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Some organizations (in my experience they are all Christian churches) that use envelope numbers also have volunteers who they call Tellers or Counters who collect and tally up the envelopes. Some of those churches also want the Tellers to do the data entry directly into the DONATION program. However, the whole purpose of using envelopes is to increase confidentiality, and thus some users have expressed to me a desire for the Tellers to be able to do data entry based on the envelope number, and not see the donor's name when they do so, or their donation history.
To satisfy these requirements, the Limited User Password was added. You can specify what this password is with the Maintenance à Change Password à Limited User Password menu option. Only the main (unlimited) user of the program can specify or change this password. If you also specify a regular logon password (the Program Entry Password), then whenever you start the program, you are prompted for that Program Entry password. However, at that prompt either the main Program Entry password or the Limited User Password (assuming you have specified one) is accepted. If you go in with the Limited User Password, the following basic rules and restrictions apply to what you can do. (These restrictions can be altered somewhat by options on the Maintenance à Main Window Options menu, which will be discussed further below.)
| - | You can see the main window, with envelope numbers listed in the Donor List on the left rather than names. |
| - | You cannot see donors at all who do not have an envelope number (i.e. they do not appear in the Donor List). |
| - | The Donor Details area on the right does not appear, so you cannot see any details such as name, address, phone number, etc. for donors. |
| - | Since you cannot see names, there is no search by name available. |
| - | You cannot add new donors, delete donors, or edit them. |
| - | You can enter new donations in the Donations area at the bottom of the window. |
| - | You cannot edit or delete donations after you have saved them (even the ones you just entered). |
| - | To make the previous point less of a problem, Enter doesn't save the donation, as it normally does once you start entering a new donation. You have to click on Save or press F10 to save a donation you are entering. |
| - | You can only see or add donations in the Donations area at the bottom of the window whose Date is greater than or equal to the last Sunday on or before the current day. What this means is that if you are entering Sunday's collection on the same day, you can see the donations you enter right after you enter them. If you wait till later that week to enter Sunday's collection, you can still see them right after you enter them. However, you can't see any donations prior to the current week's Sunday, so you can't see any donor's history of donations. This is done to increase confidentiality, particularly because in many cases donations are done by cheque, so in fact you know the donor name despite these restrictions. |
| - | You can add donations using the File à One Date Donations feature. On that screen, the name that is normally visible is removed, and donors with no envelope number are not displayed. Also on that screen, you cannot reset the date that you are doing entries for to any date prior to the current week's Sunday (as above). |
| - | You cannot see or use anything on the Maintenance, Letters, or Receipt menus. |
| - | On the Reports menu, you can only see and use Reports à Donation à One Date Details with Member/Envelope # (with names blanked out) and Reports à Donation à One Date Summary. Both of these reports are helpful for double-checking the day's entries. When each of these reports prompts for a date to report on, you cannot go back any further than the current week's Sunday (same restriction as for entry of Donations). |
| - | On the Database menu, you can only use the option Switch Databases, in case you have multiple organizations on the same machine and the Tellers are doing input for more than one of them. (They still have to supply the password for the database they switch to, of course.) |
That is the basic functionality for Limited Users. Obviously, it is quite limited. However, there are several options on the Maintenance à Main Window Options dialog, that allow you (the unlimited user) to progressively increase the capabilities of Limited Users. Since Limited Users cannot even see the Maintenance menu, obviously they cannot change these options themselves. You can only select the three radio button options (about creating new donors) if you selected the checkbox option (about seeing donors who don't have a member/envelope #).
First Checkbox Option: "Can see Donors who don't have a Member/Env. #". With this option, the following capabilities are added:
| - | On the Donor List, all donors are shown. For donors with envelope numbers, the envelope number is displayed. For donors without envelope numbers, the name is displayed. The order is first all those with envelope numbers, in numerical order, followed by those without envelope numbers, in alphabetical order by name. |
| - | You can view (but still not edit) full Donor Details on the right, but only for donors who do not have an envelope number. |
| - | In File à One Date Donation Entry, names are shown for donors with no envelope number. (Same as on the Donor List, and in the same sort order.) |
| - | In Reports à Donation à One Date Details with Member/Envelope #, names are shown for donors with no envelope number. (Same as on the Donor List, and in the same sort order.) |
| - | Searching by name is allowed, but only for those names without envelope numbers. |
Radio Button Options: You select just one of the following three options.
| - | "Cannot create new Donors". This is the default option, and this option is forced on if you do not check the checkbox above. Obviously, if this is selected there is no change to the basic limitation that prevents Limited Users from creating new donors. |
| - | "Can create New Donors, but not assign them a Member/Env. #". In this case you can create new donors, but the Member/Env. # field is disabled so you cannot enter anything into it. It is assumed that the unlimited user would do this later, if desired. |
| - | "Can create New Donors, and also assign them a Member/Env. #". In this case you can create new donors, and the Member/Env. # field is enabled so you can give new donors an envelope number. However, there is a slightly weird side effect to assigning an envelope number to a new donor. Since Limited Users can't see Donor Details or names for users with envelope numbers, as soon as you finish entering this new donor, the donor's details (and name) will become invisible so you can't see them again. I don't really see any way around this, because otherwise the rules aren't being applied consistently. |
I would also note that in the 2nd and 3rd radio button options above, the Limited User still can never edit existing Donors, not even the ones they just added. Limited Users can also (as mentioned above) never edit or delete donations. Thus, if they notice that they have made any errors in their entries, they will have to record those errors and give them to the unlimited user to correct.
I also want to make perfectly clear that no one is obliged to use these Limited User features. There have been no reductions in the capabilities of the program – it is just that, if you wish, you can give the Limited User Password to some volunteers, and they will have limited capabilities.
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