Queries

You use queries to split your database based on a series of criteria you define. There are four types of queries in eTapestry.

Tip: For best practice information about queries, refer to eTapestry Best Practices: Query 101.

• System-Defined Query: These are queries that are pre-defined in eTapestry and cover some basic splitations. We recommend that you always check to see if a system-defined query can serve your need before you create a manual query. System-defined queries are often the starting criteria for manual queries.

• Basic Query: In a basic query, you specify the criteria for entries. For example, the state a constituent's address is in, the date of an entry, the fund a transactions, etc. The query mechanism searches through all of your accounts or journal entries and locates only the ones that meet your specified criteria.

• Compound Query: In a compound query, you can combine two other queries by adding their results together, subtracting the results of one query from the other, or intersecting the results to find only the accounts or entries that exist in both queries. While compound queries are sometimes necessary, often you can add more criteria to a simple query without the need for a compound query.

• Custom Account Query: In a custom account query, you can manually select the specific accounts that you want. These accounts do not have to share any specific data in common because you are able to manually pick out the ones that you want. You can also create a custom account query from a basic query, then manually remove any accounts that you do not want in your final results.

Queries are used in different areas of the program to provide the specific split of the database to work with.

• Reports: When you run a report, you specify the query that contains the accounts or journal entries to include in the report. The report itself determines the data to show for those accounts or entries, but the query determines which accounts or entries appear.

• Communications: eTapestry's communication tool allows you to generate batches of letters and mass email. You use a query to determine which journal entries or accounts to send the communication to.

• Mass Update: eTapestry's mass update tool allows you to update accounts or journal entries. When you run a mass update, you use a query to specify which accounts or journal entries to update.

• Find Account: You can use a query on the Advanced Find screen to limit your search to only those accounts included in the query.

• Advanced Security: Organizations that use eTapestry's Advanced Security module can set up queries to define which accounts and journal entries users can view and edit.