Lookups

Lookups are the reusable lists the rest of the app picks from. When you add a species, an activity type, or a tag here, it becomes a choice everyone selects from elsewhere — so the whole shelter uses the same, consistent vocabulary instead of free-typing.

Who can use this page: administrators. Lookups are configuration, so a change here affects the whole organization.

The lists you manage, and where they show up

• Species — the kinds of animals you take in (Dog, Cat, …). They appear in the species dropdown on intake and on the Animals filters, and they're one axis of Activity goals (a goal is per species per category).
• Activity categories — broad groupings of what an activity is for (for example Exercise, Enrichment, Socialization). These tie a lot together — see below.
• Activity types — the specific activities volunteers do (a walk, a training session), each belonging to a category. These drive the start/end-activity options in the mobile app and decide which survey appears after which activity. The recommended minutes you set on a type is the target the mobile activity timer counts against; where the animal has a daily activity goal for that type's category, the goal is used instead. A type with no recommended minutes gives a plain stopwatch with no target.
• Group activity types — the same idea for group activities (sessions with several animals), each with a category.
• Care tags — reusable labels you can apply to animals (for example "shy" or "medical") to flag handling context. Each tag is Public (may appear on outward-facing surfaces, currently the printed shelter card) or Internal (app-only) — the Visibility column shows which.
• Placement reasons — why an animal goes to a foster home (your organization starts with Underage, Medical, Break, and Other). A reason is required whenever an animal is placed in foster, and foster-program reporting groups placements by these values. Deactivate a reason to retire it from new placements without touching history; a reason already used by a placement can't be deleted.

What an activity category is

An activity category is the bridge between activities and goals. Picture it as a bucket like "Enrichment". A category is used in several places at once:

• Each activity type and group activity type belongs to a category.
• Activity goals are set per species per category — for example "dogs should get 30 minutes of Enrichment a day."
• The dashboard's goal-progress card lets you pick a category and shows how animals are tracking against that category's goal.

So if you add a new category here — say "Training" — it immediately becomes available to tag activity types with, to set goals for, and to track on the dashboard. That's why categories live in Lookups: they're shared by activities, goals, and reporting.

Manage a list

1. Pick the list you want to edit (for example Species or Activity categories).
2. Add a new entry, edit an existing one, or reorder entries by dragging.
3. Save. The change applies everywhere that list is used.

When you add an activity type, you type a Name and the internal code fills in automatically (lowercase, with underscores) — you can adjust it before saving, but it can't be changed afterwards, so existing references stay valid.

A care tag asks only for a Name, a Category, and an optional Color; ShelterSync keeps track of the internal reference for you, so there is nothing technical to fill in. That reference is fixed once the tag exists, which is why renaming a tag never breaks anything already using it. For the color, pick a swatch beside the field or type an exact hex value like #aabbcc; the X clears it. The Care tags list has a search box and sortable columns to help you find a tag in a long list.

Category is a picker: start typing to search the categories you already use, pick one, or choose Add to create a new one. Categories keep the capitalization you type — "ShelterLuv" stays "ShelterLuv". If you re-type an existing category with different capitalization, every tag in that category is updated to match, so your list holds one spelling rather than two.

Priority tags

Tick Prioritize for activities on a care tag to make animals carrying it appear first — at the top of the animal list in the mobile app, and at the top of the dashboard's Animals with unmet goals card. Tagged animals also show a Priority badge, and volunteers can tap the Priority filter in the mobile app to see only those animals.

A common use is a "Hold-it" tag for dogs that can wait overnight and should therefore be taken out first. Nothing is tied to that name, though: call the tag whatever suits your shelter, and mark as many tags priority as you need. Renaming or deleting a priority tag changes nothing else.

Priority affects the order animals are listed in, and nothing else. It does not change any animal's activity goals, and it does not set a deadline or send a reminder. On the dashboard card it only reorders animals that are already there — an animal that has met all its goals still doesn't appear. Marking most of your tags as priority removes the distinction, so use it sparingly.

Fields explained

Field	What it means
Recommended minutes	How long a session of this activity type is expected to take. It is the target the mobile activity timer counts against, so the volunteer can see whether they are on track. If the animal has a daily activity goal for this type's category, that goal is used instead. Leave it empty and the timer simply counts up with no target.
Placement reasons	Why an animal goes to a foster home — every foster placement records one. Your organization starts with Underage, Medical, Break, and Other; rename them or add your own. Deactivate a reason to hide it from new placements without touching history; a reason already used by a placement can't be deleted, only deactivated. The foster program reporting groups placements by these values.
Care tag category	How care tags are grouped — for example ShelterLuv, Medical, or Behavioral. Start typing to search the categories you already use and pick one, or choose "Add" to create a new one. Categories are saved with the capitalization you type, and reusing an existing one keeps the list tidy. If you re-type an existing category with different capitalization, every tag in it is updated to match, so you end up with one spelling rather than two.
Color	An optional color for the care tag, used wherever the tag is shown as a badge. Pick one from the swatch beside the field, or type an exact hex value like #aabbcc if your organization has set colors. Leave it empty and the tag uses the default badge styling — the X beside the field clears a color you no longer want.
Prioritize for activities	Marks a care tag as a priority tag. Animals carrying it are listed first in the mobile app's animal list and on the dashboard's "Animals with unmet goals" card, and show a Priority badge — so whoever is deciding who to take out next sees them at the top. A common use is a "Hold-it" tag for dogs that can wait overnight and should therefore go out first, but the choice is yours: name the tag whatever you like and mark as many tags priority as you need. Renaming or deleting the tag changes nothing else. Priority affects the order animals appear in and nothing more — it does not change any animal's activity goals, and it does not set a deadline or send a reminder. Marking most of your tags as priority removes the distinction, so use it sparingly.
Visibility (Public or Internal)	Each care tag is either Public or Internal. Public tags can appear on outward-facing surfaces — currently the printed kennel card. Internal tags stay in the app only: they still show on the animal's profile, but never on public surfaces. Set it with the Public checkbox when you create or edit a tag; the Visibility column in the list shows each tag's setting. Tags synced from ShelterLuv follow their ShelterLuv Publish setting: every sync re-applies it, so change it in ShelterLuv for those tags — a manual change here lasts only until the next sync.