Modifying BBIS Event Batch Edit Batch to display data on the main grid.

Kathy Dean

Is it possible to display additional fields on the main grid that is displayed when select "Edit Batch" where "Linked Constituent", Donor Name, etc is displayed on a  BBIS Event Batch ;


We would like to see the credit card users name and additional information on the main screen instead of clicking Review Transactions Details, then payment tab.


 

Joseph Styons

Hi Kathy,

Take this with a grain of salt, because it has been 5+ years since I worked at Blackbaud.

But at that time, the OOB "bbis batches" were hard-coded to reject extensions.

If I remember correctly (again, grain of salt!) the reason was that there are .NET classes that transmogrify the BBIS XML registration/payment/constituent data into batches when you download, and those classes have a definite list (read: hard-coded) of fields that they know how to handle.

 

The way the download process is engineered, it has to know in advance all the possible data points that may come it's way, which precludes extensions.

 

The workaround is a tough pill to swallow: build a fully custom download process that catches data from BBIS, and writes it to batch.

Of course, the OOB parts aren't going to write to your custom tables, so that means a fully custom BBIS part as well.

 

I've done that a few times for events, memberships, payments, and constituent updates.  So I have some code to share if you'd find it interesting.

Frankly, it's not complex, it's just a lot of "drop data here, move data there" code.  But its pretty tedious.

 

If you do find a way to extend the OOB bbis batches, please let me know.

That would be a big timesaver.

Joseph Styons

https://www.styonssoftware.com

Jay Trussell

Joseph,

Would you happen to know where to find that list of hard coded fields used by the BBIS XML?


Jay