May 2021 – Crew Manager New Features |
Hello %firstname% %lastname%,
Spring is finally here! The previous report about storm damage to my J/109 Vento Solare is updated to report that repairs have been completed including a new mast and standing rigging. All looks good with the test sail with some residual repairs remain to be done but that won’t stop us from starting to race the 2021 season.
Included in this update are the following topics:
- New Subscribers
- Crew Manager Zoom Seminar Recorded for Playback
- New Features
- Bug Fixes
- Requests Under Consideration
- Crew Manager Documentation
New Subscribers
New subscriber activity has been brisk since the last report with the following new sites:
- George Hallenbeck’s Beneteau 11.50/Custom Great Gaels from Larchmont, NY
- James Lee Wauquiez Centurion 40S MARE’ZIA from King Harbor, CA
- Jerry Woodfield’s J/109 Shada from Seattle, WA
- Juan Carradio’s Concordia 39′ WESTRAY from Newport, RI
- Peter Michaelson’s Alerion Express 28 Brim from Warwick, RI
- Kris Werner’s J/120 Phoenix from Rochester, NY
- David Wetherfelt’s J24 Superdry from San Diego, CA
- Vasso Beyazov’s Judel / Vrolijk & Co EVENTO 42 Silva Hispaniola from Nessebar, Bulgaria
- George Miz’s J/109 Smee Again from Chicago, IL
- Nicholas Grebe’s Santa Cruz 37 Wildcard from Benicia, CA
- Kara & Bryan Schapperele’s X382 Cathexis from Wilson Cove, CT
- Scott Conger’s Beneteau 36.7 Adventure from Milwaukee, WI
This email is full of information about the new features incorporated since the last update was sent in March.
Crew Manager Zoom Seminar Recorded & Available
A 75 minute Zoom seminar conducted on 30 March was recorded and available for anyone to view via this link on the Crew Manager support forum. It provides active screen sessions showing how many of the Skipper features are performed. There is a presentation link and Zoom video playback link available.
New Features
- Pages Added for About the Boat and Photos: Jason Black who manages the Baltic 52 Jules site requested pages be added so the Skipper could create a page about their boat and a photos page similar to the pages on J/109 Vento Solare. This has been incorporated on all sites. The site menu under Boat now includes pages for About, Photos and Results. A Skipper who is logged in may edit the content on the About and Photos page as described in the Skipper Manual at this link.
- Skipper Easily Edit Links Page: The Links page always existed on sites but required Administrative privileges to change the content. All sites have been updated so that any Skipper or designated Skipper Helper may edit the content on the Links page as described in the Skipper Manual at this link.
- Roster – Event Crew Lists Hidden if Hidden Crew Feature Enabled: Jason Black who manages the Baltic 52 Jules site requested that events in the dropdown showing crew on the Roster display be hidden when the hidden visibility mode was selected. This feature has been incorporated. It has no effect if the hidden visibility mode is not selected.
- Split Events Enhanced with Split All button: The process for splitting a recurring event into individual events is now easier, and provides the ability to copy the crew list from the master event. The first event in the series now displays a Split All button to the logged in Skipper. Clicking this button creates separate events on the days scheduled rather than having to click Spilt & Edit for each individual date in the series. A dialog box pop up and asks if the crew list should be copied from the master event in the series. If selected, all the events are created with the crew list duplicated for each date. If not selected, a blank crew list is established for each date. The Skipper Manual has been updated at this link describing the feature.
- Skipper Reminder – Assign Crew to Positions: Crew Manager sends reminders to all listed on an event who have set availability to Yes or Maybe. Included at the top of the crew lists for all events is:
Crew Color Codes: Green crew is confirmed. Yellow crew need to verify with Skipper. Red does not crew for event. White crew position assignment not made yet and tally as Maybe – need to verify with Skipper.Frequently automatic reminders were sent where the Skipper had not yet made crew assignments. A new feature incorporated now sends the Skipper a message 24 hours before a crew reminder message indicating that crew need assigned positions, if crew have not been assigned positions for an event. Crew Manager sites include a “switch” to enable reminders for the Skipper & Skipper helpers if crew have not been assigned a position. This reminder is sent 24 hours before a crew reminder is scheduled to be sent, allowing the positions to be updated before the crew reminder is sent. The No Position Reminder is turned on by default, and may be disabled by the Skipper. The switch is available to the Skipper in the WordPress Admin section by mousing over Crew Manager on the left menu and clicking on Modify Settings. The default for all sites has this feature enabled unless the Skipper disables it as described in the Skipper Manual.
Bug Fixes
-
Error Message when Importing Crew: An error message ‘Error, we cannot find the file:’ was displayed and screen formatting showed white space around the page when using the Crew Import feature posted in the Skipper Manual at this link. This has been corrected.
- Bug Work Around for Split & Edit on Calendar Display has incorrect dates: Crew Manager supports setting up recurring events and has added features to allow editing the master recurring event. It also provides a Split & Edit link to separate a particular instance as its own event (with its own crew list). These work well on all the Crew Manager generated pages. It was found that when a calendar page displays only a portion of the repeating events (e.g. events span across a month), the Split & Edit links create the separated event on the wrong day. A work around for this is described in the Skipper Manual at this link until this bug can be fixed.
Feature Requests Under Consideration
- In App Messaging (Deferred): Dan Corcoran from J/109 Strider requested a feature for In App Messaging with Notifications & Positive Acknowledgement. He would like to know when someone reads a message initiated by Crew Manager. Dan & I discussed this and the complexity of the various messaging systems. Crew Manager uses standard email and SMS text messaging. I told Dan I would be willing to integrate an established messaging app he identified, provided they offered a defined API that could be interfaced with, but it was not intended that Crew Manager develop its own messaging program.
Crew Manager Documentation
Crew Manager documentation is always available from each boats menu with the support forum, Crew & Skipper manuals. The manuals include a searchable table of contents and index to make finding information easier. This is available on all sites by mousing over Support and clicking on Crew Manual or Skipper Manual as desired. The support forum will still be used for feature announcements, bug reports/fixes, and FAQs.
Support documentation direct links are provided below.
- Skipper Manual – Online manual for the Skipper
- Crew Manual – Online manual for the Crew
- Documentation and FAQs – Answers to frequently asked questions
- Crew Manager User Discussion and Questions – If you have a question or want to discuss something post it here.
- Report a Bug – If you find a problem report it here so it can be addressed.
- Request a Feature – We are open to suggestions, additions or changes to Crew Manager that will make it better for everyone!
Crew Manager LLC is a low budget operation with website hosting expenses and RI Small Business tax filing expenses. If you like it, please help recruit boats by forwarding this email to your friends. The Annual Subscription for New Sites and Annual Subscription Renewal options are the best deal. I hope you find Crew Manager as a useful means to organize your schedule and crew. If you have suggestions on how it can be made better, feel free to post on the Support Forum.