MIS2PALM v2.1

By Matt Brooks

(Send me an e-mail and I'll notify you when a new version is released.)

Download the latest version at: http://www.neticus.com/users/mgbrooks/mis2palm.zip

MIS2PALM is for Latter-Day Saint (LDS) Bishops, Stake Presidents, and other leaders who need information from the Ward or Stake Member Information System (MIS) program imported into the Palm Address Book.

MIS2PALM takes output from MIS and converts it into comma-separated fields, grouped by family, that are easily imported into the Palm Address Book.

Program Requirements

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- Windows 9x or Windows NT

- Access to Ward or Stake MIS

Command-line Syntax

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MIS2PALM [/?] [/!] [/XC] [/XT]

/? -- Command-line help

/! -- Include sensitive information (see below for what is included)

/XC -- Exclude callings information

/XT -- Exclude home teaching/visiting teaching information.

Exporting the Data from Ward MIS

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Using Ward MIS 4.10 or later:

(Tested using version 4.10h)

From the MIS main menu, select menu 3.7.3 (Membership Clerk Menu, System Maintenance Menu, then Generate Ward ASCII Data Files) and export the membership database into ASCII files. The following options will appear on the screen:

Create Member File? (Y/N) -- Enter Y, creates MEMOUT.DAT.

Create Organization File? (Y/N) -- Enter Y if you want to include calling information, creates ORGOUT.DAT. Enter N if you do not want to include that information.

Create Home/Visiting Teaching File? (Y/N) -- Enter Y if you want to include home/visiting teaching assignments, creates HTVTOUT.DAT. Enter N if you do not want to include that information.

Create Field-Delimited DOS Files? (Y/N) -- Enter N.

ASCII Data Files Drive and Directory -- Enter the drive and directory where the output files will be placed.

Once you have selected the export options, press F10 to export the data.

Note: I do not have information for pre-4.10 versions of Ward MIS. If you have access to an older version, please forward the necessary information and/or screen shots and I'll include it. Please include the version number.

Exporting the Data from Stake MIS

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(Tested using version 1.15h)

From the MIS main menu, select menu 8.6 (Maintenance Menu then Generate Data Transfer Files) and create a member file and organization file. The following options will appear on the screen:

Unit -- Press F8 and select 'Stake' or you may select the specific unit you want to export.

Model-- Don't select anything, leave blank.

Create Member File? (Y/N) -- Enter Y, creates MEMOUT.DAT.

Create Organization File? (Y/N) -- Enter N. The Stake ORGOUT.DAT file format is not supported.

Transfer Data Files Drive and Directory -- Enter the drive and directory where the output files will be placed.

Once you have selected the export options, press F10 to export the data.

Converting the Data

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You should now have a MEMOUT.DAT file, and optionally ORGOUT.DAT and HTVTOUT.DAT files if you chose to create them.

Step 1: Place the output file(s) into the same directory as MIS2PALM.EXE.

Step 2: From a command prompt, run MIS2PALM.EXE with options as needed. This will create a file named MIS2PALM.CSV.

Importing the Data Using the Palm Desktop

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(Note: If you are using the Palm III desktop, you can optionally use the 'File Link' tool in HotSync. See 'Importing the Data Using the Palm III File Link Tool' below for details.)

Step 1: Run the Palm Desktop software. Select the Address Book and a category to import the data into. (You might want to create a new category like 'Ward Members'.)

Step 2: Select File | Import from the menu.

Step 3: Line up the Palm Address Book field names with the fields in the file being imported. The first record of the import file shows the field names to make it easier to match them up. Un-check the fields that are not being imported or used. You can scan forward or backward through the records to see if everything matches up correctly.

Step 4: Press Import.

Done! The next time you HotSync, the new addresses information will be imported into your Palm.

Importing the Data Using the Palm III File Link Tool

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The Palm III Desktop software for Windows has a feature call the 'File Link tool'. This feature allows a link to be created between an Address Book or Memo Pad category and a readily importable file, such as a CSV file. The File Link tool is accessible through the HotSync icon in the system tray.

To create a file link between a Ward database that has been processed by MIS2PALM and an Address Book category follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click the HotSync icon in the system tray and select 'File Link...'.

Step 2: Select the user and 'Create a new link', press 'Next'.

Step 3: For 'Application name', select 'Address Book'.

Step 4: For 'File path', browse for the file MIS2PALM.CSV (created by MIS2PALM.EXE).

Step 5: For 'Category name', enter the name of a new category that the Ward database will be imported into. The category name must be a new one that does not currently exist in your Palm Address Book. Use 'Ward Members' or whatever works for you.

Step 6: Line up the Palm Address Book field names with the fields in the file being imported. The first record of the import file shows the Palm field names so that you can match them up. Un-check the fields that are not being imported or used. You can scan forward or backward through the records to see if everything matches up correctly.

Step 7: Press 'OK' when you are done lining up the fields.

Step 8: Review the summary displayed. If you want, press 'Update Frequency...' to review other options available. The default frequency is to update whenever the file is modified. Press 'Done' if all looks good.

Step 9: Now HotSync. The data in the file will be synced into your Address Book.

Converting Unit Numbers to Unit Names

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The information contained within the MIS data does not provide a useful name for units within a Stake. All you get is the unit number. If you'd like to convert the unit numbers to meaningful names follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Create a text file in the same directory as the DAT files call UNITNAME.TXT. The easiest way to do this is to browse into the folder using Explorer and Select File | New | Text Document. Then type the name UNITNAME.TXT.

Step 2: Open the empty file UNITNAME.TXT.

Step 3: Using on line per unit, enter the unit number followed by a Tab, followed by the name you wish to use. For example: Enter 99123[Tab]First Ward (replace [Tab] with pressng the Tab key). At the end of each line press enter to begin a new line.

When MIS2PALM is run, it will look for UNITNAME.TXT in the same directory as the MIS DAT files previously created using MIS or SMIS. MIS2PALM with read through the unit number and names from the file and convert the unit numbers in the member records to the name specified alongside the unit number in the UNITNAME.TXT file. If a unit number is found in a membership record that does not correspond with any number entered in the UNITNAME.TXT file, MIS2PALM will just print the number.

Other Uses for CSV Files

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The CSV file created by MIS2PALM can also be used with other applications that recognize the CSV format. Most databases, spreadsheets, and word processors have the ability to import data from CSV files.

CSV File Detail

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Each record in the CSV file is comprised of several fields. The field names and definitions are listed below.

The field names are :

Last name

First names of parents separated with &

Unit #

Street address

City State Postal code

Postal code

Phone number

Married - M/S

Spouse is member - Y/N

Sealed to spouse - Y/N

Sealed to prior spouse - Y/N

Family detail

Private flag

The private flag field is useful when importing the MIS records into the Palm Address Book. (This field only contains the number 1.) If you choose to import the private field and assign it to the Palm Private field, all records will be marked private when imported. This is very useful if you wish to have all Ward/Stake Address Book records marked private on your Palm.

The Family detail field is a multiple line field that contains data on each family member. Different information is included depending on whether sensitive information was included in the output file.

For each family member the personal information is printed on one line, followed by one or more lines listing calling information. The calling information is followed by home/visiting teaching information.

The personal information line, with sensitive information included, will contain the following fields separated by commas:

Full name, excluding last name unless the person's last name is different from that of the head-of-household. If the last name is different, it is listed in parentheses.

Sex (M or F)

Birth date in Day-Month-Year format

Age

Status (M for member, D for deacon, etc.)

For example:

John James, M, 12Feb1982, 27, E

If John's last name were different from the last name of the head-of-household it would look like this:

John James (Brown), M, 12Feb1982, 27, E

If sensitive information is excluded, the personal information line will contain the following fields separated by commas:

Full name, excluding last name unless the person's last name is different from that of the head-of-household.

Sex (M or F)

Birth date in Day-Month-Year format (year is omitted if person is over age 21, or is head-of-household, or spouse)

Age (omitted if person is over age 21, or is head-of-household, or spouse)

For example:

John James, M, 12Feb

A personal information line may have one or more calling lines following it. The calling lines only appear if the callings file (ORGOUT.DAT) is found along with the MEMOUT.DAT file.

The calling information line will contain the following fields separated by commas:

(Two spaces for cosmetic purposes)

Two letter organization code, (BI for Bishopric, YW for Young Women, etc) followed by a dash, followed by the calling name

Date Sustained (Month and Year)

For example:

BI-Bishop, Aug95

A calling line may have one or more home/visiting teaching (ht/vt) lines following it. The ht/vt lines only appear if the teachers file (ORGOUT.DAT) is found along with the MEMOUT.DAT file.

The ht/vt information line will contain the following fields separated by commas:

(Two spaces for cosmetic purposes)

Two letter organization code, (HT for home teaching, VT for visiting teaching) followed by a colon, followed by the home/visiting teachers name

For example:

HT:Smith, John James

HT:Smith, Michael George

MIS to Palm Address Book Field Mapping

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The suggested MIS field to Palm Address Book field mapping is as follows (MIS field name appears first on the line):

Last name <--> Last name

First name <--> First name

Unit # <-->

Street Address <--> Address

City State Postal Code <--> City

Postal Code <--> Zip

Phone number <--> Home

Married - M/S <-->

Spouse is member - Y/N <-->

Sealed to spouse - Y/N <-->

Sealed to prior spouse - Y/N <-->

Family Detail <--> Note

Private <-> Private

Ideas, Suggestions, Comments

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I am always open to suggestions for improvements.

Please e-mail them to mgbrooks@neticus.com

Some Ideas I am thinking about:

- Add more flexibility to the output format.

- Add a Windows GUI.

Updates

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v2.1 - 5/23/1999

- Added private flag field to CSV. Very useful if you want all records marked private.

- Added support for the UNITNAME.TXT file for converting unit numbers into a name. See 'Converting Unit Numbers to Unit Names' for information on how to use the feature.

v2.0 - 2/22/1999

- Added home teaching/visiting teaching information

- Added /XC command-line option

- Added /XT command-line option

- Added support for Stake MIS

- Added support for old version of Ward MIS