Troubleshooting Sync Issues

Discussions about the Ward Directory and Map tool on churchofjesuschrist.org.
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nathangg
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Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#1

Post by nathangg »

Hello,

I'm confused on why some email addresses in lds.org/directory don't show up in MLS in the "Contact E-Mail" column for custom reports, even though the member has listed their email address with "stake visibility" and I've run multiple send/receives on the stake clerk computer.

What troubleshooting steps should I follow to help get members' email addresses that show up in lds.org/directory with "stake" visibility to sync to the stake clerk computer so the email address can show up in custom reports in the "Contact E-Mail" field?

Are these the right steps?
  1. Have the member go to lds.org/directory > My Household > Edit > Edit by their email address and update their email address and set "Visible to stake"
  2. Go to https://ldsaccount.lds.org/#detail=contact and verify the information is set properly there
  3. Ask their clerk to update the member's personal contact information in MLS

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Background: The "why" behind I'm asking:

I just finished writing code that analyzes a custom report from MLS (exported from the stake clerk computer), figures out everyone's calling (it denormalizes the data), and then automatically updates our online email aliases (we setup email aliases with @ourstakename.org addresses... such as bishops@ourstakename.org and eqps@ourstakename.org, execsecs, hpgls, wmls, presidency, spec, highcouncil, stakecouncil, etc)

Manually keeping these email aliases up-to-date was a real headache... so now it is mostly automated (I still have to sit at the stake clerk computer and run my MLS custom report... and save the CSV file to my hard drive... but once it is there I hit a button and all the email aliases are updated).

The issue I've found is there are some members who have email addresses in lds.org/directory with "stake" visibility, but in the stake clerk computer they their "Contact E-mail" is blank. This causes my email aliases to not be accurate (it is embarrassing when a member of the stake presidency emails wmls@ourstake.org with a quick reminder from their phone reminding Ward Mission Leaders of an upcoming training and one of the mission leader's doesn't get notified).

I've researched the issue and I can't find any problem the configuration of the member's email address in lds.org/directory nor in lds.org/leader ... their email address shows up just fine. But in the stake clerk computer in MLS, the "Contact E-Mail" column in my custom report is blank for this person...

I'd like to not have it be blank but also make it so I can email the member instructions on how to get it fixed.

Thank you~!
russellhltn
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#2

Post by russellhltn »

I think the first thing I'd do is double-check that the directory lists their emails at the individual level. I'm wondering if what you are seeing in the directory is the household email - particularly for those "household of one".

Secondly, since you are working with the stake MLS, I'd do a data refresh. I'm not sure as stake membership data is updated as often as ward MLS, so a refresh might be a good idea to make sure it current.
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aebrown
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#3

Post by aebrown »

nathangg wrote:I'm confused on why some email addresses in lds.org/directory don't show up in MLS in the "Contact E-Mail" column for custom reports, even though the member has listed their email address with "stake visibility" and I've run multiple send/receives on the stake clerk computer.
The "Contact E-mail" column in custom reports is not an actual data column from the MLS database, but rather is a calculated value based on the household and individual email addresses. You never mentioned what the household and individual email addresses are for these people that you are concerned about having a blank "Contact E-mail" column.

The theory is that the contact email is the individual email, unless it is blank, in which case it is the household email. So I would certainly check out the household and individual email addresses, both on the Directory on LDS.org, and in those columns in MLS (if your custom report doesn't include those two columns, add them at least temporarily for troubleshooting purposes). That will help you narrow down which of the addresses is causing the problem, or if the contact email calculation is somehow at fault.
nathangg
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Location: USA

Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#4

Post by nathangg »

Thank you for the suggestions.

Here is what I found:

lds.org/directory - I looked up the member and found:
Household email: <blank>
Individual email: correct_email@domain.com (with stake visibility)

Stake MLS Custom Report Export - I looked up this member in the .csv file I have
Household E-mail column: <blank>
Individual E-mail column: <blank>
Contact E-mail column: <blank>

Also, it is possible that I updated this member's email address in the directory since I have permission to do so... is it possible that since I updated it (and not the member) it didn't sync? (maybe the programmer's put the logic in their to only sync to MLS if the visibility settings are "stake visibility" and only if the member updated their email address instead of a clerk/secretary/leader?)

I can try doing a refresh first at the stake level and then if that doesn't work then I'll go to the ward MLS and see what is there. If the ward MLS matches the stake MLS then I can try having the member update his email address on lds.org/directory and re-saving it and seeing if that syncs.

Any other thoughts?
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aebrown
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#5

Post by aebrown »

nathangg wrote:Any other thoughts?
You reported what you saw in the "Stake MLS Custom Report Export". But it would be good to also check in MLS on the person's individual record to see what is reported there. That would eliminate the possibility of something going wrong in the custom report generation or export process. I'm guessing the individual email will be blank there as well, but it's worth a look.
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johnshaw
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#6

Post by johnshaw »

Have you tried using the calendar and schedule meetings in advance so a wml can know ahead of time when meetings are scheduled? Always helps me plan.
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nathangg
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#7

Post by nathangg »

johnshaw wrote:Have you tried using the calendar and schedule meetings in advance so a wml can know ahead of time when meetings are scheduled? Always helps me plan.
Yep! We have everything on the calendar.
nathangg
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#8

Post by nathangg »

aebrown wrote: You reported what you saw in the "Stake MLS Custom Report Export". But it would be good to also check in MLS on the person's individual record to see what is reported there. That would eliminate the possibility of something going wrong in the custom report generation or export process. I'm guessing the individual email will be blank there as well, but it's worth a look.
I just looked at the stake MLS and on the individual record the contact information is BLANK for the individual and household email addresses.

So at least it is consistent: The report from the stake MLS matches the individual record in the stake MLS.

Now to check the ward MLS...
nathangg
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Location: USA

Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#9

Post by nathangg »

I checked the Ward MLS and it is the same... on the contact information page the only thing filled out is the household phone number.

So, all the reports match up: Ward MLS matches Stake MLS matches the custom report...

However, MLS doesn't match lds.org/directory (or lds.org/leader) for the personal email.

What would the next steps be? Unit refresh at the ward level?

Thank you!
russellhltn
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Re: Troubleshooting Sync Issues

#10

Post by russellhltn »

nathangg wrote:What would the next steps be? Unit refresh at the ward level?
That's what I'd try.
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