# Using Groups
Daylite’s **Groups** can sometimes feel a bit overlooked, but are actually a really effective way at helping you organize your day. The most widely recognized use of a Group would be when you create a list of People to call or to email. All you need to do is create a Group, give it a title and then either drag the Contact names into the Group or add them via Linking. From that point forward you can simply select the Group name when sending an email, and each Contact within the Group will be sent the same email.
Groups can also be used to organize People who are part of different email marketing campaigns.\
For example, **DirectMail** is a mass email software product that integrates with Daylite.
But wait...
If all you want to do it have a list of People to send emails to then the most logical way to do that would be to either:
1. Give all those on your Newsletter list a Keyword called **Newsletter**, then create a Smart List of People who have that Keyword. Switch to Spreadsheet View, choose the columns, and export to csv/tsv. Then drag that csv file into your email app.
2. Make a New Person List and drag People into it. Switch to Spreadsheet View, choose the columns, and export to csv/tsv. Then drag that csv file into your email app.
So why use Groups at all?
* Groups allow email plugins to sync Contact lists between Daylite and the plugin.
* Groups can be seen and shared by other Daylitye users.
Groups can also be used to organize People who are part of different email marketing campaigns.\
For example, **DirectMail** is a mass email software product that integrates with Daylite. Groups can be used to synchronise the list of recipients between Daylite and DirectMail.
There are several advantages for using Groups rather than a Contact List:
* You can share Groups with other users.
* Groups contain an activity history which means you can add Tasks or Notes to document the activity of the Group and review them chronologically.
* You can create subgroups within each Group, which can be very helpful when emailing a specific department within a larger company. Or, as another example, if you are using a plugin to sync Contacts to an email sending service then you could use create a subgroup called **Unsubscribed** to move Contacts to when they unsubscribe from your email blasts.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Pro Tip:**
To ensure unsubscribers do not get added to any future email blasts be sure to assign the Keyword **Unsubscribe**.
{% endhint %}
Groups differ from Opportunities or Projects in that they do not have an outcome, so It may not be possible to know what done looks like. Groups are used for lists of People, Companies, Opportunities and Projects.
{% hint style="info" %}
Groups differ from Opportunities or Projects in that they are not an objective which can be checked off when done. They are used for lists of People, Companies, Opportunities and Projects.
{% endhint %}
## **How to Create a New Group**
As with all Objects, you can create a New Group by selecting it from the **New** **Object Menu** located here:
This brings up an **New Group Menu**, where you can add in details including which Contacts you wish to add.
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Alternatively, you could select the Contacts you wish to create a New Group for, and right click to bring up the Contextual Menu, and select **New Group for (number of Contacts) Objects**.
If you do not see New Group listed in this menu, you can add this option by selecting **Customize this Contextual Menu**.
## **Filling in a New Group**
### **Group Title**
Be sure to use a descriptive title that is easily identifiable.
### **Group Keywords and Category**
You can add any Keywords you would like to help identify and aid in a Search. You can use pre-defined Categories, or create one of your own.
### **Details**
Add some optional comments, such as an explanation describing the purpose of the Group.
### **Linking**
This shows the People that are currently linked to this Group. You can additional People by drag and dropping, or Linking them from **Edit** mode or using **Cmd+L**.
Linking is not just limited to People however. You can also link Companies, Opportunities, and Projects to a Group when using Areas of Focus.
{% hint style="info" %}
### Did you know?
You can take linking to the next level by creating Areas of Focus Groups as placeholders for your business.
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You could create **Areas of Focus Groups** such as:
* Administration
* Business Development
* Marketing
* Partnerships
* Profesdional Development
* Research
* Staff
* Technology
You can then create subfolders for each of these Groups.
For example, if you had a **Marketing** Group you could create subfolders such as:
* Website
* Social Media
* Trade Shows
In this way the Areas of Focus provide an excellent place to link and store useful information related to each heading. You can add Notes, create Tasks and add People, Companies, Opportunities or Projects that are linked to each Area of Focus.
### **Permissions**
The default Permission is for all items to be Public but it is possible to define the Permissions so only certain people have access, or just make the Group Private so only you can see it.
### **Owner**
The Owner is set to the user who created the Group but this can be changed to a different user if needed. You might want to do this if the current Group Owner leaves the company and you wish to associate that user's items with another Daylite user.
### **Adding fields**
By default, Daylite displays the most commonly used fields for Groups. However you can choose to use other fields that are available. Groups also has twelve **Extra Text** fields and four **Extra Date** fields.
If you want to update any of these Custom Fields go to **Settings > Edit Cards > Group** to rename the field. The updated name will then appear in the Group list.
