[sims] Can WONDE sync ParentPay? if not what can?

[coolhands]

I am fed up using MISSync programme to manually update parentpay every few days. We use WONDE for mathswatch etc. Can WONDE do anything to sync parentpay each day so it refreshes pupils automatically?

[synaesthesia]

The parentpay instructions show you how to add a scheduled task for this very reason?

[Theblacksheep]

Parentpay is terrible, they barely work with themselves, let alone others.

[willtech]

The parentpay instructions show you how to add a scheduled task for this very reason?

 

We do the same instructions are here: https://www.parentpay.com/DOCH/school-support/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Setting-up-a-Scheduled-Task-to-run-MIS-Sync.pdf

[coolhands]

thankyou; OK so from that doc above I (data manager) can do the settings in MISsync, but I need my IT helpdesk to do the Setting up a scheduled task for "MIS:Sync Windows Server 2003" stuff yes? I will see if I can get some cooperation out of them!

[thimon]

Correct. Important to note that the auto sync / scheduled task will only update student details, not staff.

[localzuk]

Correct. Important to note that the auto sync / scheduled task will only update student details, not staff.

They still don't sync staff?? That means they've not improved it in a decade at this point. Appalling.

[thimon]

They still don't sync staff?? That means they've not improved it in a decade at this point. Appalling.

Tell me about it...

[2ilent8cho]

If only they would support WONDE , then we could use it with iSAMS. We hate the ParentPay MIS sync too as its a manual spreadsheet job for us, we don't run SIMS anymore.

[localzuk]

Does not bode well considering SIMS and ParentPay are on track to be merged into a single company...

[Cache]

Not defending, but Schoolcomms is part of the same company so hopefully there is some light on the horizon for you - the Schoolcomms sync was always excellent.

[Sylv3r]

We spend more time supporting ParentPay with our primaries then nearly any other bit of software. You ring the support line to be generally sent some random PDF.

[bobsmith]

Between our IT support team and myself we've got the scheduled task setup now - once less thing to forget about.

[DrCheese]

They still don't sync staff?? That means they've not improved it in a decade at this point. Appalling.

 

Nope. I did get Salamander to at least keep my staff.xml up to date tho, by using a UDF in SIMS. It does mean when new staff join I just have to upload the already created .xml rather than manually keeping it up to date (Seriously, that's how they expected you to do it before)

[bobsmith]

Nope. I did get Salamander to at least keep my staff.xml up to date tho, by using a UDF in SIMS. It does mean when new staff join I just have to upload the already created .xml rather than manually keeping it up to date (Seriously, that's how they expected you to do it before)

 

I've got Salamander here - can you elaborate on what you're putting in the udf so I can set this up and then pester them to copy what you did?

[paulkerton]

So looking at this thread, I can only imagine how well SIMS 8 is going to pan out... eek.

[coolhands]

hi can anyone who has done this successfully help - our IT dept say they have done it (I believe on the sims server ie not my local machine). At the moment to poll each hour. But if I log onto PP and look at upload history it only has the last time I did it on MISSync.

 

Should / will the upload history record here if it has refreshed from sims? see my pic. ie how do I know for sure it is working.

 

 

[thimon]

I would say it's not working? Ours is set to sync at 9.30am and 3pm each day, which show as succeeding each time for us. If yours was working each hour they should show on your Upload history screen. If in doubt contact ParentPay for them to confirm.

 

[coolhands]

Can anyone offer any further help? Our IT have installed the scheduler on the sims server (I think!) but it is not working yet. Parentpay have said the following:

Please can you delete and reinstall the ParentPay2020 report?

After you have done this, please pull the xml direct from SIMS and upload it to manually via website without using MISSync. You upload this under People > Uploads > Manual upload.

1) How would I "pull the xml direct from SIMS"? - I ran the report (via Reports>Design Reports> etc) and although it operated, I don't know where it went? It didn't download / open anything as when I run normal reports?

 

2) If I look in sims in reports>design reports I see the following, which does not include Parentpay2020 but I don't reckon it'll make any difference:

 

 

On behalf of our IT I asked for further guidance but they won't give anything else as that is in our MIS: "This is done on your SIMS system directly unfortunately, this isnt done on the ParentPay website so we would not have any guidance on this." However I am waiting to see if they will at least send me ParentPay2020 report as I have requested it. For anyone else searching in the future there is a page on their awful website which references all this stuff: https://www.parentpay.com/DOCH/school-support/index.html@page_id=9555.html

 

So I don't have it working and I need it working! I seriously feel so depressed with things like this.

 

I am copy and pasting the info from their page as it will probably disappear at some point. But the pics might go from the below too then.

Setting up a scheduled task to upload pupil records from SIMS to ParentPay

 

The guidance we offer is for suggested use, as we cannot guarantee this process will work for every customer due to third party use of Microsoft Window’s scheduled task feature. The use of this guidance may add functionality, but some issues may be out of our control.

To ensure that your setup goes ahead without any issues please first check that you are setting the scheduled task on the SIMS server to alleviate any infrastructure or mapping issues that could incur. Ensure also that you have installed the most recent version of MIS:SYNC which can be downloaded from the ParentPay website via the Help > Downloads at the top of the screen and configured it to interact with SIMS.

First, log in as an administrator with full rights to the network and make sure that your SIMS account is also set up with the minimal permissions of ‘School manager’ and third-party reporting rights.

Please also be aware that when you create a new task you need to ensure you are signed in with the same administrator profile otherwise this could prevent the task from running.

Setting up initial MIS:Sync configuration

 

Log into MIS:Sync with your ParentPay credentials, the credentials you will need must belong to a manager account with the permission level set to Overall. This account needs to be activated which occurs after your first login to the ParentPay website.

Click on Tools and then browse to Settings

Navigate to SIMS tab and add your SIMS Username and Password into MIS username and MIS password fields. Please note that the SIMS account used must have ‘School Manager’ level access. Click the yellow browse folder to ensure SIMS location is automatically populated.

Put a tick into Click here to enable Windows Auto Scheduler.

Ensure that the same SIMS username and password are used below also. Click Save.

Note: You can click on Test these settings to ensure the SIMS path is correct.

Under the Connections tab add a Notification email and ensure that the Receive email… options are ticked. Click Save

Next, access the Auto update tab and ensure that the tick box the Check for updates at startup is not ticked.

 

Restart MIS:Sync and ensure that the following messages are present on the first screen:

 

1. A connection to ParentPay was established with these settings, your username and password were correctly authenticated.
   
2. Successfully connected to SIMS.
   

Setting up a scheduled task for MIS:Sync Windows Server

 

Navigate to Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Server Manager. This brings you to the Server Manager interface.

Select and open the Tools icon, then open the Task scheduler option.

Select Create Task from the Actions menu (located on the right side of the task scheduler window).

General

 

On the General tab give your task a title to identify the task (example: MisSync upload)

Check that the correct administration exchange account is in use (this needs to be the same account that you are logged in as or the task will not run)

Ensure that the Run whether user is logged on or not radial button is selected. Also, make sure

that Run with highest privileges tick box is selected.

Triggers

 

Navigate to the Triggers tab and select the New… option to open the runtime scheduler

By default, the first option will always be On a schedule, but make sure this is displayed anyway.

Ensure the start time runs outside of working hours and that the runtime doesn’t conflict with any scheduled backups of SIMS.

You can choose to run the task Daily or Weekly (Daily is preferable) via available radial options.

Tick the Stoptask if it runs longer than selection and enter 1 hour from the drop-down box.

It is vital that the Enabled tick box is marked as this turns the scheduled task on. Click Ok to save.

 

Actions

 

The next step is to click on the Actions tab then click New…

The New Action window gives you the option to browse to a program or enter a script that will perform a given task.

To set this up for MIS:Sync first click on Browse to open the explorer search/open options.

Search for the C:/ProgramFiles/ParentPay folder and click on the MIS:Sync application as below.

The last alteration that is required is to add the arguments/ triggers to allow the scheduled task to open MIS:Sync in the background whilst logged off the server profile.

This can be done by entering /sims and /quiet as above. Please note that the order in which these triggers appear will have no bearing on the setup.

Please make sure there is a space after /sims (i.e. between sims and ‘/’)

If there is no space between parameters the task will fail.

Conditions

 

The Conditions tab does not need altering as new tasks open with correct default settings.

Note: If you are using a UPS monitoring application that runs over the on-screen standard mains power display then the setting Stop if the computer switches to battery power tick box is blank.

Settings

 

Enable the Stop the task if it runs longer than: option to stop at 1 hour.

Also, enable the If the running task does not end when requested, force it to stop.

Scheduled Task MIS:Sync Checklist

 

Please ensure all of the below have been done or the task will fail

The task needs to be setup on the SIMS server directly. (Task scheduler is required to run on a Server/ PC that remains powered on).

 

• The user profile that is logged in needs to have administrator permissions.
  
• The author of the scheduled task needs to be the same as the login profile.
  
• ParentPay2018 report needs to be installed on SIMS.
  
  • This can be achieved by either:
    
    1. Logging into MIS Sync > Tools>Settings>SIMS Report>Click Reset. Restart MIS Sync.
       
    2. Manually importing the report into SIMS (file available from ParentPay Support if required).
       

   

  [*]A successful pupil upload must be carried out via Pupils > Auto Update in MIS:SYNC before attempting to run the scheduled task.

  [*]The “enable scheduled task” is ticked on the same Tools/Settings/SMS location using identical login credentials as above.

  [*]The login credentials are saved on the task itself under settings as this allows the server to log in to the correct profile the scheduled task is saved to.

  [*]If the scheduled task is being run with the SIMS.ini saved to a mapped drive or running via virtual location then a NetUse script will need to be run simultaneously with the task. This maps the process to the correct drive.

  This part of the process is not guaranteed as MIS Sync and the scheduled task has issues with redirects.

Shortcomings

 

 

• Scheduled task will not work where SIMS is hosted (Cloud-Based).
  
• Schedule task will not work for schools using SIMS ID
  
• Schedule task will fail when no change in the data is detected.
  

[/Quote]

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by coolhands

[thimon]

If it’s not working correctly why aren’t your IT Support department working directly with ParentPay to resolve this? Unless I’m reading this all wrong... You shouldn’t have to create reports within SIMS to get it working.

[mthomas08]

Agreed. The IT team just need to setup the schedule properly and nothing else is needed.

 

We have a task that runs first thing in the morning and not long before lunch time and installed on the SIMs server.

*start a program*

"C:\Program Files (x86)\ParentPay\MISSync.exe" /sims /quiet

*run with highest privileges and configure for Vista/server 2008/

 

You can also check the schedule history which will show when it ran last etc.

 

There isn't really a lot of settings needed.

[chrisakak9]

we usually synced parent pay with sims via its own sync client. you should be able to download this and related instructions from the parent pay website once logged in. unless you have your own account they will not assist you.

[coolhands]

If it’s not working correctly why aren’t your IT Support department working directly with ParentPay to resolve this? Unless I’m reading this all wrong... You shouldn’t have to create reports within SIMS to get it working.

 

I have no idea. l I assumed the scheduler runs the sims report and then uploads it. But I have no idea I'm totally out my depth; but why would parentpay suggest uploading the xml manually to their site I have no idea, I though it provided them with some way of checking something. But the problem is not fixed anyway, so I have to go back to my IT helpdesk. It's very frustrating cos I feel like the man in the middle and I have no idea about how scheduled tasks are set up or operated.

 

thanks all anyway

[ozydave]

So looking at this thread, I can only imagine how well SIMS 8 is going to pan out... eek.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]61706[/ATTACH]

Oh bloody hell [emoji17]

[bobsmith]

Turns out my clever scheduled task hasn't worked since we set it up!

 

Thanks to coolhands for the fix, my IT guys missed the space in the parameters for the scheduled task.