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Profiles World

Site Specific Notes

Create a New Constituent

Adding a new constituent to the database is a five step process. You will:

  1. Perform a search on the database.
  2. Set the options for creating a new constituent record on the Create New Record form.
  3. Enter Basic Data information for your new constituent.
  4. Enter Name information for your new constituent.
  5. Enter Address information for your new constituent.

Search the Database

Your must first verify that the 'potential' constituent is not already in Millennium. This is done by performing a Search on the database, using the constituent's name, and possibly some other biographical information associated with him or her. You must be careful not to enter too much information in the Search form. We suggest that this preliminary search be performed with the least amount of information that is feasible.

Example: If a constituent already exists in Millennium, with a name of "Barbara Jones" and you entered, "Jones/Barbara A.", the search would not return a match. You would want to, of course, examine all of the Barbara Jones in your database to make sure you are not duplicating her. Enter Jones/Barbara instead.

If the search and your analysis of the search results do not find a match, then the process of creating the constituent can continue. The Create a New Record hyperlink on the Search form will automatically access the necessary forms.

The Create New Record Form

On the Create New Record form, choose to have Millennium assign an id number to the new constituent by leaving the ID number field blank. Or you can choose to assign a specific code for the ID number instead.

Example: Your site may begin the ID Numbers with characters that indicate the constituent's primary association with the site, such as ALUM987654, or the constituent's affiliation with a specific department within the institution, such as MED0123456 or LAW0543210.

If your site assigns its own id numbers, you may use any of the numerals or any of the uppercase letters of the alphabet, in any combination. Keep in mind that all id numbers are 10 characters in length. If you enter fewer than 10 characters, Millennium will automatically enter the appropriate number of zeroes at the beginning of your id number.

Example: If you enter Z6789, the system will translate to 00000Z6789.

You must indicate whether the constituent is a person, corporation, or other organization so that the system will present the appropriate version of the Basic Data Insert form. This is not information that will be stored in the Basic Data row. It is a means of obtaining the correct form that will be used to create the Basic Data row.

The Use Defaults check box is used to tell the system that you want to use previously defined Default Insert forms for the Basic Data, Name, and Address tables. If this option is checked, the insert forms that are presented will automatically contain all of the data that is part of your active Default insert form.

The Basic Data Insert Form 

A Basic Data Insert form will automatically display so that you may enter as much Basic Data information as you want. As a minimum, you must enter a Constituent Type. If you chose to Use Defaults, then your default Basic Data insert form will display. If you did not, then a standard insert form will display instead. If you entered Basic Data information, for example, constituent type, or preferred year, as a part of your search criteria, the insert form will contain that information. It is important to keep in mind that the information that you entered as a part of your constituent search will override the information that you used to define your Basic Data default if the information exists for the same field on both forms.

The Name Insert Form

A Name Insert form will automatically display after the Basic Data row is created. If you selected the Use Defaults option on the Create New Record form, then your default Name insert form will display; otherwise, a standard Name insert form displays. The insert form will contain any Name information that you entered during the constituent search. Again, keep in mind that the search information will override any information that you had used to define your Name default if information exists for the same field on both forms.

Enter as much additional Name information as you want, or edit any of the data that is already in place. You must enter a Name Type. Most likely you will want this to be the Preferred Name. And, you will want to check the Lookup check box so that the name can accessed by any subsequent database searches.

The Address Insert Form

An Address Insert form will automatically display after the Name insert form. If you chose Use Defaults on the Create New Record form, then your default Address insert form will display. Otherwise, a standard Address form displays. It will contain any Address information that you entered during the constituent search step of this process. Once again, keep in mind that the search information will override any information that you had used to define your Address default if information exists for the same field on both forms.

Enter as much additional information as you want, or edit any of the data that is already in place. You will want to assign an Address Type and Locator, and most likely you will want to set this address to Preferred by checking the first Address Utilization check box.

Once these four steps have been completed, you may use Millennium Explorer to access any of the data tables' display and create any additional data rows. Or you may re-access the newly-created Basic Data, Name and Address rows to edit them.

Create a New Constituent

To create a new constituent:

  1. Access the Millennium Search form by using Millennium Explorer, Profiles > Next Search.
  2. Type in the name or partial name information for the potential constituent, using the Lastname/Firstname(space)Middlename;Suffix format.

    3. Note: We recommend using only the Last Name and first initial of the first name to minimize the chance of creating a duplicate ID Number for the same constituent.

  3. Click Search.
  4. If the Search does not find a match, you may re-enter a less specific set of criteria and click on Search to redo the search. Or, if you are satisfied that the potential constituent does not exist, click on Create a New Record instead.

  5. If the Search finds one or more constituents who match the search criteria, examine the list to determine if anyone who is listed is the same as the constituent that you intend to create. If the information displayed on the Search Results is not sufficient for this examination, click on the name of the listed constituent to review his or her data.

    Note: A constituent will appear in the search results more than one time if he or she has more than one Lookup Name row. Click the Sort by ID and Display Unique List hyperlink to remove duplicate rows from the Search Results display. If you re-sort the search results, the duplicates will display again.

  6. If none of the listed constituents is the same as the one that you will create, click Last Search on Millennium Explorer to return to the Search Results display.
  7. Click refine the query to return to the Search form.
  8. Enter more information that you know will uniquely identify the new constituent and click on Search. The search should not find a match.
  9. Click Create A New Record. The Create New Record form displays.
  10. If your site uses its own identification number system, enter the next available number in the ID field. To let Millennium automatically assign the next unused number as the ID Number, leave the ID field blank.

  11. If the constituent is a person, select the Person Type of Record option. If the constituent is a corporation, select the Corporation Type of Record option. If the constituent is neither person nor Corporation (it may be a Foundation), select the Other Type of Record option.

    Note: The Type of Record that you select tells Millennium which version of the Basic Data insert form should be presented. See the Basic Data topic for more information about types of constituent records.

  12. If you would like to enter information about the new constituent by using the Default Insert forms for the Basic Data, Name, and Address data tables, check Use Defaults. To use standard data insert forms, leave this option unchecked.
  13. Click OK. Or, to halt the process without creating a new constituent, click Cancel instead.
  14. If OK is clicked, A standard or default Basic Data insert form will display. It may be populated with some of the information that you may have provided during the constituent search. If you chose the Use Defaults option, it will be populated with your Basic Data default information, but if the information that you provided during the constituent search conflicts with your default information, your default information will be overridden.
  15. Add or edit information as desired.
  16. Click Insert to create the Basic Data row. The constituent is now established on the database. Or, to halt the process without creating a new constituent, click on Cancel instead.
  17. Once the Basic Data row is created, the Name insert form will display. It will be populated with the name information that you may have provided during the constituent search. If you chose the Use Defaults option, it will be populated with your Name default information, but if the information that you provided during the constituent search conflicts with your default information, your default information will be overridden.
  18. If not already filled in, choose the Name Type and check Lookup to so that the name can be accessed by subsequent database searches Add or edit other information as desired.

  19. Click Insert to create the Name row for the constituent. Or, click on Cancel and the Name row will not be created.

    Important! If you cancel the Name insert, the constituent will exist in the database, but without a name. Therefore, he or she can only be found/accessed by using the id number!

  20. The Address insert form will display. It may be populated with the address information that you may have provided during the constituent search. If you chose the Use Defaults option, it will be populated with your Address default information, but if the information that you provided during the constituent search conflicts with your default information, your default information will be overridden.
  21. If not already filled in, choose the Address Type and Locator and check the Address Utilization check box to mark this address as Preferred (unless you are entering another address row directly after creating the new constituent, and that address will be the preferred one). Add or edit other information as desired.
  22. Click Insert to create the Address row for the constituent. Or, Click Cancel and the Address row will not be created.

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