The first step is to see a listing of all the connection types that have been configured in the system. You can see this screen by clicking the ti ti-settings from the Connections page under People > Connections. Selecting a connection type from the list pictured above will display the details for the type as well as a list of all the connection opportunities that have been defined. Let's start by looking at the configuration options available for a connection type. Basic Configuration - The first few items cover the basics like Name, Description, Active/Inactive and an icon for the type.Days Until Request Considered Idle - Setting this number determines how the red (idle) colored badges shown in the Connection Requests are totaled.Connection Request Detail Page - This setting only applies to older versions of Rock that aren't using the Connection Request Board block. You could use this to specify the page for viewing Connection Request Details for this Connection Type. As of Rock v12 this is no longer needed with the Connection Request Board because viewing Connection Request Details no longer takes you to a different page.Enable Future Follow-up - We discussed the future follow-up feature previously. It allows a request to be frozen until a specific date, at which point a job will turn it back to Active and a "Future Follow-up Complete" action will be added to the request. You can decide whether this feature is available on each connection type you set up.Enable Full Activity List - We also talked about how a request can show activities from other requests made by the same individual. You have the option to disable that functionality on a connection type basis.Requires Placement Group To Connect - If checked, this will prevent the Connect button from activating on a Request unless a Placement Group is set. Enable Request Security - If enabled, connection request blocks will have an additional setting allowing security to be applied to individual requests. A special rule is also applied, which automatically allows an assigned connector to view or edit their requests even if the connector doesn't have security to the connection opportunity or type. Enabling this setting will noticeably impact performance when there are a significant number of requests.If you can't see requests that you should be able to see, be sure to check security at the connection's Request, Opportunity and Type levels. Connection Type Attributes - Here, you add and manage attributes and attribute values that apply to this connection type. Remember, after you add a new attribute, save the connection type before entering its value. To create an attribute that's used for all connection types, use the entity attributes page without adding a Qualifier Field or Qualifier Value. Connection Request Attributes - Attributes associated with a connection request will be displayed here. Connection request attributes apply to all of the connection requests in every opportunity of the given connection type.Opportunity Attributes - Here you will define attributes about the opportunities. These attributes are mainly used to power the opportunity search screens. Enabling Allow Search allows the attribute to be filtered on by a person using an opportunity search. Activities - Each connection type allows you to define types of activities that a connector can make on a request. You can apply entity attributes to activity types, to track additional details related to that type of activity. Statuses - You can create as many request statuses as you like for your requests. This is also where you'll configure rules to automate the process of moving individuals from one status to another. See the Automating Status Changes section below for details. Workflows - We’ll go into all the details about connection request workflows below. For now, the important takeaway is that the workflows you define here will apply to all requests for all of the Connection Opportunities of this Connection Type. That’s a wide net to cast, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need. If not, you can also add workflows at the Opportunity level. Save - Don't forget to save! Remember, some features (like adding values to new connection type attributes) require you to save before they can be used. After setting up a connection type, you can duplicate it to create additional types. To duplicate an entire connection type, click the ti ti-copy button on the Connection Type Detail screen. Once copied, the duplicated connection type is displayed in the Connection Types screen. From there you can edit its settings in the Connection Type Detail screen. Note, if you need to delete the duplicated connection type, you'll need to first delete all of the Connection Opportunities listed in its Connection Type Detail screen. Automating Status Changes As noted above, the Connection Type is where you define the Statuses that are available for connection requests. For instance, you might have statuses like "In Progress" or "Pending Interview" to track different stages as the connection request moves through your process. Statuses can be manually assigned by editing a request, but in many cases, you might find it's more efficient to automatically move a connection request from one status to another. To set up rules for automating status changes, edit the Connection Type and access the Statuses section. By either updating a status or adding a new one, you can access the list of status automations. Click the ti ti-circle-plus icon to add a new automation, or the ti ti-pencil icon to edit an existing automation. Automation Name - Be sure to provide a descriptive name so you know what the automation does. This is especially helpful if you have several automations for a single status.Data View - This is where you select the data view that will identify which connection requests the automation should apply to. For instance, you might create a data view that returns connection requests where a specific Activity has been completed. Only data views with an "Applies To" setting of Connection Request will be listed here. For more information about building data views, see our Taking Off With Reporting guide. Group Requirements Filter - These options apply to connection requests that have a specified Placement Group. The group (and/or group type) requirements will be checked according to the following logic. For more information about group requirements, see our Rock Your Groups guide. Ignore: If this is selected, any group requirements are not considered when deciding if the automation should be performed.Must Meet: If this is selected, all group requirements must be met by the connection request's Placement Group, then the automation will be performed. Does Not Meet: If this is selected, the automation will be performed only if there are group requirements that the Requestor does not meet. If there are no group requirements for the Placement Group, then the automation will not be performed. Move To - This is the new status that the connection request will be updated to if it's returned by the selected data view and if the conditions of the Group Requirements Filter are met. In the example above, the connection requests returned by the data view would automatically be updated from a status of No Contact to a new status of In Progress. The automations you configure will be performed after saving a connection request, or when the Connection Requests Automation job is run. Keep in mind that the automations are performed in the order that they're listed. If you need to change the order, click the ti ti-menu-2 icon and drag the automation to the desired location. Once an automation criterion is matched, no further automations will be processed for that status. So, there is the Connection Type. Next let's look at creating and editing Connection Opportunities within this Connection Type.