mls 3.5

[jdlessley]

I've killed acres of forests printing out all of reports for the last 4 weeks in anticipation of the release, only to find its not happening yet.

Don't kill those trees. Print the reports to PDF and save those files on removable media and lock them in the filing cabinet.

It doesnt need to be this complicated.

Yes there is work that needs to be done. I am taking the approach that I get an other chance to serve quietly the leaders and members of the ward. But the work I have to do is only a few extra minutes of time in preparation. Each week since the announcement I print the three reports to PDF. That takes a few minutes. I suspect setting the reset Sunday School and Primary classes may take about an hour.

Time consuming it is, but complicated it is not - for me anyway.

[JaredMonson]

ok, its not complicated. It actually will be easy. But coming to church an hour early (an hour before the 3 hours of meetings before church) for 4 weeks to update the computer only to find it keeps getting delayed seems silly. Kind of on the same wavelength of asking for curriculum orders and then 3 weeks later changing 1/2 of the curriculum. No big deal, just inefficient. Im sure things will get better.

[Yockey]

Several have said already they wish there was a firm day for the update to be released. As a clerk, I understand the need to not surprise people- specifically those unprepared, like an Elder's Q president changing home teaching routes.

But as a computer specialist, I also understand the need to be flexible with new releases. Sometimes things don't go as planned for them, or last minute fixes are necessary, or major bugs are found, or whatever else can go wrong, will go wrong.

What is needed, as another poster mentioned, is the OPTION to download 3.5. Let MLS bring up a message saying, "Hey, its all ready. If you are the clerk, know what you're doing, and are ready, start installing. Otherwise, click no." If the user clicks no, then it gets added to the Urgent Tasks. That way nobody gets locked out of finances at the wrong moment, no one who shouldn't be updating it does, and anyone who doesn't have an updated PDF of the reports can do so before updating.

Just my two cents from a developer's standpoint.

[lajackson]

I would like to save them work going through rebuilding organizations (everything from EQ/HPG/RS leadership on down).

If everything goes well, you should not have to do much of anything when you receive MLS 3.5. In view of your particular situation, if there are any problems, I might just ask them to be patient another week and see if things resolve themselves. They will figure it out soon enough.

By the way, would you like to have a moderator move your post from public view until next week? The whole world can see it.

[ffrsqpilot]

If everything goes well, you should not have to do much of anything when you receive MLS 3.5. In view of your particular situation, if there are any problems, I might just ask them to be patient another week and see if things resolve themselves. They will figure it out soon enough.

By the way, would you like to have a moderator move your post from public view until next week? The whole world can see it.

With so many rumors and conjecture floating around it wouldn't surprise me if anyone that saw this post from our stake already knows more than the Stake President!!! But just in case it probably should be removed from public view.

[aebrown]

With so many rumors and conjecture floating around it wouldn't surprise me if anyone that saw this post from our stake already knows more than the Stake President!!! But just in case it probably should be removed from public view.

I moved your original post out of public view. I think that subsequent posts that quote that first post (and the ensuing discussion) are vague enough that no confidential information is revealed.

[TinMan]

We did the three send/receives 30 minutes apart. Then we did two more to make sure. Got the message that we were "unlocked." Did our tithing and donations (which unfortunately was very large due to General Conference.) But when we went to close the batch, it would not allow us to do so. We got the error message that the Executive secretary was signed on and another clerk/bishopric member was required to sign on as well. But it wouldn't let anyone else sign on. We backed all the way out, rebooted the computer, went back in and had the same problem.

Contacted our Stake Clerk for help. He reports that two other wards in our stake are having the exact same problem. Meanwhile, because we can't close the batch, we can't print the deposit report so the deposit is locked in my safe at home.

Calling Salt Lake tomorrow.

[MerrillDL]

I heard that MLS 3.5 was due to ship on 10/12/2012 like everyone else but at this time, MLS 3.4.3 is still the current non-beta version in production. This date was made before President Monson announced the change of age requirements for missionaries. No doubt, this caused some necessary changes to code in MLS. I fully suspect that 3.5 will not go to production for a while longer.

When a new production version of MLS is released, it usually appears on the MLS website for a couple of weeks before it is pushed onto Clerk computers. Currently only MLS 3.5 beta is available.

Anyone experiencing problems with MLS 3.5 beta should either call MLS Technical Support on Monday or follow the directions for reporting problems using the beta release. That call should only be made by the stake clerk or Assistant Stake Clerk.

The above is the expressed opinion of this contributor.

[eblood66]

I heard that MLS 3.5 was due to ship on 10/12/2012 like everyone else but at this time, MLS 3.4.3 is still the current non-beta version in production. This date was made before President Monson announced the change of age requirements for missionaries. No doubt, this caused some necessary changes to code in MLS. I fully suspect that 3.5 will not go to production for a while longer.

See post #25 by Ryan Gifford who is an MLS developer. MLS 3.5 was released to a large number of units this weekend. You might still call this a beta but many units that aren't normally beta testers received it.

[Mikerowaved]

What is needed, as another poster mentioned, is the OPTION to download 3.5. Let MLS bring up a message saying, "Hey, its all ready. If you are the clerk, know what you're doing, and are ready, start installing. Otherwise, click no." If the user clicks no, then it gets added to the Urgent Tasks. That way nobody gets locked out of finances at the wrong moment, no one who shouldn't be updating it does, and anyone who doesn't have an updated PDF of the reports can do so before updating.

I sincerely hope your post does not go unnoticed. I've also received calls from clerks tied up for over an hour trying to get the finances unlocked so they can process the batch and get home to their waiting families. Had there been an option to hold off the update until after Sunday, the update could have been installed early the following week, and if needed, a follow-up S/R performed later that same day or the following day to finalize the installation.