We do not currently have these modules, but are researching whether or not they would be good for our organization. One of the major things we'd like to do is set up our own donation site (in lieu of NetSolutions and/or Kintera) where people can register for events, pledge on behalf of event participants, enter misc info and possibly even update addresses. We then would like to use API to interface with Raiser's Edge to update this info. There are also numerous other time saving things we'd like to do like assigning a county/region code based on zip code...etc. I guess my main questions are: -Is it working well for you -Was it worth the investment -Approx. how much did it cost -What do you use it for and if you interface with web applications -How much training do you need -Any other comments/advice you might have Thanks in advance for your help!!!!!! Faye Guzman Database Services Coordinator Special Olympics Wisconsin Inc.

We use VBA extensively. We have several customizations that add specific attributes on saving of constituents and gifts depending on constituency codes etc. We have also used it to create plug-ins and applications that, run a queue based on the window scheduler, global delete participants from events, event table number changer, etc

We find it very useful to overcome some shortcomings of RE as well as customizing to adapt to our requirements.

We have not used it for an online application but we have used it for database applications so I imagine that there would be no problem using as you suggest.

You do need somebody who is able develop code using VB and VBA. Training somebody who does not have a software background could be some overhead, although VB and VBA are possibly the most intuitive of computer languages to learn.

Definitely purchase the maintenance of these products as that alone is of great value. I have been helped on innumerable occasions by their support team.

If you have any specific questions then please feel free to ask me.

David Zeidman
Jewish Community Federation San Francisco
[Email Removed]

--- Edited at 2/25/2004 2:10:49 PM by [Email Removed]

I would add a few of things to the reply above. You need someone who knows Visual Basic programming in order to use these products. Therefore you need access to a computer programmer both to make changes and to update those changes later. VBA allows you to make changes withing RE. You have to have RE open to get to anything you create with VBA. API enables you to connect to RE from outside of it. It's more expensive than VBA. I don't think you can make modifications within RE with it, though. To update RE from a web page would take API. It sounds like the other changes you mentioned would take VBA. Whether this is worth the cost is something you will have to figure out for your site, but between the cost of the products and the cost of a programmer, it won't be cheap. That doesn't mean it won't be well worth doing, though. Eric Aldrich Northwest Harvest