Changes to Mass Email from the ACS People Suite in Ondemand

ACS has updated the mass email tool in Ondemand ACS People due to a change in the way that a number of email hosting companies handle email authentication.  It boils down to if the from address is different than the server sending the email, the mail will not be delivered to many services (aol mail , yahoo mail , gmail, ect)

We are no longer using the smtp server of 10.99.1.41 in Ondemand, instead it will be shown as "OnDemand E-mail Server.  These changes have taken place for when you are sending a mass email, emailing a report or on an individual’s profile and sending from there (Use SMTP has to be checked on the Contact Information tab).

Look at the screenshot below, you will see a few new fields and an old field has been removed. Now when a someone receives an email sent from the ACS Technologies server, it show as being sent from notifications@ondemandmail.com (can be seen in the screen further down).

Reply To:

Since the emails are now getting delivered from notifications@ondemandmail.com, recipients wouldn’t be able to reply to that email address and actually get a response from anyone at the church. This Reply To field will allow the clients to choose where the reply emails go. This is a required field and must be filled in with an email address. If they try to use their name in this field, it will appear to send out successfully but no one will receive the email.

Name

This is the display name that will show on the email. Since, no one will know the email address of notifications@ondemandmail.com, this Name field will allow for the recipient to see who sent the email. In the church’s case for their newsletter, they could even use the Church’s Name here and it will appear as such.

 Senders are still able to enter their own SMTP settings by selecting Email Accounts and then Manage Email Accounts… You will not see the “OnDemand E-mail Server” in the list but you will see it in the dropdown after selecting E-mail Accounts for them to use.

 

Checkpoint on a tablet

Checkpoint on a tablet

Yes you can use checkpoint on a tablet for check-in; There are a few different ways to implement this, each has pros and cons:

RDP Connection to Server:

With a normal network install of ACS you would need to basically remote desktop into your server to run acs from the tablet, we have instructions for using a app called RDP lite to do this here:  http://wiki.acstechnologies.com/display/ACSDOC/Setting+up+Checkpoint+on+an+iPad

You would also have to have the server setup to be a terminal server and possibly buy a license for each machine you want to run from Microsoft

A note about printing with this technique:

*Printers not connected to your network?

If you cannot connect your badge printers to your network through a computer, you can still connect them to your network using a wireless adapter. Purchase a wireless network adapter for your printer and you can connect it directly to your network. Then, you can access the printer from any computer on your network. This is especially handy for printing badges with an iPad: you don't need another computer in the check-in area, just the iPad and the printer. Dymo Corporation offers an adapter called the Labelwriter Printer Server. HP, Linksys, IOGear, and Lexmark offer similar products.

MS Surface Pro:

Another approach is the new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets – the Pro version of Microsoft Surface Tablet runs a full normal version of windows so you could install and use the full ACS product just like you would on a laptop and use that for check-in.  This includes a USB port for hooking up a badge printer if needed.

Ondemand:

Another solution is our Ondemand product – Ondemand is a service we offer where instead of you having ACS on your server onsite, we install it here in our machine and you connect to it via a thin client, of have apps in both the iOS and android app stores that will allow tablets to connect to that server and let you use a tablet for check-in.  You can print from PCs as normal but currently there isn’t a easy way to print from the tablets, only check-in.

Access ACS with Ondemand

If you signup for Ondemand you get access acs for free; all you have to do is activate it.

To activate Access ACS you will need to perform a upload records to Access ACS. In the signup process make sure the email you put in is one that you can check - you will get your first login via email once the account has been activated.  It should take only a few minutes.

You will have to check the "I agree to charges" box but there will not be a charge beyond what you pay for ondemand unless you opt in later for online giving; there is a small additional fee for online giving.

To upload:

 To upload records to Access ACS

1. Under Advanced Tools, click on the Admin Utilities tab.
2. In the drop-down list, select Upload Records to Access ACS, then click Go .
3. If you have an active Access ACS account, the Select Records to Upload to Access ACS window displays. Mark your selections and click Upload to complete the process.
4. If you have an inactive Access ACS account, the program informs you the account is inactive. You can contact ACS Support to reactivate your account. Click OK.
5. If you are in the process of having an Access ACS account created, the program asks you to try uploading records later. Click OK.
6. If you do not have an Access ACS account, the program gives you the opportunity to create one.