, ,

Reading Plans

Did you know you can set up one or more Reading Plans? These are great tools for keeping your community engaged. Each Reading Plan can be assigned multiple Reading Plan Days – a Reading Plan Day has a Date, Title and Scripture passage.

You can then create a Dashboard recipe or a Navigation link to open a specific Reading Plan. The App will display all Reading Plan Days that are today or older (the app displays them in a list with the Title, Date and list of scriptures). When the user clicks the Reading Plan Day, it will load those scriptures. Currently we only have license support for the American Standard Version, but are working on more versions.

For more information on sending these up on your dashboard, please check out our instructions here.

/by
,

App Analytics

PocketPlatform Analytics

Last Updated: Aug 19, 2020 @ 8:39 am

The Analytics features of PocketPlatform allow you to quickly see how users are engaging with your app, right in MinistryPlatform! The full capabilities of MP are available to you as well, from charting to reports, so you can see user engagement, on your terms, without logging into other systems or relying on third-party toolsets.

How Analytics works:

The PocketPlatform Analytics track screen views and other selected actions (such as event registrations) so when your users interact with your app, you’ll be able to identify where your users spend most of their time.

Reviewing analytics data in MinistryPlatform

Each analytics record in MinistryPlatform is broken up into two main sections, each of which has several columns of information

Core Analytics Information:

  1. Analytics GUID: A unique identifier that ensures that this analytics event is unique.
  2. Device ID: The device identifier for the user’s phone or tablet.
  3. User: The UserID for the event. This value may be empty if no one was logged into the app at the time of the event
  4. Event Type: A text field that indicates what the user did in the app; e.g. “Screen Load” and “Event Registration”
  5. Previous Screen: A text field that indicates what screen the user came from to get to the current screen; not always tracked
  6. Screen Name: A text field that indicates what the user did in the app; e.g. “Screen Load” and “Event Registration”
  7. Analytics Data: Raw analytics information for the event; primarily used for reference and troubleshooting
  8. Timestamp: Date and time of the event
  9. Platform: The device type the user was on at the time of the event, iOS or Android
  10. Screen Size: The physical dimensions of the device
  11. OS Version: The operating system version
  12. Language: UN standard two letter code indicating the user’s language.

Related Records:
When available or necessary, we also keep track of specific items in MinistryPlatform that have been loaded.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1

A unique identifier that ensures that this analytics event is unique.

2

The device identifier for the user’s phone or tablet.

3

The UserID for the event. This value may be empty if no one was logged into the app at the time of the event

4

A text field that indicates what the user did in the app; e.g. “Screen Load” and “Event Registration”

5

A text field that indicates what screen the user came from to get to the current screen; not always tracked

6

A text field that indicates what the user did in the app

7

Raw analytics information for the event; primarily used for reference and troubleshooting

8

Date and time of the event

9

The device type the user was on at the time of the event, iOS or Android

10

The physical dimensions of the device

11

The operating system version

12

UN standard two letter code indicating the user’s language.

13

When available or necessary, specific records in MinistryPlatform that were loaded in the App are recorded here

Help!  I can’t delete this (event, opportunity, something else)!

PocketPlatform Analytics uses Foreign Keys in SQL to help make sense of the data that it collects and presents to you.  Depending on your security roles in MinistryPlatform, you may only have “read” rights (or none at all) to records in PocketPlatform Analytics, which could throw an error indicating that records can not be moved when you try to delete an item in MP that has been viewed or interacted with by your app’s users.

A great example of this would look something like:

Your church has decided to cancel an event that you’ve already publicized and put on the dashboard of your app. Many users have viewed that event, adding new records to the Analytics Table. You go to the event to delete it in MP and are informed that you cannot.

To rectify this solution, add a Role to the user that needs Analytics deletion rights that grants enough access to delete records.  Please note that deleting analytics records deletes all reference to that analytics event and this data cannot be recovered. We also do not recommend moving analytics records to another event, opportunity, etc, as this would make your analytics data very inaccurate.

/0 Comments/by
,

Global Push Notifications

PocketPlatform Push Notifications

Global Push Notification Tool Overview

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2020 @ 11:53 am

Want to send a push notification to your users? Good news – you can do that! The Global Push Notification tool for PocketPlatform lets you send notifications to all devices with your app installed, right from MinistryPlatform!

PocketPlatform Push Notifications

Sending a Push Notification to a selection of users

  1. In the MinistryPlatform Nouns, navigate to Administration > Users
  2. Open the Tools Menu, and select “Global Push Notifications”
  3. Fill out the fields in the window that appears
  4. Click “Send Message”

Please Note: You may also have a Tool titled “Targeted Push Notifications”.  This tool can be used to send a push notification to a selection of your PocketPlatform users.  For more info, see the KB Article.

1
2
1

Administration > Users in the MinistryPlatform Nouns

2

Choosing “Targeted Push Notifications”


Sending a push notification.

/0 Comments/by

FastPass and Checkin Options

Checkin Examples

FastPass and Checkin Options

There have been two options for checkin with PocketPlatform: FastPass and Checkin. Fastpass uses “Family QR codes” that are generated from the user’s household ID, while Checkin uses barcodes that are usually generated using the Family Call number but may be sourced from other values as well.

Moving forward the default PocketPlatform configuration will use FastPass Checkin (with QR codes), but barcode-based checkin is still available upon request.

This Article explains the requirements for each checkin type.

Checkin Examples

Checkin Standard

  • Uses standard barcode scanners (Scanners must be able to scan phone screens, not all scanners can)
  • If you do not already have family call numbers associated with each of your households, you will need to have them generated
  • Does not allow pre-registration and auto-printing of badges. When scanning a barcode at a checkin station, the user will be presented with options.

FastPass Checkin

  • Requires scanners that can read QR codes from phone screens
  • Family QR code is automatically generated based on the Household ID number
  • If users have pre-checked in with FastPass, scanning the QR code expedites the checkin process by allowing the user to print off the badges they need quickly.

The Checkin Drawer Item

In your drawer, you may have an option for “check-in”. Regardless of whether or not you have FastPass enabled, this menu option presents the user with a static method to login via CheckIn Suite. FastPass enabled apps will see a QR code, Non-FastPass enabled apps will see a barcode.

Please be aware that it is not possible to have both checkin options available, you must use either FastPass or Barcode-based checkin.

The Dashboard and FastPass

When a user has an event coming up that is available for checkin (based on the early and late checkin values in MP), they will see a new option on the dashboard to “Check in with FastPass”. To generate a FastPass login, the user will need to tap that dashboard item and check in the family members that they would like, and then scan their Family QR code at a checkin station.

Enabling FastPass Checkin

If you are ready to enable FastPass for your congregation, please send us an email requesting that FastPass be enabled. Once we have enabled FastPass, any users with the latest version of the app will have the option to check in via the dashboard, or by using the pregenerated QR code in the drawer (if available) without going through the fastpass process.

FastPass Mini FAQ


Unless you have a check-in option on your drawer, the only way to display a FastPass QR code is through the FastPass checkin on the Dashboard.  If you do not currently have a FastPass Checkin Entry on your dashboard please check the following:

  • Are you logged into your account on the PocketPlatform app?
  • Have you requested FastPass capability from PocketPlatform?
    • In order to limit confusion for your users, we keep FastPass turned off until requested. Please email us to request that FastPass be enabled.
  • Ensure you have events that fit the proper criteria:
    • Checkin enabled
    • A group that you belong to is attached to that event
    • Early/Late checkin values are correct

Family QR codes are the core of the FastPass experience, and are automatically generated by using the Family ID that’s stored right inside MinistryPlatform. While QR codes can only be read by specialized scanners, they are required for FastPass to function as intended.

Barcodes are similar to the UPC that you might find on the back of a product you purchase in a store and there’s no universal ‘rule’ for how these are generated, as different churches used different methods to check in to check in suite.

Moving forward, Family QR codes will be the standard method of performing check in with PocketPlatform.

If you are seeing the FastPass checkin on the dashboard, but it shows up too late or goes away too early, please check that you have the appropriate early/late checkin values assigned to the event in MinistryPlatform. If no values are entered for early or late checkin, FastPass will use the default MinistryPlatform values of 60 minutes for early checkin and 30 minutes for late checkin.

If you would like to make the Family QR code available on your app always, you have two options:

  • You may request the addition of a “checkin” option on the navigational menu, which will be added to your next recompile
  • You may request the addition of a “checkin code” dashbaord recipe which can be tapped at any time to display the QR code.

Please contact us with either request.  Accelerated recompile requests may incur additional costs.

/0 Comments/by
,

Sending Push Notifications

PocketPlatform Push Notifications

Targeted Push Notification Tool Overview

Last Updated: Mar 19, 2020 @ 11:53 am

Want to send a push notification to your users? Good news – you can do that! The push notification tool for PocketPlatform lets you send notifications to any of your users, right from MinistryPlatform!

PocketPlatform Push Notifications

Sending a Push Notification to a selection of users

  1. In the MinistryPlatform Nouns, navigate to Administration > Users
  2. Select the users you would like to target – this could be any group – a few, or all.
    1. You can also create your own views following the standard MinistryPlatform processes to help you pre-build user selections!
  3. Open the Tools Menu, and select “Targeted Push Notifications”
  4. Fill out the fields in the window that appears
  5. Click “Send Push Notification”

Please Note: You may also have a Tool titled “Push Notifications” or “Global Push Notifications”.  This tool can be used to send a push notification to every one of your PocketPlatform users at once.  For more info, see the KB Article.

1
2
3
Navigating to Targeted Push Notifications in MinistryPlatform
1

Administration > Users in the MinistryPlatform Nouns

2

Selecting users

3

Choosing “Targeted Push Notifications”

Targeted Push Notifications Window

Sending a push notification.

/0 Comments/by
,

Managing The Group Chat Feature

Group Chat in PocketPlatform

Group Chat Overview

Last Updated: Jul 17, 2019 @ 2:25 pm

The PocketPlatform Group Chat tool allows your congregation to communicate with each other right in the app!  Any group in MinistryPlatform can be enabled for Group Chat, and then the currently active group members can create conversations and send each other messages without relying on third party tools.

Group Chat in PocketPlatform

Enabling Groups

To enable a group for Group Chat:

  1. Open the “PocketPlatform” folder in MinistryPlatform and select “Group Messages Groups”
  2. Click “New”
  3. Use the group dropdown or the MP selection feature to select a group to enable
  4. Make sure that “Group Enabled” is set to yes.
  5. Leave “Last Message” and “Last Message Date” empty.
  6. Any members of that group will now see the option to open their group conversations from the Profile screen in the app!
Choosing a group for Group Chat

Disabling Groups

To disable a group for Group Chat:

Please Note: Do not delete a record from the “Group Messages Groups” page. Instead, follow the instructions below to disable the group.

  1. Open the “PocketPlatform” folder in MinistryPlatform and select “Group Messages Groups”
  2. Click on the group you want to disable
  3. Click “Edit”
  4. Set “Group Enabled” to”No”
  5. Save the record
  6. The group will now be disabled and will no longer be available to any members
Disabling a Group Chat Group
Disabling a Group Chat Group

Opening Group Chat on the Device

Once a user belongs to a group with group chat enabled, they can easily open up the group chat interface and interact with their fellow group members!

  1. Open the Navigation Drawer
  2. Tap “My Profile”
  3. In the “My Profile” screen, tap “My Group Conversations”
Viewing the Profile Screen for the Group Chat Conversations Button
/0 Comments/by
, ,

PocketPlatform Media Manager

PocketPlatform Media Manager

Media Manager Tool Overview

Last Updated: Jul 22, 2019 @ 4:18 pm

PocketPlatform’s Media Manager CoreTool brings you the power and flexibility of a world class Content Delivery Network for hosting and serving your sermons, providing direct links to a compressed, efficient MP4, m3u8 playlist, MP3 audio file, and even a text transcription, all from just uploading a single source video file!

After a newly uploaded sermon video has completed processing, both the audio and video version are automatically assigned to the appropriate sermon, all you have to do is enable the completed attachments and you’re ready to go!

PocketPlatform Media Manager

Opening the Media Manager CoreTool

Starting the transcription process in MinistryPlatform is very simple. First, you need to open the coretool for the sermon for which you are adding media.

  1. Open the Sermon Page View
    • In MinistryPlatform, open the sermons page under PocketPlatform
  2. Select a Sermon
    • Select the sermon record to which you would like to attach a media file. Please Note: You can also enter the sermon series directly.
  3. Open the Media Manager CoreTool
1
2
3
PocketPlatform Sermons List in MinistryPlatform
1

PocketPlatform > Sermons

2

Select a Sermon

3

Select “Media Manager” from the tools list

Starting the Transcoding Process

Building and managing the proper video and audio files for use online can be daunting and complex. That’s why we took all the guesswork out of the process! By uploading just one video file to the PocketPlatform Media Manager, we will create all the formats you need to properly distribute your media through your PocketPlatform app and other online destinations.  All files are available for you to download after conversion too.

By this point you should have already opened the Media Manager coretool for the sermon that you are managing. If you do not have this window available, please follow the previous steps in Starting The Transcription Process above.

Select your source file

Use the File Selection field to select your video file, and click “Start Job”

1
Media Manager CoreTool View | PocketPlatform
1

Select a file and upload!


Please Note: The maximum upload size is 10GB, which in most cases is more than enough for a 40-60 minute video file.  Due to the large size of raw video, we do not support uploading raw format video. Please save your video in a compressed playback format before uploading to the Media Manager.

Currently, PocketPlatform supports MP4, MOV and AVI source video files.

See what’s going on

Once you’ve started the Transcoding and Transcribing process, the Media Manager window will continuously update, showing you the status of your current media job.

The status window will update along the way, showing estimated time remaining for each portion of the job

Once your Transcription and Transcoding job has completed – congratulations! You now have all you need to start serving your video and audio through the PocketPlatform app.

This window contains links to download the MP4, MP3, and transcription text, as well as the HLS stream URL and automatically generated thumbnail URL.

1
2
3
4
Media Manager - Completed Job | PocketPlatform
1

Current Transcription and Transcoding Status

2

Download Links

3

Streaming Link

4

Auto-Generated Thumbnail


Please Note:  It is not necessary to keep this window open during this process. The job will continue even if you close this window. You can return to this window at any time by selecting the sermon and opening the CoreTool.

Enabling Video and Audio files on Sermons

Once the Media Manager job is complete, the coretool automatically adds the video and audio files directly to the sermon page record in MinistryPlatform!  All you need to do at this point is change it’s status from “hidden” to “published”

  1. Open the sermon page record
  2. Open each link in the sermon and set to “Published”
  3. That’s it!

Your sermon media is ready to stream right in the PocketPlatform app!

/0 Comments/by