Navigation: Contacts >

# Lookups

## What is a Lookup?

When using the database, there will frequently be a need to view one or more contacts who share a common attribute. Here are some examples of contacts who may make up just a portion of the database:

•Contacts who are donors (that is, have given a gift of any amount)

•Contacts who attend a certain church

•Contacts who live in a certain city

•Contacts who are also staff members

Lookups are useful in preparing reports, editing contacts, creating Saved Groups, etc.

Tip: Learning Lookups

The easiest way to learn about Lookups is to use them by trial and error. Doing Lookups cannot harm the content of the database.

## Basic Lookup concepts

•When you perform any lookup, the resulting list of contacts is the Current Group.

Read More > Current vs. Saved Groups

•The Current Group is always the result of a lookup (the Current Lookup).

•When the database is opened, a lookup is performed immediately. The default lookup is <Everyone>, and the Current Group then is all contacts in database.

Menu Path: Lookup | Everyone

•Lookups only display Contacts. Regardless of the specific criteria (such as a financial criteria such as amount donated), the result is a list of contacts who meet that criteria.

•When a lookup is performed from the Groups View, that is, when one of the Saved Groups is "looked up", that Saved Group becomes the Current Group.

| Makes this Saved Group into the Current Group. This will replace the previous Current Group.

•Lookups by nature are immediate. When a lookup is performed, it displays contacts that meet that criteria at that moment. A lookup on gifts received would be different one month than it would be the next month.

## Relationship to the Current Group

When performing a lookup, the software needs to know how the results will impact the Current Group.

Replace the current group | Queries the entire database and displays a new group.
Lookup within the current group | Queries the current group and displays only those contacts that meet the criteria from the current group.
Add to the current group | Queries the entire database, but maintains the currently viewed group and combines the two lists.
Take away from the current group | Queries the current group and removes those contacts that meet the criteria chosen.