School Directories

View and search a directory

From a constituent persona (such as: student, parent, alum, faculty, friend), select Directories and choose a directory to view and search.

If a platform manager has enabled "my contacts" for one of your roles, you can select to add individuals from your search results to your virtual address book by selecting Options, then Add to Contacts.

Platform managers determine which directories each role can access.

Update directory content

Information that appears in directories will include content originally entered from various forms, imports, and other user interfaces. To update content that appears in the directory, update the original source of the information. This includes information for:

departments and courses
parent role: list as parent
user name display format - Some schools who enable directories to be printing choose to use this format.
user profile: contact card
- user photo
- user public bio

For users who have access to a directory, the information they have permission to see in the directory depends on the profile publish access settings set by platform managers and the individual privacy settings selected by each user. To show or hide existing content, update the profile publish access settings and/or an individual's privacy settings.

To encourage users to update their information (and privacy settings), consider requiring them to complete a profile update type of school form.

Create a directory

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Select Add directory.
Configure the directory.
- For General, name the directory, determine how it should appear, whether to include deceased people in results, and whether users can change their view or print.
  
  After a directory is printed, the printed copy may become outdated without the user's awareness. Additionally, the user can share the printed information without regard to the access settings that control online security. Thus, you may want to encourage your school to transition to online directories only and disable the option to print. When constituents develop a habit of using the online directory, they'll always have current information and (since they're on your site already) you can encourage them to access other school resources online.
- For Roles, select the roles of the users who should appear in the directory results. Generally, this will correspond to the name and purpose of the directory.
  
  Consider omitting roles whose membership changes frequently. For example, although you'd likely include current students, you may want to exclude incoming students if your admissions process has significant "churn" before enrollments are confirmed.
  
  To limit directory results by school level, campus location (for a school with multiple campuses), or other groupings, we recommend you create a clone of the "friend" role for each desired grouping. Then add users to the appropriate role. Finally, create a new directory or edit an existing one to use the new roles.
- For Filters, select the which filters constituents can use to limit directory results (such as to search for students by grad year). Drag and drop the filters into your preferred order. Select how the filter should sort result by default.
  
  Consider including filters which enable constituents to find nearby classmates in their zip code for transportation (car pool), interests, activities, homeroom, advisory, lunch period, or custom user fields specific to your school.
- For Access, select the roles of the user who should have access to view and use the directory.
  
  For users who have access to a directory, the information they have permission to see in the directory depends on the profile publish access settings that platform managers enable users to share and the individual privacy settings selected by each user.
  
  You can also use clones of the "friend" role when you determine who should have access to the directory.
Select Save.

Edit a directory

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Select the Edit icon next to the appropriate directory.
Make changes as needed and select Save.

Remove a directory

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Select the Delete icon next to the appropriate directory.
Confirm you want to permanently remove the directory.

Alternatively, if you want to keep a directory but make it inaccessible to most users, you could Edit it, select Access, and then Delete the access for the roles that correspond to users who should no longer see the directory.

Configure security access for a directory

Platform managers determine who can view and use each directory.

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Edit the directory, and select Access.
Choose the roles that should have access to view the directory.

For users who have access to a directory, the information they have permission to see in the directory depends on the profile publish access settings that platform managers enable users to share and the individual privacy settings selected by each user.
Select Save.

Limit a directory by school level, campus location, etc.

To limit directory results by school level, campus location (for a school with multiple campuses), or other groupings, we recommend you create a clone of the "friend" role for each desired grouping. Then add users to the appropriate role. Finally, create a new directory or edit an existing one to use the new roles.

Reorder directories for menus

Platform managers control the order in which the directories are listed in navigation menus.

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Select Edit order.
Drag and drop the directories to reorder them.
Select Save.

Enable users to print a directory

In addition to having an online version of the directory, platform managers can enable a printable version when creating a new directory or when editing an existing directory.

After a directory is printed, the printed copy may become outdated without the user's awareness. Additionally, the user can share the printed information without regard to the access settings that control online security. Thus, you may want to encourage your school to transition to online directories only and disable the option to print. When constituents develop a habit of using the online directory, they'll always have current information and (since they're on your site already) you can encourage them to access other school resources online.

Select Core.
Select Content.
Select Directories.
Select Edit next to the appropriate directory.
On the General tab, for Allow printing, select Yes.
The settings here and profile publish access settings determine what information users can view/print.

Configure the printing options:
- Print format: Determine which information users can print.
  - Search results enables users to print only their search results
  - Individual directory enables users to print the directory for individuals
  - Family directory enables users to print the directory for related users.
- Name format: Select the format the users' names will appear in the printed directory.
  
  Choose User Name Format to show names based on the formatting you configured as user name display format.
  
  Choose Display maiden names to also print users' maiden names, such as for alums.
- Display: Select whether to show users' Grad Year, Grade, or Department in the printed directory.
- Group by: Select whether to group users by Grad Year, Grade, or Department in the printed directory. If None is selected, users display alphabetically by their last name.
- Font Style: Select either Times New Roman (serif) or Verdana (sans-serif) for the printed directory.
- Font Size: Select the font size for the printed directory.
Select Save.

Send a directory report to a third party printer

If your school provides families or staff with a printed directory, you can run any of the preformatted directory reports.

Be aware that these reports are designed for internal, school staff and admin use, rather than for parent, student, or external use. Thus, these reports likely include data that some families do not consent to share with non-school staff. You must manually remove the data that shouldn't be shared, before you send it to the printer.

Select Core, then Reporting, Reports, and Search for "directory" reports. Select the report to generate. After the report runs, Export the results to provide to the printer.

Alternatively you can create a user list, select Columns of information that correspond to what your directory should include, Filter and sort the data, and then Export the results to provide to the printer. Remember to use filters that respect users' privacy preferences to avoid exposing information in the directory that they to do not want to share.

After a directory is printed, the printed copy may become outdated without the user's awareness. Additionally, the user can share the printed information without regard to the access settings that control online security. Thus, you may want to encourage your school to transition to online directories only and disable the option to print. When constituents develop a habit of using the online directory, they'll always have current information and (since they're on your site already) you can encourage them to access other school resources online.

Some schools encourage local businesses to advertize in printed school directories and other school publications. This may cover the costs associated with printing or be used for other fundraising needs.

Customize text for intro instructions and "no results"

Platform managers can customize certain text for directories.

Select Core.
Select Settings.
Select Custom labels & text.
Select Custom text/messages.
Select Edit for Directory: Intro Text. This custom text appears at the top of the directory the first time a user visits the directory. Edit and format the text as needed, then Save & Exit.
Select Edit for Directory: No Results Text. This custom text appears any time a user searches a directory and the criteria generate no results..Edit and format the text as needed, then Save & Exit.

Publish an employee directory to your public website

If your school uses School website for your public website, you may want to include a directory on your site so prospective families can learn about your departments and staff. To do this, add the directory widget to the desired web page(s).

View lists, reports, and rosters

Although lists, reports, and rosters are not identical to directories, they include similar information and can be used for related purposes.

To create groups of records or to query your database, go to Core, select Reporting, select Manage lists, and then create or edit a list. See reporting: lists.

Platform managers can use the User list with the Privacy settings filter to review users' privacy selections for the directory.
To generate pre-formatted reports, select Reporting, Reports, and then search for "roster" or "directory" reports to run. See reporting: reports.

A variety of rosters are used throughout Education management solutions. These indicate which individuals are associated via shared interests, participation, and needs. You'll see rosters for: