Attachment frustration

Deb Dressely

All attachments need to be viewable from the tile called “Attachments”. Add a link if you must to Opportunities, Gifts, Actions, etc. But looking at the tile called Attachments should display ALL attachments. I've been doing double work because gift officers looking at Attachments can't see what I uploaded and linked to an Opportunity. Gift Officers can't comb through all those record types looking for the right attachment. This should function more like the Media tab in database view. Document lives in Attachments, links to other tabs.

We only enter attachments via database view so that when records are merged or if we ever have to restore a database we don't lose attachments.

There are so MANY ideas relating to this in the Idea Bank, how can we merge, elevate and get some traction on some of the most basic changes that would greatly improve NXT? ?

Dariel Dixon

I'm not sure it can work quite like that. NXT has added attachments where they didn't exist before (i.e. Fund Attachments). Having them sit within the same repository as they do in RE7, well, I'm not sure that it can be done.

In a perfect world, you would have one repository for all of these documents and just have pointers (shortcuts) to all of them. That, however, requires some forethought and a rewrite on the DB side, and Blackbaud has shown an inability, or a lack of desire to make any changes to database view. Unless it's to remove Crystal and Microsoft Office, but I don't even think those are changes to the program, just an removal of those applications from the servers.

I know this is just a rant out of frustration though…I feel that for certain. That said, I'm not surprised that there hasn't been any movement on these ideas in the bank.

Kim Wolcott

@Dariel Dixon I think what she is asking for is similar to the actions panel. Where on the main record, you have all the actions in that action panel, but then if you are in an opportunity, you only see the actions associated with that opportunity. I think the attachment design was super flawed from concept for this reason and the fact that there is no way to even tell who has an attachment unless you are looking on their record. Makes archiving/deleting records (en masse), impossible.

Kimberly Roesing

This is an older post but I am adding my fustration. I added an attachment to the media tab that was a gift agreement, then linked it to the opportunity. It shows up in both the media and opportunity media in database view, but in NXT only in opportunity media. I unlinked but it stayed in the opportunity, I deleted it in opportunity and it still is there in NXT but won't show up in media. Sigh.

Deb Dressely

@Kimberly Roesing I feel your pain. There is no way to identify which opportunities have attachments from NXT view. You cannot query to see if there is a media attachment - not from either database view or NXT. Trying to find an attachment buried in one of dozens of opportunities is truly a treasure hunt. Granted, proposals were not well developed in database view, but there was an opportunity to make improvements in NXT and no one was up to the challenge! I sometimes feel like a bird chirping in the wind, but I'm happy to have your company.

Bill Connors

@Kimberly Roesing and @Deb Dressely , have your shared these same comments and frustrations in the Idea Bank? It's unclear how much anyone from the Product side reads and pays attention to what happens here. They DO seem to pay attention more to what's put in the Idea Bank. I agree that all Attachments throughout a constituent record should be linked to from the Constituent's Attachments tile and many, many others agree, but the best way to let BB know that is through the Idea Bank. (and yes, I do know there are many ideas there— probably thousands — and if you just need to vent you can vent here :) , but venting in the Idea Bank will more likely lead to change).

Deb Dressely

@Bill Connors and @Kimberly Roesing - Yes! There are several related ideas in the Idea Bank - please help us lift this issue!

I wish I shared your optimism for attention generated by postings in the Idea Bank. I've been a user since 2000 and some of my early ideas/votes are still hanging there more than two decades later.

There are 30 screens of ideas including the word attachment and the number of those coded as "Will not implement" is disheartening.

https://renxt.ideas.aha.io/ideas/RENXT-I-228 and this one https://renxt.ideas.aha.io/ideas/RENXT-I-2365

https://renxt.ideas.aha.io/ideas/RENXT-I-3431

https://renxt.ideas.aha.io/ideas/RENXT-I-628

Bill Connors

thanks, @Deb Dressely . I 100% understand the disillusionment. I vacillate between seeing that they do run with some ideas and the knowledge there will always be more ideas than any software company can implement, on one hand, and on the other feeling like it doesn't get the level of attention we need and deserve and is it really worth the time to put in one more vote, one more idea? Not sure where the right balance is, TBH. Thanks.

Deb Dressely

@Bill Connors I will never give up hope and I'm happy to see they have a plan to better manage and consolidate duplicate ideas. But it is so hard to be patient with some of these critical needs. Banking (pun intended) on the collective voice to make some noise and stimulate change.