Custom Report Example - Activity Mailing Labels

1. First you will need to define a query. Do this from the Activity and Skills module by selecting Custom Reports. If you have never created a Custom Report in this module, PowerChurch will prompt you to enter a title for your query (otherwise click on the button labeled Add). Enter the title of the query as: "Activity Mailing Labels" and click OK.
2. Our next step is to build a filter that will select the members of the desired activity. From the Pick a Field window, double click on Skill Number. Next, choose an operator - Equal To Number. Finally, you will enter a comparison value. Click on the button labeled Ask Later because we want PowerChurch to ask for an activity number each time you run the query. Now, click on Done.
3. At this point you will be asked, "Do you want to run this query now?", click on Yes. A dialog box will be shown that briefly describes how to use the Field Picker Dialog Box. Click OK.
4. Next, select the fields that you want to print on your labels. Normally, you will select the following fields: Mailing Name, Address Line 1, and City+State+Zip/Postal Code. To select these fields, double click on the field name. When you are finished, click on Done.
5. On the Query Overview Screen, you will need to check the box located just to the left of the text "Hide Duplicate Records." This will prevent multiple labels from printing for the same family. You will also need to remove the check next to "Browse Query Results."
6. At this point, click on Run Query. You will be prompted to enter the skill number that you want to print labels for. Enter that skill number and click on Done.
7. PowerChurch Plus will display a screen titled "Setup for Column Layout Report." Click on Edit Form.
8. You now see the Report Designer Screen. Double click on the grey band labeled Page Header and set the height to .5 inches. Do the same to the Page Footer band. Double click on the Detail band and set its height to 1.0 inches.
9. You will now need to direct the Custom Report Writer to print the names in columns. To do this, select Page Setup from the File Menu. If you have a 20 label sheet, set the columns to 2, for 30 labels set the columns to 3. In addition, you will need to set the Print Area for this report to Whole Page. Click OK.
10. To receive the desired output, you will need to arrange your fields underneath each other. Do this by clicking on the fields, holding down your left mouse button, and dragging them into position.
11. Once all of these steps are completed, you can exit from the Report Designer and save your changes. You will now be able to print your activity labels using this new custom report.