Configure, Program Settings...
Program settings allow you to turn on or off specific behaviors or features in DonorQuest. These setting are at the organization level and will apply to all users. Settings are on when they are checked and off when they are not checked. To open the Program Settings dialog, click on Configure, Program Settings. You will then see:
Following is a description of each program setting:
Enable Enhanced Find
This program setting is on by default and allows you to search within fields while doing a Find. If turned off you will still be able to search your database with the Find across fields, however DonorQuest will then only search from the left of a field rather than from within a field. Most organizations will want this switch turned on since the searching capabilities are more advanced, but for those organizations with large databases (over 200,000 donors or so) and slow in-house networks it may prove more efficient to have this switch turned off. Basically just try having it on first and then only turn it off if you need to. The online version of DonorQuest should always have this setting enabled since it essentially has no limits on performance or database size.
Code Field Validation
The Code Field Validation switch specifies whether the values entered in coded fields should be validated against the drop-down code table that exists for each coded field. This option should normally be on since it guards against data entry errors.
Defer Donation Posting
DonorQuest is able to operate in either immediate or deferred donation posting mode. In immediate posting mode, donations are added to a donor's history the moment you complete the donation entry, and all donation totals are instantly updated to reflect the new donation. Also in this mode, you are able to make corrections to a donor's history by actually changing the amount (or any other attribute) of any donation within the donor's history.
In deferred posting mode, donations are not immediately added to each donor's history. Instead, they are stored in a separate posting file that temporarily stores all donations entered for all donor accounts. The newly entered donations will remain in the posting file until the donation posting operation is performed. During donation posting, all donations stored in the posting file are permanently added to the donor accounts for which they were entered, and removed from the posting file. Donation posting can only be done by those users who have specifically been given the access right required to do donation posting. Deferred donation posting can be turned on at anytime. However, it can only be turned off if the posting file is empty. Deferred donation posting is mainly used by very large organizations which require oversight on donation entry, and may also wish to lock most users out of making any changes to existing donation history.
Warn of Duplicate ID Compensation
This is not needed with the online version of DonorQuest, but is provided for users running DonorQuest in-house with less than ideal local area networks. When you add a new donor account, DonorQuest will automatically assign a unique ID number for the new donor. In an in-house network environment, there may be many users at their respective workstations adding new donors at the same time. Since it is absolutely essential that each donor have a unique ID number, it is critical that each workstation inform the main file server immediately when it allocates a new ID number, so that another work station does not use the same ID number. Normally there is no problem with such a communication between the file server and all the workstations. However, on some older networks, this communication does not occur quickly enough. Fortunately, DonorQuest has an alternate means of insuring that duplicate donor ID numbers never occur. This alternate means should normally never be triggered. If it is, it could mean that there are other things wrong with the way your network is configured. If you wish to be informed whenever DonorQuest employs this alternate means of duplicate donor ID prevention, then the Warn Of Duplicate ID Compensation switch should be checked.
Maintain Best Year Totals
This should always be enabled for the online version of DonorQuest. If you are using DonorQuest in-house on a slow network, then disabling this feature will improve data entry performance when adding or editing donations.
Auto-Fill Blank Salutations On Record Save
The Salutation fields are used for all correspondence with your donors and prospects. The Salutation 1 is used for the first line of the address block in letters and labels, and the Salutation 2 is used in the "Dear" block of mail merged letters and emails. These fields need to be filled in when adding a new donor record. Having this check box turned on will tell DonorQuest to automatically make an entry in these fields for you if you forget, using the First Name, Last Name, Secondary First Name, and Secondary Last Name fields as a starting point. You are still free to fine tune the Salutation fields for each donor record as needed, even after DonorQuest auto-populates the fields. This feature will only take effect automatically on empty salutation fields when you click the Save button of the Main Information dialog. If you make edit changes to any of the name fields of an existing record, and the Salutation fields already have something in them, DonorQuest will ask before auto-updating them.
Format Telephone Numbers
If this setting is enabled, DonorQuest will format all phone number fields during data entry. For example, if you were to type 2062701050 in the Telephone field and press the tab key, DonorQuest will automatically format the number as (206) 270-1050.
Include Organization Name On Reports
If this setting is enabled, DonorQuest will include your organization's name on all standard reports which use a report heading. DonorQuest will use the name you entered for your organization under Configure, Your Organization's Information, so check there to be sure your organization's name was entered correctly.
Encrypt Database
DonorQuest is capable of encrypting your entire database while still providing full multi-user access. This feature is intended mainly for those still using DonorQuest in-house on a local file server. The encryption is seamless, so that everything in DonorQuest works just as you would expect for all features. This adds a layer of protection for your sensitive donor data, making your data appear as unreadable gibberish to any would-be thieves which either hack into your main file server over the Internet, or perhaps even physically steal it from your office. Without knowing a DonorQuest User Name and Password, there is no viable way a hacker could decrypt your data if you are running DonorQuest with encryption on. You may also uncheck the box at anytime to return to running in normal unencrypted mode. The only downside of running with encryption on is that it will slow DonorQuest performance slightly, but only by about 10% on average. Any changes to your encryption preference will be processed against the database after you close the Program Settings dialog.
Filter Extended Characters From Data Entry
When pasting text into DonorQuest forms from various sources such as websites or Word documents, the pasted text may contain invisible control characters designed to format the document from which they were copied. These formatting characters have no meaning in DonorQuest and can cause anomalies when processing your data. This option should be enabled to filter out such characters, unless you have a specific need to store them with the text. An example of when you may need support for extended characters is when you are pasting non-English language content, which typically contains extended character codes.
Default Date Format
DonorQuest supports multiple date display formats. Changing this setting has absolutely no effect on how dates are actually stored in the database, it simply controls how they are shown to users in the various DonorQuest screen displays and on any report they may print. Note that users may override this default organization-wide date setting by clicking on User, Change Your Personal Settings, and setting their own custom date format preference there.