User Manual

Welcome! This guide walks you through everything on the Ratterman family website, one menu item at a time. You don't need to know anything about computers or websites to follow along — just find the section you want and take it step by step.

Getting started

Signing in, finding your way around, and signing out.

Signing in

The website is private to our family, so it asks who you are before it will show you anything. Signing in takes two quick steps.

  1. Go to the website address in your web browser.
  2. Type the shared family password and click Continue.
  3. A box appears asking who you are. Type or pick your own name from the list, then click Continue again. You're signed in — no second password needed.
The sign-in screen with a box for the shared family password and a Continue button.
The first sign-in screen — type the shared family password and click Continue.
Forgot your password? Ask a family member who helps run the site to reset it for you.

The menu

Once you're signed in, a row of links runs across the top of every page. That's the menu — it's how you move around the site. Click any item to go to that part of the website.

The menu bar across the top of the page, listing Family List, Fun with Data!, Reports, Sign-Up Sheets, Family Member Look-Up, Edit, What's New, and User Manual.
The menu at the top of every page.

Signing out

In the top-right corner you'll see "Signed in as [your name]." Next to it is a Sign out link — click it when you're finished, especially on a shared or public computer.

The top-right badge showing 'Signed in as' your name, with a Sign out link.
Your name and the Sign out link, top-right.
Dark mode is automatic. If your phone or computer is set to dark mode, the site switches to a dark background on its own. There's nothing to turn on.
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Family List

The full family directory — everyone's name, address, phone, and birthday.

Click Family List in the menu. This is the home page of the site and the family directory, laid out the same way as the printed family list you may already know.

The Family List page showing family members grouped by household with address, phone, email, and birthday.
The Family List directory.
This page is just for looking things up. To change someone's information, use the Edit page. To print or save the list, use Reports.
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Fun with Data!

Fun facts and colorful charts about the whole family.

Click Fun with Data! in the menu. There's nothing to fill in here — it's just for browsing. The page adds everything up for you and shows it as tiles and charts.

The summary tiles

Across the top is a row of tiles with quick numbers — how many family members there are, how many households and branches, the average age, and who the oldest and youngest family members are.

The charts

Below the tiles are colorful charts — births by decade, ages across the family, where everyone lives, upcoming birthdays, and more. Just scroll down to see them all.

The Fun with Data page showing the row of summary tiles at the top and a bar chart below, with a pop-up showing the exact value for one bar.
The summary tiles across the top, and the charts below — hover over a bar to see its exact number.
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Reports

Print or save the family list, the birthday list, your own custom list, and contact cards.

Click Reports in the menu. Near the top you'll see three tabs — Family List, Birthdays & Anniversaries, and Create a Custom Report. Click a tab to switch between them.

"View & Print" vs. "Download PDF." View & Print opens a clean, printable version in a new tab and brings up your print box — from there you can print on paper or choose "Save as PDF." Download PDF saves the file straight to your device without opening a print box.

Family List tab

This tab has two cards.

Family List — the complete directory:

  1. Click View & Print to open the printable directory and print it (or save it as a PDF).
  2. Or click Download PDF to save the directory as a PDF file.

Address Book — every living family member as one contact file you can load into your phone or email program all at once:

  1. Click Download .vcf. A single file downloads.
  2. Open that file on your phone or computer and choose to add the contacts. (A .vcf file is the standard format that Contacts apps on iPhone, Android, and Outlook all understand.)
The Reports page Family List tab, showing the Family List card and the Address Book card.
The Family List tab, with the Family List and Address Book cards.

Birthdays & Anniversaries tab

This tab makes the yearly list of everyone's birthdays and anniversaries, month by month.

  1. Click the Birthdays & Anniversaries tab.
  2. Click View & Print to open and print it, or Download PDF to save it.
This one is designed for Legal-size paper. When the print box opens, choose Legal paper size for the best fit — the page reminds you too.
The Reports page Birthdays and Anniversaries tab.
The Birthdays & Anniversaries tab.

Create a Custom Report tab

This lets you build your own list — just the people you want and just the columns you want.

  1. Click the Create a Custom Report tab.
  2. Step 1 — pick whole clans (optional): check one or more branches of the family to include everyone in them.
  3. Step 2 — pick individuals: the people from the clans you picked are now checked. Uncheck anyone you want to leave out, or check extra individuals. Use the search box to find a name quickly.
  4. Step 3 — choose columns: tick which details to show (address, cell phone, email, date of birth). Name is always included.
  5. Then click View & Print to print it, Download PDF to save it as a PDF, or Download .vcf to save just those people as contact cards.
The Create a Custom Report tab, showing clan checkboxes, an individual member list, and column checkboxes.
Building a custom list in three steps.

About the contact cards (.vcf files)

The site can hand you contacts in three ways, depending on what you need:

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Sign-Up Sheets

Say who's coming to a family event and what dish you'll bring — and create sheets for new events.

To make this section a little more fun, we'll follow the family's youngest member: baby Asa, who throws himself a first birthday party. He creates the sign-up sheet, adds himself to the guest list, and signs up to bring his very favorite things — all by himself. (He's a talented baby.)

Click Sign-Up Sheets in the menu. You'll see three buttons:

The Sign-Up Sheets page with three buttons: Current Events, Past Events, and New Event.
The Sign-Up Sheets starting screen.

Signing up for an event

  1. Click Current Events, then click the event you want to open its sheet.
  2. The sheet is a grid. Each row is a person or couple; each column is a food category (like Entrée, Sides, or Desserts). Your own row is highlighted.
  3. In the # column on your row, type how many people are coming with you.
  4. To bring something, find the category column you want and click the + button in your row.
  5. A box asks "What are you bringing?" Type a short description (like "Potato salad") and click Save. You can leave it blank to just mark a check.
  6. Your entry now shows in that cell. To change it, click the pencil (✎); to remove it, click the ✕.
An open sign-up sheet grid with family members in rows and food categories in columns. Asa's row is highlighted at the bottom, and every empty cell shows a plus button.
Asa's brand-new birthday sheet. His row is highlighted at the bottom, and every empty cell shows a + — click one in your own row to sign up to bring something.
The 'What are you bringing?' pop-up with 'Pacifiers' typed in the description box.
Asa signs up to bring the essentials — type what you're bringing and click Save. (A birthday boy has to have his pacifiers.)
Not on the list? If you don't see your own row, click + Add yourself to this list. If you're on the list but can't come, click Remove myself from this list. A number like (2/4) at the top of a column means 2 of 4 needed have been filled; Full means that category is covered.

Creating a sign-up sheet for a new event

Anyone signed in can create a sheet. You can start from a blank form, or copy an earlier event to save time.

  1. On the Sign-Up Sheets page, click New Event.
  2. Choose Start from Scratch for a blank form, or Use Another Event as a Template to copy an earlier one.
The New Event pop-up asking how to start: Start from Scratch, or Use Another Event as a Template.
Asa gets his party started — a blank form, or a copy of a past event.

Then fill in the form:

  1. Set the Date and Start Time.
  2. Type the Event Name (for example, "Christmas Eve" or "4th of July Cookout").
  3. Pick a Location from the list, or choose to type a different address.
  4. Add a short Description if you like (optional). The event's title fills in automatically from what you enter — you can type over it to change it.
  5. Under Categories & Quantities, list the kinds of food you need and how many of each. Click + Add category for more rows.
  6. Under Invitees, check the people (and couples) you want to invite. There's a search box to find names quickly, plus Check all / Clear all.
  7. Click Create Event. Your new sheet appears under Current Events, ready for people to sign up.
The New Event form filled in for Asa's First Birthday Party, with date, time, event name, location, food categories, and the invitee checklists.
Asa fills in the details for "Asa's First Birthday Party" — date, time, place, what to bring, and who to invite.
Need to invite someone the checklist leaves out? The invite checklist only lists family members who are 16 or older and live in Colorado. To invite anyone else — a little one, or relatives from out of state — create the sheet first, then use the "add a family member" box on the sheet itself; it has no age or location limit. (Only the sheet's creator or an admin sees that box.) That's exactly how Asa — too young for the checklist — got onto his own guest list.
An open sign-up sheet with the 'add a family member' drop-down list showing and Asa's name highlighted.
Asa isn't on the 16-and-up checklist, so he adds himself with the "add a family member" box.
Using a past event as a template. Choose Use Another Event as a Template and pick any earlier event. The new form arrives with that event's food categories and invitees already filled in — just update the date, time, and anything else, then add or remove people before you click Create Event. It's the quickest way to set up a repeating gathering.
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Family Member Look-Up

Quickly find one person's phone, address, email, and birthday.

Click Family Member Look-Up in the menu. This is the fastest way to pull up a single person.

  1. Start typing a first name, last name, or nickname in the search box.
  2. A list of matches appears as you type. Click the person you want (or use the up/down arrow keys and press Enter).
  3. Their card shows their age, birthday, address, phone numbers, and email. Tap a phone number to call, or the address to open it in maps.
  4. To save them to your phone or computer's contacts, click Download vCard.
  5. Click ← Back to Look-Up to search for someone else.
The Look-Up search box with a name typed in and a drop-down list of matching people.
Start typing and pick a name from the list.
A person's result card showing their age, birthday, address, phone numbers, email, and a Download vCard button.
A person's details, with a Download vCard button.
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Edit

Update a family member's information — new phone number, address, email, and so on.

Click Edit in the menu. Near the top are two tabs: People (family members) and Households (addresses and home phone numbers).

Editing a family member

  1. On the People tab, find the person — type in the search box, or use the branch and generation filters.
  2. Click the Edit button on their row.
  3. A form opens with their details. Update whatever needs changing — cell phone, email, and so on.
  4. Click Save.
The Edit page People tab with a search box, filters, a table of people, and Edit buttons.
The Edit page. Click Edit on someone's row to change their details.
The Edit Person form showing name, birthday, email, phone, and other fields, with Date of Birth marked required.
The edit form. Fields marked with a * are required.
Date of Birth is now required. When adding or editing a family member, you must fill in the Date of Birth before the form will save.
Your changes may need approval. Unless you're one of the family members who helps run the site, your edit is submitted for review instead of taking effect right away. You'll see a message saying it's been sent, and a site administrator approves it shortly. This just keeps the directory tidy — nothing you need to worry about.
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What's New

See what's recently changed or been added to the site.

Click What's New in the menu. It's a simple, dated list of recent updates and improvements, newest first. There's nothing to do here — just read down the list whenever you're curious what's changed. It's a good place to check now and then so you don't miss new features.

The What's New page listing recent updates by date, newest first.
Recent updates, newest first.
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