Import/Export Shepherd's Staff Batches

The Import/Export Shepherd's Staff batch utility allows you to create an offering batch on one computer that has Shepherd's Staff, export that batch to a file, and then take that file to another computer that has Shepherd's Staff, import the batch, and then post the offering batch. 

This could be used for a person who works on the Shepherd's Staff database offsite, where they would save the offering batches that they prepare at home, for example, to a flash drive and import them into Shepherd's Staff at the church on Sunday morning when they come to church. 

The Import/Export Shepherd's Staff batch utility only works with unposted batches. Once a batch has been posted, it can no longer be exported to a file to be imported on another computer. It's also important that the database that you're exporting the batches from is current with the database you're importing to, so it's recommended that before the person working off-site starts preparing their offering batches that a backup from the main database is restored on their off-site computer.

Exporting Batches:

1. After you have created your offering batch(es), click the "Import" option at the bottom of the "Batches" grid and choose "Shepherd's Staff batch" and click "Select"
2. In the window that appears, all unposted offering batches will appear. Make sure only the offering batches you want to export to your export file are checked.
3. Click the "Export" button.
4. A file explorer window will appear where you can choose the location and name of your export file. Save your export file to a location you can easily find.

Importing Batches:

1. Once you have received the import file on the computer that you want to import to, open the contributions module and go to Giving>Batches
2. Click the "Import" option at the bottom of the offering batch window and choose "Shepherd's Staff batch and click "Select"
3. Click the "Select file to Import" button
4. At the file explorer window that appears, find the batch file you received from the person who created the offering batches off-site, and double click it.
5. Each offering batch in the batch file will then appear in the "Import and Export Contribution Batches" window.
6. Click "Import" to bring these offering batches into your unposted batches. Click "Reset list for exporting" if you want to cancel out of the import, but stay in the "Import and Export Contribution Batches" window.

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