To make it easier for band members to keep their
availability for concerts up to date.
To make it easier for the band director to communicate with
members and make use of the availability data.
User Interface:
There are two types of users:
members
database administrators - DA's (band director and anyone
delegated to manage the data)
The type of user is determined when one logs on. The user
interface is
identical for both types; only the menu items that one has access to
differ. The user interface consists of
Upper Left: Park Band
logo - clicking on the logo takes you to the QPB website
Top center: Banner with instructions and messages directly
below it.
Lower left (below menu): link to context sensitive help.
Clicking on it opens help file in separate window.
Center: current information
Important:
Whenever you make a change to any information, you
must click a button (follow the instructions at the top) in order for
the database to be updated
If you forget your password, click FORGOT PASSWORD on the
log on screen and follow the instructions.
If
you change your email address, you must log on using the old address
and then update the email address field. From then on you log on
with your new address.
If you plan to forget your password and change your email
address, be sure update
your email address first. Your password information will be
sent to your email address of record.
Update
Schedule (DA only)
When you click this menu item, the current schedule appears.
You can
Click START NEW SCHEDULE at the top of the screen to
automatically generate a schedule for a new season using
several values set in the setup
screen. For a description of the rules for creating the schedule see below. The availability of
each member at each concert is
set to NO. After making sure the generated schedule is
correct, you can automatically email
to all members the new schedule along with a link to update availability.
Click ADD DATE TO
SCHEDULE at the top of the screen to add a concert to an existing
schedule. A screen pops up asking for the date, sponsor, and
comment. To post the new date, click CONTINUE. To delete the new date,
click ABANDON. When you add a concert date, availability for
all members is set to NO; so it is better to make sure all concerts
have been added before you send an email announcing a new schedule.
Click CLEAR SCHEDULE to delete all concerts
Click MODIFY to the right of a date to modify a concert's sponsor and/or comment..
Don't forget to click CONTINUE to make the change effective.
Member availability is NOT affected.
Click DELETE to the right of a date to remove it from the
schedule.
Notes:
Starting a new schedule automatically clears the old schedule
If
you attempt to enter a date that violates the rules (e.g., not a Sunday
or Wednesday), an error message will appear and you have the choice of
continuing or not.
You cannot change a concerts date. To do so, delete the concert and add a new one.
Add
New Member (DA only)
Click ADD NEW MEMBER to create a new member record. A
screen pops up that allows you to enter the new member's information.
A description of the fields is given below.
To confirm the new member, click CONTINUE. To delete it,
click ABANDON.
If you check the SEND EMAIL box, an email asking the new member to log on and complete their profile (not implemented yet).
Notes:
The ADMINISTRATOR field only appears if you have logged
on as
a DA.
If
the new member does not have an email address; or it is unknown, leave
it as "none". The new member can then log on using "none" and
change it.
The password for a new
member is automatically set to the first seven letters of the last
name (or last name if less than 8) plus the first letter of the first
name, all lower case.
Delete
Member (DA
only)
Click
the DELETE MEMBER menu item to permanently remove a member
from
the database. Note: a member could instead be flagged as
INACTIVE.
Reports
(DA
only)
Clicking
the REPORTS menu item brings up a list of information you can display
and then print:
Availability
for a given concert by
instrument:A list of future concerts
appears. Selecting a
concert displays
A list of members
who will be available for that concert, sorted in instrument, then name
order
A count
of the number of each instrument available.
All
availability for future concerts: a chart with
A list of active
members on the left hand side
A list
of future concert dates across the time.
A "Y"
at the intersection of name and date indicates that that member will be
available that date.
A
list of active members who will not be available for any concert: (more likely they haven't
updated their availability).
To send an email to
each member in this list, click SEND REMINDER EMAL. In
addition to asking them to check their status, it provide a link to the
website to do so. The link takes the member directly to their
page, bypassing the log on procedure.
To
preview the message by sending it only to yourself, check PREVIEW
A
list of active members sorted by name: It includes name, address,
city, state, zip, phone, email address, instrument, and AFM membership
A
list of active members sorted by instrument
Payroll
sheet: a list of AFM members with the selected concert
date at the top and space for the member to sign their name.
Email Members (DA
only)
Click the EMAIL MEMBERS menu item to send an email message to all
active members. Enter the SUBJECT and MESSAGE and click SEND
The "from" address will be your email address unless you you check the DO NOT REPLY box, in which case it will be a dummy.
To preview the message by sending it only to yourself, check
the PREVIEW box.
A special feature is useful for announcing a new season. If you check
the NEW SEASON box, the message that gets sent will include
the message you enter at the top, then the schedule, and finally a link
to update availability. The link takes a member
directly to their page, bypassing the log on procedure.
Note: obviously, members who have "none" entered as their email address
will not receive email.
Adding attachments has not been implemented yet.
Setup
(DA
only)
Currently the only setup parameters determine how a new season's
schedule is automatically generated. They are:
Earliest date, not including Memorial Day
Latest Sunday Date
Latest Wednesday Date
Sunday in December for the Christmas concert: 1 = first, 2
= second, etc. 0 means a Christmas concert will not be
generated automatically.
Note:
Enter only the month and day, separated by a /; e.g., 07/01.
The Latest Sunday and Wednesday dates need not be a Sunday or Wednesday, respectively. E.g. setting Last Wednesday to 06/30 causes no Wednesday concerts in July.
They do not include Christmas.
The schedule is generated as follows:
Memorial Day - last Monday in May
Fourth of July - on that date
Every Sunday between the EarliestDate and Latest Sunday Date
Every Wednesday between the EarliestDate and Latest Wednesday Date
Christmas on the indicated Sunday in December, unless it's
set to zero
Notes
It is recommended that you set the earliest and latest
dates to the earliest and latest that a season would typically be,
rather than change them each season. Once a schedule has been
generated, it its extremely easy to remove excess dates.
Most likely you will have to remove one of the dates around
the fourth of July.
Update
Availability
Click the UPDATE AVAILABILITY menu item to change a members'
availability for one or more future concerts. If you logged on as a member, a
screen pops up with a list of future concerts and check boxes to indicate
availability or not. Otherwise, a list
of members appears. Selecting from the list brings up that
member's screen.
If you will be available for a concert, make sure the check
box to the right is checked
If not, make sure it is NOT checked.
At the start of a season, if you will be available
more often than not, check the YES TO ALL box; then "uncheck" the dates
you won't be available.
Otherwise, simply check the dates you will be available.
Update
Member Profile
Click the UPDATE MEMBER PROFILE menu item to change a member's
information. If you logged on as a member, a
screen pops up that allows you to make the changes. Otherwise, a list
of members appears. Selecting from the list brings up that
member's screen.
Most fields are self-explanatory; but note the following
The PHONE field contains whatever was stored in the legacy
system, landline or cell.
The ADDITIONAL PHONE field can be used for a secondary
phone, landline or cell.
The EMAIL ADDRESS field must be set to "none" if a member
does not have email or it is unknown.
Select INSTRUMENT from a drop down list by clicking the
arrowhead to the right. You can select more than one instrument by holding down the control (CTRL) key.
No
two members can have the same combination of email address and
password. This means that if two members have the same email
address,
including "none",
the passwords can't be the same. If you try to enter the same
combination as someone else, you will get the error message "The
combination of email address and password has already been
taken! Use a different Email or try a different
password".
A member with INACTIVE
checked will not be able to update
their availability, will not appear in reports, and not
receive email. Use INACTIVE, rather than deleting the member
entirely, if there is a chance that a s/he will come back.
The member profile of an inactive member can be updated, for example, to reactivate them(selves).
Notes:
Don't forget to click CONTINUE to post the changed information.
If you don't wish to change it, select one of the menu items
on the left.
Only an administrator can change a members administrator's status (Y or N).
Display
Member List
This
will be implemented when it has been decided which information is
appropriate to share