Assignment Records | Online Help

Assignments

Assignments are used when you need to know who requested a marketing action. For example, a lawyer may ask who added a contact to a mailing list, or removed someone from an invitation list. These actions can be tracked using an Assignment.

Assignments are stored on the Assignments tab attached to a contact record. To modify the columns displayed on the Assignments tab, go to Assignment > Columns > Record Assignments.

To add an Assignment, click the New button on the Assignments tab. You can also use the Assignments menu to create an Assignment template or edit an existing one.

By default, ContactEase shows you the most commonly used lists. While not required, you can create templates. Use the dropdown arrow to view all Assignment Templates defined for your firm.

Assignment Lists are required to generate an Assignment, but templates are not. Many firms choose not to create them.

If you use a template, it is possible that not all of the Assignment options will appear. If you select from an Assignment List, you will not see the name of the list unless you go back and edit it. The list is automatically attached.

Assignment Lists are pre-defined by your firm. To add a new Assignment List, go to File > Preferences > Customize Fields or click the (...) button in the dialog box. The fields in the Assignment List dialog are:

Assignment List, select the list from the dropdown list or click the (...) to add a new one
Requested By, the user requesting the action
Status, a user definable list that can be attached to an Assignment.
Topic, a user definable list that can be attached to an Assignment.

All Assignment fields, including notes, can be searched.

Find and Update Assignments

Assignments can be searched and globally updated. To find Assignments, use the Find button on your toolbar and select Assignments or go to Assignments > Find Assignments.

There are three options available:

Assignments searches for Assignments assigned to a specific user or all users that match the status and/or date criteria
Simple searches a single Assignment field
Advanced searches one or more Assignment fields at the same time and allows for complex and/or requests. Advanced searches can be saved and run at any time.

Enter your search criteria and click OK.

The search results will display Assignment records that match the criteria of the search.

Update Assignments

To update Assignments, perform an Assignment search. You can choose to update the entire list or selected Assignments. With the search results displayed on the Assignments tab, go to Assignment > Update Assignments. If this option is grayed out, you do not have the results of an Assignment search as the current list.

In the Update Assignment Lists dialog, enter the values you wish to change. All Assignment fields can be included, but only those for which you enter a value or make a selection will be updated.

Finish making your changes and click Next. Now, you'll determine which records to update (Selections or Current List). If the Notes field was modified, you must choose whether or not the value entered should Append (follow the existing note), Prepend (precede the existing note) or Replace any existing note value.

Click OK to complete the update.