A subgroup is simply a list of names retrieved from your records, either by specifying them manually or by using Shepherd’s Staff to locate them using a set of criteria. Subgroups differ from other lists (such as Activity, Skill, and Training class lists) because they can be used to print practically any report in Membership, Attendance, and Contributions. This gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility, and once created, subgroups can be used in most any report.
Dynamic Subgroups
As the name implies, Dynamic Subgroups constantly change. Each time you view or use the subgroup, the names shown reflect current information in the database. As information in your database changes over time, so do the people retrieved by the Dynamic Subgroup. You can search more than 240 fields from Membership, Attendance, and Contributions.
Static Subgroups
Conversely, the names in a Static Subgroup do not change unless you manually add or remove them. A Static Subgroup is useful when:
- you need a list of just a few people, and you know the names of those
people; - you need a list of names as of a fixed point in time, for historical reference
(such as last year’s board members); or - you need a list of people who have nothing in common (in other words,
you cannot use a Dynamic Subgroup to gather the names for you).
Combined Subgroups
A Combined Subgroup lets you combine up to five Static and/or Dynamic Subgroups together and treat them as one subgroup. When you print a report using a Combined Subgroup, the contents of all the Static/
Dynamic Subgroups are added/subtracted from one another to produce the list of names.
Creating a Subgroup
- Click Subgroups then Add, and choose the type of subgroup.
- Click OK and give the subgroup a recognizable name.
- For a Dynamic Subgroup, click New Line, then select fields and the values to search for, then click OK. For each criterion you wish to search by, you must add a new line.
- For a Static Subgroup, highlight the names of those people you want to appear in the group, then click the Add button.
- For a Combined Subgroup, select the subgroup you wish to start with, then select the next subgroup and choose to add or subtract it from the first subgroup.
