. This option only exists for individuals who have not set up a login. If children under 18 are opted in, only their names and photos are made visible. All other information remains hidden. For those who have email addresses, Realm will notify them via email.

You can always opt someone in later. On their profile, click the Privacy at the top, and select Opt in to Online Directory. This option only displays if the individual does not have a login.

Congregant records brought in via conversion are not opted in.

Note:

The online directory allows everyone in your church to view the contact information of individuals in your database. Unlike printed directories, the Realm directory stays up-to-date, filterable, and searchable. Once an individual creates a login, the directory option is no longer available to you. At that point, they can set their own privacy options.

Other Indications

Possible Duplicate

Possible Duplicate button showing underneath profile picture

This button means Realm has detected one or more other profiles with similar information. Click the button to begin resolving the conflict. For more, see Duplicate Profiles.

Without Login

profile picture with banner that says "without login"

This notice displays in the corner of some individual photos. The "Without Login" status means the individual has been added to your data but has not yet visited the website to set up a user name and password. If this is the case, the individual will already have been sent an email with instructions for signing up.
Invited

profile picture with banner that says "invited"

This notice displays in the corner of some individual photos. The "Invited" label replaces the "Without Login" label if you issue an invitation to sign up for the site. You can see a list of invitees and send additional reminders; see Realm Invitations.
Invalid Address/Resolve

If you see this, the address may be incorrect. For details about resolving invalid addresses, see Unrecognized Addresses.