Sivadam

Analysis Reports are part of the normal SIMS Reporting. Instead of creating a Word, Excel or Mailmerge Template etc. you select the Analysis Option. If you download the Templates I mention above, then you will see how it is done and how easily things can be accomplished by using SIMS, rather then exporting to Excel and then manipulating data further. I find it extremely strange that this sort of question crops up in these Forums when there is a wealth of expertise to tap into on the SupportNet Forums. There are obviously quite a lot of Technical experts on here and that is good. The real experts in how to use the SIMS Software are on SupportNet, however. With apologies to those on here that are expert in the software of course!

An Analysis Report does all the hard work for you! Why would you want to do it in Excel? Unless of course you want the individual Behaviour or Achievement Incidents as well as the Total Points! But they could be produced in a normal report! Incidently - my reports contradict KB32648 (updated 23/06/2009), which says that you cannot report on Total Points over a date range!

Check out the Sample Reports that I have uploaded to User Posts, File Sharing area of SupportNet.

It is actually a requirement that you have IE8 - if you want to take advantage of the new printouts that are in Cover7 from the June Release. I have been using IE8 ever since I was sent a pre-view of these reports some 2 months or more ago! For somethings it needs putting in compatabilty mode though! Oddly enough I have Capitaes website in compatability mode. That may be when we were experimenting. Memory ain't so good when you are going senile!

The SupportNet Thread is: March Upgrades - Slowing Promotions Routine (22576) First Post on 22nd April - but the solution was available before then. There have been several posts since this on the same theme.

This was discussed on one of the SupportNet Forums. I did point out that time would be saved if the Validate Memberships was run BEFORE doing so as part of the Pastoral Promotion. Running it this way, though time consuming, does avoid the problem that some schools found where it was taking several hours when run during the Pastoral Promotion.

I heard that, depending on which results you need to import, the August Release may be obligatory. And some of us cannot upgrade until Hosted SLG is done first. So come on all you early birds - get it done and tell us of the errors! The bits I tested at UAT worked ok!

It all depends on whose responsibilty it is to administer SIMS - and I don't mean from a technical point of view. Here - I am System Manager as I understand more than others re. how the software works and which Staff should have which access rights. Our ICT Services Manager is the Technical guru. He also has System7 access but does not use it for sorting Permissions etc. It is more of a backup procedure in case I am suddenly not around anymore.

Me too!

Being a Grandad means you can hand 'em back after you have spoiled 'em and got fed up of 'em!

At least I can blame onset of old age (or maybe I have reached it already!). Not sure if you can! I didn't get to SIMS Conference this year - had a special invite last year for running a presentation - but I bet something came up there.

Sorry Matt, I took it from the previous Roadmap - senility has set in! I knew there was a new version but had not as yet downloaded it. Have you heard for definite that Silverlight will not be used in new Reporting Engine then?

Extended Services base release is due in October and SQL 2008 Reporting base release in March (together with System7). It ain't that long!

ChrisH Try looking at the default Report Template for Address Labels - Parents. I am not sure why you are wanting to Suppress Duplicates. There should not be any.

Ah but, as we all should know, there are better products on the market to communicate with parents. Well there defo is one anyway - that interacts with SIMS far better. IMHO that is!

Silverlight was mentioned at the Software consultation Groups on SIMS Reporting (SQL Server 2008), as one of the options to be used. Not sure how far it has gone at the moment - but the base release is due out in March. And I hope you are all ready with IE8 for the June Release - this is needed for the new Cover7 Reports.

KB33977 explains that this is not possible at the moment - the letter only goes to Home Address. But you can include or exclude Correspondence in normal reports as below. This is in addition to, or instead of, using the Mailing Point Filter as explained above. On the 'Select Fields' page of the Report Design ensure that the field 'Correspondence' is selected in the Parent Subreport. Then click the 'Define Settings for Subreport' for the Contacts and in the filter that opens at the bottom select 'Correspondence (is true)'. You may have to set the report to select at runtime and then run the report twice - once (with Corespondence set to False) to pick up the normal mailing point and then again (with Correspndence set to true) to pick up those parents with Correspondence ticked. It will depend on how your normal filters are set up. A combination of the two techniques will get you what you want. There really is no need to waste money on third party software when SIMS will do the job in the first place.

Chris, When designing a SIMS Report go to Filter Page and then select Students, Mailing Point (is true). You may also need Parental addressee (is not null) and maybe some other filters dependent on what you are doing. Gatt, I suggest you get on to one of the Reporting Training Sessions - Level dependent on experience. Because SIMS Reporting is brilliant and will only get better in March 2010 when Reporting (SQL Server 2008) makes it's first appearance. But God help us when BSF arrives here. We are used to doing things efficiently and correctly. The stories so far re. hosted service are horrendous. Hopefully I will have retired to SIMS Care Home by then!

Have you set up the Mailing Point? This can be done via the Housekeeping Routines. Then you can just send to the one contact.

I have been a reader of these Forums for a while before I started contributing. The reason that have started to respond is that I am apalled by the lack of knowldge re. SIMS Systems by some contributors and/or the way that some schools have SIMS set up so that it will not deliver what it is intended to do. This in itself is not what I take issue to, but it is the fact that many of these contributors actually blame SIMS itself (or Capita) when in fact SIMS will do most what we want it to do in a very efficient way.

For some reason these forums genarally give a negative view of SIMS. If you posted query on SupportNet then I am sure you would get a different set of opinions. I have never used Pars so cannot comment on it. All I can say is it must be very, very good in deed if it is better than SIMS! And, for me, SIMS Support is nothing short of excellent!

Sorry Matt - it's me that's confused! I actually gave the KB to our Technical Staff. I didn't post it on SupportNet. I just explained the issue above. It's senility setting in!

Matt, I posted the KB for this on SupportNet.

Me too. The application of patch and upgrades issues arose as a by product of the new SIMS Homepage in March. Staff not logging off SIMS 'legally' are still logged in as ghosts the following day. I think the fact that their panels were still trying to address the database when their account was 'closed' has something to do with the problem. I don't want to keep having to convert to single user mode just to apply a patch and then have to convert back again to multi-user after applying the patch or upgrade! Graham, I hope you get it sorted quickly!

Yes it can. Via SLG.