How do I narrow down a Contact List?

  • Updated

Applies to: Version 5.0

PastPerfect 5.0 allows you to print out letters, labels, envelopes, and send emails to your contacts through Contact Lists. In PastPerfect versions 5.0A4 and higher, you can now narrow down your contact lists to fine-tune your mailings.

  1. From the Contact Lists Screen, select the list you want to use (such as Contacts with Membership), and then click the “View Selected List” button.
  2. On the View Contact List screen, click the “Narrow List” button on the List Actions Sidebar.
  3. The next screen that appears will have a set of ranges from specific fields in your Contacts database. These are pre-populated with the very first and very last entry in that specific field for contacts on your list. For example, you may have first names from Alfred through Theresa. You may also have last names from Baker to Washington.
    • NOTE: This does not mean that Alfred’s last name is Baker. It means that when the first names are arranged alphabetically, Alfred is the first name on the list and Theresa is the last name. Baker is the first of the last names, when arranged alphabetically, and Washington is the last of the last names.
  4. To narrow down your list, select and modify only the range that you want to use to narrow down your list. For example, you may change the Last Name field range to be Baker through Peterson, if you don’t want last names that start with Q through Z.
  5. If you wish to narrow down your records by an additional range, you may do so here. Be sure to leave all other fields with their widest ranges, and do not remove the entries in the other ranges. Any modification from the widest ranges listed creates an additional way to narrow down the list. For instance, removing the First Name ranges would give you all contacts without a first name listed on their record.
  6. When you are satisfied with the ranges, click on the “Narrow List” button. Your View Contact List screen will now display your narrowed down list.
  7. To reset your list to view all contacts on the list, simply click the “Reset Narrowed List” button. You may also exit out of the View Contact List screen, taking you back to the Contact List Manager, and select your list again.

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