E10 - Synchronisation to Alma (US) via Direct Connection

Modified on Wed, 8 Apr at 1:53 AM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This document will outline how to sync your data between Tes timetable and Alma (US).

Make sure that your region in 'Setup > School info > Admin' is set to 'USA' and not 'Unknown' or 'Other'. Alma (US) is only used by US schools. This sync system may not appear in sync drop-down if the incorrect region is selected.

Which data is sent to the other system?

This table lists many of the data and features found in Tes and and whether they are understood by the other system.

Note that Tes builds many excellent features to help users build high quality timetables, and while these features can be sent onto the other system through the synchronisation process, not all systems have built the capability on their end to receive/display these feature

Tes Timetable feature	Notes on feature	Is this feature received by the other system?	Other notes
Bell times	Bell times as per Grid structures	Yes
Campuses	Campuses and their associated rooms	Unsure
Sections	Course, Section ID, Faculty, Subject, Assigned teacher	Yes
Section lists		Yes
Composite classes (linked classes)	One teacher teaching more than one class at the same time	Yes
Duty roster		Yes
Faculty data		Yes
Grid structure codes		Yes
Multi-file	Two (or more) timetable files	Unsure
Multi-grid	Multiple grids with different bell times	Unsure
On-call roster		Yes
Priority classes	The priority class that shows on student's timetables where they have class clashes	Yes
Room data	Room Code	Yes
Rotation classes	Classes from particular rotations	Yes
RTO roster		No
Student data	Student Code, Name, Year level,	Yes
Study roster	Study classes, staffing and rooming roster	Yes
Sub-classes		No
Teacher data	Teacher Code, Name, Preferred name, Faculty, Gender, GUID	No
Teacher days off (Unavailable)		No
Timetable data		Yes
Two (or more) rooms at once		No
Two (or more) teachers at once		No
Year levels (non-numeric)	Year levels such as SPT, LSUP, ROLL, Yr9+10 etc...	Yes

Yes - The data is sent from our end and is being received and processed by 3rd party system.

No - The data is not supported by 3rd party systems and is not sent from the timetable file.

Unsure - The data is being sent from the timetable file but we are unsure if it is being processed and supported by 3rd party system.

Which data can be received from the other system into Tes timetable file?

Tes timetable data	Can this data be drawn down into Tes timetable?	Other Notes
Room data	Yes
Teacher data	Yes
Student data	Yes
Elective Data	Yes

Steps to Synchronise data

Step 1: Configure the Alma (US) sync in Tes

Go to File > Synchronise > Configure
Select the ‘Sync’ sub-tab
Click the '+' and select "Alma (US)" from the dropdown

Multiple systems can be set up to sync. It is common to have both the Edval webserver and the school's learning management system configured, along with any other systems the school wishes to regularly sync with.

Go to the ‘Connection’ sub-tab
Ensure that “Alma (US)” is selected in the top-right corner
Input your credentials. Alma will provide you with the Alma Server URL, Username, Password and School code.

Proxy credentials are not usually required. Please see your school network administrator if a proxy message
appears after testing your connection.
Go to the 'Other' tab
Tick 'Exclude Yard duties/Study sections/On-calls' option if you do not want to send this data to Alma.
Tick 'Accept StatewideID's that are sent to Tes (Recommended)'.
Generally, Tes will obtain StatewideID's from the external school information / admin system (SIS) eg, Alma,
since this is regarded as source of truth for this field.

'Sync each time you save' - This means the sync will occur automatically on a ctrl-S save. In this case, data is
first saved locally to disk, and then an attempt is made to sync with all external systems. This is simple, but you
may want to disable this if the external systems or your network is slow to sync, or you want more control about
'when' you publish data through to other systems. No message is shown on a sync-on-save, as it is done quietly.
Only active sync via menu/ctrl-K will show a completion message.

Step 2: Perform the sync

Basic Sync

Basic sync is for general syncing. A basic sync allows you to download students from Alma, and publish
Sections, Section lists and timetable to Alma. To perform a basic sync:

Go to 'File > Synchronise > Sync Now', and select the ‘Basic’ sub-tab
Ensure “Alma (US)” is selected from the dropdown in the top-right corner
Input the date range you wish to update the Alma in and select the rotation you wish to sync
Click “Go” to sync

Advanced Sync

Advanced sync is used to publish specific parts of your data to Alma. An advanced sync also allows you to
download rooms, students, teachers, courses and subject requests from Alma, and publish bell times,
sections, section lists and timetable to Alma.

To perform an Advanced Sync:

Go to File > Synchronise > Sync Now, and select the ‘Advanced’ sub-tab
Ensure “Alma (US)” is selected from the dropdown in the top-right corner
Select which data you which to sync with Alma

Input the date range you wish to update the Alma data in and select the rotation you wish to sync The date range is only specific to Timetable data. Sections, Section lists and bell times will sync from
today to the 'To' date inputted.

'Create Support Log File' is usually required by Tes support to check the data validation and any issues with syncing
Click “Go” to sync

Create support log file: Occasionally, Tes specialists may ask you to perform a sync and tick this box, which will create a text file in the same location as the timetable file. This file can be sent to Tes to help with troubleshooting.