Getting Started with Records
  • 11 Nov 2025
  • 1 minute read
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Getting Started with Records

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Article summary

The most common type of record you’re likely to interact with in Slate is the person record. Person records store data associated with individuals like applicants, enrolled students, and alumni.

Go to Records and type a name into the search bar to find a record.

Tabs on the person record

The data on the person record are stored on its tabs:

  • Dashboard: A quick look at the person’s high-level data points. Can be replaced with a custom dashboard.

  • Timeline: A chronological list of the record’s interactions. 📖 Timeline

  • Application: The details associated with a record’s application. Person records can have more than one application. 📖 Applications

  • Giving (Advancement only): An accounting of the gifts given, or planned to be given, by a donor. 📖 The giving tab

  • Profile: An overview of the main biographical data points associated with a record. 📖 The Profile tab

  • Materials: Uploaded documents associated with the record. 📖 Materials

  • Academic (Student Success only): A dashboard displaying details related to the student’s academic standing

  • Advising Notes (Student Success only): A record of the advising notes taken for a student

  • Early Alert (Student Success only): A record of the early alerts raised for a student.

Creating a test record

Creating a test record lets you to explore Slate and visualize how data appears to the constituents who interact with your instance.

  1. Select Lookup in the top navigation bar.

  2. Select New Person.

  3. Configure the following settings:

    • Email: Use an email that is accessible to you.

    • First Name, Last Name: Append the word TEST to the first and last name so the record is easily identified as a test record.

    • Birthdate: A birthdate must be in the past; unborn records cannot exist in Slate.

  4. Select Create. You are redirected to the new person record.

  5. Under Tags, select the Test Record tag.

Using the Test Record tag lets you isolate test records from queries.


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