Public Talks

Talk Request List

The Talk Request List is an interactive enquiry facility which allows you to identify:

Talks which your congregation has not heard recently
The date on which the congregation last heard the talk
The speakers who currently give those talks
The last ten speakers who have previously given those talks to the congregation (optional)

Please note that the list will only display talks which have not been heard since the specified date and are not scheduled to be heard.

Activating and Deactivating the Talk Request List

Selecting and deselecting Talk Request List on the View drop-down menu activates or deactivates the feature.

When you select the Talk Request List, the program displays the following dialogue:

Talk Request List dialogue (advanced mode)

Please note that the above dialogue is displayed in Advanced mode. This mode shows extra options and settings. Usually these can be set as required and you can revert to basic mode.

All your settings and the dialogue position / visibility are retained for when the application is next started.

Using the Talk Request List

Select the highest talk number which you want to include in the report. The program will examine all home talks up to and including the selected talk number and report accordingly.

The program will look for all talks within the previously selected talk number range, which have not been heard since the specified date.

The date entered must be less than or equal to today. You cannot enter a future date.

You may limit the enquiry output to a specific congregation. If so, select the required congregation from the drop down list.

If you wish to display output from all congregations in your database, then select <No filter> which you will find at the top of the drop down list.

You may limit the enquiry output to public talks from a specific category. Set the filter mode to Category and then select the required category from the drop down list.

You can also set the filter mode to Speaker to limit the enquiry to a specific speaker. You must have already selected a specific congregation (see above) for this to work.

If you wish to display all output again then set the filter mode to <No filter>.

If you set the Advanced check box option the program will display additional controls to allow you to tailor the output to your specific requirements. If you clear the check box, the program will hide the extra controls. The additional controls are:

Advanced options and settings

	You may sort the output by Talk Number or Talk Date. Select the required sort option from the drop down list. If you select Talk Number, the enquiry will display the talk list in talk number sequence regardless of when the congregation last heard the talk. However, if you select Talk Date, the enquiry will display a talk list in the order of the date on which the congregation last heard the talk. The default is setting is Talk Number. Thereafter, it will be your last selected option.
	The second sort key determines whether the enquiry sorts the list of speakers who give the talk alphabetically by Congregation or by Speaker. The default is Congregation. Thereafter, it will be your last selected option.
	You can choose whether you want to have the sorts performed in ascending or descending order. Select the appropriate option from the drop down list in both sort sequence controls. The default is ascending in both cases. Thereafter, it will be your last selected option.
	If you wish to include historical details for each talk showing the last ten speakers who has previously delivered it in the congregation and when, check the box. Otherwise, leave it clear.

Displaying the Output on Screen

The enquiry displays the output that is selected by the forgoing options in an expandable/collapsible tree. The example to the left shows the talks in the order of the date on which the congregation last heard them. However, if you have selected talk number order the enquiry will display the talks in talk number sequence regardless of when the congregation last heard them.

The tree includes the following information for each talk:

Date on which the congregation last heard the talk
Speakers from all congregations in your database giving the talk
and optionally the talk history showing the speakers who have given the talk in the congregation and the dates on which they did with the most recent first.

If you have speakers in your database who are marked as permanently unavailable, the displayed output will include the comment “Currently not available” against the names of those speakers.

The displayed output is updated in real time whenever you change any of the forgoing settings. As a result, there may a slight delay in displaying the revised output if you have a large database.

The Expand All and Collapse All buttons expand or collapse the entire tree.

You can expand an individual branch of the tree by clicking on the plus (+) sign. Similarly, you may collapse an individual branch by clicking on the minus (-) sign.

Once expanded, you can right-click the dropdown list to display this popup menu:

Speaker Popup

Use this popup menu to obtain information about the speaker's recent talk assignments. In addition, you can create a home talk assignment from here. Please click here for more details.

Printing the Report

You can create a report correctly formatted for printing. The report will show the fully expanded data (but it will not include the talk history).
	When you click the Report button this display (or similar) is shown. Click the Print Preview button to open a Print Preview window which has additional controls allowing you to print the report. You might find it handy to install a PDF printer. This way you could print the report as a PDF file and email it to appropriate individuals.
You may alter the formatting of the printed report by selecting a report style from the drop down list in the Report Style control. Three styles were provided during installation of the program as shown here. These style formats are known as cascaded style sheets (CSS). You may select one according to your preferences. Alternatively, if you are familiar with the CSS syntax and the role they play in HTML documents, you may create your own custom styles. Feel free to ask in the support forum if you need help in customizing the report. Note that the dates displayed on the report are formatted using your program preference settings.