How to manage statuses

Statuses are the named values your staff select on records such as clients, cases, events, and payments. Your agency owns the whole list on one page, and the settings on each status change how eCourtDate treats every record that carries it.

### Overview

- **What it is:** The **Statuses** page holds every status your agency has created. Each one has a **Name** and a **Type**, and the **Type** decides which record the status belongs to.
- **Why it matters:** Records store the status you pick, so your own terminology drives the **Status** dropdowns and search filters across the platform. Two settings go further and change behavior: **Disable Messages** stops message generation, and **Failed to Appear?** moves an event status into the **Appeared** dropdown.
- **Who uses it:** Administrators whose role includes the status permissions maintain the list. Every staff member selects from it on record pages.
- **Expected outcomes:** One reviewed list of statuses per record type, carrying the messaging and color settings you intend.

### Prerequisites

- Access to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Statuses**
- A role that includes the status permissions: **View Any Status**, **Create Statuses**, **Update Statuses**, and **Trash Statuses**. The **Admin** sample role on the **Roles** page grants all four, while the **Editor** and **Guest** sample roles keep only **View Any Status**
- A list of the record types your agency uses. Statuses are available for client, case, contact, event, payment, warrant, citation, violation, checkin, and submission

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the Statuses page

1. Click **Admin** in the top navigation bar.
2. Select **Settings** from the dropdown menu.
3. Click the **Statuses** tab.

#### Step 2: Read the list

1. Review the columns: **Name**, **Type**, **Disable Messages**, **Auto Archive**, **Fail to Appear**, **Creator**, **Created**, and **Updated**.
2. Click a column heading to sort the list by that column.
3. Click the arrow button beside the sorted heading to switch between ascending and descending.
4. Click **Load more** at the bottom of the page to pull in the next results. The list starts with 20 statuses.

#### Step 3: Narrow the list

1. Enter a word in the **Search** field of the **Search Statuses** card.
2. Select a **Type** to list only the statuses for one record type.
3. Select **Disable Messages**, **FTA**, or **Auto Archive Status** to list only the statuses carrying that setting.
4. Select **Archived** or **Trashed** to look at statuses that have left the working list.
5. Click **Search**.

#### Step 4: Review one status

1. Click the edit icon in the row of the status you want to check.
2. Read the **Edit Status** card. It holds **Name**, **Type**, **Color**, **Disable Messages**, **Default Status**, and **Auto-Archive Record**, plus **Failed to Appear?** while **Type** is event.
3. Correct any field that no longer matches how your agency works.
4. Click **Save**.
5. Read the **Audit Logs** card below the form to see the earlier changes to this status.
6. Click **Close** to return to the list.

#### Step 5: Retire a status

1. Select the checkbox in the row of each status you want to remove.
2. Click **Trash** to take them out of the **Status** dropdowns, or **Archive** to set them aside.
3. Click **Confirm**.
4. Select **Trashed** or **Archived** in the **Search Statuses** card when you need one back, then select it and click **Restore**.

#### Step 6: Take a copy of the list

1. Click **CSV** above the table to download the statuses that match your current filters as a spreadsheet file.
2. Click **PDF** to open your browser print dialog with the full filtered list rendered.

### What to Expect

A new or edited status is available right away in the **Status** dropdowns and search filters for its **Type**. Records store the status by name rather than by a link, so a record keeps the text it was given even after you rename or trash the status it used. On the client edit page, a stored status that is no longer in the list is added back to the **Status** dropdown so the record does not lose it.

The settings you choose reach other screens. A client or event carrying a status with **Disable Messages** turned on shows a red badge reading the status name followed by "Messages Disabled" on the record, and the badge links back to the **Statuses** page filtered to that name. The **Color** you set on an event status paints the status badge on **Events** > **Waitlists**. **Default Status** sorts a status to the front of the lists that **Waitlists** and the form submission screens read.

### Best Practices

- Review one **Type** at a time. The **Type** decides which dropdown shows the status, so a case status never reaches an event.
- Turn on **Disable Messages** for closing statuses such as canceled, paid, and rescheduled so reminders stop for records that no longer need them.
- Set a **Color** on your event statuses so the board on **Events** > **Waitlists** reads at a glance.
- Trash a retired status instead of renaming it. Renaming leaves older records holding the previous text, while trashing removes the status from the dropdowns and leaves existing records alone.
- Search the list before adding another status, since nothing stops two similar names from sitting in the same **Type**.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Which records can carry a status?**

A: The **Type** list on the **Statuses** page holds client, case, contact, event, payment, warrant, citation, violation, checkin, and submission.

**Q: How do I add a status?**

A: Enter a **Name** and select a **Type** in the **Create Status** card on the left side of the page, then click **Create**. A status saved with the blank **Type** option is created as an event status.

**Q: Why is an event status missing from the Status dropdown on an event?**

A: Event statuses with **Failed to Appear?** turned on are pulled out of **Status** and offered in the **Appeared** dropdown on the event edit page instead.

**Q: Can I see who changed a status?**

A: Yes. Open the status from the list and read the **Audit Logs** card below the **Edit Status** card.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** A status you expect is missing from the **Statuses** page.

**Symptoms:** The list shows "No Statuses found." or simply omits the status, even though staff have used it on records.

**Solution:**

1. Open **Statuses** from the **Settings** tab strip rather than from a saved link, since a link into the page can carry filters in its address that the **Search Statuses** card does not show.
2. Select **Trashed** in the **Search Statuses** card and search again.
3. Select **Archived** and search again.
4. Open the status you find, click **Tools** > **Restore**, and confirm the **Type** is the one you expect.

**Issue:** Messages stop generating for a record after a status change.

**Symptoms:** Scheduled messages disappear once staff set a new status, and a red badge reading the status name followed by "Messages Disabled" appears on the client or event record.

**Solution:**

1. Click the badge to open the **Statuses** page filtered to that status name.
2. Click the edit icon to open the status.
3. Clear **Disable Messages** if the status should not block message generation.
4. Click **Save**.

### Related Articles

- [How to define custom statuses](/how-to-define-custom-statuses)
- [How to Disable Messages based on Status](/how-to-disable-messages-based-on-status)
- [How to manage waitlists](/how-to-manage-waitlists)
- [How to Update Clients via Bulk Actions](/how-to-update-clients-via-bulk-actions)
- [Roles and Permissions](/roles-and-permissions)