Unit Data Refresh proceedures

[1968leocomeeatabite]

https://tech.lds.org/wiki/Unit_data_refreshThis is where I found the quote below.

How to request the refresh

An MLS administrator can request a refresh by clicking the File menu, and Request Unit Refresh Data. In the request window it is best to select the Membership option as this will refresh all the information for the local unit. After closing the request window, click on Send/Receive Changes. This will send the request to the server at CHQ, which then takes 2-3 hours to process. Another Send/Receive Changes will need to be completed after the wait period for the refresh to be transmitted to the unit.

So can one do the refresh and then leave and come back the next day? Should the computer be left on? Can I shut all down and come back? should I not do any work on MLS during the time that I am waiting for the unit refresh? I got a message of a MLS version of 3.5.2 (I think It was, if I remember Right) will be down loaded in the next few weeks. Is this going to fix the bug with the callings?

[aebrown]

So can one do the refresh and then leave and come back the next day?

Sure. You're not really doing the refresh at this point; your first Send/Receive is simply sending in the request to generate the refresh files.

Should the computer be left on? Can I shut all down and come back?

You can shut down and come back later; no need to leave the computer on.

should I not do any work on MLS during the time that I am waiting for the unit refresh?

There's certain work that could get overwritten when the refresh arrives, so I'd probably stay away from membership-related issues. But you could certainly do finance work while waiting, or recording home/visiting teaching; those areas won't be affected by the refresh.

I got a message of a MLS version of 3.5.2 (I think It was, if I remember Right) will be down loaded in the next few weeks. Is this going to fix the bug with the callings?

There's a decent chance that this will fix some bugs with callings. It's more likely that the refresh makes it so that you accurately see in MLS what is on Church servers, which will let you then fix the problems. Or some people work through this process and still have problems with callings. But it's certainly worth a try.

[1968leocomeeatabite]

Great Thank you! We appreciate the help!

[idjeeper2]

An additional note to clarify the quote in the OP's first post. We have done several refreshes in the last few weeks to fix some issues in MLS. Typically the new files are available within 30 minutes, instead of the 2-3 hours stated. We start doing send-receives at about the 20 minute mark. If it doesn't download (it will be obvious), wait 5 minutes and try again. We usually get the new files in one or two cycles.

For those that are wondering what issues: Our computer had a catastrophic crash last August. The membership refresh files loaded on the new computer were up to date as of about the end of July (don't ask me why). We have been trying to get the callings in CDOL, LDS.Org, and our MLS in sync ever since. When MLS 3.5 was installed, it compounded a bunch of the issues we were fighting. I still have some oddities in the Finance side but I know where they are and can deal with them.

[jirp]

What is the difference between a refresh requested from my end and a refresh pushed to me while on the phone with support?

Second question is how is all these data bases hooked together? My reason for asking is that after about 20 hours(not counting driving time) of effort scattered over a week there are still data base corruptions that I can see through the general member login at LDS.org. But there are gone from my MLS and seem to be gone from the master church database available from the church directory of organizations and leaders. Can the corruptions out there in LDS.org work back in to my system or are they independent? Pushed refreshes with all data wiped in that organization in the data for 48 hours repeated wasn't bringing them in. I was told by support that it was simply an online issue and that the programmers are working on it. For example online shows 4 primary classes long since deleted in MLS that don't exist in either of the others. Can they sneak back in and mess up the primary classes again?

Finally a comment. Wish there was a way to just wipe the whole organization database clean every where and type it all in fresh.(maybe leave just bishopric so MLS can run) That certainly would have been faster than the fighting with the system with refreshes, leaving everything blank 48 hours and refreshing again and so on. I could easily have reentered the whole ward organization data base in the time spent getting the problems corrected the current way. Dealt with corruptions in Primary, SS, RS and Other(both custom calling problems and standard calling problems) So in the process of blanking all of those I had most of it reentered once anyway. After this much work it would be nice to know it was clean everywhere instead of knowing there are still problems that are not pulling in to be corrected.

[russellhltn]

For example online shows 4 primary classes long since deleted in MLS that don't exist in either of the others. Can they sneak back in and mess up the primary classes again?

The only thing from the directory that goes anywhere is when someone edits the contact information (telephone or email). That and privacy settings.

So I think you're safe from any organizational problems as long as they are OK in CDOL.

[jonesrk]

What is the difference between a refresh requested from my end and a refresh pushed to me while on the phone with support?

They likely only pushed you the CDOL data (callings and classes). While a request sends one to CDOL and CMIS (member records). The other difference is time. When you request one it can take a few minutes (it can be longer during the busy times on Sunday) for the request to get to CDOL. When they 'push' it to you the request is started from CDOL so when they say it is done you know that it is ready for MLS to receive it.

For example online shows 4 primary classes long since deleted in MLS that don't exist in either of the others. Can they sneak back in and mess up the primary classes again?

Are you seeing these in Clerk Resources? Do they show back up in MLS with a refresh? The problem is that there are some issues with MLS just wiping out the classes and accepting what is in the refresh like they can do with callings.

[jirp]

Opps I see checking back that I never got back to this one.

The problem was showing up under clerk resources but not under CDOL at the time. The problems still show under clerk resources half a year later but they have not corrupted MLS or CDOL. They have stayed clean. So I think it is just a corruption of clerk resources that will never clean up through MLS but at least it is not corrupting MLS or CDOL.

One other comment here. Don't expect just a few refresh cycles to get things clean on the CDOL end. One of the errors in this correction cycle took nearly a dozen unit data refresh cycles over nearly a month to finally get the error into MLS so it could be deleted to fix the CDOL. That organizations information was kept completely blank the whole time this was going on.