The tabs available on the Contact Details page after a contact has been created allow a user to create multiple instances of the same type of data and display this data in rows underneath the tab. Examples of where this might be useful include the system tabs, such as Notes; Membership; Events and so on, where a contact could have multiple notes linked to them; or be a part of multiple memberships or events. Data in a normal ChillDB field would be overwritten each time new data was added, but by using the a tab-type field, we can record separate instances of data and keep a record of them all.
This article follows on from the ChilliDB Basics Quick Start: Contacts article and provides more detal regarding the tabs available to a user after creating a new contact, as well as their functionality.
Note: uers are able to create their own tabs in a ChilliDB record, just as they are able to add their own fields . For detailed information on how to do this, please see the Working With Grids article.
Contact Tabs
Tabs available for Contact records are of two types:
1) Those that link to modules elsewhere in ChilliDB
This means that any records created in these modules will automatically appear in these tabs under a contact's record. Alternatively, a user cancreate a record under a tab by simply clicking on the 'Create' link. The information below provides an overview of the function of each tab, as well as the screens that appear when a user creates a new record from the Contact tabs themselves.
Notes: This tab lists all notes linked to a contact. Users can also create a note here to store against the contact's name. This functions in the same way as creating a note through the Notes module. The only difference being that the 'Contact(s)/Org(s)' field is prefilled with the name of the contact whose record you are viewing.
Messages: This tab lists any emails that have been sent to a contact. Users can also send an email to a contact under this tab. This email will also be stored under the 'Notes' tab, making it viewable in other modules, such as in the Case Management module under the 'Case Notes' tab.
Events: Any events a contact is registered for in ChilliDB will be listed under this tab. Users can also register a contact for an event directly from the tab itself.
Resources: resources that a contact is accessing can be listed here. These resources are linked from the Resources module under the System main menu item. As such, the resource has to be created in this module first before it can be linked to a contact under the tab. When adding a resource under this tab, the window that opens looks identical to a Note record, except there is a 'Resource' field for users to check the resources allocated to this contact.
Distribution List: this tab displays a list of distribution lists the contact is a part of. Users can also add a contact to a list here. The 'Create' link is replaced by a 'Subscribe to other lists' link in this case.
Roles: this tab allows users to allocate an organisational role to a contact.
This information is then displayed under the Organisation's Role tab.
Survey: this tab lists the survey responses the contact has submitted. Users can also submit a response from this tab by clicking 'Create'; searching for the survey and linking it to the contact.
Membership: the memberships a contact is linked to in ChilliDB will appear listed in this tab. Users can also add a contact to a membership here.
Appointments: A contact's appointment schedule is listed under this tab. Any appointments, either past or future, will be displayed. Users can also create a new appointment for a contact from this tab.
Cases: details of any cases from the Case Management module that the contact is linked to will be listed here. Users can also create a new case for a contact in this tab.
Donations: any donations a contact has made that have been recorded in ChilliDB will be visible under this tab. Users can also record a donation while in this tab.
2) Those that are standalone tabs in Contacts
The standalone tabs (i.e.: those that aren't connected to another module in ChilliDB) allow users to collect more information against a contact record. As mentioned in the introduction to this contact tabs article, these particular types of information are likely to have multiple instances of data collected, and thus are presented in tab format to allow this to occur.
File Attachments: users can upload files relevant to the contact under this tab.
Relationships: this tab allows users to track a contact's relationships with other contacts in the system.
We hope you have found this working with contacts tabs article useful. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch, either through our Help Desk or by contacting us at info@chillidb.com
Comments