This article shows you how to edit a group of sacrament records. This option is useful when you want to make the same change to a group of sacrament records.

Overview of the Group Sacraments Page

If you have several sacrament records to edit, using the group sacrament feature is an efficient way to make changes and update your records simultaneously. Rather than editing records one at a time, the group sacrament process lets you edit them as a group. For the process to work, the records you are editing must share the same value for a given field (for example, have the preparation year or grade level in common). You edit the values in the desired fields, and then click a button to update the records in your system.

The Group Sacraments page steps you through the process, which has three main steps. The process begins with a search of your database to find members who have the sacrament record you want to edit in your system. The remaining operations are performed on the result set of this initial search. At the end of the process, the bulk content you edit is updated in all selected records.

Permissions

Permission assigned to your login credentials for ParishSOFT Family Directory determines what sacrament-related tasks you are allowed to perform. The following table defines the permissions assigned for each level:

Permissions are set by users with organization administrator privileges only. If you need a type of permission not currently granted to do your work, you can contact your organization administrator for help.

Step 1: Member Search

In this first step, you must perform a search with the desired filters to find members in your database who have the type of sacrament record you select (from the Sacrament dropdown list). The filters are described in the following sections.

If specific search filters are not available (dimmed) for data entry, either you do not have the appropriate Religious Education permissions tied to your login credentials, or your organization is not licensed to use the Religious Education module.

To speed data entry, press the Tab key to advance the cursor to the next filter field.

After you select a filter value, the system loads the value and refreshes the page. When you are ready to search, click .

Sacrament Dropdown List

This list contains four sacrament options:

• Baptism
• Reconciliation Prep
• First Eucharist
• Confirmation.

You must first select a sacrament type from the list. Then, enter your search criteria in one or more of the search fields.

Religious Ed Filters

The filters in this group let you search your database for values in fields in the Religious Education module.

Prep Year Text Entry

This text entry field enables you to enter the preparation year for the sacrament selected from the Sacrament dropdown list.  

Enter the year in YYYY format to search for records matching that preparation year.  

Term Dropdown List

This list contains options that are defined as school terms (for example, Winter 2015) in your Religious Education application.

Select a term from the list to search for sacrament records of members who took classes in the term.

Class Dropdown List

This list contains options that are defined as classes (for example, 1st Communion) in your Religious Education application.

Select a class from the list to search for sacrament records of members enrolled in the class.

Grade Dropdown List

This list contains options defined as grades (for example, Grade 9)  in your Religious Education application.

Select a grade from the list to search for records of members in the grade.

Age Range Filter

These text entry fields enable you to search for records of members within a given age range.

Enter an age in the From and To fields. Each field is limited to two numbers and accepts non-negative, non-decimal numbers.  

Command Buttons

After specifying your search criteria, use the command buttons to complete the operation.

Search Button

Click to search for records that matches the criteria currently loaded into the search fields.

Based on the criteria you enter, the system locates members and displays their names in the Member records grid.

Clear Button

Clears the contents from the search fields so that you can enter new values.

Step 2: Select Members

If your search returns any results, they are displayed in the Member Records grid, shown in the left panel of the following illustration:

In this step, you must select the members from the result set whose records you want to edit. Selecting members from the left panel adds their names to the Selected Members list in the right panel, as shown below:

Grid Controls

Both grids contain useful controls for viewing and filtering your search results.

Column Headers

If the list contains a lot of records, you can use one or more of the column headers to filter the list to find the exact record you are looking for:

• Last Name: filters the list by the member's last name. Type a last name into the field.
• First Name: filters the list by the member's first name. Type a first name into the field.
• Age: filters the list by the member's age. Type an age into the field.

Expand Record Button

Each member record contains a bit of detail about the member. Click to expand the entry and view details for the member. For example:

You can use these details to verify that you have the correct member.

To close the entry, click .

Add Member Button

This button appears to the left of each member listed in the result set in the left panel. If you want to bulk edit a sacrament record for a member, click . The member is added to the Selected Members list in the right panel. The Selected Members list shows the names of members whose records you want to edit.

Remove Member Button

After you add a member to the Selected Members list, this button appears to the left of the member's name. To remove the member from the list, click .

Step 3: Enter Sacrament Information

In Step 3, you define the values you want to edit in one or more of the shared fields in the records of selected members. These are the values the selected records have in common.

Shared Sacrament Data Fields

The following table lists and describes the shared data fields (the fields all of your records have in common). Enter a new value into any one of these fields to update all selected records with that value.

Data Field	Description
Completed Checkbox	This checkbox is automatically selected after you enter a date in the Completed Date field (see next entry in this table).
Completed Date	Click and select the completion date from the calendar.
Prep Year	Enter the year (in YYYY format) that preparation for the selected sacrament took place.
Place	The place defaults to the current organization. To change the organization, click to open the Organization Search window. Find and then add the location of the sacrament.
Celebrant	Select the name of the celebrant from the dropdown list.

Command Buttons

Click to save the new values entered into the sacrament data entry fields. The system updates each selected member's record.  

Click to cancel the bulk-edit process.

Updated September 08, 2025 18:33