Overview

The Lookup Management page provides a central location for organization administrators to manage options that appear in drop-down lists that are used for data entry and reporting in the ParishSOFT Family Directory and Religious Education modules.

The illustration below identifies the main areas on this page.

Note: The Merge and Configuration sections are visible to diocesan administrators only.

Tables Panel

The table panel lists all of the lookup tables for which you can create lookup records. The table serves as a data source for drop-down lists by the same name in the Family Directory module. For example, the Religion lookup table in the Family Directory group has a corresponding Religion drop-down list in the Member Details page.

When you select a lookup table from the Table list, the lookup records currently defined for it are displayed in the grid in the Records Management panel on the right. Each record that you see in the grid represents an option that appears in the same-named dropdown list in the associated application. Users can select the options when doing data entry. For a more in-depth look at the relationship between lookup table records and dropdown list options, go to About Drop-down Lists.

The table below lists and describes the lookup tables in the Family Directory group.

Records Management Panel

The Records Management panel appears on the right. The name of the lookup table selected in the Tables panel appears at the top of the panel along with a description of the purpose of the table and the name of the module in which it is used. The grid below shows the lookup records currently defined for the selected table. A number of tools are available to let you manage and organize the records in the grid.

Merge Section

The Merge section is visible to diocesan administrators only.

This section contains fields used to merge two distinct values in a Family Directory lookup table into one value.

Permanent Lookup ID field: this field holds the lookup ID of the value to be kept.

Duplicate Lookup ID field: this field holds the lookup ID value of the value to be merged.

Merge: merges the lookup values entered into the Permanent and Duplicate Lookup ID fields. After the merge, the system updates all related records in the application accordingly.

For instructions on merging lookup values, go to Merge Values In Lookup Tables.

Lookup Permissions Configuration

The Configuration section is visible to diocesan administrators only.

This section contains two features used to configure permissions to organizations to modify values in Family Directory lookup tables:

Bulk Manage Lookup Permissions checkbox: enables the diocesan administrator to enable/disable permission in bulk to multiple Family Directory tables.

By default, all organizations in the diocese are allowed to modify values in each Family Directory lookup table. To change the default for one or more tables, go to Change Default Lookup Table Permissions.

Toolbar

The toolbar is located at the top of the Records Management panel. As shown in the illustration below, the toolbar contains menus and buttons you can use to manage records in the grid.

Records Menu 

This menu lets you specify the number of records (default = 100) that are displayed per page in the grid. You can change this number by selecting a records option from the menu.

Move Records Buttons

Use the Move buttons to change the order in which the lookup records are listed in the grid. To reorder the records, first select (check the box) the record or records you want to move. Then, click one of these buttons:

Moves selected records to top of the list (to the first position).

Moves the selected records up the list one row at a time.

Moves the selected records down the list one row at a time.

Moves selected records to the bottom of the list (to the last position).

After you reorganize the list, you can permanently save the new order by clicking . For details, go to Save List Order Button

Add New Lookup Record Button

Your ability to add new lookup values to a Family Directory lookup table is controlled by the diocese. If a table is locked, a message is displayed to inform you that the table cannot be modified. In the table, you can see lookup values owned by your organization and the diocese, but the Add button is not available.

Lets you add a new record to the table selected in the Tables panel. After you save the record, the grid updates to show the newly added record. The corresponding dropdown list (in the application) is also updated to include the newly added record as a selectable option. For instructions on adding new records, go to Adding a New Record to a Family Directory Lookup Table.

Sort Buttons

Use the Sort buttons to put the records in logical order:

Sorts records in alphabetic order on the text in the Description column.  Click once to sort in one direction (for example, from A to Z). Click again to sort in the reverse order (for example, from Z to A).

Sorts records in numeric order on values in the Lookup ID column. Click once to sort in one direction (for example, from highest to lowest). Click again to sort in the reverse order (for example, from lowest to highest).

To permanently save the order, click . For details, go to Save List Order Button.

Save List Order Button

This button displays in the toolbar only after you change the order of records in the grid. See Sort buttons for ways to sort the grid.

After you rearrange records in the grid (by using the Sort or Move buttons), you can save the new order by clicking . The order remains the same until you change and re-save it.

Export Button

This toolbar button is available to diocesan administrators only.

Click to export lookup records from a table's grid to a CSV file. For instructions, go to Export Family Directory Lookup Records to a CSV File.

Records Grid

The records grid shows you all of the records currently defined for the lookup table selected in the Tables panel. Use the command buttons to manage the records in this grid.

Select All and Clear All Buttons

selects all records in the grid, placing a check mark next to each record to indicate that it is selected. Use this button when you want to apply the same change to multiple records.

If you want to work with most records but not all, one method you can use is to click to select all records, and then individually uncheck (deselect) those you do not want to apply the change to.

deselects all selected records in the list. The system removes the check mark from each box indicate that it is no longer selected.

Grid Column Headers

The column headers identify the following information for each record in the grid:

# in use: number of times the lookup value is used in your records. Click the pound sign to see the actual count for a given lookup value.

Creator Organization: name of the organization that created and, therefore, owns the lookup value.

Organization ID: ID of the organization that created the lookup value.

Lookup ID: unique number assigned by the system that identifies the lookup value. This ID is used when merging looking values (for details, go to Merge Values In Family Directory Lookup Tables).

Column Search Fields

If a table has a lot of records, you can use any of the column search fields (see illustration below) to locate the record you are looking for.

In the Search field, type one or more of the beginning letters in the record's name. The grid updates automatically and displays records matching your search criteria. 

To re-display the entire list of records, clear the filter by first selecting your filter criteria and then pressing the Delete key. You can then press Enter or wait a moment until the list updates and re-displays all of the records in the selected table.

Checkbox Controls

The checkbox controls enables you to select the record you want to work with. For example, if you want to move a record to a different location in the grid, select the checkbox first and then use the desired Move button.

Command Buttons

These command buttons let you perform operations on records in the grid:

Your ability to edit and merge lookup records in a Family Directory lookup table is controlled by the diocese. If a table is locked, a message is displayed to inform you that changes and additions to the table cannot be made. If a table is not locked, you can edit and merge records owned by your organization, but you cannot edit and merge records owned by the diocese.

: if activated, lets you change the description (name) of the record.

: if activated, lets you merge two records. The record you select to "merge with" remains in the grid. For details, go to Merge Values In Family Directory Lookup Tables.

Page Controls

The number of pages in the list is displayed at the bottom of the page. Select a page to go directly to that page in the list. Alternatively, click to page back or click to page forward through the list.

Updated August 08, 2025 14:51