About the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for CiviCRM

Browse this list for general learning.

If you want to ask a question, see How do I get support when I have questions or problems?

This FAQ is a community effort.

One of the biggest contributions you can make to help CiviCRM is to help others find solutions to their problems. One way to do this is to summarize and post to this FAQ help that you've received, solutions that you've labored to find, tips, and unusual ways of doing things. Please do it right away, while your mind is still focused on the problem and it's solution. Yes, you're tired and behind in other tasks, but if you put it off, when will you do it?

Post directly to this wiki using the guidelines below. Or, if you prefer, send your post to Judy Hallman <hallman at rtpnet.org> and she'll post it for you.

Guidelines for posting to the FAQ

• Avoid adding "open" questions WITHOUT an answer. The purpose of the FAQ is to provide solutions. If you can't find a solution to your problem, post on the forums .

To post an entry to the FAQ:

• Register on the wiki site , if you have not already done so, and log in.
• On the FAQ page , click Add Child Page (at the bottom of the page, before the list of Child pages). A form will open.
• Use a short, descriptive Title, preferably, with a keyword as the first word (the title will display in the narrow left sidebar). Make a note of the title.
• Summarize your problem and its solution as clearly as you can. You are the one who understands it best. Don't worry too much about editing and formatting. Documentation Maintainers will be notified when your page is created, and they will be able to edit it.
• Most commonly used Confluence wiki notation is in the right sidebar, with links to the full notation guide.
• Provide a clear, short statement of the problem as the heading, prefixed with h2. The heading can be the same as the Title
• Copy the heading, so that you can paste it onto the FAQ page.
• Click the Preview tab to see how the page will look.
• Click Save when the page is as you want it.
• Click the Wiki Markup tab to edit again.
• When the page has been saved, go back to the FAQ page and determine where to add a link to your page. Select the most appropriate topic on the top of the FAQ page and click it. Review the items in that topic section and identify where you will insert your entry. The entries are ordered roughly by complexity — the most general first and the most esoteric last.
• On the FAQ page , click the Edit tab (top, left). Scroll down the text box to the place where you want to insert a link to your page, start a new line containing:

   
  h4. [_the heading_ | _the title_]
  

  where _the heading_ is the heading you used in the text and _the title_ is the Title you used in the form.

• Preview the page and Save it.
• Click your new entry to make sure everything looks OK.