The new version is a nice start to towards improvements. In the previous version, you had tools built in to get reports exported on scouts and the unit. These exported into .CSV files. But having to jump into Scoutbook to get the information seems a step backwards in terms of ease of use. All of the functions to export and generate reports should be a part of Internet Advancement. Two systems has always proven to make work harder, not easier. One place to go to get the information is a more positive approach, especially for units that do not use ScoutBook. The reports in ScoutBook should be a part of Internet Advancement. Can this be fixed?
Richard, what kind of reports are you looking for in Internet Advancement?
Richard - the exports in IA1 were nothing more than wholesale CSV files of anything in IA. I am not sure what the value is nor what the extensive loss is.
Stephen,
The loss or value to one unit not be the same for us. We use the CSV to meet our reporting needs for our pack. The question here is not the opinion of value, it is getting the information in a useful place. As a developer, any removal of a feature in an update is typically viewed as a step backwards.
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I am looking for the same individual reporting found in Scoutbook. Or the ability to get the screen from the site through a right click. Having to go to Scoutbook and click through multiple screens is a poor implementation of something that should be easy to generate. For example, a complete record on one scout or multiple selected scouts completed advancements. Similar to the ability to select and input multiple scouts advancements.
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Richard - if you are using scoutbook then why are you doing anything in IA2. The effort you are using there is and should be easier in scoutbook.
I think you missed our point. We do not use, or will we ever use Scoutbook. We find it to be unsuitable to our needs. We evaluated it when t was a paid app and found that we could do much more with the resources at our disposal and set up our own site. Even the new scout book is far lacking in what capabilities we added into our own system. We were perfectly fine with the IA1 and consideration should be given to units that do not use Scoutbook.
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Richard, what type of reporting are you doing for your Pack with the CSV file from Internet Advancement. Also, what reports are you now going to Scoutbook to obtain since you can obtain an advancement history report from Internet Advancement?
Ken,
We use it to keep our individual scout records updated. We import the data into our own system. I was looking for an export of the individual report from Scoutbook that seems only able to generate a PDF.
They are planning to add csv as an option. I do not know exactly when, though.
That’s good to hear.
Do you know if you can still access the old system?
The legacy Internet Advancement is no longer available.
You can use Report Builder in Scoutbook to get a csv for a single Scout (will only be ranks, adventures and Merit Badges) or you can use Export/Backup, create an advancement csv for the whole unit then filter that to get all advancement, including awards.
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I find it odd/lacking there is NO REPORTING from IA. We just found out that there are a couple Scouts that were not registered into our Troop even though their paper work was submitted. Something went wrong. Thought I would do something simple and go into IA to run a report on our Roster to see all of the registered Scouts. And compare against what we have in Scoutbook and our files. But can’t!
The official roster is in Member Manager in my.scouting.org. After logging in to my.scouting.org, click on Menu in the upper left corner then Member Manager.
The list in Internet Advancement when you click on the Roster link should match. If not, send an e-mail to scoutbook.support@scouting.org with the names, BSA member ID, your unit and council for any Scouts not listed in Internet Advancement.
I find this new version of Scoutbook to be very confusing and lacking in functionality. Reports are impossible to find/run; and how do I update individual Scout advancement? Can we at least get a step-by-step guide (w/pictures) before pushing out an update? Just got use to the old version, and now we have to learn this all over again. As the advancement chair, I need to be able to explain to Troop how to accomplish tasks; right now, I’m lost.
Any help or direction would be appreciated.
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Hi, @ChristopherWiles1,
You should only be using Scoutbook or IA2. You don’t need to use both, and in fact you will get unexpected behavior in Scoutbook if you use both. My unit still only uses the Scoutbook interface (i.e. not IA2), and everything goes into the same database.
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@ChristopherWiles1 - this may provide some insight:
Getting Started With Internet Advancement Archives - Scoutbook Knowledge Base
I totally agree. I got the merit badges updated, but I have spent hours trying to figure out how to print out the purchasing report, purchase order, when all I really need is the advancement report. I feel like I have been going in circles for hours, accomplishing nothing! At least in Troopmaster, I was able to see the report quickly without having to wait for something to sync up for an hour or more and wasting yet another day.
I would also recommend the getting started section for Internet Advancement at the Internet Advancement helps here: http://help.scoutbook.com
Many of the questions/ concerns in the post are too broadly worded to be actionable. Break down the questions or concerns into bite size chunks. Scoutbook works great for us and gives us the reports we need.
What do you need? There are many on here that can help. I can assure you, I don’t spent an hour generating reports.
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