Help! My batch columns keep realigning but the defaults don't!

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Keri Barnhart
Keri Barnhart
Seventh Anniversary 100 Likes 100 Comments Photogenic
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussion
I'm doing a big backlog batch and have been working on the data entry off-and-on for a few days. I've never had to go into an open batch this much before, and there's something that's driving me batty -

Seemingly randomly (that is, I haven't had the presence of mind to remember what I did immediately before it happens), the columns will revert to the original order from the Batch Setup screen, but the defaults won't. When I try to enter the next row - or even just save my work - I get a slew of error messages because X isn't a valid appeal or required dates are missing or there must be a post status. But it's only the defaults that are mismatched - the data in the actual rows has moved properly.


(For what it's worth, the default order of the columns matches my usual data entry patterns based on how I receive gift info. I dragged the columns to re-order them while doing this backlog, because I've grouped the contributions by CFA/date/etc to reduce input time, and it ended up being easier to group all those defaults together.)


Has anyone else experienced this re-ordering of the batch columns without the defaults going along? Am I doing something wrong to cause this?
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  • JoAnn Strommen
    JoAnn Strommen Community All-Star
    Ancient Membership 2,500 Likes 2500 Comments Photogenic
    Keri,


    Haven't had that happen.  If it's a continuing issue I have two suggestions.  Go to your batch set up and change the order there to the desired order in batch. Maybe even remove and reenter defaults.  

    Another thing might be to go to Tools > User Options > Batch > Default Batch info  and if it's checked, do not elect the auto-insert by row option. Auto-insert by field should work fine for you. 

     

    Might help.
  • Keri Barnhart
    Keri Barnhart
    Seventh Anniversary 100 Likes 100 Comments Photogenic
    Thanks, JoAnn. I had tried closing the batch without saving to see if re-opening would fix it, but of course I had "automatically save batches every 5 minutes" turned on, so the changes were embedded... I've removed that and made the preference change for defaults you mentioned. I'm used to the F2 method, and had been confused about why it wasn't working as expected - of course, I forgot to update all of my User Options for this new org! ?


    I'm recalling now that this only started after I had a weird glitch in window focus between my ancient Excel 2007 and RE7/Citrix which caused me to select a bunch of the Batch cells and...I don't even know. They went wild.


    I tried re-arranging the columns via Batch Setup after they went strange, but I got a lot of errors and had to force-quit RE and log back in. This was both with and without removing the defaults from the batch grid. Ultimately, I tried putting the columns back where they should be, clearing out the defaults, then arranging the columns to match via Batch Set Up. I haven't had any issues since then, even with the defaults added back.


    I think the problem might be related to dragging the columns around instead of using the Batch Setup Fields tab, and the changes made via dragging not updating the Batch Setup Fields list order. I'll probably stick to only messing with the column order on empty batches via Setup just in case...
  • Catherine Burns 2
    Catherine Burns 2
    Seventh Anniversary 10 Comments 25 Likes Photogenic
    Hi Keri. I have occassionally had this problem too, so it is not just you. I have experienced it when I have added columns, using batch setup, and moved them up before other columns. I think it is rearranging the columns, even through batch set up, that occasionally screws things up. It is has been a while since it happened, but I think for me that it affected the data in the rows, not just the header, and I needed to use F2 to put the correct default values back into the columns affected. Thankfully may batches are not too big.


    Now if I add new fields to an existing batch I just leave them at the end. It makes me more orgainised to pick and rearrange my columns before starting to enter default values or data. But doing this means I have not had this problem in a long time.
  • Keri Barnhart
    Keri Barnhart
    Seventh Anniversary 100 Likes 100 Comments Photogenic
    Thanks, Catherine!


    It sounds like that's the thing, then - if you're using defaults, only ever use the Batch Setup to move columns around!

    At first, I wasn't sure if this was related to the weird loss/change of sort preferences in data grids, but this must pre-date that. I guess that's good to know? :) I'm glad I've learned, at least, and will know to add it to my process document so future-me doesn't forget!

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