Activities are the running history on a record — the tasks, notes, calls, attachments, and correspondence that tell the story of your work with a person or organization. Every record in CoolFocus can have activities, so wherever you are, you can capture what happened and what needs to happen next.
• Tasks — something that needs to be done, with an owner and a due date
• Notes — written context about what happened or what was decided
• Calls — a record of a phone conversation and its outcome
• Attachments — files and documents kept with the record
• Correspondence — a hand-logged letter, fax, or other contact that is not a note or call
• On a record’s Activity tab — the full timeline of that record, newest first. This is the main place staff open to read history and find files.
• In record sections — quick counts and recent items while you work
• Recent activity — a rolling view of what has happened lately across your work
Files (attachments): There is no separate Attachments tab on a client or similar person record. After Create Attachment, open that same record’s Activity tab to view or download the file. Full steps: Attachments.
Use the Filter button above a timeline to show only certain activity types or collections. The button shows how many types are selected (for example 3/5).
When you hide one or more types, the button names what is hidden (for example “Attachments hidden” or “Notes, Calls +2 hidden”).
Click Show all to bring every type back. If your filters hide every activity on the record, the timeline shows “No activities match your filters” with its own Show all button.
CoolFocus saves hidden activity types separately for every record. Hiding Notes on one client’s timeline does not affect any other client, payment, or visit.
When an activity tab shows a related record’s activity instead of its own (for example a visit’s Activity tab showing the linked client’s activity), the filter button names that context so it is clear whose activity you are filtering.
Coming back to the same record keeps the filter you left. Opening a different record starts fresh with everything shown.
A record’s timeline can also show activity from closely related records, so you get the full picture in one place — for example, a donor’s timeline can include activity tied to that donor’s giving. An activity logged from a scheduler appointment’s panel likewise shows up on that appointment’s timeline, in addition to being attributed to the client it is about.
Tasks, notes, calls, and attachments each have a Person field linking the activity to the client, donor, or contact it belongs to. CoolFocus sets this automatically based on the record the activity was added on (for example a request, service received, contribution, conversation, appointment, or visit). You can also set or change Person by hand from the activity’s detail view.
Every task, note, call, and attachment can also have an Activity Type — a shared label your organization uses to tag what kind of activity it is.
Some organizations mark certain activity types as restricted (for example a medical note type only some staff should see). Restricted types are hidden from any user group that has not been granted access. Administrators manage this under Settings → Security → User Groups, on the Activity Type Access tab.
Whether this applies at all is controlled by the organization-wide Use Activity Type Security setting (Settings → Organization Info, under Security). New organizations start with this off. When it is off, the Activity Type field is hidden on activities, and the Activity Type Access tab is hidden on user groups.
Only an organization administrator can turn Use Activity Type Security on or off. Untyped activities (no Activity Type set) are always visible to everyone. Administrators can always see and manage every activity type.
Because tasks, notes, calls, and attachments are linked to a Person, their grids and exports can show that person’s contact details as their own columns: Contact First Name, Contact Last Name, Contact Email, and Contact Phone. These columns are filled in automatically and are display-only.
The Tasks, Notes, Calls, and Attachments grids can be exported for every client at once. Search or filter by a client’s name to find all of their activity, even when it was logged from a related record rather than the client’s own page.
You can pin an important activity so it stays at the top of the timeline — handy for a key note or a standing reminder the whole team should see.
The Pinned section header has a collapse arrow. Click it to hide pinned items while you scroll recent activity, then open them again without hunting for a setting.
Log activities close to when they happen, and write them so the next teammate can pick up where you left off. Activities are shared team memory.
• Attachments
• Notes
• Calls
• Correspondence
• User Groups and Permissions
