A PCR Educator DAT Query can now connect two tables on fields you choose, even when PCR Educator has not defined a connection between them. Data your school keeps in attributes can be reported next to the records it points to, such as a household attribute that names a fund.
What's new
Other table in the connect list. Click the [+] icon next to a table in DAT Query - Step 1 and choose Other table... at the bottom of the list. A second list offers every table your roles allow you to report on.
Join on the fields that match. Pick a field from the table you are connecting from and a field from the new table, then click Add. Add more pairs when records only match on a combination of fields.
Text values match numbers and dates. Attribute values are stored as text. When the other field is a number or a date, the text is converted to match, so an attribute value of 4 connects to Fund Id 4. Fields that cannot be compared, such as a number and a date, are refused.
Same roles, same security. Only the tables and fields your roles already allow are listed, and PCR Educator checks your access again before the connection is saved. The connected table shows (custom) after its name, with a Joined on line listing the matching fields.
Why it matters
Schools use attributes to record relationships the core record never anticipated, such as the fund a household supports. Reporting on those relationships used to mean exporting two lists and matching them in a spreadsheet. Now a development office can list every household next to the full fund record its attribute names, in one saved DAT Query that stays current. The same Other table option is available when building a DAT Filter.
A few ways to talk about it
- If you keep it in an attribute, you can report on it like any other connection.
- Connect households to funds, or any two tables you can report on, on the fields that match.
- No spreadsheet matching, no custom report request, just one saved DAT Query.
Available now to all PCR Educator schools. Your account team can walk you through connecting tables with Other table whenever you're ready.