GiftWorks Anywhere 2015 Upgrade Tips

On Monday, October 6, 2014, you will notice that GiftWorks Anywhere has been upgraded to GiftWorks 2015. Below are some tips on preparing for this upgrade.

Prior to the Upgrade on Sunday evening, October 5

For GiftWorks Anywhere customers, please make note of where your GiftWorks database file (.gds) is stored. The database path will be displayed below the database name. Your database file will most likely be located on your G: drive (although it may be located on your H: drive). We recommend that you write this location down because you will need to point back to this location as part of the upgrade process. 

For GiftWorks Anywhere Pro customers, please make note of your GiftWorks database name. On the GiftWorks sign-in screen, the database name (e.g. my-donor-data) is located below the database title (e.g. My Donor Data).We recommend that you write this name down because you will need to know this database name as part of the upgrade process.

Also, to ensure the safety of your GiftWorks information, we strongly encourage you to backup your current GiftWorks database to a safe and secure location prior to the upgrade that will occur on Sunday evening, October 5.

To back up your GiftWorks database:

• Sign in to GiftWorks Anywhere.
• Click the Settings button at the top of GiftWorks.
• Click the Importing, Exporting, and Data Management heading.
• Click Manage Your GiftWorks Database.
• Click Back up the Database.
• For Giftworks Anywhere customers (not Pro), click the Browse button to choose a location for the backup. Browse to the folder in which you want to save your backup.We suggest you store the backup file in the same location as your GiftWorks database (most likely the "G:" drive)
• Enter a name you want to use for the backup file, then click Backup Now.
• Click OK to begin the backup. The backup may take some time to complete. The time will vary depending on the size of your database.
• When the backup is complete, a window will pop up that reads Backup is complete. Click OK to finish the backup process.

Finally, for GiftWorks Anywhere customers (not Pro), you will want to copy the backup file (.gbf) for your GiftWorks database to your local computer. 

If you have any trouble completing your backup, please contact GiftWorks Customer Care at support@giftworksconnect.com.

Upgrading GiftWorks Anywhere

There may be periods of time on Sunday evening, October 5 that GiftWorks Anywhere will not be available while the upgrades to1 GiftWorks Anywhere are being completed. If you are not able to access GiftWorks Anywhere, wait a few minutes and try again. Thank you for your patience while these upgrades are completed.

Getting Started with GiftWorks Anywhere Monday, October 6

When you start GiftWorks Anywhere, you will be required to go through the Get Started steps. Click Start.  

Click Next

Open your GiftWorks database by selecting the Open an existing database option and clicking Next.

For GiftWorks Anywhere customers, click Browse to select your GiftWorks database. Your database will most likely be located on your G: drive (although it may be located on your H: drive).

For GiftWorks Anywhere Pro customers, enter pgha2usql01 for the server name and click Get Database List to load the list of databases in the Database Name dropdown list. From the dropdown list, select the name of your GiftWorks database.

After selecting your GiftWorks database, click the Next button.

Click Sign In to sign into GiftWorks. If you are the first person in your organization to sign in, you will be asked to upgrade the GiftWorks database to make it compatible with the latest version of GiftWorks Anywhere. Clicking the Upgrade button will upgrade the GiftWorks database and then sign in to GiftWorks. You can then resume using GiftWorks Anywhere. For GiftWorks Anywhere Pro, you will be required to confirm that you have backed up your database. If you have any questions about this, please contact GiftWorks Customer Care at support@giftworksconnect.com.

When you sign into GiftWorks Anywhere for the first time after the upgrade, you will be prompted to sign into your GiftWorks Live account. This is separate from your GiftWorks Anywhere/Citrix username and password.

GiftWorks Live is used by our customers who have purchased one of our other services like GiftWorks Data Protect or GiftWorks Web Collect. GiftWorks Anywhere has the LIVE add-in automatically installed so that those customers can access their online services.

If you are prompted to sign in to your GiftWorks Live account, and you do not have any of the services mentioned above, you will need to close that window without signing in. Click on the Close Window link at the top right corner.

Now click on the Close this window without signing into GiftWorks Live link.

New Features

GiftWorks Anywhere now includes a number of new features that can help your organization be more efficient and effective. For more information about the new features click here

The following are some helpful tips to keep in mind as you begin to use GiftWorks 2015.

If you have customized reports, saved report designs or customized SmartLists, you may need to reset your customizations and return the report to the default settings to take advantage of the new functionality for GiftWorks 2015. Click Customize Report for a report or the Customize link for a SmartList.

Then, Click the Reset button to reset your customizations.

If you are already using QuickBooks with GiftWorks, you may get prompted to allow GiftWorks to connect to QuickBooks when you connect to QuickBooks for the first time using GiftWorks 2015. Choose Yes, whenever this QuickBooks company file is open and click Continue.