2. WardInfo A Convenient Summary of LDS Ward or Branch Membership Information with Customizable Additions at Your Fingertips (on a PC or Palm Computer) Clerking Specific Information Version 1.8.5

3. How It Works WardInfo is a DOS-based program. It is command-line oriented. No Windows version - maybe later. Updating the MIS system using WardInfo is impossible - MIS data is only changed by clerks in normal way. WardInfo pages are composed of lots of little HTML files. A ward of 400 members uses approximately 1.5 Mb of disk space, and has 1000 + HTML files. MIS or MLS Files Spreadsheets Other Input Bishopric Mel Priest Rel Society Youth Ldrs Aux Leaders Members IsiloX WardInf o Program

4. Estimated 5-10 minutes – extract files from MIS or MLS. 5 minutes per week – update spreadsheets. 10 minutes – start BuildAll.Bat build process. (Takes up to 40 minutes, but dont have to be present once it is started) 5 minutes – start SendAll.Bat email process. (May take several hours, but dont have to be present once it is started) Total per month = approx 45 minutes Time Commitments for Monthly Updates

5. Building WardInfo for Your Ward Work with Bishop to determine who has access to which version, and whether that version needs to be changed from the defaults. Bishop needs list of what information is in each version: WardInfoWardInfo /ShowOutputModes > WI-privs.Txt Print the WI-Privs.Txt file on your printer Gather email addresses (or lots of floppy disks) for distribution to selected leaders and (if distributing via email) edit the C:\WardInfo\Destinations.Dat file to include the email addresses and versions each leader should receive.Destinations.Dat Customize versions (if needed) by editing the C:\WardInfo\BuildAll.Bat file. Build the 6 versions of the WardInfo output for distribution to selected leaders. This produces the html files, a compressed Zip file, an ISilo.pdb document, and a self-extracting zip file (.exe &.ede) for each version. Distribute the appropriate versions to the appropriate leaders either manually (via floppy disk) or using email (via Blat and the SendAll.Bat file).

6. Input Sources 1) Standard Features –using text files from MIS database (easy) – –MIS = MemOut.Dat, OrgOut.Dat, HTVTOut.Dat – from MIS menu 3.7.3 – –MLS = Membership.csv, Organization.csv, HomeTeaching.csv, VisitingTeaching.csv 2) Additional Features (relatively easy) – –HTVisits.Txt* – from MIS menu 1.3.1.2, add HT visit info, items automatically appear – –VTVisits.Txt* – from MIS menu 1.4.1.2, add VT visit info, items automatically appear – –Members.Xls – members added and removed automatically, data added manually – –YouthTempleTrips.Xls – youth added and removed automatically, data added manually – –FamilyLocations.Xls – families added and removed automatically, no maintenance – –Directory.Xls – all entries added manually 3) Advanced Features (non-trivial) – –ChurchLocations.Xls – facilities added using text files extracted from the Church Organization Information program (For Local Church Facility Locations and Contact Info) – Bishop receives from church headquarters every 6 months. – –Latitude and longitude coordinates may be inserted into FamilyLocations.Xls and ChurchLocations.Xls (for distance and proximity information) * - HTVisits.Txt and VTVisits.Txt are not available in MLS software

7. Working With Palm Pilots 1) 1)They dont understand html files. 2) 2)Can convert the WardInfo document for use with several readers. 3). 3)Must install the document onto the palm pilot using normal installation mechanism.

8. Steps to Produce a Monthly Update 1) Get the input files (5-10 mins) MIS - MemOut.Dat, OrgOut.Dat, HTVTOut.Dat, HTVisits.Txt, VTVisits.Txt or MLS – Membership.csv, Organization.csv, HomeTeaching.csv, VisitingTeaching.csv Spreadsheets - Members.Xls, YouthTempleTrips.Xls, FamilyLocations.Xls Directory.Xls, ChurchLocations.Xls 2) Run BuildAll.Bat (5-10 mins) Supply a password that your leaders know, and your ward name. Make sure no errors occurred during build. 3) Run SendAll.Bat (5-10 mins) Verify that Destinations.Dat has the leaders names, versions, and addresses desired.

9. The Proof of the Pudding

10. Interested in Using It? Cost:Free – the right price ! Available:Immediately via email from mills.2@osu.edu Support:Sparse, but willing (voluntary, like everything LDS) Version info:Current version is 1.8.5 (as of September 17, 2004). Updates:Available (free of course) as bugs are reported and fixed. Known Bugs:Requires safe mode for Excel 2000, but other Excel versions seem OK (instructions in documentation). Author:Doug Mills, serving as a counselor in the bishopric of the Riverside Ward, Columbus Ohio Stake, USA.