Rob's TIMSS Blog

Moving...

2009-05-04T13:52:00.003-05:00

I am moving my blog. We have created a social site for TAUG that I have moved my posts to and new posts will be made there.

http://tmar.higherlogic.com/

Your login is using our Single Sign-on and should be the same as you would have used to register for TAUG.

Come on over and setup your profile and create your own Personify Blog!

Applies to: TIMSS5 TIMSS6 & Personify

Personify Hot Keys

2008-12-17T16:41:00.001-05:00

Yes Virginia, there are hot keys in Personify.

F9 – Opens Audit Info screen
Ctrl+S – Save
Ctrl+F – Takes to Search screen with the results that are already available
Ctrl+R – Takes to Search screen after clearing the results and the filters that were applied earlier
F5 – Refresh
F1 – Accesses the context-sensitive online help

Applies to: Personify

TIMSS 6: QAS Address Validation

2008-12-05T12:16:00.000-05:00

Looks like there is another TIMSS blogger out there. Nice job Flavio!

How to Enable QAS Address Validation with TIMSS

Applies to: TIMSS 6

Notification with Calendar Attachement

2008-11-12T16:43:00.002-05:00

So you are sending an order confirmation to your meeting attendees when they register (using Personify's Notification Services) and you want to attach an Outlook ICS file to put the meeting in their Outlook Calendar. All you need to do is have a notification event for that meeting and attach the ICS file to the notification email.

An ICS file is a simple file defining you event. Details can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICalendar.

Create you event on your calendar, then click on Actions, Forward as iCalendar. The file in the email is an ICS file that you can attach to your notification emails.

If you open the ICS file in NotePad it will look something like this:

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//Microsoft Corporation//Outlook 11.0 MIMEDIR//EN
VERSION:2.0
METHOD:REQUEST
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20081112T140000Z
DTEND:20081114T210000Z
LOCATION:Somewhere Sunny
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SEQUENCE:0
X-MICROSOFT-DISALLOW-COUNTER:TRUE
UID:040000008200E00074C5B7101A82E008000000008014BB16AD44C9010000000000000000100
000002EA11601D9E28D4A9CEE04CA5EDE5162
DTSTAMP:20081112T151124Z
DESCRIPTION:Here are the details of my Annual Meeting\n
SUMMARY:Annual Meeting
PRIORITY:5
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-IMPORTANCE:1
CLASS:PUBLIC
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

Not to complex.

Applies to: Personify

The Personify OPEN Summit

2008-11-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

So have you been wondering what I've been doing since joining TMA Resources? Well now is your chance to see: come to the Personify Open Summit, December 1st & 2nd in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center.

If you were at the ASAE annual meeting in San Diego back in August, you saw the launch of Personify Open, which promoted the open API model, the Personify platform, and our partners who are integrating their products with Personify. The Personify Open Summit takes things a step further by providing association professionals the opportunity to learn how the open API model is revolutionizing the way associations conduct business.

Keynote speaker JP Morgenthal, tech evangelist and emerging technologies thought leader, will kick off the Open Summit with a presentation on the value of the open API model and how this model is revolutionizing the way associations conduct business.

Then several TMA Resources’ solutions partners will demonstrate how they have used this model to build out-of-the-box integrations between their products and Personify. As the Partnership Manager, my job is to get partners to build standard out-of-the-box integrations with Personify. We will have partners show their integrations with content management systems, email marketing, exhibition management, social neworking applications, and online customer support.

The second day of the Personify Open Summit is designed for developers and those interested in getting into the nuts and bolts of the Personify platform. Similar to the Developer Day held at the TAUG conference in Louisville, this course will provide a hands-on, in-depth technical tour of Personify. There will be intro and advanced tracks.

You can register for just the first day or for both. Learn more at http://www.tmaresources.com/opensummit.

Hope to see you there!

Applies to: Personify

Personify: Spell checking a Text Box

2008-10-08T13:39:00.002-05:00

So you have added a text box to a form in Personify so your users can type in a paragraph about something or other. Wouldn't it be great if you could spell check what they have entered?

Well you can.

Put a button on the form and for the command use:

cmd://Form/DoSpellCheck?ControlName=name of your control

so if you added a text box called txtCompDescr, the command would be:

cmd://Form/DoSpellCheck?ControlName=txtCompDescr

This opens a dialog box that spell checks the data in the control.

Applies to: Personify

Running Personify on a Mac

2008-09-23T16:02:00.001-05:00

Can you run Personify on Mac OS X? Nope. That's usually not a problem as the people who use Macs at an association usually don't need access to the AMS.

However, if you really need to have Personify (or TIMSS) on a Mac, there is a program for you can buy that allows you to run Windows applications on a Mac called Parallels Desktop for Mac: http://www.parallels.com/ .

You don't even have to reboot your machine as it runs in "parallel". And since it is an actual install of Windows and not just an emulation, it works just like the real thing. For $80, it a bargain.

Applies to: TIMSS5, TIMSS6, & Personify

Personify: Passing info to a Web browser URL

2008-09-10T17:18:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like to show off with the Partner integrations in Personify is pulling up a customer in Personify and having a tab that has a Web browser window which pulls up that customer's information in the partner application.

This is done by simply creating a tab with a Web Browser control on it. The key is in the Code behind the screen and when calling the Open method with the the master customer id added to the URL.

WebBrowser1.Open(String.Concat("http://tma.higherlogic.com/Personify.aspx?MasterCustomerId=", Context.MasterCustomerId, "&SubCustomerId=", Context.SubCustomerId))

So this will open a tab with the current customer's information. VERY COOL!

Obviously the URL you are calling will need to know what to do with the master customer id to pull display their informaiton. You will also want include code to refresh the browser window when you change customers.

Applies to: Personify

VeriSign --> PayPal

2008-05-09T15:15:00.001-05:00

In 2005, PayPal acquired VeriSign’s payment gateway product Payflow Pro, which is integrated into TIMSS and Personify. As a part of the re-branding from VeriSign to PayPal they are updating their host URLs

- The new pilot host URL is: pilot-payflowpro.paypal.com
- The new production host URL is: payflowpro.paypal.com

The verisign.com host URLs are still available and will be until 2010. However, they suggest that you update your application(s) to the new paypal.com domain host URLs at your earliest convenience.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Personify Idea Manager

2008-03-26T17:05:00.004-05:00

On many of the screens in Personify you will see a light bulb at the top right with the Search, Save, & Refresh buttons.

This icon is for the Personify Idea Manager. All it does is allow users to send emails to a specific address. If your users are working on a screen and have an idea, they can click on the light bulb to send an email. The To: address is controlled by a system parameter: IDEA_MANAGER_DEST_ADDRESS.

TMA Resources uses it internally for ideas related to Personify, however you could obviously reuse it for something else, setting the email address to one that would is more meaningful for you.

Applies to: Personify

CUS_DUP_MERGE_TABLE

2008-03-12T12:59:00.002-05:00

When merging 2 customer records, TIMSS 6 & Personify use a lookup table to see which columns in which tables should be moved to the retained customer: CUS_DUP_MERGE_TABLE & CUS_DUP_MERGE_COLUMN.

There have been a couple postings on the Yahoo Group about tables not being merged. For them to be merged the table and associated column must be in these tables with the appropriate action (MERGE/DELETE).

To see what tables are missing, I wrote the following query:

select c.table_name, c.column_name
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS c, INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
where c.DOMAIN_NAME='CUSTOMER_ID' -- user defined data type
and c.table_name=t.table_name
and t.table_type='BASE TABLE'
and not exists (select 1 from dbo.CUS_DUP_MERGE_TABLE d
where d.table_name=c.table_name)
order by c.table_name, c.column_name

This looks for tables in the database schema that have a column with a type of CUSTOMER_ID that are not in the CUS_DUP_MERGE_TABLE table.

If the table (and column) is missing, then the table will not be merged. If it's a table added by you, or one that was added by TMAR but was not added for some reason in an upgrade, it needs to be added for the merge to work correctly.

This will return a lot of temporary tables. Including all those tables will impact performance of the merge process, so I would only add the ones that you really need to be there. For example, if you use the ORD660_Processed table to generate a letter using a Crystal Report and need that data to remain consistent after records are merged, add it.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Meeting Packages

2008-02-18T08:50:00.001-05:00

When we setup the TAUG08 meeting product, we wanted to automatically include some sessions on the order like the Welcome Reception, Ask TMA Resources, A Night at the Races, etc. To do this, we created a package with all the sessions we wanted to include on the order.

Then we included the package on the rate codes for the meeting.

And since it's done for the rate code, different components can be added depending on the rate you get. So members (who get the Member rate) can get one package of included sessions, and non-members (who get the List rate) can get a different package.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Personify Enhancements

2008-02-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm on the "inside" I can tell you a bit about how product marketing works to get new features into the product. If you have heard of Pragmatic Marketing, that is the methodology we are following.

We are using a product called FeaturePlan to collect data about what should go into the product. Enhancement requests that are submitted though the customer service portal, items you tell your PM about, things our sales people hear from prospects, market reserach and competitive analysis are all entered in and linked to problem statements. Problem statements receive a score based on all those inputs.

Problems statments that have high scores then get requriements gathered by product marketing, and designs are created from these requirements to go into the product.

How can you help? Tell us what you want.

Not only by submitting enhancement requests, but also volunteering for customer reserach. In many cases we will send questions to the Yahoo Group and/or ask for input from customer directly. Please help us make a great product.

Most recently we launched a new and improved the Notifications module for Personify. I sent an email to the Yahoo Group asking for information on notifications used and wanted. Those who responded had input into how the design was done and were invited to see a prototype and give more feedback. Then when the design was done, they were invited back to view the finished product and see if we got it right.

Applies to: Personify

TAUG 2008

2008-01-22T10:33:00.001-05:00

Is it really TAUG time again? Boy time flies.

Now that I'm on the "inside" I can see this year's TAUG will be one of the best. Not only do we have some great session planned, but a lot of fun activities. TAUG is a great opportunity to learn about TIMSS & Personify, and to meet your counterparts at other organizations (putting faces to the names from the Yahoo Group).

So go to TAUGConference.com now to register. The creative people in our Marketing Department are determined to make Sean C. and myself into cartoon characters with pages like Just Ask Rob & Where in Louisville is Sean? Those pages will be updated weekly so you can have a good laugh at our expense.

You will also find information on the TAUGConference.com site about how we are trying to make TAUG green. You may have seen the post from Lauren R. that we will buy a lunch for those who decide to drive to TAUG instead of fly.

Applies to: TIMSS5, TIMSS6, Personify

TIMSS 6: Adding views to the Search Screen

2007-12-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

In TIMSS 6, you can add views to the APPQUERYSEARCH screen. First create the views you want to search with. Make sure the view includes the MASTER_CUSTOMER_ID and SUB_CUSTOMER_ID.

Next use Extender to add to the OnOpening event of the screen you want to add the view to the search. If that's CUS001, then the code would look like this:

Public Sub CUS001C_OnOpening ( ByRef MyForm As Object)

MyForm.SearchViewNames =
“Cus_Address_Alias_C_VW,Cus_OSR_Relationships_VW,
Cus_ISR_Relationships_VW,Cus_Proj_Mgr_Relationships_VW”

End Sub

Applies to: TIMSS6

Google Maps

2007-12-13T10:39:00.001-05:00

So you've added a Google search button to a screen to search for a customer. Want to get launch Google Maps from within TIMSS/Personify? Do the same thing (launch a browser window) only pass the address in the URL string.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1919+gallows+rd+22182

The information in the URL above after "q=" is the address we are querying on with pluses instead of spaces.

Want directions? Then you’d use the start address (SADDR) and destination address (DADDR) to pass both addresses.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en
&saddr=1919+gallows+rd+22182
&daddr=1600+Pennsylvania+Ave+NW+20006

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Logging TCMS Users

2007-12-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

This one comes from my replacement at COF: Russ, but I've heard requests for this functionality at TAUG.

So you want to track customer logins to TCMS, but the only information stored in the WEB_USER table is their last login. If you put a trigger on that table to populate a log table (or even CUS_ACTIVITY) every time the last login time changes, you've done it as this field is updated every time the customer logs in.

Not only can you track the logins, but using the same methodology you can track changes to user names and passwords also stored in that table. You can also track the MODOPER to see who made the change: the customer or a staff member.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Min & Max Adjusted Price

2007-11-28T09:19:00.001-05:00

When setting up a product's pricing, you may have noticed fields for the Minimum & Maximum Adjusted Price. These fields are used in conjunction with the Short Pay code.

When the Short Pay code is REJECT, you can't edit the field, but BOTH the Min and Max are set to the full price of the product. Thus for the order line to be Active, the full price has to be paid.

When the Short Pay code is AR, you can't edit the field, but the Max is set to the full price of the product and the Min is set to zero. Thus for the order line to be Active, anything can be paid, and the remainder is a receivable on the order.

When the Short Pay code is ADJUST, you CAN edit the field. The Max is the largest amount that the price will be adjusted up to on an order. For example if the price is $100 and the Max is $200 and a customer pays $150, the price of the line item will be adjusted from $100 to $150. However, if they paid $500, the price of the line item would only be adjusted to $200.

The Min is the smallest amount the price can be adjusted to for the order to be active. For example if the price is $100 and the Min is $50 and a customer pays $75, the price of the line item will be adjusted from $100 to $75. However, if they paid $25, the price would not be adjusted that low and the order would not be made Active.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

.NET WebService Studio

2007-11-12T13:42:00.000-05:00

Looking for a good tool to call Web Services? Try the .NET WebService Studio 2.0. This tool will

...invoke webmethods interactively. The user can provide a WSDL endpoint. On clicking button Get the tool fetches the WSDL, generates .NET proxy from the WSDL and displays the list of methods available. The user can choose any method and provide the required input parameters. On clicking Invoke the SOAP request is sent to the server and the response is parsed to display the return value.

It can be found here.

Applies to: TIMSS5, TIMSS6, & Personify

Module Abbrivations

2007-11-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

Here is a listing of the 3 letter abriviations for the diffent modules in TIMSS & Personify:

ABC - ABC Subsystem
ABS - Abstract Subsystem
ADR - Address Validation Subsystem
ADV - Advertising Subsystem
APP - Application Subsystem
AUD - Audit Logging Subsystem
BPA - BPA Subsystem
CCP - Credit Card Processing Subsystem
COM - Committee Subsystem
CPN - Coupon Subsystem
CRT - Certification
CUS - Customer Subsystem
ECD - Electronic Content Delivery
EFT - Electronic Fund Transfer
FAC - Facility Subsystem
FAR - Accounting Subsystem
FGL - Financial General Ledger
FND - Fund Raising
INV - Inventoried Products Subsystem
LCK - LockBox
MBR - Membership Subsystem
META - Application Metadata
MISC - Miscellaneous Subsytem
MKT - Marketing Subsystem
MRM - Call Center Subsystem
MTG - Meeting Subsystem
ORD - Order Entry Subsystem
PCK - Package Subsystem
SEC - Security Subsystem
SPK - Speaker Subsystem
SUB - Subscription Subsystem
TRN - Transcript
TRS - TIMSS Reporting System
UAR - Un-applied Receipt
USR - User Defined Subsystem
WEB - TIMSS Web (TIMSS e-Commerce)
XBT - Exhibition System

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Customer URL Format

2007-10-29T09:02:00.000-05:00

In TIMSS and Personify, you can store a URL for a customer which can be up to 100 characters long (data type of EMAIL_ADDRESS).

The question often comes up if one should store the URL with the leading http:// or leave that off. I found it best to add it in, that way whenever I'm working with the URL most programs will recognize it as such and make it a link.

However, because the field only holds 100 characters and some URLs are very long, you might want to save the extra 7 characters an not include the http://.

The most important thing is that your data is consistent. If all the URLs don't have the http:// you can always add it in later when pull the data.

Also if you find yourself continuously having URLs that are too long, you can always change the data type for EMAIL_ADDRESS to be longer.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

TIMSS 6: Inactive Codes in Drop-Downs

2007-10-22T08:54:00.000-05:00

I have heard many complaints about inactive codes being displayed in drop down boxes in TIMSS. These are displayed for 2 reasons. First, it allows you to search for codes that are inactive. Second, when an inactive code is actually used, the description will be displayed, otherwise the field would be blank.

What you can do to clean up this list is change the display order on the inactive codes. In types and codes, when you change a code to inactive, also set the display order to something like 99 so it will be displayed at the end of the listing.

Applies to: TIMSS6

Free DNN Training Videos

2007-10-08T15:58:00.000-05:00

Personify e-Business was created using DotNetNuke (DNN) version 4. On the DNN site (http://www.dotnetnuke.com/) there are some free training videos to get you familar with the DNN product and how to work with it.

They are actually on DNN 3, but it's similar to 4.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personify

Search Phone

2007-10-01T16:50:00.000-05:00

In Personify and TIMSS 6, in the CUS_COMMUNICATION table, there is a column called SEARCH_PHONE_ADDRESS. This field is the phone number with the formatting stripped out. For example,

7035645200

instead of

(703) 564-5200

In both applications you can customize search screens. You can add this field to your search screens so that your CSRs don't have to enter the formatted number when they want to search by phone number.

Applies to: TIMSS6 & Personfiy

Personify: Copying Customer Information

2007-09-24T09:14:00.000-05:00

So you pull up a customer on the Call Center screen in Personify and you want to copy the customer ID to the clipboard so you can paste it somewhere. You can't highlight it so what do you do?

If you right click on the customer ID, a little menu pops up with one option: Copy. This copies it to the clipboard so you can paste it.

This also works on the Address and Phone information on the screen.

Applies to: Personify