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Announcements

Announcements allow you to communicate important information to all members of your organization. You can create rich, formatted announcements with text, headings, buttons, links, and more.

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Overview

Announcements help you:

• Broadcast Information - Share news, updates, and important messages
• Rich Formatting - Use headings, text, buttons, links, and cards
• Scheduled Publishing - Set when announcements go live and expire
• Status Management - Draft, publish, and archive announcements

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Announcement Status

Announcements can have three statuses:

• Draft - Not visible to members, still being created
• Published - Live and visible to organization members
• Archived - No longer visible, kept for records

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Who Sees Announcements

• Mobile app — Live announcement on the org Home tab
• Web — The main Dashboard page does not display announcements to members; announcements are managed under Organization → Announcements

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Creating Announcements

To create an announcement:

1. Click Organization → Announcements
2. Click the + button → New Announcement
3. Choose ChurchBuddy Only or ChurchBuddy and PresenterBuddy
4. Drag components from the library into the phone preview editor
5. Set scheduling and status (Draft / Published)
6. Save

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Announcement Components

Announcements are built using components. Each component has a type and data. Available components include:

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Heading

Display a heading with customizable size and alignment. Options:

• Text — The heading text
• Font Size (px) — 12–72 pixel size control
• Alignment — Left, Center, or Right
• Color — Text color (optional)

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Text

Display paragraph text. Options:

• Text - The text content
• Alignment - Left, Center, or Right
• Color - Text color (optional)

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Button

A clickable button that links to a URL. Options:

• Text - Button label
• Link/URL - Where the button links to
• Button Background Color - Background color
• Button Text Color - Text color

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Link

A text link to a URL. Options:

• Text - Link text
• URL/Link - Where the link goes
• Color - Link color

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Divider

A horizontal line to separate sections.

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Spacer

Empty space to add spacing between components. Options:

• Height - Height of the spacer in pixels

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Image

Display an image in the announcement. Options:

• Image URL - Full URL of the image
• Alt Text - Accessibility description
• Alignment - Left, Center, or Right

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Card

A card container with title and content. Options:

• Title - Card title
• Content - Card body text
• Background Color - Card background
• Padding - Internal padding
• Border Radius - Corner rounding

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List

A bulleted or numbered list. Options:

• Items - List of items to display
• List Type - Bullet or Number

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Building Announcements

When creating an announcement, you’ll add components in order. The announcement displays components from top to bottom.

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Adding Components

1. Drag components from the library into the phone preview (there is no Add Component button)
2. Configure each component’s options in the editor panel
3. Repeat for additional components

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Reordering Components

Use Move Up and Move Down arrow buttons on each component in the canvas (components are not draggable).

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Editing Components

1. Click on a component to edit it
2. Modify the component’s data
3. Save changes

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Removing Components

1. Select the component
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm removal

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Scheduling Announcements

You can schedule when announcements go live and expire:

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Go Live Time

Set when the announcement should become visible:

• Immediately - No go live time (visible as soon as published)
• Scheduled - Set a specific date and time

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Expire Time

Set when the announcement should stop being visible:

• Never - Announcement stays live until archived
• Scheduled - Set a specific date and time

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Live Announcement Rules

An announcement is considered “live” when:

1. Status is Published
2. Current time is after go live time (if set)
3. Current time is before expire time (if set)

Only one announcement can be live at a time. If you try to publish a second announcement while one is live, you’ll need to archive or expire the first one.

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Viewing Announcements

Organization members see announcements in:

• Mobile App - Home tab shows the current live announcement

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Announcement Display

Live announcements are displayed with:

• All components rendered in order
• Buttons and links are clickable
• Formatting is preserved
• Responsive layout for mobile and desktop

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Managing Announcements

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Editing Announcements

To edit an announcement:

1. Click Organization in the top navigation
2. Click the “Announcements” sub-tab
3. Find the announcement you want to edit in the sidebar
4. Click on it to open the editor
5. Modify components, scheduling, or status
6. Save changes

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Publishing Announcements

To publish an announcement:

1. Edit the announcement
2. Set status to Published
3. Configure go live time (if needed)
4. Save

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Archiving Announcements

To archive an announcement:

1. Edit the announcement
2. Set status to Archived
3. Save

Archived announcements:

• Are no longer visible to members
• Are kept in your announcement list
• Can be viewed and edited (but won’t be live)
• Can be republished later if needed

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Deleting Announcements

To delete an announcement:

1. Find the announcement
2. Click “Delete”
3. Confirm deletion

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Best Practices

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Content

1. Keep It Concise - Announcements should be brief and to the point
2. Use Clear Headings - Help people quickly understand the message
3. Include Actions - Use buttons or links when you want people to do something
4. Update Regularly - Keep announcements current and relevant

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Scheduling

1. Plan Ahead - Create announcements in advance and schedule them
2. Set Expire Times - Don’t let outdated announcements stay live
3. One at a Time - Remember only one announcement can be live
4. Test First - Create as Draft, review, then publish

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Formatting

1. Use Components Wisely - Don’t overload with too many components
2. Maintain Hierarchy - Use headings to structure content
3. Add Spacing - Use spacers and dividers for readability
4. Test on Mobile - Check how announcements look on mobile devices

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Permissions

To create, edit, or delete announcements, you must be:

• Owner of the organization, OR
• Organization Admin

Regular members can only view live announcements, not create or edit them.

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Troubleshooting

Announcement not showing:

• Check that status is Published
• Verify current time is after go live time (if set)
• Verify current time is before expire time (if set)
• Make sure no other announcement is currently live
• Try refreshing the page or app

Can’t publish second announcement:

• Only one announcement can be live at a time
• Archive or expire the current live announcement first
• Or set the current announcement’s expire time to before the new one’s go live time

Components not displaying correctly:

• Check that component data is filled in correctly
• Verify URLs are valid (for buttons and links)
• Test on different devices/browsers
• Check for formatting issues in text content

Button/link not working:

• Verify the URL is correct and includes http:// or https://
• Test the URL in a browser first
• Some URLs may not work in mobile apps (use web links instead)