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November 2006 Newsletter

1. Upcoming Training Opportunities for PastPerfect 4.0!

2. Free Updates for PastPerfect Museum Software

3. Look Who's Using PastPerfect: Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center

4. Tech Tip: Creating lists using Lists and Labels (part II)

5. Contact Information



1. Upcoming Training Opportunities for PastPerfect 4.0!

We are nearing the end of the 2006 training year, but plans for 2007 classes are well under way! As dates and locations are scheduled for the new year, they will be added below.

For more information about the scheduled training classes or to inquire about possibly scheduling a session in your area, please contact our Training Coordinator, Amy Dunn, by phone at 610-304-0973 or by e-mail at training@museumsoftware.com.

Space for this class is limited, so be sure to sign up soon!

Lexington, MA
Hosted by the Lexington Historical Society at the Depot
November 14-16 ** Collections Class for 11/14 SOLD OUT**

Be sure to check out our website at www.museumsoftware.com/training.htm for additional training dates and other information!


2. Free Updates for PastPerfect Museum Software

Did you know updates are available from our website for your PastPerfect Museum Software versions 3.5 and 4.0? These free updates are released approximately every two months and are available for download by going to www.museumsoftware.com/software_updates.htm.

If you would rather receive a free update CD, please contact our Support Office toll free at
1-800-562-6080 or by e-mail at support@museumsoftware.com.

PastPerfect Version 3.5- Current Update Available 3.5C1

New features available in PastPerfect 3.5C1 include:

* Ability to include "Notes" and "Inmemory" fields to the Donations- Money Report

PastPerfect Version 4- New Update Available 4.0C8

New features available in PastPerfect 4.0C8 include:

* Ability to add attachments to emails
* Ability to create Report Maker Reports for Search Terms file
* Ability to include related contact database fields on Report Maker reports for dues or donations
* Ability to print reports to PDF, Word, and HTML files
* Allow Arial font as well as Times New Roman for watermark text
* Expand accession "Received As" authority file to accept unlimited entries
* New "Query" Command on Container List Screen
* New Donation report "Memorials & Honorariums"
* New General Information screen setting "WordRite Default Zoom" to open letters at other than 100%
* Option to add phone numbers to Donations, Dues & In-kind Gifts Report
* Option to add phone numbers to Donations by Fund and Date Range Report
* Option to add the field "creator" and other common catalog fields to the Items by Donor Report
* Option to include Site database fields on Report Maker Reports for Objects
* Save sort order setting for container list
* Security options to restrict Add, Edit, Delete and Print from Sites & Localities and People Biography screens
* When printing letters, labels, zip code tally, or emailing from Lists & Labels, deceased members are not included.

If you have comments or suggestions for PastPerfect version 4, please e-mail your ideas to suggestions@museumsoftware.com. We are eager to hear your comments and learn ways that Pastime Software can better serve our customers.


3. Look Who's Using PastPerfect:

Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center
Special thanks to Dylan McDonald, Archivist, for writing this month's Look Who's Using PastPerfect!

Since 1954, the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center (SAMCC) has served the community by acquiring, preserving, exhibiting, and enabling access to the documentary and material culture of the Sacramento region. These collections are held in public trust for the City and County of Sacramento in perpetuity.

SAMCC collects in three major areas: governmental, commercial, and domestic. Within these areas the holdings consist of the official records of the City and County governments of Sacramento, personal manuscript collections, business and organizational records, photographs and moving images, oral histories, and artifacts. For more information, please see www.sacramentoarchives.org.

Online searching of SAMCC's PastPerfect catalog began in May 2006. Online users now have access to nearly 50,000 entries in the database, including over 30,000 images. Placing SAMCC's catalog online has proven to be a great success, producing photographic orders to more than pay for the initial investment. One order of over 200 images was made possible because a distant publisher was able to quickly identify photographs needed to complete his project. Had the images not been available for viewing via the internet, the order would not have been placed. Another order placed a day after going live with our online catalog came via a phone inquiry. The patron and his family had searched for nearly 40 years for a photograph of his parents' business in Old Sacramento before the redevelopment of the 1960s. He finally found the elusive image after searching SAMCC's website. Feedback from users has been overwhelmingly positive and staff and volunteers continue to add to the holdings daily.

To view the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center's PastPerfect-Online site, please visit http://sacramento.pastperfect-online.com.


4. Tech Tip: Creating lists using Lists and Labels (part II)

Last month we explored some simple commands to create User Defined Lists in Lists & Labels. Here are some other useful statements to help group people together to maximize your mailings using PastPerfect 4.0.

!empty(email) - selects everyone who has an e-mail address listed on their contacts record.
type="Family" - selects everyone that has a membership type of Family.
donations2006>500 - selects everyone who has donated over $500 for the calendar year 2006.
active=1 - selects everyone who is an active member (which means "Include on Overdue List" is marked as YES on their contacts screen)

You can combine different commands to help further reach the specific people you are looking for. For example, if you wanted to send out an e-mail to all active members that have a Family Membership that also have an e-mail address on record, you could use the filter statement: active=1 and type="Family" and !empty(email)

Once you have the people on the list, you can click on the Continue button to reach the option to e-mail the people on your list.

Remember that User Defined Lists need to be updated each time you wish to use them. To update the list, be sure to clear the list and re-add matching records to the list from the Modify List window. This will ensure that any new contacts will be added, and any records that no longer belong on this list will be removed.


5. Contact Information

Address: 300 North Pottstown Pike, Suite 200 Exton, PA 19341
Website: www.MuseumSoftware.com
Sales & Product Info: 800-562-6080 or sales@museumsoftware.com
Support: 800-562-6080 or support@museumsoftware.com
Training: 610-304-0973 or training@museumsoftware.com
Data Conversions: 800-562-6080 or conversions@museumsoftware.com

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