Explanation of the Data Retention Period and Why It is Important

Each computer in your data sharing network must complete at least one synchronization during the data retention period. If you leave the data retention period at the default value of 21 days, then each computer must sync every 21 days to stay active in the network.

The data retention period that you select tells the data sharing server how long it should keep up with your data changes before deleting them. In other words, when you add a new name to ChurchTrac, that new name is stored on the online server for 21 days (or however long your data retention period is set to). This allows the other computers in your network 21 days to synchronize with the server and download this new information.

A data retention period of 21 days is more than adequate for most users. If you need to change this value, it is recommended that you do so before setting up your server for the first time. You should choose a value that is as low as possible, while still giving every user sufficient opportunity to connect within the selected time frame. You can choose a value between 7 and 60 days for the data retention period. A higher data retention period means that it will take longer for ChurchTrac to process the data during each data synchronization, while a lower data retention period means each computer will need to synchronize more frequently.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that each data sharing user understands the need to synchronize frequently. You can synchronize as often as you like, and more frequent synchronizations means the network stays more up-to-date.

You can also configure each computer to synchronize automatically on a schedule.

If a computer does not synchronize within the data retention period, that computer will not longer be active in the data sharing network. In this case you need to follow the instructions for re-adding the computer to your network.