Blackbaud CRM™ Advanced Configuration: Eliminate the Clicks and Clutter

When it comes to your end-users daily satisfaction, there are a few things we know to be true. First, while your new system may provide all the bells and whistles that come with new features and functionality...if it’s harder to find or access the basic information they rely on hourly, frustration rises.

It’s essential to keep this in mind throughout, whether you’re in the implementation phase or have reached the golden shores of “post go-live”. It’s never too late to gather feedback from users on where they could save time or a click. And sometimes you just might be able to make their wish come true.

Page Designer is a powerful component of Blackbaud CRM™, providing system administrators the ability to “customize” the look and feel of the system through configuration alone (as opposed to custom code). Here are a few of the more useful features in Page Designer to help save clicks, streamline screens and above all, increase sanity!

Hide fields

Many people are aware that you can hide tabs and tasks that your organization may not use. But did you know that you can also hide individual fields from standard pages?

Take a revenue form for example. Maybe you love a majority of the page, but don’t calculate a certain field the same way the system does. At best, showing that field could could cause unnecessary questions and at worst, lead to potentially harmful actions based in misunderstandings. Instead, search for the form in Application > Data Form Search. Go to the “Field Characteristics” tab and change any unneeded fields to “Hidden.”

Leverage Link Field IDs

Have you noticed the blue hyperlinks that show up on lists throughout Blackbaud CRM™? You know, the ones where “Name” is blue, and you click and it takes you to the constituents’ page? Well, you can add those links to your own datalists too. Just be sure to include the System Record ID for the page you want the click to take you to, then add a “Go To” action using the column name for the “LinkFieldID”, and directing the action to the page of your selection through a Context Type of “Section Field” and ID of the System Record ID you wish to click through to. This simple action is superior to having to expand the row and then clicking “go to”, and when used thoughtfully, can ensure your users are presented shortcuts to the pages they visit most from a particular spot.

Use Tile View Data Forms

Are any of your user-defined datalists extremely wide, requiring users to scroll, and scroll, and scroll, to consume all of the many columns? If so, consider using a tile view data form to display key information like lookup ID, constituencies, primary contact info and more, right below the row. Often this info is nice to have for reference, but may not be critical to the information you’re trying to convey in your list. If not, save that valuable real-estate while still providing easy, in-row access to the data. Simply add a section action with an action type of “Show Data Form”. We suggest titling the action as “Show Contact Info” or something directly related to what is shown in the form you select. Then specify the data form you’d like to show in the ViewDataForm field. (Note- it must end in “tile view” in order to work, so be sure to include that in your search. For example, see “Constituent Summary Contact Info Tile View Form”). Finally, use a Context Type of “Section Field” and point the Section Field to the System Record ID pertaining to the form (i.e. Constituent System Record ID for contact info).

While it may not seem like much, remember that little things can go a LONG way in either delighting or frustrating your users. Let’s aim for the former! If you would like help optimizing your datalists or UI, contact us for more information on how our team can assist today! For more information, send us a note.