A query is a question you ask about your organization’s records. For example, you might ask which members lapsed last month or which contacts registered for a conference. Rhythm answers with a list you can review, sort, filter, and download. A saved query keeps that question under a name, so you or a colleague can run it later and see results based on the data at that time.
Use queries when you need a list or report that Rhythm does not already provide. You choose the record type, the records to include, the columns to show, and the row order. If a query cannot produce the extract you need, ask Support. In most cases, Support will help you build the query instead of creating a one-time custom export for your organization.
Where Queries Live
Each Rhythm application that supports queries has its own Query Center. Open it from Queries in that application’s left navigation. The breadcrumb shows which application you are using, such as Membership Query Center.
Each Query Center is separate in these ways:
- It offers the query types available in that application, along with any custom types set up for your organization. A query type controls which records the query reads and which fields you can use. See Query Types and Field Selection.
- Saved queries, schedules, and linked mailing lists stay with that application. A query saved in one application’s Query Center does not appear in another application’s Query Center, and Rhythm does not provide one combined list of every saved or scheduled query across applications.
- In applications that use separate spaces, such as Submissions, a Query Center opened inside a space shows only that space’s saved queries and schedules.
- In applications that organize records by event, such as a publication event, the Query Center you open belongs to that event. Saved queries and results include only that publication’s records. To run queries across multiple publications, use the Global Query Center.
- If you edit a saved query and change its context, the query moves to that new context when you save. It no longer appears in the Query Center where you were working, so open the Query Center for the new context to find it.
Rhythm does not offer one query that pulls records from multiple applications. If your workflow spans applications, such as comparing Submissions applicants with their Membership status, you usually need to run one query in each application and compare the results. You can also decide whether the need is worth an enhancement request. Combining application-specific data from more than one application, such as event attendance details with fundraising details, is generally not available in one query. Export each application’s results and merge them in a spreadsheet when you need one combined view.
If you cannot find a query a colleague mentioned, first make sure you are in the same application’s Query Center, the same Rhythm account, and, for applications with spaces, the same space. Also check the list filter. Some views hide inactive items, so an existing query can look missing even though it still exists and may still be in use elsewhere.
The Parts of a Query
The query designer is where you set the four parts of a query:
| Part | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Query type | The kind of record the query lists, such as contacts, memberships, or event registrations. After you choose it, you cannot change it. |
| Criteria | The rules that decide which records stay in the results. You group conditions so either all conditions or any condition must be true. If you leave criteria empty, Rhythm returns every record of that type. |
| Output fields | The columns in the results, in order, with headings you can rename. |
| Sort | The row order, using up to five fields. Each field sorts ascending or descending. |
As you design a query, the preview shows up to ten rows. Run opens the full results on the Query Results screen, where you can filter the rows on screen, sort by any column, and download the results as Excel, CSV, or JSON. See Design and Run a Query.
Running a Query Versus Saving One
Running a query and saving a query do different things:
- A question you have not saved exists only in your browser. If you choose
Start Over, go to another page, use the browser’s back button, or reload the page, Rhythm discards it without asking. Query pages do not have their own addresses, so you cannot bookmark a query or its results. - A saved query stores the question, not the answer. It keeps the query type, criteria, fields, sort, name, optional description, and filing location. Each run checks the current data again, so the answer reflects the records at the time you run it.
- Only a saved query can be scheduled or linked. A delivery schedule emails results on a timetable, and a link keeps a mailing list in step with the query. Both need a saved query, so save the query before you schedule it. See Query Delivery Schedules.
A saved query is also the right tool for a repeatable, filtered sync through the API, such as keeping an outside system in step with a specific segment of records. Use a direct call to a search endpoint for a one-time, unfiltered pull. If you are reacting to a webhook, remember that the webhook only tells you something changed. You still need a query to fetch the records, often a saved query with a relative-date condition such as records created in the last few hours or the last 24 hours. The API cannot start or describe a saved query using its Console ID alone. Instead, retrieve the saved query’s definition, including its criteria, output fields, and sort, from the platform’s saved-queries endpoint. Then send that definition to the endpoints that start a query and fetch its results.
A saved query keeps an optional description. You can review it by reopening the query in the designer with Save or Save As..., or from the row’s chevron menu in Query Center with Rename/Move. Query Center does not show the description as a column in any list. Options › Show Execution SQL lets you inspect how a query was built, but treat it as a debugging aid rather than documentation. It may not show every criterion’s second parameter, so you may not be able to fully reconstruct the query’s criteria from the SQL alone.
Because Rhythm re-runs a saved query each time, review its criteria from time to time. A query built for one purpose can stop matching what you need. For example, a membership list for email still includes contacts whose own record is inactive unless the criteria also require an active contact.
A saved query is not a historical record. If you need to validate a month-over-month trend or confirm what a count looked like on an earlier date, a current saved query shows today’s data, not last month’s. Use a point-in-time or historical snapshot query or report instead.
Saved query results can lag a few minutes behind the latest record changes, usually because of caching or background processing. This is normal and typically clears on its own. If a query still looks stale after that, or a large batch of records was just changed and the query has not caught up, Rhythm may need to resynchronize the data that queries read. After that finishes, query data should return to updating in near real time. While you wait, making a small edit and resaving the affected record, such as a registration or an application, has in some cases made a missing value or missing row appear in query results sooner. If you suspect this is happening, contact Support with example records and the times you checked them. If a specific record is missing from results and staleness does not explain it, confirm that the record still exists. The Audit Log Browser under Security & Settings can confirm whether a record, such as an event registration, was deleted, which explains why a query no longer returns it.
Where Saved Queries Are Kept and Who Sees Them
When you save a query, you choose one of two places. You can also put it in a folder.
| Place | Who sees it in their lists |
|---|---|
My Organization's Queries | Everyone who opens this application’s Query Center in your organization |
My Private Queries | Only you. Your private queries do not appear in colleagues’ lists |
Save to My Organization's Queries whenever someone else needs to find, run, or review the query, including Rhythm Support.
The Query Center shows saved queries in these views on the left:
Recently Run Queries: saved queries you recently ran from this Query Center, up to 25.Created by Me: at present, this lists every query inMy Organization's Queries, not only the ones you created, and it does not include your private queries.My Organization's QueriesandMy Private Queries: the two places above, including their folders.Scheduled Queries: delivery schedules for this application.Integrated Queries: saved queries linked to a mailing list in a connected email-marketing tool.
Each saved query shows its Record Count and Last Run. These values tell you how many rows came back and when the query last ran from the Query Center.
Rhythm records the person who saved a query as its owner. When someone else opens that query in the designer and chooses Save, Rhythm will not save over the owner’s query. Instead, it shows Unable to Save Query and suggests Save As..., which saves a copy that person owns. See Save a Query and Organize Folders.
This ownership rule also applies to a query you have linked to an outside system, such as a mailing-list integration. Only the owner can edit it directly. If someone else needs to make changes, have the owner make them or change the query’s owner to that person, so they do not have to recreate the query under a new identifier. Rhythm does not currently offer a way to reassign a saved query’s owner when that person’s account is deactivated. Because of that, an integrated query tied to a deactivated owner can be at risk if it ever needs a direct edit, since recreating it changes its identifier and can disrupt the integration.
Support can review and help troubleshoot a query only when it is saved in My Organization's Queries. Sending a downloaded report, an export, or a query saved to My Private Queries is not enough. Support needs the saved query’s definition, not just its output, to diagnose a problem.
In Integrated Queries and Scheduled Queries, a long list can run past what the page shows, with no way to page through to the rest. If you cannot find a query you know exists, try sorting the list by creation date, which can surface an entry hidden by the default order.
What Happens Automatically
- Run history. Running a saved query from the Query Center adds it to your
Recently Run Queriesand updates itsRecord CountandLast Run. - Schedules follow the saved query. A delivery schedule runs the saved query with the settings it has at each run. If someone changes the query’s criteria or fields, the next scheduled email reflects the change.
- A schedule protects its query. You cannot delete a saved query while any delivery schedule uses it, even if that schedule is switched off. Delete the schedule first.
- Deleting a query removes its mailing-list links. When you delete a saved query, Rhythm also deletes any link that fed the query to a mailing list, and that list stops updating.
- Nothing checks a saved question until it runs. If someone later removes a field the query uses, the query can fail or return results without that column the next time it runs. Open it in the designer and correct the criteria or fields. If an output field is unexpectedly blank even though the field still exists and related fields return values, try removing that field from the query and adding it back, then save again. If you cannot save over the original, use
Save As...to keep a working copy. In rarer cases, a saved query can stop opening at all because of a specific saved criteria value. If that happens, try recreating the query from scratch with the same criteria and fields, since a new query without that saved state may open and run normally where the original does not. This can also happen right after you add an application or submission identifier field to an existing saved query. - A query can hang instead of failing outright. If a field the query relies on becomes unavailable, the query, and the matching API query service for integrations, can appear to load indefinitely instead of showing a clear error. Treat a query that spins without finishing as a sign to check its fields, just as you would check for a missing-field error.
- A product update can occasionally change how a saved criterion is stored. After some updates, a saved query’s criteria can lose its friendly label and show an unfamiliar internal reference instead. For example, a Membership Type condition may appear as an unrecognized field path with a blank value in the designer. If you see this, reselect the field and value you intended to restore the criterion.
Permissions
What you can do in a Query Center depends on your role in that application. For each query type, roles can allow these actions separately:
- Run: open the designer for a query type, run it, and open saved queries of that type. If you cannot run one of an application’s standard query types, Rhythm leaves it out of the
Select Query Typelist. If you cannot run any of them, you seeNo accessible queries. - Download: download results from the Query Results screen.
- Schedule: create or change a delivery schedule.
When you do not have a permission, Rhythm shows an Access Denied message that names the action. For example, you may see You do not have the required privileges to download the results of this query. Please check with your system administrator. Ask your administrator for the permission. See How the Console Decides What You Can See.
Queries, Reports, and Saved Searches
A query is the most flexible way to list records because you choose every column and condition. Reports and saved searches serve different purposes and are described in Reports and Saved Searches Explained.
Example
A membership coordinator opens Queries in Membership, chooses a membership query type, and adds a condition for memberships whose end date falls within the last 30 days of the date the query runs. She selects name, email, and membership type as output fields. After she runs the query and checks the rows, she saves it as "Lapsed in the Last 30 Days" in a "Renewals" folder under My Organization's Queries. A colleague finds it there the next week and runs it. Because the date condition is relative, the list covers the 30 days before that run. The coordinator then schedules the query to be emailed to the renewals team every Monday.