[sims] Individual Report results problem

[plattC]

Hi all,

 

I'm quite new to using the individual report format on SIMs and in Term 1 had no difficulty in setting up and printing off reports with the correct result sets showing, but this term when I update the result sets fo rterm 3 the tag text shows rather than the actual result. I know this was a problem with previous versions of SIMs but I thought it had been fixed.. Is there any work around for this??

 

Thanks for any help.

C.

[CAM]

A few things I try.

 

1) Never press the Save button. Close Word when done, if it asks you to save on exit press save and then save the Individual Report in SIMS. Pressing the Save button seems to corrupt something.

 

2) If tags are appearing, open the template and right click on the page. Select Verify Template. Click OK. Press the Save button in Word this time (even though I told you not to...I know!) then close Word and save the Individual Report. Try this a few times if it doesn't work.

 

3) My final step...if it still doesn't work look for the <> tag. I don't know why, but removing and re-inserting this tag then following Step 1 seems to fix tags appearing instead of merged data. I have no idea why and it only seems to happen with the <> tag!

[gazskeltz]

Hi,

 

One more question. When you say you updated the result sets, how did you do this? Did you delete all the old ones and re-enter them or did you do some search/replace method?

 

Regards

 

Gary

[plattC]

Thanks so Much for your quick reply - I'm jsut about to try your list.. C.

[plattC]

Hi gazskeltz,

I updated by inserting anew column into the table that already existed and right clicking then selecting results and selecting the relevant result then clicking next and selecting the result set that I wanted.. quite long winded but I thought that if I did it the correct way it's havemore chance of working.. C.

[vikpaw]

@gazskeltz - to save time, what you need to do is clone your ind.rep and then follow the procedure outlined here: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/68755-how-bulk-update-result-set-individual-reports-am7.html

 

It should all work the same, but if you have a problem - just post in that thread.

[LosOjos]

I've found that since the last SIMS upgrade this has become even more awkward. I don't even bother trying to edit a template in place any more, I clone it, make the changes, then close and save as @CAM said. If that doesn't work, I clone that one again, open it up, run 'Verify', then close and save as usual.

 

Couple of other random tips:

* avoid putting tags in headers/footers as this seems to slow reports down significantly

* always compress any images you use as this again will make them quicker (you can do this in Word, just click the image, go the the Format toolbar and you'll see a 'Compress images' button)

* check the template in 'outline view' to ensure you have page breaks in all the right places with new paragraphs starting each page. You'll see a small grey bullet point to the left of any new paragraph, if you have text immediately following a page break without the bullet point, place your caret before the text and hit enter, then backspace to remove the blank line and your paragraph should be fixed. I found that if I skip this step, my pages sometimes managed to 'leak' in to one another and as I use tables extensively in my templates for formatting, they'd end up all over the place.

[gazskeltz]

@vikpaw

 

Hi, That's exactly what I do when I need to - I was just wondering whether the OP was doing it that way - can be tricky unless you've had a few cups of coffee first!

[vikpaw]

@vikpaw

 

Hi, That's exactly what I do when I need to - I was just wondering whether the OP was doing it that way - can be tricky unless you've had a few cups of coffee first!

 

aha, okay, i just worked out who you are. Was thinking you're new due to low post count - but i just recognised the name from SupportNet

[gazskeltz]

aha, okay, i just worked out who you are. Was thinking you're new due to low post count - but i just recognised the name from SupportNet

 

And a low blood count from hours slaving away in assessments!

[starthms]

Hi,

Have you updated your office from the last time you entered tags,2007 onwards can have problems with Tags. There is a sheets somewhere i can dig out that tells you what settings to use in 2007 and 2010 for this problem.

[plattC]

:D Thanks to all!!

My reports are now working and my Head is happy - phew, thank you all so much, I used Gazskeltz method for updating and Cam's advice on saving etc... C.

[gazskeltz]

Here's some more tips - probably the list mentioned earlier

 

Regards

 

Gary

 

ISSUE 1

Merge Tags/Fields showing in generated reports:-

Please could you make sure that the Word template for each Individual Report has the following settings:

OFFICE 2010

1. File | Options | Trust Centre | Trust Centre Settings | Macro Settings | Check to make sure Enable all Macros is selected

2. File | Options | Trust Centre | Trust Centre Settings | Privacy Options | Under Document-specific settings make sure Store random number to improve Combine accuracy is unticked

3. File | Options | Proofing | Mark grammar errors as you type should be unticked

4. File | Options | Proofing | Under When correcting spelling and Grammar in Word make sure that Check spelling as you type is unticked

5. File | Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect Options | Actions Tab | Please make sure that Enable Additional actions in the right-click menu is unticked

6. Right click Table | Table Properties | Row - take the tick out of "allow rows to break across pages" for each row that crosses a page

7. Click View | Outline and change all the text to “Body Text” as some writing in there may be listed under “Level 1” which will not work

8. Any Images\Graphics present within the template will need the following modification - Click the image | Click Format | Wrap text | Select In Front of Text

Please ensure you click on the Save button in Word before exiting the template.

ISSUE 2

SIMS Closing when using Individual Reports

We have also had reports from some schools with the following issue:-

When previewing/printing an Individual Report, the following error occurs:

"SIMS has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience"

OFFICE 2010

1. Open the affected report | Click on "Word Template" | Go to Review Tab | Under "Tracking panel" check whether the "Track Changes" is "On" -- If it is 'On' please switch off the "Tracking Changes"

2. Under "Changes" Panel | Click on "Accept" drop down | Click on "Accept All Changes In Document" | Save & Exit from Word | Save the Report | Select any student and run the report. It will generate the report correctly.

Microsoft has also created a Hotfix to help resolve the issue.

The Hotfix is Microsoft KB2553912 and can be found at Description of the Word 2010 hotfix package (Word-x-none.msp): June 28, 2011