Add members to a group

Misty Flowers

November 05, 2020 20:40

Members can be added to Group Manager groups either manually (by searching for individual constituents) or automatically via dynamic filters that populate the group based on profile data. This article covers both methods and explains when to use each.

💡Quick answers

What are the two ways to add members to a Group Manager group? Manually (search for and select individual constituents one at a time) or via dynamic filters (rules that automatically include constituents based on their profile data, updating as data changes).
Adding members manually to a group? In Group Manager, open the group, use the search field to find a constituent by name, and click to add them; they are added immediately as a static member.
What is the advantage of dynamic filters over manually adding members? Dynamic filters keep the group current automatically as constituent data changes — for example, a filter for Grade 10 students will add new Grade 10 students and remove them when they advance, without manual management.
Can a group have both manually added members and dynamic filters? Yes; you can combine static manually added members with dynamic filter rules in the same group.

After you have strategized which groups you need in Group Manager, you are now ready to add constituents to the Members tab of each group you have created. This article will help you to learn about the different ways you can add members to a group in Group Manager.

There are two different types of ways to add members in Group Manager: Static Data and Dynamic Data.

Add members individually

Manually add one-by-one by clicking the green Select Members button. This creates a static group that will not change its membership unless manually adjusted in the future. Adding one-by-one is sometimes just fine for smaller groups, but may in the future require the need to cross-check for new members anytime data has been adjusted manually or by datasheet.
add members.png

If there are members already in a group, the button will display as Select More Members
select more members .png

Add members with a datasheet upload

Download this datasheet template:

Group Membership Datasheet 2024 Template

1. Open the template in your favorite spreadsheet software, such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
2. Follow the instructions in Column A of the datasheet as you fill out the columns. ImportID, FirstName, LastName are required fields. Note that ImportID must be unique.
3. DELETE Column A Instructions column before downloading.
4. Save as .txt file following either the Excel or Sheets instructions here:
  
  Excel: Save As a .txt file. Select File > Save As > Text (Tab delimited) .txt
  Sheets: Download as .tsv file THEN save filename as .txt
  Select Download As from the File menu, and choose Tab Separated Values (.tsv)
  
  Go to where you saved your .tsv file and manually change the extension to .txt.
5. Submit your .txt datasheet in a request to Finalsite support for assistance with adding your groups into Group Manager.