MyVBS.com Help and Support

[DC]

I'll try my best to answer all of your questions in a reasonable time.

[TrinityJen]

All right I know it is my fault and I should not try to do things like this with my kids playing Star Wars in the same room......

I messed up my site name. I know...I know...it says it can not be changed and I read it......

Can anything be done?

[kimbak]

Hi,
This is my first year using myvbs.com I'm confused and having trouble. First everytime I try and enter in our personal info etc... it won't access the page and messes up.
Next question, On the personal info, should I be entering our church info, or MY personal info since I'm the main contact?
Help Please:)
Kim

[ana]

I'm having trouble as well--my assistant director has tried to sign on but the site has not emailed her back with the passcode-she has also tried another email address and still gets nothing--I have tried to give her access from my end but it won't let me add her --it says she must register first--AHHHHHH!
Ana

[DC]

Trinity: Please provide a URL and I'll check it out.

Kim: It is up to you whether you want to put your personal information or the Churches. You can always create more then one account or use the personal info for you and the extended for the church.

ana: The system is not holding any e-mails in it's queue at this time. A lot of people are having the same problem and it's primarily due to their spam filters. I would have your assistant re-register if she doesn't get an e-mail you can always create the user manually through the users page.

[TrinityJen]

Dan, it is http://trinityjen.at.myvbs.com/
See - I thought I was conferming my user name and the second line was asking what I wanted the URL to be = TrinityMilford

Thanks!

[DC]

Your URL change will be processed soon.

[TrinityJen]

Thanks Dan!!!! :D

You're Great!

[TrinityJen]

Thanks again Dan!

I have been trying to update my site. And I am jsut not sure what I am doing. I wanted to update my home page after I set everythign up and it has disapired. Now my homepage says:
Not Found
Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here.

Not the best intruduction :confused:

At one point I have 2 pages called Home but now the 2nd one is listed under my pages but it is not the one that comes up.

I just am lost in all the 'stuff'.

[DC]

Looks like you deleted your homepage "post". Not too big of a deal because you can just create a new "post" and it will show on your homepage.

[Josh1]

Dan,
I was having trouble adding clipart to my pages. I was using the Clipart & Publicity CD that was in my Super Starter Pack. It takes forever to load and some clipart doesn't show up. That's why I haven't put any clipart in my pages yet.
Also, do you have an estimated date for when MyVBS.com will have all the available options?
Thanks!:)
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[TrinityJen]

Ahhhh - I will try that. I was trying to make a 'page'

Thanks!

[TrinityJen]

I am not having any fun trying to FIX my home page. Making a new ‘post’ did not work. My post do not show up anywhere and all on my new pages are gone too. Even though they are listed in the admin pages.

I have finally figured out how to have a ‘static’ home page and tied it to my About page (no other option). But at least now it exists as a home page.

I was just about to give up on this resource entirely. It is not easy to navigate and set up. Especially when you have a problem. And the pages take SO long to load.


Oh- another problem, every time I log in it takes me to my church website???!!!???!?! :confused:

[DC]

Oh- another problem, every time I log in it takes me to my church website???!!!???!?! :confused:
This is because you've manually switched your URL settings on the options page. If you change it back this problem will stop.

Dan,
I was having trouble adding clipart to my pages. I was using the Clipart & Publicity CD that was in my Super Starter Pack. It takes forever to load and some clipart doesn't show up.
Not sure why you are having problems with the clip art from the CD but I've uploaded plenty of pics and added them to posts and pages without any problems.

Also, do you have an estimated date for when MyVBS.com will have all the available options?

No, we don't. We are trying to prioritize our time with a new Gospellight.com, Regalbooks.com and Firstplace.com relaunch and also getting the MyVBS.com and MySundaySchool.com on another server so they don't run "so slow".
What exactly are you looking for that we don't have now?

[eyaple]

I'm having trouble uploading photos from my computer. I click on the "browse" button and find the photo I want, then I insert it and click upload. Every time I get the following message:

Most likely causes:
You are not connected to the Internet.
The website is encountering problems.
There might be a typing error in the address.

What you can try:
Diagnose Connection Problems

More information

This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

Internet connectivity has been lost.
The website is temporarily unavailable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable.
The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.
If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section.

I've checked all areas and everything is set right. What suggestion do you have for uploading photos to my photo page??

Thank you,
Ellie

[DC]

@eyaple
Are you on dial-up? how big is the file you are trying to upload? Make sure the file isn't over 1-2mb.

[eyaple]

No, I have DSL.

All of my photos are 1600 x 1200 and are between 1.09MB and 1.40MB. Do you think these are too large for the site? If so, I can resize and try again and see what happens.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
Ellie:)

[ana]

Okay--is it just me or does myvbs run slow? I have broadband and it feels like I have 1990's dialup when I'm om the site--it's making me a bit crazy--I really would like to use the site and think it's an awesome idea but I am having nothing but trouble--is this happening to anyone else?
Agent Ana

[DC]

1.09MB and 1.40MB.
Ellie:)
Try smaller versions.

And yes, MyVBS.com is slow and we are working the issues out with a new host now.

[winnipeg]

I saw that you were able to change TrinityJen's Url for her.
Could you please help me out. I really want to make the web site work and I didn't even get the address right!

Anyways I am currently at bcb66586.at.myvbs.com (the username that came with my super starter kit) but I would like it to read:
GraceWinnipeg.at.myvbs.com.

Is there any chance that it could be ready to go Friday so that I can have the site assembled for Saturday Night. We are having a Variety Show Fundraiser and it would be great to be able to advertise the site then.

Thanks a bunch,

Tammie

[Ruth]

Hello!

I was just wondering if there's something wrong on my end, but I can't seem to be able to get on the myvbs website to see my site or make any changes. I didn't see any other posts recently about it so I'm wondering if it's just me?

Have a blessed day! -- Ruth

[TrinityJen]

Mine is working....Have you tried again?

[J2911]

HELP... I just got the Super Starter Pack. Where in it is the myvbs info? I am very anxious to get started. Thank you!

[J2911]

Silly me, it was static ~clung~ to the back of one of the books. Now that I've found it, however, I keep getting an internal server error. I have emailed the information to the webmaster@at.myvbs.com

[J2911]

Does anyone have any idea when the new server for myvbs will be up and running? 98% of the time I've tried to log in to my site, it comes up with an Internal Server Error. I've called Gospel Light about this, but all they've told me is to check back later...

[Josh1]

J2911,
Welcome to the Gospel Light Message Boards!:) I would suspect that it would be up in a few days. They're probably updating it (Hopefully.).
I can get in by going to the MyVBS.com Home Page and clicking Login that goes to your website's settings.

Gospel Light,
Is it possible for MyVBS.com to be updated sooner? This is my first year directing VBS and using Gospel Light's VBS curriculum but I've heard from other VBS Directors that it is not the best and that they end up not using it. Could you please look into this for next year. I'm sure that more VBS Directors would use this resource if it was updated sooner. Many of our VBS programs are in June and July so we are in the process of getting volunteers for our programs but don't have the resources on MyVBS.com to do so. I'm not trying to be critical but trying to better the GREAT curriculum Gospel Light has.
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[hastings]

I have registered with the number from the starter pack and I got the e-mail to activate the site but when I click on the link it asks if I want to open the file or save it and then it tries to open PictureIt because of the php file. What's going wrong?

Thanks for any help!

[Josh1]

Welcome to the Gospel Light VBS Message Boards!:)

Try going to the MyVBS.com homepage and enter your username and password.

God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[DC]

We've completed the server migration so please check the sites again.

There should be no interruptions or server slowness. We apologize for all the issues with our old server.

[CindyinNJ]

Hi Dan,

Regarding the registration. I think I may have misunderstood that as well. To me, when it says register, I'm assuming it is to register KIDS for our VBS. This almost seems like it's to register workers to access the site?

Here's what I get........
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/cindylu1224/registration.jpg


See............it says "could not create user".............so then I thought perhaps it's to register VBS workers and they now have to enter a password? But then the user/registrant gets an email with a NEW username and password. Then when they try to login to the site (if they can find that tiny login at the bottom of the page, because there is no login link emailed to them) then they get the same thing as above except it says "error:incorrect password" instead of "could not create user."

So in either case, it does not appear to be working. I tried this on my own computer AFTER logging out and with a DIFFERENT email address and name but all I could get was an error.

But even if it were working, it is confusing because we want people to be able to register their kids for VBS. If they come here they're going to see this "quick registration" thing and think they are registering their kids and be just as confused as I was. I actually have a registration form at my church website I can link to but I'm afraid this "quick registration" will still confuse people. If it really is for workers can it be called VBS worker registration or something?

Thanks!

CindyinNJ

[DC]

How Registration Works

We’ve developed a quick registration for registering your students and volunteers. Included in the registration is a website account that the registrant can use for future visits to your site; to update their account or comment on your posts.
The process below can be done by you or your students, no matter who it should be quick and effortless.
Process:
Use the quick registration found on your homepage.
http://www.gospellight.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=119&stc=1&d=1175274242
This method let’s you just enter the student or helper’s name without entering an e-mail. (Soon the email will default to yours if not specified)
You cannot use a previously used username.
After using the quick registration you or s/he will be taken to that account page were you/they can manage the account information.
http://www.gospellight.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=120&stc=1&d=1175274580
*Notice the password for the account is given here.
There is also another tab “Your Extended Profile”, at this location you/s/he can edit all the detailed info you might need.
http://www.gospellight.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=121&stc=1&d=1175274811
That’s it.

This should be used for helpers or other admins you want to manage your site.
Go to Users after logging in
scroll down to “Add User from Community”
Enter the registrant’s email and role.


Roles:
Roles are provided for helpers and other admins of your choosing. If you used Quick registration you can add roles to already created account on the Users tab.

[CindyinNJ]

Is the clip art page eventually going to have more clip art on it than just borders? Or is there a way I can upload more clip art or do I have to upload all my clip art to the photo gallery?

The clip art is one of the main reasons for us to use the myvbs.com website. It's so much easier than having to constantly pass around the clipart CD.

Thanks! I just just didn't want to have to upload everything to the photo gallery if it was going to be added to the clipart page at some point in the future.

CindyinNJ

[CindyinNJ]

You cannot use a previously used username. Cindy: This is what you were doing.

Actually, the usernames I've used were my church name and my personal name. Two different names. The only time I may have used a username that was the same was when it wouldn't work and I tried to do it over again.

I DID receive an email saying "Dear User, Your new account is set up....." then it gives me my username and password. The only thing is when I try to login with the username and password I was assigned, it still says "error:incorrect password."

I had assumed if I got an email telling me my username and password that it would work using that username and password. It seems that's not the case.

But at least this time I actually got the email! Last time it never came (wasn't in the spam filter....I checked) So at least the email came through. That's something at least!

CindyinNJ

[CammieSue]

Okay I'm so frustrated trying to get myvbs page set up! It is still really slow!!! Also one of the times I somehow changed the header color and now it won't switch back to the default picture. Is there a way to do that?

[CammieSue]

Never mind I figured it out - however it is still going unbelievably slow. I really would love to use this resource, but I can't if I have to spend 2 hours to update it.

[stephsmith]

I have tried accessing the website with three different browsers. I have a cable modem and yet the page to register or login will not load. They simply spin and spin until my browser stops trying. What is the problem?
Stephanie

[Josh1]

Stephanie,
When I try to get into my MyVBS.com, it doesn't work either. I don't know what the problem is.
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[DC]

Systems should be substantially better this time around and I've haven't seen any slow down after our last outage.

[Diana in GA]

It's definitely faster!! I even added a "page" and the tab at the top for a "Registration Page." Next ... figuring out how to get the registration information that someone enters out again into a format I can use or at least see! Help, Dan!! All I can see is the list of "Users" and even if I click "edit" I don't see what they entered .... how do I get their ages, addresses, parent's name, etc.?

[DC]

Just click on "Additional User Info".

At the top will be yours but below that you'll see everyone.

http://www.gospellight.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127&stc=1&d=1177085020
We'll work on taking our additional info out first since it shows on everyones page.

[Josh1]

For those of you who are having trouble with pre-registering kids using your MyVBS.com website, I'm using a different approach. The parents of the kids who are pre-registering will send an e-mail to me with all of their information. Here's a link to my MyVBS.com website. http://vbsaddict.at.myvbs.com/pre-registration/ (http://vbsaddict.at.myvbs.com/pre-registration/)
Is clipart available to put on our MyVBS.com website yet?
God Bless,
Josh Trommer:rolleyes:

[Flutterfly57]

How do I take care of a page that has no way to manage or add post? I some how deleted information on the orginal front page.

There is a link to edit or recover it when I sign in however once I click on the link it takes me to add a post. Adding a post there does not take care of the problem. Whne I click on Manage and then Page, the the page does not exist. I tried to search for it however it does not exist. The Home Page say's No Posts found. I added a Welcome Page but can not add anything to the Home Page. My address to my site is:
http://fortdetrickchapel.at.myvbs.com/

[DC]

Thank you for pointing out that the link is broken, the reason for the change was because of the server migrations and code updates we recently deployed.

You should be able to click on the link and create a new post now.

Again, a post is for the home-page and it will be listed in reverse chronological order. A page is it's own page that will be linked in the header.

Just in case I created a "test" post that you can delete.

[Flutterfly57]

Thank you :-)

[TrinityJen]

I finally have a new Home Post!!!! I am excited, and afraid to change it. Already this morning I had one then lost it.

[Flutterfly57]

How do I get photo's to show when you click on the Photo page?
I uploaded pictures by going to the Photo page and clicking edit, browsed and uploaded the picture from a file I had on my computer. When I clicked on the picture I then clicked the insert button that appeared. When I did not see it on the page I then I went to the Upload button under Manage and clicked on edit and then saved them. One picture showed however one would not. Currently the Photo page has a Main and Subfolder link that must be clicked on to see the pictures.

[Flutterfly57]

What is the Archive for? I have post appearing there that are similar to ones I have on pages. I also noticed that my calendar has a link to them if you click on April 20 and April 24th.
http://fortdetrickchapel.at.myvbs.com/

[carrie]

The posts on my page are in reverse order, with the oldest first and the newest at the bottom. How do I change this?

[Flutterfly57]

How do you change the font and style in the Posts?

[DC]

Flutterfly: I noticed you deleted your photo page and placed some links to your photos. I'm not sure why you deleted that page but we cannot recover it and the links you posted are incorrect per the error message you are receiving.
You also cannot change the font but you can use the options on the post/page editor to change the style. Those easy options work in either firefox or IE.

carrie: That's how the system works because you'll want the newest posts first. If you want to change the order either change your dates or update one single post so it extends. There might be an option for this in your "options" page.

[Flutterfly57]

Flutterfly: I noticed you deleted your photo page and placed some links to your photos. I'm not sure why you deleted that page but we cannot recover it and the links you posted are incorrect per the error message you are receiving.
You also cannot change the font but you can use the options on the post/page editor to change the style. Those easy options work in either firefox or IE.

carrie: That's how the system works because you'll want the newest posts first. If you want to change the order either change your dates or update one single post so it extends. There might be an option for this in your "options" page.

Dan,
Here are my questions per your request on the forum. It seems you are the only one to come to. Calling the help desk resulted in them saying they would inform you of the problems. If these issues cannot be resolved please let me know.

In response to the photos, I did not delete the photo page, however I did take off photo's and reloaded them. They are currently showing on the photo page. The way in which I originally loaded them seems not to be an option any more. Is it possible that the home page I accidentally deleted is the one showing on the calendar link issue that I mention below?


Registration Questions:

There is no selection in the drop down menu to select volunteer. How do I distinguish my volunteers from my students once they register?

Is it possible to create a registration page that allows families with more then one child to add each child with one registration attempt and not repeat the parent information each time?

How do I bring up a list of students by age group?

Editing Questions:
I want to make sure that editing of the site is done by me only. If I assign one of the following functions to someone what can they do in regards to the website?

Editor
Subscriber
Author
Contributor

When adding posts or pages what is “Custom fields” for and how do I use it in developing my posts or pages?

It has a drop down menu for the following, what are they for?

key_encloseme
_pingme
_wp_page_template

How do I effectively use the Upload option when creating a post or page?

Calendar and Archive Questions:

I have things showing in an April archive link that are May events:

The calendar has links on dates that no events were created on:

On the 20th of April there is a link to a page that says Error 404 -not found

On the 24th Of April there is a link to the Welcome page that was created

On the 29th of April there is a link to the April archive and that archive is showing the events in May.

Page Question:

The pages show a date of when it was created. How do I keep that from showing? If so, how do I make them invisible to those visiting the page?

[Diana in GA]

Dan,
Parents have begun using our site to register for VBS! YAY! I have a new problem though. Although I had followed your instructions earlier & a week ago was able to view the detailed registration info (address, ph #, parent name, etc.), now when I go to "Users" and then "Additional User Info" I cannot access/see that information at all.

I also echo Flutterfly's request to be able to bring up a list of students by age group.

Thank you for your continued help!!

[JulesEC]

I am in the admin manage pages under write page, on the photos page (http://cogs2007.at.myvbs.com/wp-admin/page.php?action=edit&post=3). I want to edit this page to make the photos more easily accessible - specifically I am trying to delete the 2007 folder. The preview shows up in the lower panel, but there is no HTML or content under the Site content to edit in the upper portion of the page.

Here is the addy to the main site page:http://cogs2007.at.myvbs.com/

Am I doing something wrong or is this just a bug in the software?

Jules :( :confused:

[DC]

Is it possible that the home page I accidentally deleted is the one showing on the calendar link issue that I mention below?

No, but as long as your photos are showing that is fine.

How do I distinguish my volunteers from my students once they register?

We've added a registration type to the extended profile.

Is it possible to create a registration page that allows families with more then one child to add each child with one registration attempt and not repeat the parent information each time?

Currently no, but it could be added for next season.

How do I bring up a list of students by age group?

Another great request but not at this time.


Editing Questions:
I want to make sure that editing of the site is done by me only. If I assign one of the following functions to someone what can they do in regards to the website?

Editor - Can edit any post and page
Subscriber - Normal user
Author - can create new pages or posts
Contributor - similar to author with additional features.

When adding posts or pages what is “Custom fields” for and how do I use it in developing my posts or pages?

It has a drop down menu for the following, what are they for?

key_encloseme
_pingme
_wp_page_template

Nothing, we are going to hide these soon.

How do I effectively use the Upload option when creating a post or page?

Upload a file, after it uploads click on the thumbnail and add it to the editor.

Calendar and Archive Questions:

I have things showing in an April archive link that are May events:

The calendar has links on dates that no events were created on:

On the 20th of April there is a link to a page that says Error 404 -not found

On the 24th Of April there is a link to the Welcome page that was created

On the 29th of April there is a link to the April archive and that archive is showing the events in May.

I'm not sure what you've done there.


Page Question:

The pages show a date of when it was created. How do I keep that from showing? If so, how do I make them invisible to those visiting the page?

Not an option now since if we change it for you ti will be changed for everyone that wants it.
[quote=Flutterfly57;5022]

hope that helps.

[DC]

now when I go to "Users" and then "Additional User Info" I cannot access/see that information at all.

You should be able to click edit and the users info will show.

[DC]

I am in the admin manage pages under write page, on the photos page (http://cogs2007.at.myvbs.com/wp-admin/page.php?action=edit&post=3) (http://cogs2007.at.myvbs.com/wp-admin/page.php?action=edit&post=3%29). I
Do not edit the photo page. The photo structure with subfolders is necessary for the uploads to work.

In the future we will make this easier where the Albums will take over.

[StPhilipVBS]

Hi Dan: I have deleted everything on my Home Page by accident. Now all my pages are "frozen" and I can't navigate anything. Can my MyVBS be reset back to all the original defaults before I got my sticky fingers on it?

My site is http://stphilipvbs.at.myvbs.com/

After I get my site back, I have lots of questions about setting it up. It doesn't like copy and pasting from Word into the various pages. All the formatting gets messed up.

Also, is there anyway to customize the registration dropdown box options for class/grade selection? Our VBS has Pre-School but does not have Junior High or High School. Is there any way to at least be able to add Pre-School?

Ok, I know I am getting ahead of the real issue...I NEED MY WEBSITE RESTORED!

Please, please help! We have to have our site up and running by May 8th!:eek:

You can call me @ 925.640.5795 or reach me by email @ stphilipvbs@aol.com.
Thank you in advance for responding to this urgent request!
Kim Halsey
VBS Director
St. Philip Lutheran Church
Dublin, CA

[StPhilipVBS]

Hi Dan: Somehow my Homepage fixed itself but now I can't save my edits to my about (details) page. Everytime I make changes (which are desperately needed) I get an error message that the page is not supported by Internet Explorer.
My about page link is http://stphilipvbs.at.myvbs.com/about/

Help again!!!!

Well I tried to add an attachment to this post but it keeps "failing" to add.

[DC]

Hi Dan: Somehow my Homepage fixed itself but now I can't save my edits to my about (details) page. Everytime I make changes (which are desperately needed) I get an error message that the page is not supported by Internet Explorer.
My about page link is http://stphilipvbs.at.myvbs.com/about/

Help again!!!!

Well I tried to add an attachment to this post but it keeps "failing" to add.

I'm not sure what the issue is with IE but it might be because you are copy/pasting into the formating box. You should really use the tools on the page to format your page rather than cop/pasting.

Recommendation:
Copy what you have in word
Click on the "code" tab
Then paste the text into there
switch back to "html" and
finally format the text.

What are you trying to add? And more importantly how big is it?

Also try firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/), it's a better/safer browser.

I went ahead and added "Pre School" but isn't this redundant with Pre Kindergarten"

[Mel]

We don't want users of the website to be able to register by themselves.
Is there any way we can inactivate the registration, or password
protect it so only the administrator can register students?

Thanks for the info.

[DC]

We don't want users of the website to be able to register by themselves.
Is there any way we can inactivate the registration, or password
protect it so only the administrator can register students?

Thanks for the info.

Currently no, but the option could be added for next season. Why not just disregard the registrations you do get or use it as another means of registration like pre-registration.

[Flutterfly57]

Can we add addtional choices to the top menu that has the grades, for those volunteering in other areas such as Crafts, Snacks, Biblestory room, Floater, etc and are not children?

The ability to sort was done last year. Why did it change?

I believe the links on the calendar and archive are a program issue verses something I did. Could it be the same link issue like a previous problem I had?

[Mel]

I think it would be great if you could consider it for next year.

[Amys]

I went to myvbs to setup my website. I enterd the correct email address, but never received my email. Is there a problem with this? Can I re-register? Thanks

[Flutterfly57]

I'm not sure what the issue is with IE but it might be because you are copy/pasting into the formating box. You should really use the tools on the page to format your page rather than cop/pasting.

Recommendation:
Copy what you have in word
Click on the "code" tab
Then paste the text into there
switch back to "html" and
finally format the text.

What are you trying to add? And more importantly how big is it?

Also try firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/), it's a better/safer browser.

I went ahead and added "Pre School" but isn't this redundant with Pre Kindergarten"

Hi Dan,
Pre-School is redundant to Pre-K. On the chance of sounding redundant, how about adding the VBS roles, i.e Volunteer; Teacher, there so we can distinquish the volunteers from the students. The extra drown at the bottom prints on a second page and is not useful there.
Love and Blessings
Jackie

[Christy]

Thank you for taking the time to post problems, comments, questions and suggestions related to MyVBS.com. We apologize for the items that are not working or that need to be improved. Beginning today, a web consultant will be working to correct the problems you have identified. We will also be compiling suggestions of what should be improved or added for future MyVBS.com sites. Please continue to give us your feedback.
Thank you for your patience.

Gospel Light

[Liberty Grove UMC]

I'm not clear how to download the pre-registration information. In prior years we have been able to sort registrants and put it into an excel spreadsheet. This was very helpful. Is it possible to do that now, and if so, how?

Thank you very much.

[Flutterfly57]

I'm not clear how to download the pre-registration information. In prior years we have been able to sort registrants and put it into an excel spreadsheet. This was very helpful. Is it possible to do that now, and if so, how?

Thank you very much.

It is nice to see that someone else remembers what I do about previous year capabililties. This feature was very helpful and it would be great to have it back. I understand Gospel lights request for future improvements. However it would be helpful to have it this year. I feel like we went backwards instead of forward with this years features. I am holding out hope from the message posted on the 18th from Christie that our needs are being heard and someone may be able to do something about it this year. I have enjoyed the Gospel Light programs and would love to continue with it.

Holding out Hope,
Jackie

[SWNaz]

Greetings all,

I have been administrating the VBS portions of our web access for the last several years. While I have had issues with the previous process, I too believe that we have taken a backwards step in some areas. I'd like to list what I like/dislike about both processes here. I'm sure many might have been listed before in this forum, but I have not had the time to read it all...yet.

1. The inability to download a listing of registered students is HUGE!. Major step backwards for convenience and usability.

2. It was awesome in previous years to have that short video preview available to our potential students and their parents. It really gave a preview of the flavor of the VBS. Please bring it back!?

3. The ability to add pages and design them specifically is real nice. I hope to add a couple of pages more soon.

4. I'm not sure I like the comments/blog being the default "Start" page. A more static home page would be better to get that first impression out there properly. Then if people want to add a comment, they can go to that page to do it. It was a bit confusing to find the process for changing it.

5. One item we've wanted that has not been addressed in either setup is the ability to customize the fields in the registration. There are some we would want to delete i.e T-Shirt Size as we do not do T-dhirts. Then there are others we might want to add i.e. Have you been to our VBS Before? How Many Siblings are attending? Would a parent like to sign on as a helper? Etc. Adding the ability to "turn off" an unwanted field and perhaps add a couple of customizable fields would be a great help.

6. The Photo's page is much easier to work with this year.

7. I'd like to have an available stockpile of VBS graphics to choose from to add to the various pages we can now design.

Well, that's it so far. I'm sure I'll have more soon.

SWNaz
South Weymouth Church of the Nazarene
South Weymouth, Massachusetts

[Flutterfly57]

Thank you for your post. I agree with all that you have listed. It is my understanding if more people echo these needs that it is possible we may be able to have some of the changes this year. I hope I heard that right in my conversation with one of the techs. I am not sure how many are using this site or how many have given up. This is taking alot more energy then I have but He gives me more.:)
Love and Blessings
Jackie

[hcrochester]

I don't see any point to having online registration if I can't do anything with the data, like download a student list or make a list of volunteers. What was the point supposed to be?

[khunnicutt]

Please continue posting your feedback and suggestions. Your concerns will be addressed and considered for future features and functionality. Many of you have asked for more function with the data that is collected, easier usability and a more simple interface. All of your messages are read and processed here by Gospel Light, even if they're not responded to individually. Thank you for your comments!

[kathleenkeane]

Wow! I am finding lots of other people with the same disappointments in the web site as I am finding. I would like to add that I do miss the e-postcards on last years site. I have figured out how to put registrations on excell. But I have not figured out a way to send those great postcards. I hope next year some of the great features are back.
Kate

[SWNaz]

Kate,

I'm not proud. How did you get the information into Excel for the registered students?

SWNaz

[Tmblweed]

Hi all,

I'm definitely impressed that this website is changing. It's definitely very different than the website that I was used to seeing last year, but while change is never always easy, I'm happy to see that at least change shows that the company cares about not being stuck in a rut. =)

I have a quick suggestion and a quick question:

Suggestion
When it asks for "Last Completed Grade" of a student that is enrolling, can it be changed so that it specifies the year? For example, if a student is in 2nd grade in May and enrolls in May, they will select "1st grade" as their last completed grade. But if a classmate of theirs waits until July to enroll, this second student will select "2nd grade" as their last completed grade. This will be erroneous, because these 2 students should have been placed in the same group.

Therefore, is it possible to change "Last completed grade" to something like "Grade in 2006-2007" or "Grade in 2007-2008"? I think that this would eliminate some of the guesswork that we might be encountering with.

Question
Currently, the enrollment page asks for questions, such as: "Address", "Parent Name", "T-shirt Size", etc. In our church, we generally have to send out another form, asking for additional information, such as insurance company, insurance info, etc.

Is there any way for us to edit the enrollment page so that we can add additional fields for the parents to fill out?


Thanks, again! I look forward to all the future updates!

_____________________________________________

Jason ****
Chinese Bible Church of West Los Angeles

[kathleenkeane]

SWNaz,
I have the blessing of a 25 year old part-time assistant. She put it all on excell for me. It is working great. But I was just lucky that she knew how it all works.
Kate

[beccamj]

Greetings all,

I have been administrating the VBS portions of our web access for the last several years. While I have had issues with the previous process, I too believe that we have taken a backwards step in some areas. I'd like to list what I like/dislike about both processes here. I'm sure many might have been listed before in this forum, but I have not had the time to read it all...yet.

1. The inability to download a listing of registered students is HUGE!. Major step backwards for convenience and usability.

2. It was awesome in previous years to have that short video preview available to our potential students and their parents. It really gave a preview of the flavor of the VBS. Please bring it back!?

3. The ability to add pages and design them specifically is real nice. I hope to add a couple of pages more soon.

4. I'm not sure I like the comments/blog being the default "Start" page. A more static home page would be better to get that first impression out there properly. Then if people want to add a comment, they can go to that page to do it. It was a bit confusing to find the process for changing it.

5. One item we've wanted that has not been addressed in either setup is the ability to customize the fields in the registration. There are some we would want to delete i.e T-Shirt Size as we do not do T-dhirts. Then there are others we might want to add i.e. Have you been to our VBS Before? How Many Siblings are attending? Would a parent like to sign on as a helper? Etc. Adding the ability to "turn off" an unwanted field and perhaps add a couple of customizable fields would be a great help.

6. The Photo's page is much easier to work with this year.

7. I'd like to have an available stockpile of VBS graphics to choose from to add to the various pages we can now design.

Well, that's it so far. I'm sure I'll have more soon.

SWNaz
South Weymouth Church of the Nazarene
South Weymouth, Massachusetts
I completely agree with SWNaz on the usability of this website. I loved the fact that I could keep the same website from one year to the next and have the pictures from the previous year be already loaded to show what fun we have.

I've selected the "no quick registration" option from our website because I don't want to deal with all these issues. I'm just telling folks to call and sign up that way.

This website is not as good and easy to set up as in past years. I'm very disappointed. I tried to get it going before the end of February so that I could use the old data, but I received so many errors, I gave up in frustration. I can only work on this stuff on weekends and at nights, and it was just too difficult.

Also, is there any way to change the calendar? Starting the week on Monday is just weird, and we run our VBS Sunday through Thursday anyway.

[Hillsville]

There is a problem with the registration part for learners. If you enter an e mail address you are kicked out.

Also, my web page has an early May date below the header. I believe this is the creation date, but this causes confusuion.

Help please!

Thanks,
Neal

[khunnicutt]

Hi Neal,

I was able to create the login error "Could not create user" when you try to register. I received this error when using an email address that was already registered. Let me know if you experience the same problem for users that are not already registered. Try registering using an email address other than your own email address.

The answer to your other question is Yes. The date below the header is the date that message was created. If you create a new message, you will see this date change to the current date. This is a function of the existing format. I will make a note of this confusion for future changes to the site.

[HFCCOffice]

Hi Dan - I recall last year on MyVBS.com (or maybe on Gospel Light's web site?) there was a way for users to search for churches who are doing Gospel Light VBS programs by zip code and/or city. I am not finding this feature easily this year -- is it still available?

Thanks - Debbie

[DC]

It's currently not accessible, although in our requests this year it was something that was postponed till next year due to the other overwhelming issues.

[zionchurch]

Questions:
1: can I turn off the default events calendar and categories, posts and all this othe junk so I JUST HAVE THE PAGES THAT I CREATE (home, about, photo, volunteer, etc.)

2: i have 2 home pages. they're the exact same. on my "manage pages" page, it shows only one, but when viewing the actual site, there are 2.

3: can i make bigger fonts or anything for that matter. where do i go to turn off rich text editor??

4: I THINK i have an events posted but when i go to delete it, there "aren't any events posted". hold the cursor over june 20 and a box pops up saying "about us and photos" (my page headers and i have no idea how to get it off or how it got there)

for now that's it. this website is an excellent tool for ministry and very effective for communication, but it needs to be more clearer in direction. for myself personally, there are too many defaults and automatic features that i can't turn off, thus can't understand, that really frustrate me.

mike zabiran
web: zionchurch.at.myvbs.com

[khunnicutt]

Responses in ALL CAPS...

1: can I turn off the default events calendar and categories, posts and all this othe junk so I JUST HAVE THE PAGES THAT I CREATE (home, about, photo, volunteer, etc.)

- UNDER "MANAGE > PAGES" WHEN YOU EDIT A PAGE, YOU CAN USE A DIFFERENT "TEMPLATE" IN THE RIGHT COLUMN AND THE LAYOUT OF THE PAGE WILL CHANGE BASED ON THAT TEMPLATE.

2: i have 2 home pages. they're the exact same. on my "manage pages" page, it shows only one, but when viewing the actual site, there are 2.

- MAKE SURE YOU DON'T HAVE TWO PAGES WITH THE SAME NAME/TITLE. ALSO, CHECK THE SETTINGS FOR THAT PAGE UNDER "MANAGE > PAGES" TO SEE WHICH PAGE IS "PUBLISHED" UNDER THE "PAGE STATUS" OPTION.

3: can i make bigger fonts or anything for that matter. where do i go to turn off rich text editor??

- TO REMOVE RICH TEXT FORMATTING, YOU CAN EASILY COPY AND PASTE YOUR CONTENT INTO NOTEPAD (OR ANOTHER TEXT EDITOR) AND THEN COPY AND PASTE IT BACK INTO THE PAGE EDITOR.

4: I THINK i have an events posted but when i go to delete it, there "aren't any events posted". hold the cursor over june 20 and a box pops up saying "about us and photos" (my page headers and i have no idea how to get it off or how it got there)

- CHECK YOUR PAGE OR EVENT SETTINGS TO SEE WHICH OPTIONS ARE SELECTED THAT YOU MAY NOT WANT SELECTED.

for now that's it. this website is an excellent tool for ministry and very effective for communication, but it needs to be more clearer in direction. for myself personally, there are too many defaults and automatic features that i can't turn off, thus can't understand, that really frustrate me.

[Linda in MN]

Has the problem of downloading all the info from registration been fixed? I don't see any way to pull up a list of those who have registered online.

Thanks!

[khunnicutt]

Hi Linda,

There is no way to download the registration data. Your best bet is to copy and paste it into Excel or Word and manipulate the data as you need in another program.

Notes are being kept with your suggestion for future versions of the VBS registration function.

I hope this helps!

[stampingsis]

Last year the website came with coloring pages the kids were able to print. Are any of these available this year or do you have to load the pdf files yourself?

[Tmblweed]

hi there,

I have another friendly suggestion that hopefully can be thought about for next year's website:

We're a church that reaches out to exchange students from China that study at UCLA. Therefore, we have a lot of students who share the same last names (Lee, Chen, ****, etc.). As a result, it's not surprising to have kids with exact same names.

So it makes it difficult to enroll kids who have the same last name, because the website rejects kids who have the same name and if both the e-mail fields are left empty.

ANyways, it's just an item to think about. It probably doesn't happen a lot, but in our church, it's not uncommon to have multiple kids with the same name enrolling into VBS.

Thanks again!

["GL"]

We just purchased the curriculum, but messed up our url. Can you fix it??

[cckkjones]

Hi, I have just set up my myvbs.com. I set it up with the wrong name. it is cckkjones.at.myvbs.com I wanted it to be my churches name, not my username. It wont let me change it. Also when I search on search engines it says it cannot find it. HELP!!

[khunnicutt]

cckkjones,

Try re-registering your site again as a new site with the site name you wish to use. The site name cannot be changed once registered.

In order for your site to be found in search engine results, you will need to submit your site to that particular search engine, or simply wait until a specific search engine gets around to indexing your web pages. It doesn't happen immediately.

Visit Google.com's "About Google" page for a very brief introduction to search engine resources:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/about.html

I hope this helps!

Kevin