Sarah's Shortcuts: You say "tomato", I say "tomahto"
The little differences between us keep life interesting and can often inspire us to break into roller-dancing. Okay, maybe the latter part's not true, but they do keep our minds alert by presenting us with fun communication challenges.
I recently befriended a German who decided to come States' side for the summer. His English is definitely strong, but I find about a third of our communication is accomplished through hand gestures. It's like a mini game of charades each time we get together...probably amusing to outside observers, and we enjoy the 
moments when we finally understand what the other is trying to say.
Unfortunately, differences in communication are rarely welcomed when it comes to reporting. If I'm trying to figure out how much we raised from our "tomahto" sale, and you keep talking about tomatoes, our "ah ha" moment may not come about, leaving us both frustrated and wondering why we didn't just stick with green beans instead.
The same communication chasm can happen in The Raiser's Edge if your reports display fund IDs, but you (or members of your organization) know them only by their full descriptions. You might as well be looking at them in a foreign language, but, sadly, the reports are unable to bridge the gap with hand gestures--that may be a new feature in version 8. 
So what's the solution? It varies a bit depending on which report you're running, but in either case, you can easily clear up potential confusion (BB452882):
If the report has a Columns tab, move Fund Description (or Fund ID, if you prefer) to the Selected Columns frame. Problem solved.
In reports that do not have a Columns tab (or in versions prior to 7.70):
- Select Tools, User Options.
- On the Records tab, select Funds in the left frame.
- In the Fund format drop-down, select Fund Description in place of Fund ID (or vice versa).
The same steps apply for campaigns and appeals if you want to choose a format that matches your communication style. Likewise, if you modify the format in User Options, the change will take effect in other parts of the program like Batch, Export, and Quick Find (BB33116).
Periodically, you may want to mix it up just to keep people on their toes. Besides, a little game of charades is always fun. 