VisualPST 2.4 Visual object report editor for PowerSchool Copyright 2004-2015 Park Bench Software, LLC All Rights Reserved www.parkbenchsoftware.com This software is not free - if you use it, you must pay for it. There is a yearly license cost to be allowed to continue using the program. Purchasing details at: http://www.parkbenchsoftware.com/pay.html Disclaimer This software is provided as is and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall anyone (specifically Park Bench Software) be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and arising in any way out of the use of this software. Documentation Revision 7 1
Table of Contents About This Guide... 4 What s New in 2.4... 4 What s New in 2.3... 4 System Requirements... 5 MacOS X Version:... 5 Windows Version:... 5 Installation... 6 MacOS X Version:... 6 Windows Version:... 8 Entering Your License... 9 Getting Started... 11 The Main Window... 11 The Tool Palette... 12 Objects... 12 Box Object... 12 Circle Object... 15 Line Object... 17 Text Object... 19 Picture Object... 22 Standard Object... 24 Transcript Object... 27 Fee List Object... 29 2
Sequence Object... 32 The Format Bar... 33 The Properties Pane... 34 The Objects/Layers Pane... 35 Report Settings... 37 Reference... 38 Menus... 38 Preferences... 43 Appendix A - PowerSchool Object Ordering... 47 Troubleshooting... 48 3
About This Guide This user guide assumes that you have a basic knowledge of PowerSchool and Object Reports. Anything specific to the creation of a report using VisualPST is covered in this guide. Specific report and object parameters are described in the PowerSchool Object Reports documentation, and that documentation should be used in conjunction with this guide to fully understand all aspects of the reports. - New Standard Object - Ability to insert a page anywhere - Ability to use more layers What s New in 2.4 What s New in 2.3 - Improved bad layer handling (when importing Phoenix Designer files) - Teacher Photo option for Picture Object - Open recent documents menu - Contextual click for copy/paste/duplicate - Drag scrolling - Ability to turn tints into colors - By default, when copying and pasting objects, the layer information is retained - New option to paste objects to current layer - Returned ability to change layer from inspector - Ability to reorder codes list by dragging - Performance enhancements and bug fixes 4
System Requirements MacOS X Version: MacOS X 10.7 or greater (may run on earlier systems, but it has not been tested, and is not supported) 1024 x 768 or greater resolution monitor Windows Version: Windows 7 or greater (may run on earlier systems, but it has not been tested, and is not supported) 1024 x 768 or greater resolution monitor 5
Installation VisualPST is normally distributed as an internet download. Once you have downloaded the appropriate file - the following directions are for installing the software for each individual platform: MacOS X Version: 1) Find the downloaded file, wherever you chose to save it: VisualPST-OSX-...dmg (the icon will look something like this: ) 2) Double click on this image file - it will mount a virtual "disk" on your desktop named: VisualPST-... (the icon of this virtual disk will look something like this: ) 3) Double click on the virtual disk icon, and it will open a window similar to this: 6
4) Open and review the VisualPST License Agreement. 5) Drag the "VisualPST" icon to the Applications folder on your hard drive, or any other location of your choice. 6) (optional) Drag the VisualPST User Guide to a location of your choice. 7) When done, eject the virtual disk: select it and choose File->Eject from the menu bar 7
Windows Version: 1) Find the downloaded file, wherever you chose to save it: VisualPST-WIN-...-Install.exe (the icon will look something like this: ) 2) Double-clck on this to install VisualPST on your computer (Follow any on-screen prompts) 3) When this is done, run VisualPST by choosing: Start->All Programs->VisualPST->VisualPST 8
Entering Your License New to version 2.2 is a new license file format, that is imported when adding or updating a license. When you first launch VisualPST you will be prompted to register your license. Click Register to enter your license information or click Use as a Non-Saving Demo try the product with out the ability to save. 9
Enter your serial number information or import a license file depending on which way you receive your license. To import a license file click Select under the License File section, navigate to your license file and click Open. Click Done when completed. To update an existing license: To manage your license: 1 - On Mac OSX click on the VisualPST Menu and then select About Visual PST. On Windows click on the Help Menu and select About Visual PST. 2 - On the lower left of the about window click Edit License Info. 3 - Here you can either enter a new license by selecting New or remove a license by selecting Remove. You can do this for all users if you have administrative rights to the computer or the current user by selecting from the appropriate area. 4 - When clicking New you will be prompted to enter your serial number information or import a license file depending on which way you receive your license. To import a license file click Select under the License File section, navigate to your license file and click Open. 10
The Main Window Getting Started The main window represents your report page(s). All work is done visually within this representation. Grey guidelines show the page borders and margins, and rulers show the actual dimensions of the page, and objects on the page. (The setup of the page, as well as other settings for the report can be found in the Report Settings section of this manual) Notice two controls at the lower left corner of the page : Zoom popup: Select a zoom factor from this popup to zoom in or out. Page controls: Use the arrows (left and right) to move forward and backward between existing pages. Click in the center to get a popup with options for jumping to a specific page, adding a page (after the current page), inserting a page (before the current page) and deleting pages.student 11
The Tool Palette Sequence: creating Sequence Objects Note: after creating an object, the tool will revert to the arrow tool. To make a tool sticky (so it won t revert to the arrow after use) double click on the tool. Objects Box Object Arrow: selecting and manipulating (moving, resizing) existing objects Box: creating box (square / rectangle) objects Circle: creating Circle Objects Line: creating Line Objects Text: creating Text Objects Picture: creating Picture Objects Standard Object List: creating legacy (old style) transcript list objects Transcript: creating (new style) Transcript Objects Fee list: creating Fee List Objects To create a box: 1) Select the box tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Box Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides 12
edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a box that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 13
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Circle Object To create a circle: 1) Select the circle tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Circle Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a circle that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 15
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Line Object To create a line: 1) Select the line tool 2) Click where you want the starting point to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the ending point to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Line Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the handles on each end edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a line that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 17
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Text Object To create a Text Object: 1) Select the text tool 2) Click (and release) where you want the bottom left corner (baseline) to be Once you have created a Text Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a Text Object that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 19
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Notes: The text area includes controls for easily entering PowerSchool codes: Select a code from the popup and press the insert button to insert that code into the text box at the current insertion cursor. There are also controls for setting the style (bold, italic, underline) of selected portions of the text (you do not need to use html tags for this): Select the text you want to work with, and toggle the appropriate style button on or off. Move to next record after printing this text (checkbox) : Note: there are special considerations for using this option: PowerSchool determines what objects come after other objects based on the objects order in the layer, as well as an objects vertical position on the page. If you have Text Objects that have the move to next record after option checked, you need to be conscious of this. If you use this option, and objects are not in matching order based on their order in the layer, and their vertical position, VisualPST will warn you when saving. There is an option that will try and automatically fix these problems for you: Fix Object Ordering Issues... under the Report menu. 21
Picture Object To create a Picture Object: 1) Select the picture tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Picture Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a Picture Object that can be edited are shown in the following picture: 22
Picture: the name of the picture to be shown (or Student/Teacher Photo to show the appropriate Student/Teacher photo for a student/teacher record). Note: to preview pictures while designing reports in VisualPST, you can place all your picture files in a folder on your computer, and tell VisualPST (under the preferences dialog box) where this folder is. All the picture files will show up in the popup menu when editing a Picture Object. If you do not have the pictures on your local computer, you may still type the name of the picture into this field. 23
Standard Object The Standard Object introduced in PowerSchool 9 is designed to create a list of standards scores. The Standard Object is only supported in PowerSchool 9.x. To create a Standard Object: 1) Select the Standard Object tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Standard Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides adjust column widths and other properties visually using other handles edit its properties (by double clicking on it) Please refer to the PowerSchool Reports User Guide, which can be found on PowerSource, for details on all the attributes of the Standard Object. The properties for a Standard Object that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 24
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Transcript Object To create a Transcript Object: 1) Select the transcript tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button 5) Double click on the newly created Transcript Object to open the edit dialog box 6) Select the specifics tab 7) Add information for one or more columns 8) Click save Once you have created a Transcript Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides adjust column widths (for columns that are not auto-width) and other properties visually using other handles edit its properties (by double clicking on it) Please refer to the PowerSchool Reports User Guide, which can be found on PowerSource, for details on all the attributes of the Transcript Object. The properties for a Transcript Object that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 27
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Fee List Object To create a fee list: 1) Select the fee list tool 2) Click where you want the top left corner to be 3) (while holding the mouse button down) drag to where you want the bottom right corner to be 4) Release the mouse button Once you have created a Fee List Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) resize it (by clicking and dragging one of the 8 handles on the corners and sides adjust column widths and other properties visually using other handles edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a fee list that can be edited are shown in the following pictures: 29
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Sequence Object To create a Sequence Object: 1) Select the Sequence Object tool 2) Click (and release) where you want the bottom left corner (baseline) to be Once you have created a Sequence Object, you can: move it (by clicking and dragging) edit its properties (by double clicking on it) The properties for a Sequence Object that can be edited are shown in the following picture: 32
The Format Bar At the top of the window is the format bar: Here you can change the characteristics of a single object, or multiple objects, of the same type. The bar is separated into three parts. Text: (effects Text and Sequence Objects only) Font selection Font size Font style Font Line Height Font Color / Tint % Line: (effects Line, Box and Circle Objects only) Line color Line width Line style Fill: (effects Line and Box Objects only) Fill checkbox Fill color / Tint % To change a single object s characteristics using the format bar: 33
1) Click on the object you wish to change (the object will become highlighted) 2) Click on the characteristic you wish to change 3) Select / input the change. To change a multiple objects characteristics using the format bar: 1) Hold the shift key 2) Click on the objects (must be the same type) you wish to change (the objects will become highlighted) 2) Click on the characteristic you wish to change 3) Select / input the change. The Properties Pane The Properties Pane is the section of the main window in the upper right corner (below the format bar) This area provides a contextual list of object settings. Settings can be a changed in this list without having to double click each object to view the settings. Settings can be changed for a single object or multiple selected objects of the same object type. Starting with VisualPST 2.3, you can change a layer to a number greater than 20. If you chose to do this you will not be able to modify 34
the objects in PowerSchool without customizing the PowerSchool edit object pages to allow more layers. If you do not, any layer above 20 will revert back to 20. The Objects/Layers Pane The Object/Layers Pane is the section of the main window in the lower right corner. This list of layers and objects can be used for manipulating objects order in a layer, moving objects between layers, selecting objects by name, etc. The list shows one row for each possible layer in a PowerSchool object report. 35
The first column shows the visibility of the objects in the particular layer. Visible layers are shown with an eye icon ( ) and hidden layers are shown with a crossed out eye icon ( ). You can toggle a layers visibility state by clicking on the eye icon in the appropriate row. Note: Layer visibility is for helping while designing a report in VisualPST only. The visibility state is not saved with the report - all layers will be visible once imported into PowerSchool. The second column is for displaying or hiding (in the list) all the objects in a particular layer. Layers with a grey right-pointing triangle ( ) have no objects to display. Layers with a black rightpointing triangle ( ) have objects that are currently hidden in the list. Layers with a black downward-pointing triangle ( ) have objects that are currently shown in the list. For layers with objects in them, you can toggle between showing and hiding them in the list by clicking on the black triangle in the second column. The third column shows the layer name/number. One of the layer names will be shown bold and underlined - this is the current layer - meaning all newly created objects will be in this layer. To switch the current layer, double click on the layer name. Clicking on an object name in the list will select that object in the front-most report window. Clicking on a layer name will select all objects in that layer in the front-most report window. You can drag objects (by clicking and dragging their names) to reorder them in their layer, or to move them to a different layer. Note: PowerSchool has some restrictions on object order in a layer - this is described in Appendix A. VisualPST will keep you from putting objects in an order that PowerSchool does not allow. Double-clicking an object s name will bring up the edit window for that object (the same as double clicking the object in the report window). Selecting an object in the list and hitting the return/enter key on the keyboard allows the object s label to be edited, without bringing up the edit window for that object. 36
Report Settings The overall report settings can be modified by selecting Settings or Layout from the Report menu. (Once you have the report settings dialog open, you can select between Basics and Layout from the tabs at the top.) The report settings dialog is shown in the following pictures: 37
Menus File Edit New Open - Create a new object report - Open an existing object report Close - Close the front-most object report Save - Save the front-most object report Reference Save As... - Save the front-most object report to a new location / name Undo Redo Cut Copy Paste - Undo the last action performed. The Undo menu item should give a basic description of the action to be undone. VisualPST supports multiple-undo -- as of this writing, you can go back 20 steps. - Redo the last undone action. The Redo menu item should give a basic description of the action to be redone. VisualPST supports multiple-redo -- as of this writing, you can go forward 20 steps. - Remove the currently selected objects and place them on the clipboard (to be pasted elsewhere) - Copy the currently selected objects to the clipboard (to be pasted elsewhere) - Paste the last copied or cut objects to the current report/page, keeping their layer as copied 38
Paste To Current Layer - Paste the last copied or cut objects to the current layer. Clear - Delete the currently selected objects from the report Duplicate - Duplicate the currently selected objects. When moving objects after duplicating, VisualPST will remember in which direction, and how far you moved the objects, and the next duplicate command will adjust to match the same movement. Select All None - Select all objects on the current report/page/layer - Unselect all objects All Text Objects - Select all Text Objects on the current report/page/layer All Line Objects - Select all Line Objects on the current report/page/layer All Box Objects - Select all Box Objects on the current report/page/layer All Circle Objects - Select all Circle Objects on the current report/page/layer All Standard Object List Objects - Select all Standard Object list objects on the current report/page/layer All Picture Objects - Select all Picture Objects on the current report/page/layer All Sequence Objects - Select all Sequence Objects on the current report/page/layer All Transcript Objects - Select all Transcript Objects on the current report/page/layer All Fee List Objects - Select all Fee List Objects on the current report/page/layer Replace... - In all selected Text Objects, this command replaces one string of text with another 39
Report Settings... - Edit the report s basic settings Layout... - Edit the report s layout settings Fix Object Ordering Issues... - Attempts to put all Text Objects with the move to next record after option in the proper order to work correctly with PowerSchool Objects Get Object Info... - Shows the selected object s (only one at a time) info/properties and allows editing Layer - Change the layer of all selected objects to the layer number selected. If no objects are selected, it will change the current layer to the selected layer number, so all newly created objects will start in that layer. Move Forward - Move the selected objects forward in their layer (Note: PowerSchool has some restrictions on object order in a layer - this is described in Appendix A.) Move To Front - Move the selected objects to the front in their layer (Note: PowerSchool has some restrictions on object order in a layer - this is described in Appendix A.) Move Backward - Move the selected objects backward in their layer (Note: PowerSchool has some restrictions on object order in a layer - this is described in Appendix A.) Move To Back - Move the selected objects to the back in their layer (Note: PowerSchool has some restrictions on object order in a layer - this is described in Appendix A.) Alignment 40
Align Left Edges - Moves the selected objects horizontally to make their left edges aligned Align Horizontal Centers - Moves the selected objects horizontally to make their centers aligned Align Right Edges - Moves the selected objects horizontally to make their right edges aligned Align Top Edges - Moves the selected objects vertically to make their top edges aligned Align Vertical Centers - Moves the selected objects vertically to make their centers aligned Align Bottom Edges - Moves the selected objects vertically to make their bottom edges aligned Pages Go To Page - Displays the selected page in the front-most report window Go To Next Page - Moves to the next page in the front-most report window Go To Previous Page - Moves to the previous page in the front-most report window Add Page - Adds a page after the current page Insert Page - Inserts a page before the current page Delete Page - Deletes the current page from the front-most report window (Note: This action cannot be undone) Convert Tint to Color - PowerSchool does not support the importing of tinted objects. This function converts the tints of the selected objects to actual colors so they can be imported. 41
View Display Full Codes Text - When this item is checked, Text Objects will show all codes fully. When it is not checked, they are shown abbreviated: ^() ^[] Window - Brings the selected report window to the front 42
Preferences VisualPST has various program-wide preferences that can be changed. The preference options for the program, in four sections (General, Fonts, Codes, Fees), are shown in the following pictures: General Pictures folder: click the Choose... button to select the location of a folder on your computer where pictures will be placed for previewing on an object report in VisualPST. Option to use the New, Old or Both new and old PowerSchool XML tags. This fixes an issue when PowerSchool changed the alignment tag in the XML code. Most users should leave at the default Both 43
Fonts The fonts installed on the current computer are shown on the right. The fonts that are available for use within VisualPST are shown on the left. (Note: you must also have the selected fonts on your PowerSchool server for them to show up properly in reports) To add a font to the list of fonts available in VisualPST, select it from the list on the right, and click the copy font button( ). To delete a font from the list of fonts available in VisualPST, select it from the list on the left and click the - button ( ) below the list. To restore the list of fonts available in VisualPST to the default settings, click the restore defaults button ( ). 44
Codes To add a new code, click the ( ) button beneath the list. To delete a code, select it in the list and click the ( To edit a code, select it in the list and then click it again. To import a list of codes from a text file, click the Import button. To export the list of codes to a text file, click the export button. ) button beneath the list. To reorder the list of codes click hold and drag the codes up or down in the list. To reset all codes to the default that came with the program, click the button marked Restore Defaults 45
Fees In order to select certain settings when setting up a Fee List Object, you must enter the various fee related settings here, matching the settings on your PowerSchool server. To add a new item to one of the lists, click the ( To delete an item from a list, select it in the list and click the ( ) button beneath the list. To edit an item in a list, select it in the list and then click it again. ) button beneath the list. 46
Appendix A - PowerSchool Object Ordering PowerSchool forces certain restrictions on the ordering of different object types in a report layer. The object types fall into the following groupings, listed in the order they must follow in a layer. Objects in the first group will always be behind objects in the second, third, and fourth groups. Objects in the second group will always be behind objects in the third and fourth groups, and so on... First Group Box Circle Second Group Picture Third Group Line Fourth Group Text Sequence Standard Object List Transcript Fee List 47
Troubleshooting Please report all problems via our customer support portal at: https://support.parkbenchsoftware.com Please be as specific as possible about the problem, and attach a copy of the object report if possible. 48