Admin FAQ - CLASSREPORT.ORG

How do I put a PayPal link in my reunion announcement?
PayPal allows you to create a button on your website using HTML which will send people directly to your class PayPal account with the click of a button. To set this up you will need to go to www.paypal.com and setup a PayPal account for your class. Then from the main screen at PayPal select "Merchant Tools", then click on "Website Payments." This will walk you through the process of creating the HTML code which you will need to paste into your Class News item or your Reunion Announcement.

It is important to note that the code you receive from PayPal needs to be converted to a single paragraph instead of several lines with line breaks. Try pasting the code into Windows Notepad or some other text editor and remove the line breaks following each line. Then paste the code into your reunion event. Do not delete any of the actual characters you receive from PayPal, just the line breaks. If you do not remove the line breaks there will be a 2 inch space above your PayPal button.

You can get more information on this by clicking here.

How do I include a hyperlink in my Homepage Photo Caption?
Substitute your information for the sample caption below:

30th Reunion! For a larger photo, go to our <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com">other web site</a>.

How do I backup the yearbook and current photos on our class site?
From "The Office," select "Memory Book Layout 4." Once it has printed to screen, click on "File" on the menu bar of your browser. Then select "Save As..." You will get a "Save Web Page" window. At the the bottom of the window where it says "Save as type:" choose "Web Page, comlete (*.htm;*.html)." Then click "Save."

How is the "Located," "Missing," and "Deceased" status for a class member changed?
A class member’s status is changed automatically as follows: Located – There is at least ONE of the following items in the profile: Email Address, Street Address, Phone Number. Located means the class member can be contacted by some means to be notified of class events. Missing – There is no Email Address, Street Address OR Phone Number for a class member. Deceased – The Class Administrator has edited the class member’s profile and checked the “Deceased” box.

Why do my photos have a strange pattern in them?
The photos are probably suffering from a moiré pattern which occurs when scanning a printed page. There are photo editing programs which can help with this.

Please review this: Photo Pattern

What software can I use to crop, resize and edit my photos before uploading?
Try the following:

www.irfanview.com

picasa.google.com

www.adobe.com/products/photoshopalbum/starter.html

How do I get into "The Office."
When you log on to your class site with your email address and password there is a quick link for Class Administrators on the welcome screen which will take you to "The Office." If you have already logged on and are on the main class page, look for "The Office" link under the "View Other Classes" block at the bottom of the right hand column.

How do I upload Then and Now photos to a profile?
This Admin function is done in ""The Office." Before attempting to upload Yearbook or Current photos of your class members, you must name and size the photos properly. The height of the photos should be 160 pixels high. The width can be whatever is necessary. The name of the photo must be the student ID number followed by a ".JPG" extension. So, a Yearbook photo filename will look something like this: 123456.jpg
A Current photo file name is just the same except that you must add an "a" to the end of the student ID number. So, a Current photo filename will look something like this: 123456a.jpg
You can find each person's student ID number by clicking "Edit/Delete Names and Profiles" in the "Class Directory" section of "The Office."
Once you enter "The Office," click on "Upload Yearbook and Current Photos" in the "Class Member Photos" section.
You are now ready to follow the instructions provided to upload the photos.

How do I add an Assistant Administrator?
Assistant Administrators have access to all of the administrative tools that the Class Administrator has. To Appoint an Assistant Administrator:
1. Go to "The Office."
2. Click on "Edit/Delete Names and Profiles"
3. Find the name of the person you would like to make Assistant Administrator.
4. Click the "Edit" link next to their name.
5. Near the bottom of their profile is a checkbox labeled: "Admin Asst on this Website" Check the box.
6. Click the button "Submit Data"

How do I mark a class member as deceased?
1. Go to "The Office."
2. Click on "Edit Class Directory"
3. Find the name of the deceased classmate in the directory.
4. Click on "Edit"
5. Scroll through the profile to the "Deceased" check box near the bottom.
6. Click on it.
If you have the date of death or information regarding the death you may enter it in the provided blanks. That information will not be displayed on the website.
Sometimes it is nice to post the obituary in the persons biography as well.

How do we setup online payments for our reunion?
There are two ways that Class Administrators have been doing this.

1. This is the easiest way: Setup an account for your class at PayPal (www.paypal.com). You will have an email address associated with the account. All you have to do is direct people to PayPal and have them send their funds to the email address you give them which is assoicated with your class account. This will allow them to use a credit card to pay.
You can use this same email address for all functions you want to receive money for.

2. This is a bit trickier but it works very well. To set this up you will need to go to www.paypal.com and setup a PayPal account for your class. Then from the main screen at PayPal select "Merchant Tools", then click on "Website Payments." This will walk you through the process of creating the HTML code which you will need to paste into your Class News item or your Reunion Announcement.

It is important to note that the code you receive from PayPal needs to be converted to a single paragraph instead of several lines with line breaks. Try pasting the code into Windows Notepad or some other text editor and remove the line breaks following each line. Then paste the code into your reunion event. Do not delete any of the actual characters you receive from PayPal, just the line breaks. If you do not remove the line breaks there will be a 2 inch space above your PayPal button.

I just uploaded a new homepage photo and it is not showing up. How long does it take for it to show up?
All photos should show up immediately after uploading. If you do not see the photo, try a hard refresh on your browser by pressing Ctrl+F5 on your keyboard. Hold down the Control Key and Press F5.

There is a 2 inch white space above the PayPal button in our Reunion Event. How do I remove it?
The code you receive from PayPal needs to be converted to a single paragraph instead of several lines with line breaks. Try pasting the code into Windows Notepad or some other text editor and remove the line breaks following each line. Then paste the code into your reunion event. Do not delete any of the actual characters you receive fro PayPal, just the line breaks.

How do I find the Student ID Numbers for naming yearbook photos and current photos?
To get Student ID numbers for posting photos, go to the Standard Admin Tools side of The Office.
Next, go to the Class Directory section and click on "Edit/Delete Names and Profiles."
As you browse through the student names you will find the Student ID number in the Rec ID column.

If you have access to the Enhanced Admin Tools in The Office, you can go to the first Directory Report called "Class Directory - All." this will create a printable report of all Student ID Numbers.

I have sent the request to be Class Administrator but I haven't heard anything back.
This is probably because you or your ISP have determined our response to be junk mail. Make sure you are not blocking email from support@classreport.org. Look in your deleted items folder or your junk mail folder for our message.

What can I do to get my class members registered on this site?
This does take patience and effort but it is a worthwhile and satisfying pursuit. First distribute the press release generated in The Office specifically for your class. Second, talk to your class officers or reunion committee regarding the site. Get the existing class list from them and enter as much information as you have. Third, search the national alumni directories. You can search google for the words alumni, class reunions, etc. Fourth, enlist the help of others in your class. You may even want to appoint a Class Detective to help you with your search. You are building a valuable database. Be sure to run the backup utility in The Office on a regular basis. The backup file is directly readable in Microsoft Excel.

How do I get access to the Enhanced Admin Tools in The Office?
The Enhanced Admin Tools are a bonus set of tools which were created to reward classes which support their class site financially.

As always there is no cost to you or your class for using the site. There are no setup fees, no hosting fees, no registration fees, no user fees, no ads, no spam and no pop-ups. Every class member has free access to the class page. They are able to maintain their profile, post messages, email other classes members, etc. As Class Administrator you have free access to all of the Standard Admin Tools in The Office.

Since we can't operate these class sites indefinitely without voluntary contributions from each class, we use the Enhanced Admin Tools as an incentive and a "Thank You" to classes who help out.

We define a supporting class as one which contributes $15 per month. If there are 120 people in your class, each person would only need to chip in once every 10 years.

If our class skips a month on contributions can we still use the Enhanced Admin Tools?
If your class does not make voluntary contributions for a month or more, the enhanced Admin Tools will not be available during that time.

How do I make my homepage photo into a slideshow?
Some of our more creative Class Administrators have been uploading Animated GIF's instead of a standard photo as their homepage photo. This can be tricky. If the file size of your Animated GIF is too large, it will load VERY slowly. If you try to make the file size too small, the photos will look terrible.

You will need a software tool to create the Animated GIF. Here are a few suggestions:
CoffeeCup GIF Animator (free trial online)
Ulead GIF Animator (free trial online)
Photoshop Elements
Photoshop with Adobe ImageReady Plug-In

Why am I only getting the first 35 names to print in my reports?
The reports on the right side of The Office are bonus features for classes which are self-funded through voluntary contributions.

Classes which are subsidized by Classreport.org have their reports limited to the first 35 names.

Remember, if there are 120 people in your class who can support the site, each person would only have to chip in once every 10 years for your class to be fully self-funded.

We have 3 discount levels available to contributors.

12 month support can be acquired for the price of 11 when clicking on the payment options link.

We also offer Business Sponsorships and Memorial Sponsorships. These options provide 5 years of funding for the cost of just 4 years. Or, 10 years of funding for the cost of 7!

Our goal is for each class to be self-funded to insure the long-term financial stability of this project.

How do I get our Class Site registered on the search engines?
The following links should help with this:

www.search.com

www.bygpub.com

www.wordsinarow.com

What is a Site Coordinator?
The Site Coordinator is another volunteer position similar to Class Administrator. The Site Coordinator is like an all-school Class Administrator. Right now there are no special tools available to the Site Coordinator. Their tasks are to recruit and mentor Class Administrators for classes which do not have a volunteer yet. On approval, the Site Coordinator can receive access to classes without a Class Administrator to help get things going. If you would like to volunteer to serve your school as Site Coordinator, you must already be successfully serving as Class Administrator for your class. Then you can send a request to support@classreport.org requesting to serving as Site Coordinator for your school.

As Site Coordinator, how do I gain access to other classes?
First, you must sign-in to the class as "Guest." If there is a Class Administrator, ask the Class Administrator to give you Assistant Administrator access. If there is no Class Administrator, you can send a request to support@classreport.org requesting Administrative access to the class or classes you are wanting to work with.

What if someone has lost their password?
Make sure they have a current email address in their profile. If their email address is not current, you should edit their profile and update it. Then instruct them to click the “Lost Password?” link on the main class page. They should get their password emailed to them immediately.

Is there any way to export the Yearbook and the Now photos?
First you need to click on the report in The Office called "Class Directory - Photo Check." This will open a web page with all class member photos in it. In that browser window click on the "File" menu and select "Save As . . ."

Now where it says "Save As Type:" select "Webpage, Complete"

That's all there is to it. When you go to the location where you saved the file you will find a folder with all the images in it.

Our class is fully funded through our 50th reunion year. Is there a way to remove the links to chip in?
Thank you for making our policy of - No Ads, No Spam, No Pop-ups, No Fees - a success for your class and thousands of others! Due to the template we used when programming the class pages, the invitations to chip in will continue to be displayed until January 1 of your 51st year following graduation. We suggest posting a Class News item based on the suggested text below. Feel free to edit it to meet your needs. Congratulations on a successful Class Reunion website!

THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS A SAMPLE TO FOLLOW FOR YOUR OWN CLASS NEWS ITEM:

We Did It!

Thanks to your generous contributions our class is fully funded for life! We have successfully funded our class through our 50th year following graduation. From now on, Classreport.org picks up the tab. You will continue to see the invitations to chip in until we actually reach our 51st anniversary. Additional contributions will go to help Classreport.org accomplish their mission of providing Class Reunion Websites for every class of every high school. Did you know that part of this mission includes providing fully funded access to newly graduating classes at our school for 5 years following graduation? Additionally, Classreport.org uses these funds to provide free access for all classes at our school regardless of their ability to provide funding for their class.

Thank you again for a job well done.

Your Class Administrator

I want to upload a photo for a person registered as Guest. How do I find their ID Number?
In The Office there is a link on the left hand side of the page which says: “Edit/Delete Names and Profiles.”

This will give you an alphabetic listing of all names in your class database including Guests. The very left-most column in this list has a number called “Rec ID.” That is the number you are looking for.