You open the query list to tidy up and find something called “Members copy 2 FINAL (use this one).” Nobody remembers who built it. It might feed the monthly renewal mailing, or it might be dead weight from three development directors ago. Before you edit or delete it, you want to know one thing: what depends on this query?
The honest answer is that Altru doesn’t give you one screen that lists every place a query is used. You can still find out, though, and with a little discipline you can make sure you never have to dig like this again.
Why this is harder than it should be
A single query in Altru can be wired into several different kinds of things, and each one stores that link in its own place. A query can be:
- The source of a selection that other queries, exports, or communications filter on.
- Referenced inside another query as a filter (“is in selection” style criteria), so changing the first one quietly changes the second.
- Behind an export that someone runs on a schedule or by hand for a board report or mailing house.
- Driving a marketing or communications list, such as an appeal mailing or acknowledgment run.
- Feeding a smart field or a report that staff rely on without thinking about where the numbers come from.
- Used outside Altru entirely, by an integration or a tool that pulls query results into a spreadsheet or email platform.
That last category is the one people forget most, because nothing inside Altru will tell you about it.
How to trace a query’s usage today
1. Start with the selection
If the query has a selection created from it, that selection is the most likely thing other records point at. Altru may warn you, or block the delete, when something else still references a selection, but don’t assume that check covers every kind of dependency. Don’t use a live delete as your test. If you want to see what Altru reports, try it in a sandbox or ask Blackbaud support how dependency checks work for your specific case.
2. Search other queries for it
Open the queries most likely to reference it: anything in the same folder, anything with a similar name, and anything built by the same person. Look at the filter criteria for selection references. It’s tedious, but working through the likely candidates first keeps it manageable.
3. Check exports, marketing efforts, and reports
Go through your export definitions and recent marketing and communications efforts and look at which query or selection each one uses. Reports and smart fields that rely on a selection are worth a look too. If your team runs the same exports every month, those are the highest-risk dependencies.
4. Ask the people and the integrations
Send a short note to anyone who builds or runs queries: “Does anything you do use this one?” Then check every integration or sync tool connected to Altru and list which queries it reads. A query that looks abandoned inside Altru may be the only thing populating a donor list in your email platform.
5. Make the change safely
If you still aren’t sure, don’t edit the original. Copy it, make your change to the copy, and point the things you know about at the copy. Rename the original with a prefix like “ARCHIVE?” and a date, and leave it for a month or two. If nobody complains and nothing breaks, it’s much safer to retire.
Stop having to investigate
The real fix is to keep the usage information somewhere you control, because Altru won’t assemble it for you.
- Use the description field. Every query has one. Write who owns it and what uses it: “Owner: membership. Used by: renewal export (monthly), lapsed-member appeal selection.” Update it when you add a new use.
- Adopt a naming convention. A prefix for the department and a tag for the purpose (“MEM | Renewals due 60 days | EXPORT”) makes it obvious at a glance that something downstream depends on it.
- Keep a simple query register. A shared spreadsheet with query name, owner, what uses it, and last reviewed date is enough. It’s the one place integrations and outside tools can be documented.
- Lock down the important ones. Limit edit permissions on queries that feed exports, mailings, or integrations so a well-meaning tweak doesn’t break something three steps away.
- Review once a year. Walk the register, confirm owners, and archive what nobody claims.
Where Social Good fits
If you sync Altru query results to other tools, those syncs belong in your register too. Data Bridge syncs Altru queries to Google Sheets, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and similar tools, so it’s worth noting in each query’s description which sync reads it. That way the next person tidying the query list knows the query is in use before they touch it.
Quick answers
Is there a built-in “where used” report for queries in Altru?
Not one we’d rely on as a complete list. Dependency warnings may appear in some situations, but they won’t cover exports run by hand or outside integrations. Confirm with Blackbaud support if you need a definitive answer for your version.
Is it safe to edit a query that a selection is built on?
Treat it as unsafe until proven otherwise. Any change to the criteria changes the selection, and everything filtering on that selection changes with it. Copy first.
