If this is your first time entering a family, please read this! This is important!

The Family Name field is where you start when entering a new family. This field is a key field in CMD, so how you enter the data for this field is very important. Fortunately it's easy to use - you just need to know how to use it properly!

Reading the following brief explanation will save you time and confusion later on!

The Family Name field serves two purposes:

•Lookup. Its first function is to give you an easy way to find and call up a family in your data base so that you can view, edit, or make other changes to the family's data or the data of an individual in the family.

•Duplication Elimination. CMD uses the Family Name field as a comparator to determine if a family has already been printed when printing family-based lists such as a church directory or family visitation card.

For example, if there are several "Smith" entries in in Family Name fields in your file, only the first one in the list will get printed and the rest will be ignored since CMD will all Smiths after the first one as duplicates. Thus it is important that each family name in the data base be unique.

You may enter a family name using most any form you wish, except that you should not enter just the Last Name and nothing else. You can include any of the family member's names you wish to use within the 40 character limit.

Enter a Family Name in last-name-first order since many of the family sorts used in CMD are based on this field. Placing last name first is the only way to get an accurate sort of your family names.

Here are some examples of properly entered Family Name information:

Smith, John & Mary

Smith, John, Mary, Bobby, Betty