Connections Online February / March 2014 Newsletter
Section One: Announcements and Tips
Click to scroll to Section Two: Webinars
Connections Online Users Roundtable
We have had many inquiries about when our Users Roundtable will be this year. The Users Roundtable will be in September. We will be emailing details soon.
New Archiving Functionality Added to Connections Online 4.1
In the latest version of Connections Online 4.1, the on-demand archiving system was removed and replaced by an automatic monthly archiving system. In addition to this, the ability to view items archived in Connections Online 4.0 was added as well. These options are accessible to all users with Read security. The following sections outline how to use these new features.
The Archive Menu
On each page in Connections Online 4.1, there is a new Archive menu available from the Archive icon in the right sidebar. Clicking the Archive icon will display options for the page as shown below.
Monthly Archives from 2013 and 2012. These are full site archives done on the 1st of each month. The monthly archives are labeled by previous month. For example, the archive created December 1st, 2013 would be labeled November 2013 in the sidebar. Bold month names indicate the current page item is available in that monthly archive. Click the month and it will open the item as it was at the end of that month.
4.0 Archives Dates - List of archives created in Connections Online 4.0 for the current page item. Hover over the date to get the timestamp. Click the date to open a report for the item.
Link to 4.0 Archives - This link provides access to the 4.0 Archive list page which lists the archive dates available for the current page item as well as any children including Critical Measures, Project Metrics and Dialogs, or Individual Metrics. The "Viewing 4.0 Archived Items" section describes this in more detail.
How Do the Monthly Archives Work?
The monthly archives are automatic backups of the entire Connections Online system. This backup is done at 2am EST on the 1st of each month. Upon release, there are monthly archives available back to November 2012.
To open a monthly archive, navigate to any page in the 4.1 application and click the month to open the archive for that month. Remember, months that are in bold indicate that the current page exists in that month's archive. If the date is not bold, it will still open the archive but to a different page. The same thing will happen if the current user did not have Read access to the item as of the selected month.
The Archive application has a different appearance from the live application. It is colored in grey with all edit buttons removed and with an orange box on the right-hand side indicating which monthly archive is currently open. Users can also switch to another archive by clicking the "Select Another" link in the orange box. The following screenshot shows the "5. Alameda Branch Opening" sample Project as contained in the August 2013 Monthly Archive:
To switch to a different Archive, click "Select Another" in the orange box. The following screen will open allowing selection from all available monthly archives:
Viewing 4.0 Archived Items
The ability to view 4.0 archives has been added to 4.1. There are many ways to access the available items. Since 4.0 archive items are read-only, they are viewed through reports and not through the application pages directly.
Archive Lists
There are four 4.0 Archive lists in the application. The lists are similar across the pages with some minor differences.
Site Archive List
The Site Archive list can be found on the Site Administration page under the Archives tab. This list shows all items from the 4.0 Archives that are available to view. This includes Projects with Metrics and Dialogs, Critical Measures, and Individual Metrics. The following screenshot shows the Site Archive List for "Demo Site". By expanding the "Alameda Branch Opening" project, the archive dates available for the project and any metrics or dialogs in those dates become available.
To find a report:
Filter the list by the specific type of item using the View box at the top of the module. The options are Projects, Critical Measures, Project Metrics, and Individual Metrics.
Use the Filter box at the top of the Name column or browse through the list to locate the item.
Refer to the following section to access the reports.
To access an Archive report:
To view the Connections report for an archived item, expand the item in the list to see the Archive dates available.
Click on the desired Archive date to open the report.
Please note:
Clicking on a Project name will navigate to the Project Archive List page for that item. See the following section “Project Archive List” for more information.
Project Tasks are only available on the Project Connections Report as there is no Task Connections Report available. Project Metrics and Dialogs do have their own report and can be accessed as follows:
Under the desired Project, expand the desired Archive date to see Metrics and Dialogs available for that Project and Archive date.
Click on the Metric or Dialog name to open the Connections Report for that item.
Organization or Department Archive List
This is similar to the Site Archive List but only contains items belonging to the current Organization or Department. It shows all Critical Measures and Projects, with their Project Metrics and Dialogs, for the given Organization or Department. To find and access a report, follow the instructions provided in the previous section “Site Archive List”.
Project Archive List
This list shows all of the Archives available for the Project and also for any Project Metrics and Dialogs for the given Project.
To access a Project Connection Report:
Expand the Project in the list to see the Archive dates available.
Click on the desired Archive date to open the report for that date.
To access a Metric or Dialog Connection Report:
Under the Project, expand the desired Archive date. The number of items is located next to the archive dates. If there is no number listed or the number is zero, there are no Metrics or Dialogs available for that date.
Click on the Metric or Dialog name to open the Connections Report for that item.
Individual Archive List
This list shows all Individual Metrics available in the 4.0 Archives. To access a Metric:
Locate the Metric in the list by using the Filter box on the Name column or by browsing to the item.
Expand the item to see the Archive dates available.
Click on the desired Archive date to open the report.
Archive Reports
At the top of each report, an orange label displays from which archive the report was generated. This is to help prevent confusion between 4.1 and 4.0 reports and to specify which archive the user has opened. The following screenshot shows the Project Connection report for an example Project, "Alameda Branch Opening", from the 10/25/2013 10:00 AM archive.
Connections Online Announcements
1/26/14 System Update - 4.1 & Beta Sites
The 4.1 and Beta sites were updated tonight to fix an issue with the archive menu that was causing it to display `NaN` in Internet Explorer 8.
2/8/14 System Update - 4.1 & Beta Sites
- FIX: Changing the Basic Role for a Basic Role Task
- FIX: Archives were listed with wrong months in sidebar
Keep Up-to-Date on All System Announcements
Users who would like to be automatically notified by email when the server is down, or when there are other updates, must subscribe to these Forums. To subscribe, simply go to these Forum links: for system announcements - https://connectionsonline.zendesk.com/forums/384646-System-Announcements and for update announcements subscribe to this link: https://connectionsonline.zendesk.com/forums/377724-Announcements - Go to each link and click on the “Subscribe” button in the upper right hand corner of this Forum (you may need to be logged in to Connections for the Subscribe button to show). You will then automatically receive an email when any update announcements are posted on the forums.
You can also click on any of the other Forums and subscribe to the ones for which you want to stay informed of any new posts.
Tips and Additional Help Documentation
What To Do if the Metrics Won't Export to Excel or Excel is Erroring When Trying to Open an Exported File
If errors are occurring when exporting metrics to Excel or when an exported Excel file is opened, it is most likely caused by invalid formats. The formats in Connections Online are more relaxed than that of Excel. Even though the metric values may be displaying correctly in Connections Online, Excel may error on export or open. One of the biggest mistakes in formatting comes from using words in the formats such as "#,##0 days". This format will work in Connections but will not work in Excel. To properly format it, include double quotations around "days" so that the format becomes #,##0 "days".
Bullets in Individual Dialog Agenda
Although that functionality to use bullets had to be removed, you can still switch the current editor to HTML mode, then enter your bullets with code like this:
<ul> <li>Item #1</li> <li>Item #2</li></ul>They will then show up as:
User Defined Numeric Format Examples
Some sample format expressions for numbers are shown below. (These examples all assume that a system’s local setting is English-U.S.) The first column contains the format strings. The other columns contain the output that results if the formatted data has the value given in the column headings (minimum, meets, exceeds and trend data). A User can choose the format string that will represent the format for the metric to show (type it into the format field on the metric edit page if it is not available by default).
|
Format ( if typing the following format string, the columns to the right will show the results) |
If 5 typed: (positive # in minimum, meets, exceeds fields) |
If -5 typed: (negative # in minimum, meets, exceeds fields) |
If .5 typed: (Decimal # in minimum, meets, exceeds fields) |
|
Zero-length string |
5 |
-5 |
0.5 |
|
0 |
5 |
-5 |
1 |
|
0.00 |
5.00 |
-5.00 |
0.50 |
|
#,##0 |
5 |
-5 |
1 |
|
#,##0.00;;;Nil |
5.00 |
-5.00 |
0.50 |
|
$#,##0; ($#,##0) |
$5 |
($5) |
$1 |
|
$#,##0.00; ($#,##0.00) |
$5.00 |
($5.00) |
$0.50 |
|
0% |
500% |
-500% |
50% |
|
0.00% |
500.00% |
-500.00% |
50.00% |
Examples of Common bank Measures and Formats:
|
Common Credit Union Measures |
Formatting Examples |
Numeric Data to be Displayed |
How Number Displays on Org/Dept Tab |
|
ROA |
#.####% |
.0097 |
.97% |
|
Percentages |
#.####% |
.85 |
85% |
|
Dollars |
$#,### |
4500 |
$4,500 |
Examples of using Text in the Formats
Formats containing words must have the words enclosed in quotations. If not done properly, the wording can cause unexpected errors, including failure to export to Excel.
|
Worded Format |
Formatting Examples |
Numeric Data to be Displayed |
How Number Displays in Connections |
|
Hours |
#,##0 "HRS" |
50 |
50 HRS |
|
Minutes |
#:## "Min" |
150 |
1:50 Min |
|
Days |
#,##0 "Days" |
1100 |
1,100 Days |
|
Million |
$#,##0 "Million" |
554 |
$554 Million |
Project Evaluation Criteria
Project Evaluation Criteria: this module is an explanation of how this Project will be evaluated – when you will know it is done and how you will know if it is successful or not. It answers the questions: What will happen as a result of the Project being accomplished? What will improve? How will improvement be measured? What will be different? Click the add button and enter the Evaluation Criteria phrase and the description/detail.
Connections Online 4.1 Recorded Introductory Webinar
Use this link for a previously recorded webinar that is an introduction to Version 4.1 http://link.connectionsonline.net/COL-V4.1-Webinar. Use this link to print a copy of the Quick Reference Guide to Version 4.1 http://link.connectionsonline.net/Version-4-1-QRG.doc.
Client Care Notes
To view previous Connections Online Newsletters, go to http://www.connectionsonline.net/News/Newsletters.aspx
Section Two: Webinars
Connections Online 4.1 Advanced Features Webinars
1:30 ET on Wednesday, March 19th / or Wednesday, April 14th
This 30-minute training webinar highlights advanced functionality of Connections Online 4.1 with Q&A.
Click here to register for March 19th
Click here to register for April 14th
Connections Online 4.1 Application Training Webinars
1:30 ET on Thursday, March 20th / or Thursday, April 16th
This 60-minute training webinar dives deeper into an overall “how to use” Connections Online 4.1.
Click here to register for March 20th
Click here to register for April 16th
Connections Online 4.1 Security Training Webinars
1:30 ET on Wednesday, March 26th / or Wednesday, April 23rd
This 60-minute training webinar is for Site Administrators – setting security on the site page and throughout the application.
Click here to register for March 26th
Click here to register for April 23rd
Past Educational Webinar Recordings For a listing of our past Educational Webinars, use this link: http://www.connectionsonline.net/news/events.aspx
Informational Webinar
If you know someone outside of your company who may be interested in learning more about Connections Online, we have an informational webinar scheduled on the following dates.
Please pass these links on to them to register for the:
February 26th Webinar at 1:30 ET – https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/563298418
March 27th Webinar at 1:30 ET – https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/368570418
April 24th Webinar at 1:30 ET – https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/514540394
Connections Online
24481 Detroit Road, Suite 300
Cleveland, OH 44145
(440) 892-1410 or (800) 395-1410
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