List of MLS Feature Requests

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
jbh001
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Location: Las Vegas, NV

Emergency Response Resource Report

#21

Post by jbh001 »

Related to my GPS coordinates fields request. I am looking for a way to track emergency response resources within our unit. As ward clerk I had created the attached form to collect information from members as the moved into the ward in order to request their records and also verify some of the information on the records when they arrived. Part of this was also collecting information about emergency preparedness resources we might call on in the even of a natural disaster.

Since MLS 2.7 the custom member fields have allowed me to add all these categories to MLS to generate reports from. But I cannot figure out how to generate a useful report in MLS with the custom reports module.

What I need is something like the Callings by Organization report that lists each resource (instead of organization) followed by the names of individuals with that resource (i.e. phone number, name, address, GPS coordinates).

Any ideas?
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rtuala-p40
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Location: compton, ca
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ward clerk

#22

Post by rtuala-p40 »

it's great to listen to all you brethren ask question about the things i want answers to. i will jusk keep reading your questions and hoping that someday salt lake will feel that we all have been punish long enough and make our jobs easy. you guys are great!:D:cool::eek::eek:lol
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Mikerowaved
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Location: Layton, UT

#23

Post by Mikerowaved »

jbh001 wrote:My stake is in and area of frequent tornadoes. As a result, the stake presidency has requested that, for disaster response purposes, some one in each unit visit each member's address with a GPS unit and record the coordinates. This is because tornadoes can obliterate street signs and other landmarks usually used to locate an address.
Before you go to the trouble of manually tracking everyone's house, you might want to look at this thread...

http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=141&page=10

I've had great success with redzarf's mls2GoogleEarth2.4.zip, although I did have to tweak a few addresses so Google Earth would recognize them, but that was pretty easy. I found once I got the results and popped them into Google Earth, I had to again tweak a few pin locations, as most end up in the middle of the street for some reason. Save the results, drop them into an XML editor (or write a script) and extract the GPS cooridinates.

Now, where to put them in MLS is another issue entirely, but at least this might save you a little at the gas pump. :)
So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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opee
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Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:00 am
Location: Sunnyvale, CA

#24

Post by opee »

rtuala wrote:hoping that someday salt lake will feel that we all have been punish long enough and make our jobs easy. you guys are great!:D:cool::eek::eek:lol

Actually HQ put this website together to help get feedback, ideas, and support from the community--and several improvements have been made through the community input. So rather than pointing a finger at SLC, I'd suggest thanking them for providing this forum and venue. Have fun reading and contributing.
jbh001
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Posts: 856
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV

#25

Post by jbh001 »

Mikerowaved wrote:Before you go to the trouble of manually tracking everyone's house, you might want to look at this thread...
http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=141&page=10
Thanks, I am going to check into that.

However, the real intent of this is to have a list of GPS coordinates so that that one can wander around with a GPS unit until one arrives at the coordinates on the printout and say, "This is where Brother Smith's house should be. Let's start sifting through the rubble."
The_Earl
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am

Google earth

#26

Post by The_Earl »

jbh001 wrote:Thanks, I am going to check into that.

However, the real intent of this is to have a list of GPS coordinates so that that one can wander around with a GPS unit until one arrives at the coordinates on the printout and say, "This is where Brother Smith's house should be. Let's start sifting through the rubble."
I have found Google Earth invaluable for this sort of thing. I can enter a street address, get close, then play with the location to make sure it is where I want it. Most of the time Google puts address markers in the middle of the road, and I prefer it in the middle of the house. Sometimes, Google is WAY off, and I have to correct it.

When I get the marker where I want it, I can copy the Lat/Long (sometimes you might have to change the format) to get the list I want. If you save the markers in a KML file, you can later strip the XML out, or alter it to make the format you want.

Zillow also does a good job of finding overhead pics of addresses. They use a mapping service, but I can't remember which one it is. I seem to think it is MicroSoft's MapPoint or something like that.

Thanks
The Earl
russellhltn
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Location: U.S.

#27

Post by russellhltn »

jbh001 wrote:However, the real intent of this is to have a list of GPS coordinates so that that one can wander around with a GPS unit until one arrives at the coordinates on the printout and say, "This is where Brother Smith's house should be. Let's start sifting through the rubble."
Right. But in the end you can extract GPS coordinates from the file. Are you wanted more accuracy? If that's the case, then you'll need to make sure you know exactly where the GPS was when they recorded the coordinates. Were they on the front step or just at the end of the driveway?
jbh001
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Location: Las Vegas, NV

#28

Post by jbh001 »

Perhaps I need to clarify just a bit more. I see it as simplifying this if the information was stored in MLS. That way it disappears when the member's records leave the unit. It would also be nice to have this integraded into reports produced by MLS. I know all of this is currently possible with existing versions of MLS and Google Earth. But there are too make steps requires to make it happen. I might have the tech smarts to do this. But what about the person called to take my place? What if my house is the one that is hit? Will the bishop know how to generate the list? Now can you see why I am making this request?

If the address maintenance screens in MLS are updated to include a latitude and longitude fields, and a few selected reports are also modified/created to list this same information, it simplifies the process greatly such that almost anyone can do it, not just the tech savvy.

Remember, don’t magnify the work to be done—simplify it.
russellhltn
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#29

Post by russellhltn »

There are two issues under discussion:
  • Obtaining the GPS coordinates
  • Saving the coordinates in a database
For the first one, it's more efficient to use the route suggested by using the Google maps rather then personally visiting each home.

For the second one, I agree it would be nice. One major advantage would be that changing the address would clear the coordinates. That way you don't end up with a situation where the GPS coordinates point to an old address. Trying to do that with an external database isn't as easy.
The_Earl
Member
Posts: 278
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2007 9:12 am

FAQ entries

#30

Post by The_Earl »

I am not sure how to start a FAQ, but there are a few issues here that need to go into a FAQ.

1. How do I map my ward members for <purpose>?
2. How do I find GIS data for my ward members?
3. Can we add GIS info to MLS?

So back to the topic at hand:

Adding GIS info to MLS has been discussed here. I don't have the threads handy, but they are out there somewhere....

To summarize those threads:
GPS data is nice, but is US centric, and does not do everything.

Lat/Long data does not by nature group or organize places. Just because your GPS says you are 10m from somewhere does not mean you can get there. There may be a big hole, or a highway or mountain etc. Lat/Long data in general is not useful either without a tied projection. The earth is round, but not quite, and different people use different projections for their Lat/Long data.

Given these basic failings of GPS data, the current implementation in MLS is to have a 'geocode' field that is open to implementation details decided at the local level. If you want to put group identifiers in, or other information, you may. It is a great place to store Lat/Long data. The data is not saved other than locally, because different localities use the field differently.

Some work needs to be done to standardize how to geocode places by the church. They are aware of the need / desire for such information in MLS.

Take that and make it the answer to #3 in the FAQ....

Additionally, a while ago, Tom W. posted stats for the forum. I do not remember what the most active thread was, but the second was ward mapping. This issue is VERY high demand, and the church is aware of it.http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=685
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