Before adding a new family to the database, search for the Family across the Diocese using Family Explorer


Click here for how to pull a family into your church when found in another church (Add to Church) (Basic instructions are below)


Click here for how to Add a New Family and the Member records (Basic instructions are below)


To search across the Diocese we suggest you create a custom screen similar to the example below that becomes your custom layout.  This will allow you to see at a glance what churches you are currently viewing and allow you to quickly move between churches if you are a collaborative.

Setting Your Custom Default Screen to Search Across Multiple Churches

1
Select the columns Church Name, Church City and Church ID (you can see the screenshot below of the bolded columns) from the Columns option located in the 3 circles menu next to the column name.
2
Arrange these in any order that you desire. You may want to Lock the Church ID column next it is next to the Family Name column to the left and always visible.  You may also want to Lock the Family ID column to the left.
3
Continue to update the remainder of your columns that you want to include in your own layout. Save and set as your favorite (Save the layout in Layout, Manage Layout, type in a name and Save).  Now when you login you will always see the columns you've set up and saved in your layout. You may return to the default layout at any time.

Searching Across the Diocese

1
When you initially open your database the Church ID column will be populated with the church ID number that you initially logged into.
2
To search across the Diocese simply clear out the box and hit enter.
3
The search screen will populate with all the families in the Diocese. To go back to viewing only families in your church, reenter your Church ID number, hit enter, and your families will repopulate your search screen.

Note: Only churches who are part of a Diocesan Initiative will be able to search across the Diocese. To add a family to your church, please follow the steps outlined in Section 5 of this article.

Pro-Tip: When viewing the list of all families across the Diocese you will see that some of the families are highlighted in blue.   These are families whose church databases you have permissions to access. Clicking on the family will open the family record in a new tab.
Pro-Tip: Church ID is the unique number that the database assigns to your church(es) within the Diocese that you belong.  In addition to viewing that number in Family Explorer you can see the Church ID in the URL once you have opened the church.

To Add a Family to your Parish (Add to Church) using Actions

This is commonly referred to as "Pulling a Family over to your Church." Once the family is located in another church, follow these steps to add the family to your church.

The following action items appear in a dropdown: (1) Send Message, (2) Download, (3) Mailing Labels, and (4) Add to My Church. 

Note: You'll notice there are boxes next to the family names. If you would like to pull a family into your parish, check the box next to the family name, Click Actions, Select "Add to My Church." The family will then be accessible to users in your parish.  (Note: You can only add one family to your church at a time.)

Adding a New Family Record

If the family cannot be located in another church, then you can add the family as a new family record. 

Add a New Family Record

1
There are a few ways you can create a new family. One way is by clicking on Families via the top navigation bar and selecting  Add New Family. 

Another way is by clicking on  Families via the top navigation bar and selecting Family Explorer, then click on the New Family button near the top.

2
On the New Family page enter any available information for the Family. Please note the following:
  • Only the Last Name field is required. All other fields are optional.
  • You may use one name or multiple names for the First Name field.
  • When entering Family Email or Telephone the drop down arrow is used to specify families' contact preferences.
  • The Mailing Name field is used by Church Budget for envelope integration, and it's an available option for printing labels. The integration will first look in the Mailing Name field. If it contains data, the value in the Mailing Name field will be the first line on the budget envelope or mailing labels. Contrarily, if there is nothing in that field then it will default to Salutation + First Name + Last Name.
  • Check the Has Envelopes box if you are going to use Church Budget Envelope Integration and/or the parishioner receives giving envelopes. Then be sure to assign a unique Budget Number to the family.  
  • The Family ID is extremely beneficial when contacting our support team about a Family Record. There is only one family assigned to each Family ID, and no two families have the same Family ID number.
  • For families that were converted from a previous system the fields System and System Family contains a previous system designator and family system ID# it was converted from.  

3
Once you have entered all of the information you desire, click Save in the bottom right corner of the page. Congratulations! You have now added a Family Record.

Adding Associated Member Records

1
Once you have saved the new family record the Members tab is now available. Click New Member.

2
A pop-up will appear, enter the First Name and click Save.
3
You will be taken to the Member Information tab. Here you can enter any information about the Member you have.  To create a member record you only need the First Name and Last Name.   
Note: If the member has a different last name than what is in the Family Record you can edit the Last Name field while in the Member Record. Additionally, there are 8 additional member tabs to enter additional information about the member. 
4
Once you have entered the desired information, click Save. 

You can continue to add additional Members to this Family by clicking on the New Member button at the top left of your screen, or by clicking on the triangle to the right of the Save button and selecting Add New Member.