PackMaster FAQs from http://www.troopmaster.com
PackMaster Millennium Questions
- I'm just getting started and there's a lot of data to enter. Are there any shortcuts?
- Are there guidelines for entering data that will make it easier for council personnel to process ScoutNET reports?
- I'm doing my first ScoutNET recharter. Any tips?
- Does PackMaster work with BSA's new Internet Rechartering System?
- How does PackMaster compute service stars for the Pack/Den Awards Report?
- How does PackMaster compute training codes for the recharter report?
- Can you have two or more leaders entering data and then merge their changes?
- What are the R/P flags and how are they used?
- How can I credit attendance for a scout who worked a different number of service hours than did other scouts?
- How can I transfer data to PackLedger?
- I live in another country. How do I enter overseas phone numbers?
- I love the main menu animals scene. Can my pack use it for other purposes?
- Why doesn't the PackMaster email feature work with AOL?
- I'm having difficulty getting envelopes to align properly. Any advice?
- When I send email, the attachment name is changed to "Winmail.dat" and it becomes unusable. Why?
- Why can't I restore data from PM2000 into PackMaster Millennium?
- When I backup my data, the backup file is always named "PMDATA.BAK". Can I change that?
- When parents are divorced or separated, how do I enter the parent who does not live with the scout?
- I'm trying to assign family links but the links are disabled. Why?
- Why doesn't PackMaster include the Tiger Totem or academic/sports awards on the Pack Advancement Report (4403)?
- Can I backup my data from PackMaster to a CD?
- I'm a den leader for two dens. How can I track both dens on the same computer?
- Our pack uses DotNet. Is there a way to bypass DotNet and start PackMaster with just the local data files?
1) I'm just getting started and there's a lot of data to enter. Are there any shortcuts?
You don't have to start with an empty database. Your council office can create a ScoutNET export file from which you can import the basic personal data on your scouts and adult leaders. There is an option on the File > Import Data menu that enables you to do that. If needed, council procedures for creating the export file are on the "Announcements" page of our web site and in para. 3.7b of the PDF users manual.
Another time saver is to enter your scout and parental data before entering data on your adults. You can then use the family links feature to create records in the adult leader and POCs areas for parents who also serve in one or both of those functions.
In the advancement area, if you don't have or don't wish to enter all of the details for each rank badge, you can just enter the "Badge Earned" date. PackMaster will then credit the badge and blanket-fill all of the open requirement dates with the word "Complete". There are also shortcuts for entering dates--please see section 2.6 of the Getting Started Guide.
Yes, here are some data entry tips we got from BSA:
- Don't enter data with 'Caps Lock' on, particularly when entering names. ScoutNET expects the first letter to be capitalized and the remainder to be lower case. Of course, names like McCoy, Van Dam, and O'Connor are exceptions.
- Don't punctuate any information unnecessarily, especially addresses and abbreviations. For example, instead of 'St.' enter 'St'; instead of 'Apt #22-B' enter 'Apt 22B'; etc. However, sometimes hyphens and slashes are needed for postal delivery (e.g., 10-234 Main St, and 103 1/2 Oak Blvd)
- Don't use data fields to store data other than what is requested by the field label because it can cause processing of your recharter to fail. For example, don't enter driver's license number and license expiration date in the driver's license number field. If you need to record data for which there are no system-defined data items, use the 'remarks' or, better, create your own data items. That can be done on the 'Remarks/Other' tab of the scout and adult personal data dialogs.
- Similarly, if a person has a name prefix (e.g., 'Dr'), don't enter that in the first name field--just enter first name. TroopMaster only tracks prefixes for Points of Contact. Also, TroopMaster has separate fields for 'First Name' versus 'Nickname'. Enter the formal first name in the 'First Name' field.
- If a person has a suffix (e.g., 'Jr'), enter that in the 'Suffix' field, not the last name field.
3) I'm doing my first ScoutNET recharter. Any tips?
- The first dialog is for basic information on your pack. If your
official pack number is different than your pack number within
PackMaster, you should change it here.
- Clicking Next takes you to the Tiger Adult Partner
dialog, which lists the Tiger Den Leader and the other Tiger Adults. Use
this dialog to ensure that you have enough Tiger Adults for your Tigers.
Each of the people listed will automatically be chartered as a "Tiger
Adult" (AP) and as "Multiple", which means there's no fee. The ScoutNET
specifications require us to determine each scout's level by his school
grade. In this case, all 1st graders are counted as Tigers regardless of
the level of the den to which they are assigned.
- The next dialog (Recharter Selection) is used to select the
adult leaders and scouts you want to charter. For each adult whom you
wish to charter, highlight the name and click the Paid,
Multiple, or Transfer button. A Non-Registering button
is also available for the very rare case where you have an adult
for whom you want to send data, but you don't officially want to
register the person.
- You do not have to charter all of the adults/scouts listed on the
recharter selection lists, but you do have to charter the key adult
leader positions and the scouts who are not leaving your unit. Only
adults who have been assigned at least one leadership position are
included on the recharter selection list. You must charter the Tiger Den
Leader again on this dialog because that is a required position if you
have Tigers. This person will automatically be dual registered as a
Tiger Adult.
- If an adult is assigned to more than one leadership position, s/he
will be listed more than once on this dialog (unless the BSA position
codes are the same for both positions) so that you can decide which
position(s) in which to charter the adult. In some cases, you can
charter an adult in more than one position; for example, the Chartered
Organization Representative and the Executive Officer can be the same
person. If you select an invalid combination of positions, PackMaster
will present an error message when you generate the report.
- One of the key adult leader positions is "Executive Officer" and you
must select this person for rechartering. This position used to be
called "Institutional Head". The Executive Officer does not have to
pay--s/he is always chartered as a "Multiple".
- Regarding fees, some councils require an additional $1.00 for
insurance. However, insurance is not part of ScoutNET, so you must
handle insurance through your council separately.
- The training codes for your adult leaders on the printed report are
based on BSA criteria. There is a separate FAQ on this subject. Training
codes only appear on the paper report--they are not transmitted to
ScoutNET.
- There are two fields that appear on the paper report that cannot be
set from within the program: Unit Status and On Time Unit. Both of these
will be completed by your Unit Commissioner.
- If you checked the "LDS Unit" checkbox on the Unit General
Information dialog, PackMaster will apply LDS rechartering rules when it
validates your recharter report. For example, under LDS rules, Cub
Scouts must be between the ages of 8 and 10.
- Write the name, phone number, and email address of your rechartering
point of contact somewhere on the paper report. That way the registrar
will know whom to call if there's a question or problem.
4) Does PackMaster work with BSA's new Internet Rechartering System?
Yes, you just need to run the Annual Recharter report the same way you would if you were going to submit your recharter directly to the council office. The Annual Recharter report is on the "Reports>Scout/Unit General" menu. When you generate that report, PackMaster will create a paper report and also a disk file. The file name will be "CHTCxxxx.csv", where xxxx is your pack number. If you're using PackMaster Millennium, procedures for creating the charter report are in the "Council Recharter" section of the "Reports" chapter in the PDF users manual, which can be accessed through the "Help" pull-down menu. If you're using PM2000, procedures are in the printed manual and the on-line help.
Once you have that, processing the report using the Internet Rechartering System is very easy. When you log onto the system, the first option is to "Load council info" or "Upload Unit Management System (UMS) File"; choose "Upload". The system then pops up a browse window so you can locate and select the desired file (CHTCxxxx.csv). Processing then begins. If there are are any problems matching members in the file to the ones in ScoutNET, you are asked to confirm that the two people are the same or add the new person to the database. While SSN is not a required entry in PackMaster, the rechartering system will require one for any adult who has never before been registered. However, you must also submit a paper application for any new leader and SSN will be on the application.You can log out at any point and then resume later at the same spot. This makes it possible to go research a problem. When you're finished, you still need to submit the signed paper report to your council along with your payment and new member applications.
5) How does PackMaster compute service stars for the Pack/Den Awards Report?
For adult leaders, service stars are based on the "Joined Unit" date adjusted by "Prior Service" dates, if any. For example, an adult with a "Joined Unit" date of 8/1/98 and no prior service would be listed for a 4-year service star for an awards report with From-To dates of, say, 7/1/02 thru 8/30/02. If the same adult had 6 months of prior service, he would be listed for a 4-year pin for a report that included the date 2/1/02 (i.e., 6 months earlier than in the first example).
For scouts, service stars are based on the "Service Star Computation Date" you enter on the scout's personal data dialog. The reason for this is that some packs want to present separate service stars for Tiger versus Cub Scouts, while other want to present a combined service star.
6) How does PackMaster compute training codes for the recharter report?
BSA recently changed the way they handle leader training. Here are the new criteria for "Trained" status:
Cub Scout Leader Basic Training
or
1) For Cubmasters/Assistants: New Leader Essentials and Cubmaster Specific Training
2) For the Pack Trainer: Trainer Development Course
3) For Den Leaders/Assistants: New Leader Essentials and either Tiger Leader, Den Leader, or Webelos Leader Specific Training (based on the den level of assignment)
4) For other pack leaders: New Leader Essentials and Pack Committee Challenge
7) Can you have two or more leaders entering data and then merge their changes?
PackMaster has a feature that allows you to "download" the data for individual dens so that den leaders can track their own scouts and get their own reports. As often as desired, the den leaders can backup their data, which can then be "uploaded" into the main pack database. This approach is very helpful to the den leaders and it reduces the workload for the pack leader. To facilitate this process, PackMaster makes it possible to email den data back and forth between den leaders and the pack leader. Please see paragraphs 3.4 and 4.3 of the PDF users manual for specific procedures.
However, there is no way for two pack-level leaders to enter data simultaneously and then merge their changes. Pack leaders would have to take turns so that each leader is adding data to the most current copy of the database. PackMaster Millennium has an "Email Data Files" option that makes it easier to coordinate doing this.
8) What are the R/P flags and how are they used?
The purpose of the "R" (reported) flag is to provide a way of tracking awards that were earned during the time period for your previous pack awards ceremony, but were not reported to you until after the close out date for that ceremony. These awards can optionally be included on the next Pack/Den Awards report and on the associated Pack Advancement Report (4403) for your council.
The purpose of the "P" (presented) flag is to provide a way of handling the case where a scout misses the awards ceremony. If that happens, you can go to his Individual Advancement records and turn off the "P" flags for the awards he was to receive. These awards can then optionally be included on the next Pack/Den Awards report. These awards will not be included on the next Pack Advancement Report (4403) because they have already been reported to your council.
Depending on the report option selected, PackMaster includes awards earned earlier than the "From-To" period if the Reported/Presented (R/P) flags are not set. Please see paras. 6.2 and 10.3h of the PDF users manual for more details. You may need to regenerate the Pack/Den Awards report and 4403 for the time period of your previous ceremony to get these flags initially set; if so, you don't need to print the report--just answer "Yes" when asked if you wish to update the R/P flags.
PackMaster is flexible in marking attendance for activities. Typically, if a scout worked a different number of hours than other scouts, you simply use the number of hours worked (e.g., 2.7) as the "Attendance Marker" for that scout. He will get credit for the specified number of hours whereas scouts with an attendance marker of X (or any other letter) will get credit for the entire service project. This same approach works for any of the other activity types.
10) How can I transfer data to PackLedger?
With earlier versions, PackLedger could import data directly from the PackMaster database, but that is not possible with PackMaster ME. Instead, there is a new File > Create PackLedger import files option for that purpose. Use that option to create a set of files for your treasurer.
11) I live in another country. How do I enter overseas phone numbers?
PackMaster accepts a different phone number format for overseas units, so make sure you've set your country code on the File > Preferences dialog. You must also uncheck the "U.S. phone/zip format" checkbox on that same dialog.
When entering phone numbers, enter the country code (e.g., Germany is 49) in the "Country" field. The phone number itself should contain the city code and phone number (e.g., 66-4567890). The entry must contain at least one hyphen or period (to separate the city code). There can be no more than 5 digits prior to the first hyphen or period. The rest of the phone number can contain no more than 7 digits.
12) I love the main menu animals scene. Can my pack use it for other purposes?
We're glad you like it. This artwork was commissioned from a local artist specifically for PackMaster and, as you can see, she's very talented. Sorry, but we don't allow it to be used for other purposes.
13) Why doesn't the PackMaster email feature work with AOL?
The email feature requires an email system that is MAPI compliant and uses the SMTP protocol. AOL doesn't meet either of those requirements. However, you can still email reports or a database backup by first saving the report or data backup to a temporary hard drive folder and then attaching that file to a message you create in AOL.
14) I'm having difficulty getting envelopes to align properly. Any advice?
When printing envelopes, in addition to setting the envelope size within PackMaster, you must also use your printer "Properties" dialog to set the envelope size and print orientation for your printer itself. There's a button for this on the PackMaster "Print" dialog.
15) When I send email, the attachment name is changed to "Winmail.dat" and it becomes unusable. Why?
There's a bug in MS Outlook that causes a message attachment to be changed into a "Winmail" file if your Outlook message format is set to "Rich Text". Microsoft recommends changing the format to "Plain text". Please visit the following site for more info:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q278/0/61.asp
16) Why can't I restore data from PM2000 into PackMaster Millennium?
The data formats between the two versions are totally different so the existing PM2000 data must be converted to the new formats during the PackMaster ME installation. Please see Section 1 of the Getting Started Guide.
If PM2000 is not installed on your computer, you don't need to install it to upgrade but you would need to copy your existing pack data to a temporary folder on your hard drive so that the PackMaster ME SETUP program can convert it to the new formats. If you also have a backup of your archive, you'll need to copy those files to a different temporary folder; otherwise, please skip that portion of the data conversion.
17) When I backup my data, the backup file is always named "PMDATA.BAK". Can I change that?
No. The "File > Restore Data" function requires that specific file name.
Enter the parent on the "Alternate Relative" tab of the scout personal data dialog, which provides separate fields for relationship, address, phone numbers, etc. Family links are also available.
19) I'm trying to assign family links but the links are disabled. Why?
You probably have one or more of your dens downloaded. Because of the interrelationships between the data files, links are deactivated whenever any of your dens are downloaded (i.e., locked). Please read the "Family Links" chapter of the PDF users manual.
The ScoutNET interface specifications published by BSA tell us which awards to include on the 4403. These awards are not on the list. If these awards are the only ones earned by your scouts, PackMaster will not print a 4403.
21) Can I backup my data from PackMaster to a CD?
Yes, if you first format the CD for data. CD's do not come pre-formatted because the format needed varies with the intended use (i.e., music, data, video, etc.) . You should have a program that came with your writable CD drive that you can use to format a CD. On most computers, if you insert an unformatted CD, that program will automatically start and it will ask you what you want to do with the CD. You should choose the data format option. The "Open a writable CD folder" option is not sufficient.
Once the CD has been formatted for data, you can backup to it the same way you would to a diskette or a hard drive folder.
22) I'm a den leader for two dens. How can I track both dens on the same computer?
You can do that by installing the program twice. You'll need to install the second copy into a different hard drive folder and use a different program group name to keep them apart. If you use desktop icons, you'll also need to set up a separate icon for each installation. We recommend using the den number as part of the folder, group, and icon names so that it's easy to tell them apart.
Yes, if you hold the left SHIFT key down when you click the program icon, PackMaster will offer to open with your local data files instead of downloading the web database. However, this option should ONLY be used when you just want to review data or print reports, or if you need to reinitialize your web database. Otherwise, if you update your local data files and exit PackMaster, your changes will be overwritten the next time you log on and download the web database. There is no way to merge your local database with the web database.
