Knowledgebase, User Guide and Frequently Asked Questions

Is the purchase price a one-time fee, or does it have to be renewed each year?

Do you accept any other payment methods? Can I purchase an unlock code using a check?

How long does it take to receive my unlock code after purchasing?

What is the difference between the free and paid versions of ChurchTrac?

Do I have to pay full price if I want to add more names later?

Can I get a CD with the unlock code I've purchased?

What is the difference between a program update and an upgrade?

What is your refund policy?

Why doesn't my unlock code work?

Portions of this user guide are available as a PDF file that you can download and print.

CHURCHTRAC BASICS / OVERVIEW

THE PEOPLE SCREEN

Using the People Screen

See also: How do I add, edit, or delete a name in ChurchTrac?

The General Information Tab (including birthday reports)

See also: How do I send a text message to someone's cell phone from ChurchTrac?

See also: How do I send an Automated Voice or Text Message from ChurchTrac?

The Pictures Tab (including picture directories)

See also: How do I create a picture directory?

The Notes Tab

The SHAPE Ministry Profile Tab

See also: How do I obtain SHAPE profile information from the congregation?

The User-Defined Tab and User-Defined Fields

See also: How do I print a list of people who have recently joined the church, recently were baptized, etc?

Custom Reports

See also: How do I create a custom report with two or more columns?

See also: How do I create a custom post card?

See also: How do I create a custom picture directory?

Using the Filter/Search Feature

Using the Output Options Screen

THE GROUPS SCREEN

The Layout and Organization of the Groups Screen

Understanding Group Categories

Using the Groups Screen

See also: How do I set up groups and attendance?

THE ATTENDANCE SCREEN

The Layout and Organization of the Attendance Screen

Using the Attendance Screen

See also: How do I set up groups and attendance?

The Barcode Check-In and Child Security Screen

Attendance Mailing Labels and Attendance Reports

THE CALENDAR SCREEN

Using the Calendar Screen

THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND PLEDGES SCREENS

The Organization and Layout of the Contributions Screen

Using the Contributions Screen

See also: Using Categories and Subcategories

See also: How do I assign and use envelope numbers?

See also: How do I enter anonymous contributions or loose plate offerings?

Tracking Pledges and Pledge Campaigns

See also: How do I print a contribution statement for contributors?

THE ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING SCREENS

Using the Accounting Screen

Creating a List of Memorized Payees

See also: How do I set up a new bank account? How do I reconcile a bank account?

See also: Using Categories and Subcategories

Working with Budgets

See also: What check style should I use for printing checks from ChurchTrac?

THE UTILITIES TAB

Changing Program Settings and Preferences

Configuring Security Options

Backing Up and Restoring Your Data

Importing Individuals and Families from a Spreadsheet

Instructions for Setting Up Your Data Sharing Network

How do I delete a record or entry in ChurchTrac?

How do I add, edit, or delete a name in ChurchTrac?

How do I backup or restore my ChurchTrac data?

How do I set up groups and attendance?

How do I create a custom post card?

How do I assign and use envelope numbers?

How do I configure ChurchTrac 8 to synchronize automatically or on a schedule?

How do I send an automated voice or text message from ChurchTrac?

How do I print a contribution statement for contributors?

How do I create a custom picture directory?

How do I obtain SHAPE profile information from the congregation?

How do I delete a name from the ChurchTrac database?

How do I print a list of people who have recently joined the church, recently were baptized, etc?

How do I create a picture directory?

How do I create a custom report with two or more columns?

How do I enter anonymous contributions or loose plate offerings?

How do I create customized labels using the custom report feature?

How do I send a text message to someone's cell phone from ChurchTrac?

How do I set up a new bank account? How do I reconcile a bank account?

How do I set up categories and subcategories for contributions or accounting?

How do I send a screen shot of what I'm seeing?

How do I move my ChurchTrac data to another computer?

How do I use more than one data file?

How do I set up security to control who has access to ChurchTrac?

Overview of ChurchTrac's data sharing features

Can two or more computers share the same ChurchTrac data?

What options do I have for sharing data between two or more computers?

Instructions for Setting Up Your Data Sharing Network (ChurchTrac 8/2011 version only)

How do I set up ChurchTrac using the Shared Networking method (LAN) to share data?

I encounter errors or cannot access my data in a shared folder on another computer on our local network.

How do I configure ChurchTrac 8 to synchronize automatically or on a schedule?

Error 720: ChurchTrac was unable to connect to the data sharing server

Error 900: The Synchronization ID from this computer does not match the Synchronization ID from your data sharing network.

Error 1912: Your Computer has been Removed from the Data Sharing Network.

What happens when my computer doesn't synchronize during the data retention period?

I need to buy a new computer. What should I get?

Creating a Safe Nursery and Preschool Ministry

Saving Money Without Going "Extreme"

Steps to take if you have encountered an error:

• First, download and install the latest program update. You can download the update directly from the downloads page, or click "Check for Program Updates" in ChurchTrac.
   
• Check to see if the error you've encountered has a known solution. Click on the error number or description below for possible solutions or workarounds to errors and problems.
   
• Use ChurchTrac's built-in error reporting tool to send a record of the error each and every time you encounter it, and use our support page to contact us.
   
• Use Windows Update to ensure that you have the latest updates for all your Windows and Microsoft software, including Microsoft Access Runtime. Using older versions of Access Runtime can cause errors or problems that are easily corrected by installing the latest updates.

Why doesn't my unlock code work?

I am having problems downloading or installing ChurchTrac

Errors when using Windows Vista or Windows 7

• Can't delete ... ctapp2010.mde after compacting it
• Cannot update. Database or object is read-only (Error 3027)
• Operation must use an updateable query (Error 3073)
• Program updates don't stick after restarting ChurchTrac

"Folder is not accessible" error during installation or when installing an update

Error 6: Overflow

Error 13: Type mismatch

Error 14: ChurchTrac is utilizing the wrong version of Microsoft Access

Error 91: Object variable or With block variable not set

Error 94: Invalid use of Null

Error 117: ChurchTrac detected a broken reference

Error 429: ActiveX component can't create object

Error 720: ChurchTrac was unable to connect to the data sharing server

Error 900: The Synchronization ID from this computer does not match the Synchronization ID from your data sharing network.

Error 1912: Your Computer has been Removed from the Data Sharing Network.

Error 2100: The control or subform is too large for this location

Error 2114: ChurchTrac doesn't support the format of the file...or the file is too large. Try converting the file to BMP or GIF format.

Error 2205: The default printer driver isn't set up correctly.

Error 2213: There was a problem retrieving printer information for this object. The object may have been sent to a printer that is unavailable

Error 2451: The report name 'CUSTOM REPORT' you entered is misspelled or refers to a report that isn't open or doesn't exist

Error 2501: The OpenReport action was canceled.

Error 2581: You must define a sort field or expression

Error 3027: Cannot update. Database or object is read-only.

Error 3051: ...cannot open or write to the file...

Error 3073: Operation must use an updateable query.

Error 3075: Syntax error (missing operator) in query expression...

Error 3085: Undefined function ... in expression

Error 3126: Invalid bracketing of name...

Error 3127: The...statement contains the following unknown field name...

Error 3131: Syntax error in FROM clause

Error 3163: The field is too small to accept the amount of data you attempted to add. Try inserting or pasting less data.

Error 3191: Cannot define a field more than once

Error -2147221289: Unable to create a file to write to

There are transactions missing from my accounting reports

Calculated fields (like those on the Accounting screen) show 0.00 instead of the correct amount

Perform a repair operation on Microsoft Access Runtime

Reserved error (-1517), or the word #Error appears inside a field