Tech Forum

Alan_Brown wrote:Uh, I think so. I'm pretty sure he knows, since I am the Stake Technology Specialist.

Ah! Well, see, you are in compliance with Responsibility #11 already!

Whenever a ward clerk needs training, just go to their home and install the MLS software for them (along with the ward training unit dummy data). Keep a record of the event in whatever activity journal that you maintain (for accountability and transparency purposes). When the ward clerk is released, go to his home and uninstall the MLS software from his computer. If you trust him, you can just have him uninstall the software.

Mac

BarryHill wrote:As a new Ward Clerk I would find it helpful to install the latest full-release virsion of MLS on my personal PC. I of course do not want to install real data but I would add some test data or wonder if there is a sample database included (it seems I ran across indications there is).

It would help me greatly to actually sit in front of MLS and play with the menus. Between the flurry of Financial transactions on Sunday, attending PEC and Bishopric Meetings, and living 10 miles from the chapel, my screen time is very limited and usually task driven.

Is there a way to load the latest MLS on a personal PC, and does Church policy allow this? I tried a "search" but found no posts dealing with this question.

I just called church HQ. I'm training the clerks in the district tomorrow. I asked if they provide a dummy database for things like training purposes, etc.

They told me if I install MLS and use:
Branch/Ward Unit Number: 108
District/Stake Unit Number: 2224445
...I could download a dummy database, and use it for training purposes.

I've since setup MLS to use this branc/ward number (I just deleted the previously dummy unit folder under C:\Program Files\LDS Church\MLS\Units), and it seems to work great.

This doesn't necessarily mean you can install MLS on your home PC, but:

1. It gives you a database you can safely thrash
2. It might suggest that it can be installed on a non-branch PC (why have dummy data otherwise)


...now if only they'd provide a dummy monthly Financial Statement statement to go along with it for training reconcilliations I'd be set.

Just one caveat: If MLS is installed on a non-church computer and you try to load ward/stake data, you will get an error. Problem is, the unit number is still "there" so if you try re-installing MLS, the computer will default to the original unit # whidh makes it difficult to install using the dummy database. FWIW

ADCrandell wrote:Just one caveat: If MLS is installed on a non-church computer and you try to load ward/stake data, you will get an error. Problem is, the unit number is still "there" so if you try re-installing MLS, the computer will default to the original unit # whidh makes it difficult to install using the dummy database. FWIW

Default unit #? Not sure what you're talking about. And you can remove a previously installed unit. All the installed units data is in a single sub-folder. I forget the exact folder under which its located, I've not dealt with MLS in ages. Think its units/ or similar.

ADCrandell wrote:Just one caveat: If MLS is installed on a non-church computer and you try to load ward/stake data, you will get an error. Problem is, the unit number is still "there" so if you try re-installing MLS, the computer will default to the original unit # whidh makes it difficult to install using the dummy database. FWIW

As a reminder to all, installing unit data on a computer not owned by the Church is not permitted.

If you have permission to install MLS on other than a Church owned computer for training purposes, you should not attempt to use data from a real unit (ward/branch/stake/district) under any circumstances. If you have done so and are trying to remove the real data so that you can use MLS with the training, or dummy data, uninstall MLS using the unistaller available in the MLS START menu folder. To ensure all data is removed delete the folders C:\Program Files\LDS Church and C:\mlsData-backup. There is a third folder, C:\AFARIA, that is part of the MLS program but does not hold unit information. While there are other methods of removing the real unit data this is the easiest for all levels of computer experience.

Once you have removed the previous installation you can reinstall MLS and then following the instructions "How to load the MLS test unit". There should be no problems with vestigial remnants of real unit data.

AdrianLP wrote:All the installed units data is in a single sub-folder. I forget the exact folder under which its located, I've not dealt with MLS in ages. Think its units/ or similar.

Yes there is one folder that holds the unit data. That folder is C:\Program Files\LDS Church\MLS\data. However there is another folder, C:\Program Files\LDS Church\MLS\Units, that contains unit information.

A user can use MLS to delete a unit and the data for it by going to Edit>System Options>Unit and removing the unit. However, you can not be logged on to the unit you wish to remove. Therefore if a user wishes to delete real unit data and have only the test unit data they must install the test unit or test stake, log onto the test unit or stake and then remove the real unit. This is the alternative to the method I described in my previous post. But remember there could be backup data in the C:\mlsData-backup folder. The backups with real unit data must be removed there as well.

I used to have MLS on my laptop for training purposes but when I upgraded to Vista and with one of the MLS updates, I was no longer able to use MLS on that laptop. I got an error that stated something like your version of windows is not supported. It has been a while so that may not be the exact wording.

Has anybody else had this experience?

jasonhyer wrote:I used to have MLS on my laptop for training purposes but when I upgraded to Vista and with one of the MLS updates, I was no longer able to use MLS on that laptop. I got an error that stated something like your version of windows is not supported. It has been a while so that may not be the exact wording.

Has anybody else had this experience?

It has been discussed, but a forum search did not find the thread. If I remember correctly, MLS checks the OS and refuses to try to run if it sees Vista. I recall someone had a partial workaround that may be good enough for training purposes. I think the workaround was to tell the OS that it should run MLS in a compatibility shell so MLS would think it was on XP--or something similar to that.

jasonhyer wrote:I used to have MLS on my laptop for training purposes but when I upgraded to Vista and with one of the MLS updates, I was no longer able to use MLS on that laptop. I got an error that stated something like your version of windows is not supported. It has been a while so that may not be the exact wording.

Has anybody else had this experience?

There's a discussion on this subject at THIS thread.

Techgy wrote:There's a discussion on this subject at THIS thread.

Thanks, Techgy. That thread refers to the one I was looking for: This one.