[sims] SIMS import problem

[witch]

Please bear with me - I don't deal with SIMS as it is on the admin network, not my curriculum network but the dep head has asked me to post this...

He is on a PC with Windows 7 and Office 2010

SIMS will not let him import any data that ends in '.0' We need it to do this as , say, 5.0 is a standard grade.

Sometimes, things that have been imported are put against the wrong child - or perhaps even just invented out of nowhere

 

Cannot print XML Word files directly from SIMS

 

 

Hope this makes sense, it doesn't to me. If you need any more info please let me know

Edited February 2, 2012 by witch

[jonnykewell1]

What version of SIMS are you guys running?

[ajp233]

If he is trying to import data into a Integer aspect rather than a decimal aspect, that could be one of the reasons as to why he can't data ending .0 into SIMS??

[witch]

We are running 7.142

I dont think it can be an issue with the Integer aspect as he can import the other grade scores which are x.3 and x.7 without any issues

[vikpaw]

Depends on aspect, if it's decimal, check what it allows you to input manually by typing. if it's a gradeset, maybe it's forced to require either with a .0 or just a whole number. Excel may also be masking the value it sends based on display settings. i.e. showing 1 d.p. even though it's not present, or vice versa.

 

With regards to word issues, make sure .xml files are associated with the office xml editor so if you save them to disk and try to open, they automatically open in word.

 

Also check some of the threads regarding office 2010 compatibility, and run the patches mentioned. The main one to try first is the microsoft office hotfix rollup from around June.

[witch]

So how do we change it to accept the zero?

And how do we associate .xml files with the xml editor?

Look, it's late, I'm tired and I have no idea how to do anything....

I did look for the other thread and sent the dep head the hotfixes thanks

[vikpaw]

To associate the file, it's the normal file associations routine, so with windows 7, just type it at the start bar, and it should take you to the right place.

Hotfixes are good to run, to rule out any compatibility issues.

To zero in on the error, can you find it and give us the details, what type of aspect is it? i.e. grade,integer,decimal and any limits/ranges. The other thing you can do is open the marksheet that has the aspect it in, type in a z or full stop and it should fail validation and tell you what it likes to accept.

[GeeHubb]

Hi Witch,

 

Is he by any chance trying to import a Target Tracker (non-SIMS) assessment file into SIMS Assesssment Manager and translate the target tracker values of .0, .3 and .7 into c, b and a levels?

 

I only ask because I attempted the same feat (in the company of a Capita trainer) and found that it was a horrendously long, slow, complicated and labourious task, and more importantly that all the .0 values would not translate into c levels e.g. 5c. The .3's and .7's would all become 5b and 5a with little trouble, but all the .0's had to be changed manually to show 5c. (5 as an example, but could be any level).

 

I just wonder if that's what he's attempting. I decided in the end that it was just as quick (or slow I should say) to input the whole lot manually as it would be to attempt a transfer! I wasn't told why it was not possible (but then again I probably wouldn't have understood the why - I'm not a tech person!), just that it wasn't.

 

I'm sorry that this is probably no help at all, but may give someone else a clue if it is what he's trying to do... (I should probably add that TT is excel based.)

Edited February 4, 2012 by GeeHubb
Clarity and typo

[vikpaw]

If we work out, why it's not working, and what the mismatch is, we should be able to doctor the source data so it will import. A find and replace should fix it. I think, sometimes it's a case that the system expects a .0 but Excel removes them, so you have to force a format, then convert to text, then import. Or, alter the allowed value in SIMS, which i think is what i did in the past, but this is a pain if there is existing data in there.

[witch]

If we work out, why it's not working, and what the mismatch is, we should be able to doctor the source data so it will import. A find and replace should fix it. I think, sometimes it's a case that the system expects a .0 but Excel removes them, so you have to force a format, then convert to text, then import. Or, alter the allowed value in SIMS, which i think is what i did in the past, but this is a pain if there is existing data in there.

 

Yes, I'm SURE you are right..if I knew what you were talking about.....will pass it on to relevant personnel.....

[vikpaw]

Yes, I'm SURE you are right..if I knew what you were talking about.....will pass it on to relevant personnel.....

Sorry, i was kinda talking to Gee/out in the open generally, about how to solve it.

If you can get access to SIMS we can talk you through troubleshooting if that helps.

[Richard34]

Sorry, i was kinda talking to Gee/out in the open generally, about how to solve it.

If you can get access to SIMS we can talk you through troubleshooting if that helps.

 

I am the offending party who's struggling with SIMs import.

 

I am using a decimal grade set which accepts levels in the format 1.0, 1.3, 1.7 etc for level 1c, 1b, 1a etc. I have been using the system as it is currently set up for about 5 years and all has been well. I have been able to import data with the *.0 showing correctly and with the data arriving in the correct places. Upgrading to Windows 7 and Office 2010 seems to have coincided with the problems mentioned. I have changed nothing in SIMs (who knows what Capital have done! We have SIMs update sent to us by the LA and we're currently at version 7.142, build 28, database build 3.61.778). I am now having to type all data in manually which is not ideal!

[witch]

*phew*

Over to you, Vik!

[vikpaw]

@Richard34

 

The easiest thing would be to find / setup an old XP machine , in fact it could just be as simple as rolling back to an older version of Office. Even a virtual machine would do and is quite useful to have around just in case.

Longer term, you need to run the office patches and hotfixes to rule out any issues there. This should solve the printing of reports issues.

 

The muddling up of grades against students was what put me off, some time ago. Recently, someone on here discovered that for them, it was to do with not having a UPN against the student. On import, you may have to do some manual matching, i think they come up in yellow if doubtful.

 

How are you importing grades? From a homemade spreadsheet or from one you've previously exported from SIMS? What error do you get on import of grades?

Usually post import there is a massive list of errors, which you can normally ignore as it tells you it's doing nothing where there is a blank against a student, but you might find something in there, to show perhaps Excel or the import process is changing those *.0 into just * .....

 

Can you break the import sheet down to only 1 student for testing, then maybe alter the result to a text field...

[Richard34]

@Richard34

 

The easiest thing would be to find / setup an old XP machine , in fact it could just be as simple as rolling back to an older version of Office. Even a virtual machine would do and is quite useful to have around just in case.

Longer term, you need to run the office patches and hotfixes to rule out any issues there. This should solve the printing of reports issues.

 

The muddling up of grades against students was what put me off, some time ago. Recently, someone on here discovered that for them, it was to do with not having a UPN against the student. On import, you may have to do some manual matching, i think they come up in yellow if doubtful.

 

How are you importing grades? From a homemade spreadsheet or from one you've previously exported from SIMS? What error do you get on import of grades?

Usually post import there is a massive list of errors, which you can normally ignore as it tells you it's doing nothing where there is a blank against a student, but you might find something in there, to show perhaps Excel or the import process is changing those *.0 into just * .....

 

Can you break the import sheet down to only 1 student for testing, then maybe alter the result to a text field...

 

The spreadsheet is one which I've previously exported. I do need to do a little bit of manual matching. You're quite right about the error message, it's usually unimportant but now tells me that I can't import 4 etc (the integers without the necessary .0). I've tried xml and csv spreadsheets and formatting both as number with one place of decimals and as text. Either option produces the same result.

[vikpaw]

I was just thinking, it's difficult to get a formula to work on the exported sheet isn't it, but that's how i've done it in the past, copied the data to a normal spreadsheet, applied formulae and then converted to text. i'll have to play around with it.

[vikpaw]

Hi @Richard34 - can we just go back a step. Is it a Grade type aspect that you're importing into or is it a Mark-Decimal?

I've just done a test with marks decimal and it works fine for importing as either *.0 or just * . This would then be available to send to a marks to grade formula.

If it's a grade type aspect, can you give an example of the grades / values. I've tried this also and it works fine for me, so long as i match the grade going in.

In the exported marksheet, it's formatted, saves as xml (2003) type file, i can edit the cells with whatever, and then import from spreadsheet works.

[Richard34]

Hello

Yes. Formulae can be problematic, often displaying the formula rather than calculating it. I export, copy, paste special as values and find that the formulae are OK.

The aspect is a Grade type. The really irritating thing is that I've used the system for some years quite happily and it has just stopped working reliably in the last few months!

[vikpaw]

It is a shame, but with the move to Office2010 there were quite a few shakedowns.

It can be worth, backing up then rename your My SIMS Documents so the templates get recreated.

So what does the gradeset look like for this grade? The grade is the numeric types, 3.0,3.3,3.7,4.0 etc. with related points values? My test on that worked.

If you want, send me a copy of the formatted export (blank out names), and i can take a look and see if it works on mine, as the only thing i can think of is the formatting, which must be in that template.