Monthly Archives: June 2008

Using the Batch API with Notepads or Attributes

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I have started to use the Batch API in earnest now. I have said previously that it is a great long overdue piece of functionality but I am beginning to understand why it was never included earlier. As with much of the API the newly added Batch API is not well documented. A good example of how to use it was given and can be found on Blackbaud’s knowledgbase (BB418575) but it is somewhat limited. It does not explain for example how to add an attribute or a notepad to a gift batch. This was discussed on a Blackbus thread.  Adding the items to the batch header was quite straight forward but adding the actual values proved more difficult. Here I try to shed some light on the process.

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Latest version of IDLookup

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Zeidman Development is pleased to announce the latest release of IDLookup. With this latest release (version 1.1.4) we bring you some exciting additions:

  • Use your search criteria against a spouse record.
  • Previously we introduced address equivalents (a match against “1 High Street” would also match “1 High St”, or “1 High St.”). In this latest release we allow you to customize the address equivalents list so that you can add new equivalents and change existing ones.
  • A user guide. (a long sought after addition)

If you have not checked out IDLookup for a while then there are many new features including:

  • Matching on the first few characters of fields
  • Making your search accent insensitive (e.g. côté matches against côte, coté and cote)
  • Matching on maiden name
  • Filtering the results on specific constituent codes or constituent attributes.

If you already own a full license of IDLookup then download this latest version now for free. Otherwise download a full working version of IDLookup (restricted to the sample database)

If you need any help installing IDLookup, wish to purchase it or have any feedback then please do not hesitate to contact us

David

The Full Address

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I wanted to be able to get a constituent’s address from their record. Sounds simple enough. You just take the address block, the city, the state and zip. Although what happens if they are not in the States or Canada. When you change the country for example, to United Kingdom, the state field disappears and a county field appears in its place. Pulling the state field would just be a blank value.

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