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Filtering Group Finder

 

Optional attribute and Url filters can be to used to create different versions of the widget for different purposes, further customizing your church's experience!

  • Attribute Filtering: Set in Widget Attributes when it is added to a web page.
  • Url Filtering: Appended to the URL when viewing the page.

Attribute Filters

Optional attributes can be used to create different versions of the widget for different purposes. These attributes are related to the Group and are different (in form and function) from Contact Attributes. For example, pages can be created for Congregations or Ministries and filtered for those pages. Note: Filters that are multi-select in the Finder can be filtered by multiple, comma separated values. But filters that are single-select in the Finder (for example, Congregation ID) can only be filtered by one value.

All attributes must be included before the opening Widget tag is closed. Attributes may be listed in any order and should be separated by a space (or other whitespace). Each attribute's value should be wrapped in quote marks.

Note: Filter attributes will pre-filter the widget results, so the Groups displayed by the widget will always be limited by these filters.
  • Congregation: Filters the results by a Congregations using Ids.
    • Attribute: congregationid
    • Valid Values: Congregation ID.
congregationid="2"
  • Key Word: Filters the result using key words. A Key Word search looks for a match in the Group Name, Group Description, Program Name, and/or Ministry Name, so choose keyword attributes strategically.
    • Attribute: keyword
    • Valid Values: Should be URL encoded:
      • Standard a-z and 0-9 characters are all valid.
      • Spaces should be replaced with a plus (+).
      • Other characters must be encoded.
keyword="summer bbq"
  • Ministry: Filters by a Ministry ID. Default is empty.
    • Attribute: ministryid
    • Valid Values: Ministry ID or empty.
ministryid="7"
  • Meets Online: Filters by Meets Online field
    • Parameter: meetsonline
    • Valid Values: True or False.
meetsonline="True"
  • Neighborhood (Parent Group): Filters by the Parent Group. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: parentgroupid
    • Valid Values: Group Id or empty for unspecified.
    • Note: The Parent Group must have Available Online = True for this filter to work.
parentgroupid="16"
  • Group Focus: Filters by Group Focus. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: groupfocusid
    • Valid Values: Group Focus Id or empty for unspecified.
groupfocusid="17"
  • Life Stage: Filters by Life Stage. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: lifestageid
    • Valid Values: Life Stage Id or empty for unspecified.
lifestageid="4"
  • Meeting Days: Filters by one or more Meeting Day. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: meetingdays
    • Valid Values: 1 to 7 (1 = Sunday).
meetingdays="1,6"
  • Meeting Time: Filters by Meeting Time. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: meetingtimes
    • Valid Values: 
      • morning
      • lunchtime
      • afternoon
      • evening
      • Empty for unspecified (the default)
meetingtimes="afternoon"

When you've chosen your attribute, add it to your Widget before the opening tag is closed:

<mpp-group-finder target="/group-details" congregationid="1"></mpp-group-finder>
Advanced Attribute Filters

Want to filter Groups by multiple Meeting days? You can do that! If the attribute is multi-select in the Widget, you can include multiple, comma separated values in the attribute filter.

<mpp-group-finder target="/opportunity-details" meetingdays="2,4,6"></mpp-group-finder>

URL Filters

URL Filters are applied when someone accesses the Finder widget. This can be used to direct users to a widget page with search values pre-selected. Users can continue to search by adding or changing parameters. Note: Filters that are multi-select in the Finder can be filtered by multiple, comma separated values. But filters that are single-select in the Finder (for example, Congregation ID) can only be filtered by one value.

The Group Finder Widget's base URL can be appended with specific filters to apply desired search criteria. Pre-filtering the URL is a convenient way to contextually limit Groups. In the following examples a church has defined the path/groups for their Group Finder

https://{your church domain}/groups

This should be adapted to fit each church's placement of their Group Finder

https://{your church domain}/getinvolved/smallgroups

For example, if a church's Small Groups are accepting new members in the fall this church may provide a pre-filtered link showing only those Groups. 

/groups?keyword=small

In another example, a church may introduce several new classes which meet in the evening and provide a pre-filtered link for this time period:

/groups?meetingtimes=evening
  • Congregation/Campus: Filters by a Congregation. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: congregationId
    • Valid Values: A single Congregation ID or empty for unspecified.
?congregationid=1
  • Key Word: Filters by key words. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: keyword
    • Valid Values:
      • Empty for unspecified.
      • URL encoded keywords:
        • Standard a-z and 0-9 characters are all valid.
        • Spaces should be replaced with a plus (+). Note: The is different from than the Key Word Attribute filer, which does not require the a plus.
        • Other characters must be encoded.
?keyword="new+wine
  • Neighborhood (Parent Group): Filters by the Parent Group. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: parentgroupid
    • Valid Values: A Group Id or empty for unspecified.
?parentgroupid=16
  • City or Postal Code: Filters by a city name or postal code. The default is empty.
  • Parameter: citypostalcode
  • Valid Values
    • Empty for unspecified
    • A Postal Code (zip code) 
    • URL encoded City Name
      • Standard a-z and 0-9 characters are all valid.
      • Spaces should be replaced with a plus (+).
      • Other characters must be encoded
      • The easiest way to determine encoding is by searching using the criteria and copying from the resulting URL.
?citypostalcode=87659
  • Group Focus: Filters by Group Focus. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: groupfocusid
    • Valid Values: Group Focus Id or empty for unspecified.
?groupfocusid=17
  • Life Stage: Filters by Life Stage. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: "lifestageid"
    • Valid Values: Life Stage Id or empty for unspecified.
?lifestageid=4
  • Meeting Days: Filters by one or more Meeting Day. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: meetingdays
    • Valid Values: 1 to 7 (1 = Sunday).
?meetingdays=1,6
  • Meeting Time: Filters by Meeting Time. The default is empty.
    • Parameter: meetingtimes
    • Valid Values: 
      • morning
      • lunchtime
      • afternoon
      • evening
      • Empty for unspecified (the default).
?meetingtimes=afternoon
  • Meets Online: Filters by Meets Online field
    • Parameter: "meetsonline"
    • Valid Values: True or False.
?meetsonline=true
Advanced URL Filters

Multiple Filters
A URL may contain multiple filters separated by an ampersand. There is no limit to the number of filters which may be included and combining filters offers a useful way to return a specific set of Groups. 

/groups?congregationid=5&meetingdays=4

Multiple Filter Values
A single filter may contain multiple ID values separated by a comma. Employing a comma separated list of IDs can expand the set of Groups returned.

/groups?meetingdays=2,3

Multiple Keywords
URLs cannot contain spaces, but %20 or + may be used instead. This is useful when filtering by two sequential keywords. Perhaps both "adult" and "community" would individually return too many Groups. In this case a combination could be used.

/groups?keyword=adult+community