Search / Add

Search and then Add People

Places to Add People

You will use the Search / Add dialog for the following reasons:

In each of these cases, the first thing you must do is search for the person in the database. If you do not find them, search to see if there is an existing family member in the database.

Your search will begin with a simplified dialog, with the option to switch to the more advanced search. Below is the simplified dialog:

https://i.tpsdb.com/Hayley-SearchAdd.png

With this simplified dialog, you can quickly search using first name, last name, or parts of either or both. Best results may be found using the format last, first. As with the quick search from the top menu, up to six matching results will be displayed.

Click Advanced Search to search by Name, Communication (phone or email), Address, and Date of Birth.

Where is the Add button?

To add a person to the database, you start in one of the above mentioned contexts. The program forces you always to search for the person before you add a new record. This is the proper order to avoid duplicates. There is an Add Person option under the People menu. By default, it opens the Add Person in Context article instead of the search dialog. There is a very good reason why we do not recommend that you add people from the main menu:

If you add people from the main menu, you have no context for why the new record was added. Context answers the following questions about new people records:

  • Was the person a guest to a worship service?

  • If so, when?

  • Was the person a new family member?

  • Did the person enroll in a class?

  • If so, when did they join?

These are the kind of questions that are very important for ministry, so we always start in one of those contexts.

See also

Add Person in Context

Notes on Searching

However you are adding a person, when you click Add Members, add a guest to a meeting, etc., a search dialog will open. The process is the same regardless of the context.

  1. You will always search for the person first.

  2. If you do not find the person, you will search for anyone in the family.

  3. Then you can either add a new person to an existing family or create a new family.

Tip

Search for one criteria at a time, adding more as necessary to narrow the search.

Proper searching helps ensure that you get the desired results and helps prevent the creation of duplicate records.

See also

Search for a Family

Reasons why you might not find a person who is in the database:

  • The person might be in the database in a different family or in a family by themselves

  • The person might be in the database with a different phone number or address

  • The name might be spelled incorrectly

  • A female might still be listed with a former name

Note

When searching by name, the system will look for these name fields: first, middle, preferred (Goes By), last, former (maiden), and alternate name.

Note

If your church decides to use People > Add Person from the main menu, a user with the Admin role can change the setting MenuAddPeople from False to True at Admin > Advanced > Settings > System > Administration.



Latest Update

10/19/2026

Replaced the Touchpoint Note context with contribution batches, described Advanced Search, expanded the name fields searched, and added where to change MenuAddPeople.