A selection is a named set of IDs of the same record type. It has a name and description and is often used as input into a process or report as a means to specify which set of records should be acted on by that process. For example, the “Acknowledge Revenue” process accepts a selection as a parameter and acknowledges previously unacknowledged gifts only for records included in that selection. Because selections consist only of IDs (rather than output fields), they are optimized for peak processing speed.
A selection can be either static or dynamic. A static selection is a fixed set of IDs that does not change. For example, if a record that originally met the criteria of the query on which the selection is based changes so that it does not currently meet the criteria, the record ID is still included in the selection each time it is processed. The same records are included in the selection until it is refreshed manually or during an automated process. A dynamic selection analyzes membership each time it is used in a function, so records may be added or removed from it each time it runs.
Many processes not only use selections as parameters, they also produce selections as output. In almost every process, it produces a static selection, because the intent of the selection is to capture the records that the process acted on for that run of the process. Because you would not want that list of records to change even if the records themselves may change later, the selection is static. For example, a common use of this function is when a static selection of exceptions for a process is produced. This selection enables you to rerun the process and use the exception selection as input back into the process.
There are several ways to create a selection.
| • | An ad-hoc query can be used to create a selection. The selection can be either static or dynamic and will contain the IDs of the rows that meet the query criteria. In many cases you may create an ad-hoc query for the sole reason of creating a selection based on the query. For example, on the Selection search screen, when you click Add, you actually create a query on which a selection is based. For more information, see Query Properties. |
| • | A smart query instance can be used to create a selection. The selection can be either static or dynamic and will contain the IDs of the rows that meet the query criteria. For more information, see Smart Queries. |
| • | Throughout the program, a business process may prompt you to create a selection, or the program may automatically create a selection as part of a process. These selections have a query type of Other. For information about how to edit or set the active status of these selections, see Manage Selections with a Query Type of Other. |
| • | You can merge two selections of the same type together. For example, you can merge two constituent selections to create a selection of recipients for a communication. For information about how to merge selections, see Merge Two Selections. |