Related Tab

The Related tab displays all membership records, group records, and files that have been related to this member. This is a convenient way to track joint memberships, couples, families, etc.

There are two ways to add a related member; by searching for an existing record, or by adding a new record that will be automatically related to the current record. Related group records must already exist in the database.

1	In the Related Membership Records section, click Add. If you would like the new record to be based on the current member, answer yes when prompted. (The main address, last name, company name, alt mail name, start date, end date, and status are copied if you choose this option.)

2	When the new member window opens, create the new record normally, completing all appropriate tabs.

Since this record is already part of a relationship process, there is no option on the Related tab of this record to create another new record. This prevents a circular creation of records-within-records-within-records.

3	When you are finished, click OK. The current record will save and close, and it will appear as a new relationship on the original record.

4	If you would like to enter optional relationship details, select the related record and click Open. You can specify the manner in which the record is related to the current member, and visa versa.

1	In the Related Membership Records section, click Search.

2	When the search window opens, enter criteria that will help you find the records you want to relate, then click Retrieve.

When creating membership relationships, the last name of the current record is entered automatically as search criteria, and if no relationships have been established yet, the initial retrieve is also executed for you. This is designed to simplify searching for existing family members.

3	You can search for as many records as you need. Each time you click Retrieve, the results of the previous search are replaced with the results of the new search. Select the Append checkbox to cause the new results to append to the existing results list.

4	Choose the records to be brought back as relationships, then click the Select button. All selections will be added as new relationships if they don't already exist.

5	If you would like to enter optional relationship details, select the related record and click Open. You can specify the manner in which the record is related to the current member, and visa versa.

Group relationships are always added by searching for an existing group record. Group records cannot be created directly from the member record.

2	When the search window opens, enter criteria that will help you find the records you want to relate, then click Retrieve.

3	You can search for as many records as you need. Each time you click Retrieve, the results of the previous search are replaced with the results of the new search. Select the Append checkbox to cause the new results to append to the existing results list.

4	Choose the records to be brought back as relationships, then click the Select button. All selections will be added as new relationships if they don't already exist.

Deleting a relationship from this tab merely destroys the relationship between the related record and the current record. The actual records themselves are unchanged, and nothing is deleted.

1	Select one or more membership or group relationships to delete.

2	Click Delete in the appropriate section (members or groups).

Any file stored on your computer can be associated with the membership record. The file is either stored as a link to the physical file, or stored in the database, depending on the File & Photo Storage database preference. If you are storing files and photos in the database, be sure to keep file sizes as small as possible to avoid dramatically increasing the database size.

2	When the file browsing window opens, navigate to the file to be related, then click Open.

3	The path to the selected file will appear in the Related File window, and you can enter an optional description of the file. This is helpful to simplify the name of the file. i.e., \my documents\MemberTies\membership_report_04.doc can be described as "April Membership Report".

4	When you're finished, click OK to save the relationship.

1	In the Related Files section, select the file to be changed, then click Open.

1	In the Related Files section, select the file to be deleted, then click either:

•	Delete - To delete the relationship, leaving the physical file in it's current location.

•	Delete File - To delete the relationship and the physical file itself.

Note: If files are stored in the database, deleting the relationship always deletes the stored file as well. Otherwise, the orphaned file would sit in the database forever.