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Report Selections

You can select which records to include in your report. In the Reports wizard, the Selection window displays different tabs that relate to the report you selected. On each tab, you can select a group of records based on certain conditions. Once you make your selections, you can click Save under the List of Selections to use these report criteria in the future.

Selection Information

Use the options on this tab to sort your data and include or skip certain records in your report.
Sortation
Determine the order of the printed report data. The available options change depending on the type of report you select. Print options also display in the Sortation section if they pertain to the selected report.
Email the Letter/Item If
Email the letter/item to individuals instead of printing a copy for regular mail. Also select one of the following options:
  • Preferred is Checked—Includes membersindividuals whose Pref. checkbox is selected in the Emails section of the record.
  • Has an Email Addr—Includes any membersindividuals who have an email address entered.
Note: This checkbox is saved per report and is not part of the saved selection. The options default to the same options you selected last time you ran the report.
Send to Multiple Emails
If you're emailing the letters/items, you can send them to multiple emails. If selected, the letter/item is sent to all the email addresses associated with the individual. If cleared, the letter/item is only sent to the preferred email address (if you selected Preferred is Checked) or the first email address in the list (if you selected Has an Email Addr).
Note: This checkbox is saved per report and is not part of the saved selection.
Include Billing Copies
If a billing address is entered in the Billing Address section of the Tuition and Fees window, select this option to print billing copies.
Skip Families That Don't Have Any Selected Funds
Select to exclude families who do not have funds selected in the Tuition and Fees window.
Include Family Marked as Loose Collections
Loose Collections is a designation you can use to record non-documented donations, such as loose coins and bills given by visitors. Select this option to include special family loose collections in the report.
Skip if at Alt Address and Send to Alt not Checked
If families are residing at their alternate address listed on their record, such as a vacation home, and are not marked to receive mail there, you can skip them. This option is selected by default.
Fund Restrictions
This option only displays for financial reports. Select it to limit the families printed to those with a specific fund or funds.
Include Courtesy Copies
Select to include families whose statements are set to include courtesy copies in the Statements drop-down list in the Billing Address section of the Tuition and Fees window.
Include Family Relationship Courtesy Copies
Select to include families/individuals who are listed as a relation to the family. To view this setting: On the Information tab, click Families > Relationships.

Family

Select families to include in your report. This is available with family and financial reports, but not student reports.

You can include all families, families with certain ID numbers, or only selected families.
  • If you select families with certain ID numbers, enter the ones to include. Separate IDs using a comma, such as "1, 2, 10, 30". Enter a series of IDs using a colon, such "30:100".
  • If you chose only selected families, select each one you want to include. Inactive families display in red.

To quickly locate a family, click Quick Lookup. To clear all of the selections you made, click Clear All. To view the report with the selections you've made, click Preview.

Select students to include in the report. This tab is available with student reports only.

You can include all students or only selected students. If you chose only selected students, select each one you want to include. Inactive students display in red.

To quickly locate a student, use the navigation tools. To clear all of the selections you made, click Clear All. To view the report with the selections you've made, click Preview.

Personnel

Select personnel to include in the report. This tab is available with personnel reports only.

You can include all personnel or only selected personnel. If you chose only selected personnel, select each one you want to include. Inactive personnel display in red.

To quickly locate a person, click Quick Lookup. To clear all of the selections you made, click Clear All. To view the report with the selections you've made, click Preview.

Delinquency

Select families who have balances past due. You can search up to five categories, and you can set a minimum balance due based on the categories.

Under Delinquency Day Categories, enter the number of days past due you want to include. Under Delinquent, to include all families with any balance, select Every Selected Family. To restrict families to a minimum balance due, select Families with an outstanding balance of more than, and click the drop-down list to enter an amount. For example, if you want to avoid printing delinquent statements for accounts less than $5.00, enter "$4.99".

To view the report with the selections you've made, click Preview.

EZ-Mail

If you created EZ-Mail lists and selected the EZ-Mail sortation option, this tab displays. This is available with label, envelope, letter, and list reports.

Select All Trays and Pieces to include all the trays and pieces included when you built your EZ-Mail list. Click Range of Trays and Pieces, and select a start and end range of pieces from the drop-down lists to include only those pieces in your report.

Additional Selections

Use the Additional Selections tab to create a specific set of criteria for a report. The fields and values available depend on the type of report you selected. You can filter your list of report criteria to a very specific level, for example:
  • Families in Phoenix, AZ
  • Students in the 12th grade who play an instrument
  • Families who gave $1000 or more in the current year

Practice using the Additional Selections tab to learn how to use it efficiently. Click the information icon white letter i in blue circle beside field names to see a description.

Example of Additional Selections showing the Fam Address Remarks field information

Conditional Relations:
  • Is equal to—Field = Value. Ex: Fam City is equal to Phoenix.
  • Is not equal to—Field ≠ Value. Ex: Fam State is not equal to Arizona. This relationship is useful when you want everything other than a specific value.
  • Is less than—Field < Value. Ex: Fam ID is less than 3000.
  • Is less than or equal to—Field ≤ Value. Ex: Fam ID is less than or equal to 3000.
  • Greater than—Field > Value. Ex: Fam ID is greater than 3000.
  • Greater than or equal to—Field ≥ Value. Ex: Fam ID is greater than or equal to 3000.
  • Is in list—The field is within a list of values or within a CSV file. If you list the values, each must be in quotation marks and separated by commas. If you specify a CSV, it must start with "<", followed by the file path. To specify a certain column in the CSV, enter a comma after the file path then the number. Ex: Fam City is in list "Phoenix", "Glendale". Ex: Fam City is in list <C:\Documents\cities.csv,3.
  • Is not in this list—The field is not within a list of values or not within a CSV file. Each value must be in quotation marks and separated by commas. If you specify a CSV, it must start with "<", followed by the file path. To specify a certain column in the CSV, enter a comma after the file path then the number.
  • Starts with—The field has the same beginning character or characters as the value in question. Ex: Fam Name starts with A.
  • Does not start with—The field has a different beginning character or characters than the value in question. Ex: Fam Zip does not start with 85.
  • Contains—The field includes the value. Ex: Fam Email contains "hotmail". This returns a list of all family email addresses that include the word "hotmail".
  • Is not between—The field falls outside of two values. Ex: Fam ID is not between 300 and 800.
  • Is between—The field falls between two values. Ex: Fam ID is between 300 and 800.
  • Is ever equal to—The value in the field is equal to at least one of the fields entered. You could, for example, enter three conditions: Ministry is ever equal to Choir, Ministry is ever equal to Hospitality, and Ministry is ever equal to Baby Sitting. When you run the report, if Ministry is ever equal to Choir, Hospitality, or Baby Sitting, the member's name is included in the report.
  • Is never equal to—The value in the field is not equal to one at least one of multiple fields entered. You could, for example, enter two conditions: Sac. Confirmation is never equal to Yes, and Sac. Confirmation is never equal to Approximate. When you run the report, if Sac. Confirmation is never equal to Yes or Approximate, the member's name is included in the report.

Numbered Button Menu Items:

As you add conditions on the Additional Selections tab, a numbered button blue oval with a number 1 displays beside each statement. Click the numbered oval to do the following:
  • Add Condition—Adds a new field, relation, and value for your condition line.
  • Add Sub-section—Adds a new set of criteria to be considered as a group. Condition statements within the subsection are evaluated, in order, before condition statements outside of the subsection.
  • Enable/Disable Row—Condition lines can be turned on and off without being deleted. This way, you can test conditions and combinations more quickly. Any disabled rows are considered when the report is run. Disabled rows are gray.

Custom Fields in Listing Reports:

If you add a custom field in a listing report, you can use that field to create an additional selection. On the Additional Selections tab, click to add a new condition, then select the custom field you defined in your report. Tip: Click Find at the top-right of the field list to quickly locate your custom field. After you select your field, use it the same as any other field to complete your additional selection.

Find
When you click <Click here to add new condition>, a list of fields related to the report displays. Click Find at the top of that list to locate a specific field you want to use for additional selections.
Clear Additional Selections
Removes all condition lines.
Exclude rather than include selected records
When selected, the main condition phrase at the top of this window changes from Choose records to Exclude records. All items that match the given conditions are excluded, and the rest are printed.
Use Optimizer
In most cases, to improve the speed with which PDS searches for records that match the conditions you set, select Use Optimizer.

Watch & Learn

Learn to create a report with only the selected information you want in it; for example, a list of choir members. 6 min 48 sec

It may take a minute for the video to display. To watch in full screen mode, click the expand icon in the video player.

To watch more videos, visit the PDS Video Library.