Group Setup

First, make sure the following fields are set on the Group record for each Group that appears on Group Finder. This ensures a smooth end user experience:

• Picture: if desired, attach a picture to the Group. It appears on the Group Details page.
• Group Name: determines the name that appears in the search results and Group Details page.
• Group Type: must be a Group Type that is eligible to appear on Group Finder.
• Congregation
• Primary Contact: if a Process is in place, this field can determine who receives notification of a Group signup.
• Description: determines the information provided on the Group Details page.
• Start Date: the approximate start date of the Group; must be before today for it to appear on Group Finder.
• Target Size: the number of participants the Group can have; used in determining whether the Group is still available for signup (see below).
• Parent Group: create Parent Groups as needed, and indicate the appropriate Parent Group for each Group. This field is used on the Portal's Group Finder page as the "Neighborhood" drop down. Note, the Parent Group must be available online to show in the Neighborhood drop down.
• Offsite Meeting Address: This appears as the Location in search results and Meeting Location in the Group Detail. If you don’t want the specific address to appear, you could create an Address that only has the street name and zip code (or some variation, as desired).
• Group is Full: must be set to False for the Group to appear on My Groups.
• Available Online: must be set to True for the Group to appear on My Groups. This setting also allows the Group to appear in the Group Finder.
• Life Stage: a Life Stage only appears in the Search Options on Group Finder if it is assigned to at least one available Group.
• Group Focus: a Group Focus only appears in the Search Options on Group Finder if it is assigned to at least one available Group.
• Meeting Time
• Meeting Day

Group Finder Results

A Group appears on Group Finder if all the following are true:

• The Group Type is available on Group Finder (see this KBA for more details).
• It is a current Group (today’s date is between the group start and end date).
• Group is Full is set to False. Note: This might be set to True by the Group Is Full routine (runs every 15 minutes), but can be also set manually to True or False.
• Available Online is set to True.

Group Sign Up

A Group appearing on the group Finder (see criteria above) will include the Sign Up button if the Target Size has not been exceeded.

• When the Configuration Setting COUNTGROUPINQUIRIES is set to True:
  • Group Sign Up is disabled if the number of Inquiries only meets or exceeds the Target Size.
  • Group Sign Up is disabled if a combination of Inquires and Group Participants meets or exceeds the Target Size.
• When the Configuration Setting COUNTGROUPINQUIRIES is set to False:
  • Inquiries do not affect the Group Sign Up option.
  • Group Sign Up is only disabled when number of group participants meets the Target Size.