Beta Directory Issues

[scgallafent]

So I think it's clear that the printout of the directory is designed to distinguish the name from the other information by using different shades of color. But it seems to be a minor difference; the name is pretty close to black, and the other information is a fairly dark gray. In my experience, the gray text doesn't seem to be anywhere near "almost too dim to see."

I dug into the CSS and took a look at it. The address and phone both use color code #666666. The name is #333333. The name also picks up a bold and small caps style, which provide some additional emphasis for the eye.

End result, the name is darker than the address/phone and also has some other emphasis in the styling.

I should probably insert a joke here about high-priest-sized print.

[n.oliver]

I can confirm scgallafent's findings (gotta love firebug).

Also, printing using PDFCreator resulted in all the text being the same font color; easy to see all of the text on the screen.

Leads me to wonder what browser you're using and its CSS capabilities, zaneclark? Or the printer Or perhaps a cached stylesheet? :S etc etc

[silid]

As a feature request I'd like to be able to choose a preferred name to be used in the Ward directory, rather than full names.

And it would be useful to be able to see which ward a member is in when you have found them through stake search.

[kd7mha]

And it would be useful to be able to see which ward a member is in when you have found them through stake search.

this will be available in the next release

[zaneclark]

When I first accessed the beta directory, I was able to format and print directories using different numbers of columns, different font size, etc., but for over a week now, when I press the print link, all I can pull up is the name of the ward and the date. Before I use the feedback to report this, I wanted to know if I am the only one having this problem, and If that is the case, what am I doing wrong?

[aebrown]

When I first accessed the beta directory, I was able to format and print directories using different numbers of columns, different font size, etc., but for over a week now, when I press the print link, all I can pull up is the name of the ward and the date. Before I use the feedback to report this, I wanted to know if I am the only one having this problem, and If that is the case, what am I doing wrong?

It could be that you just need to be more patient. I saw the same thing, but then I waited and saw that the heading appears quickly, but the list of names may take several seconds (sometimes 30 or more) to appear.

It would be nice to have some sort of progress indicator.

[scgallafent]

While we're bouncing this issue around, I had someone report today that the default Internet Explorer print settings don't mix well with the directory print feature. Since most people won't ever find the window that allows IE print settings (margins, etc.) to be changed, this probably deserves some attention.

I didn't see anything in Jira. Should I create a new issue or is this already floating around in there and I missed it?

I did see an item to explore PDF for printing. That gets my vote for being the best long-term solution.

[zaneclark]

This is a question I recently submitted to the feedback for the beta directory and the answer I received:

"I am the stake and ward web administrator. What kind of editorial rights will I have with the new beta directory? So far I have edit rights for my ward members but not for the ward leaders directory and none at all for the stake.

LDS Church responded on June 8, 2010 at 7:22 AM as follows:
Hi Zane. As the ward and stake website admin you should be able to edit individual member information. However the Ward/Stake leadership lists are not configurable from within the application. They are built from information retrieved from the MLS database."

This is a major change from the current LUWS. As our ward membership clerk, I keep our ward leadership listings current in the MLS, but people at the stake level often do not, so the changes I make on the LUWS in the stake leadership listings are frequently the most accurate reflection of the current stake leaders. It appears this will no longer be possible in the new directory.

[zaneclark]

This is a question I recently submitted to the feedback for the beta directory and the answer I received:

"I am the stake and ward web administrator. What kind of editorial rights will I have with the new beta directory? So far I have edit rights for my ward members but not for the ward leaders directory and none at all for the stake.

LDS Church responded on June 8, 2010 at 7:22 AM as follows:
Hi Zane. As the ward and stake website admin you should be able to edit individual member information. However the Ward/Stake leadership lists are not configurable from within the application. They are built from information retrieved from the MLS database."

This is a major change from the current LUWS. As our ward membership clerk, I keep our ward leadership listings current in the MLS, but people at the stake level often do not, so the changes I make on the LUWS in the stake leadership listings are frequently the most accurate reflection of the current stake leaders. It appears this will no longer be possible in the new directory.

I will be the first to comment on my post as i have just realized a major benefit to this new procedure. The majority of the wards in my stake do not have an active web administrator so the leaders lists on their LUWS are very poorly maintained. With the new beta directory, the leadership is pulled from the ward MLS which is generally a current listing. I just checked a ward in my stake and found this to be the case. For example in the current LUWS, they only have a single name in Elders listing. The beta directory has a full listing of all the officers and instructors. Now I need to encourage the stake clerks to keep their MLS updated.

[aebrown]

This is a major change from the current LUWS. As our ward membership clerk, I keep our ward leadership listings current in the MLS, but people at the stake level often do not, so the changes I make on the LUWS in the stake leadership listings are frequently the most accurate reflection of the current stake leaders. It appears this will no longer be possible in the new directory.

Yes, this is a major change, but for many of us it is a very welcome change that we have been begging for ever since LUWS came out. In many stakes, it's the same people who maintain both MLS and LUWS, and it has been a burden to enter the same information twice. Now, finally we will only have to enter information in MLS and the Web site will take care of itself automatically.

I certainly have some sympathy for you, since I know that some wards or stakes don't keep MLS up to date, and the current LUWS gives you a way to at least have the public-facing leadership list more up to date. But hopefully there will be a change in mindset and the appropriate clerks will pay more attention to MLS. After all, there are more and more reasons for this: access to new and existing Church websites is dependent on individuals having the correct callings, the new beta directory obviously depends on it, and effective ward and stake administration requires accurate information as to who has which callings.