Blog

OA LodgeMaster Users,
 
The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of our new public feature voting site! The new feature voting site is a community driven effort to discover the needs of our users. The new platform will allow you, our users, to submit enhancement requests and new feature requests directly to the LodgeMaster Team. Other users will then be able to vote on issues and add comments on the features they want to see added. Go to: http://lodgemaster-features.oa-bsa.org and login with your ArrowID to get started today!
 
LodgeMaster Webinar
The LodgeMaster Team is excited the announce our fourth LodgeMaster 4 webinar! Our fourth webinar will be held on Monday, May 13, 2019 at 8:30 PM EST/5:30 PM PST. This webinar will cover new user basics. We will spend 30 minutes covering importing members, creating events, importing event attendees, and using the graduation wizards in the events module. We will spend the last 30 minutes of the webinar answering user submitted questions. We encourage everyone to join us for our fourth webinar, especially those who are new to LodgeMaster or using LodgeMaster for ordeals! Click the button below to register. Once you complete your registration, you will receive an email confirmation with a link to join. We hope to see everyone on May 13^th!
 
LodgeMaster 4 Webinar 4 – New User Basics
Monday, May 13, 2019
8:30PM Eastern | 5:30PM Pacific

REGISTER HERE

Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The Order of the Arrow LodgeMaster along with the BSA have fixed the bug discovered in the Automatic BSA Verification released in version 4.2.0. Overnight the LodgeMaster team published a new version of the online client that fixes the bug. For more information on how the new BSA Verification works refer to the Lodge Client 4.2.0 release notes.

Thank you for your patience while we worked to get this issue fixed. As always, if you have questions or need assistance please submit a ticket online or send an email to: support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.

Thank you,

The LodgeMaster Team

OA LodgeMaster Users,

On Tuesday, January 2, 2019 the LodgeMaster team was made aware of a possible issue with the new automatic BSA Verification released in version 4.2.0 of the Lodge Client. After extensive testing, the LodgeMaster team has identified an issue with one part the BSA Verification process. Beginning at midnight on January 1, 2019 the BSA Registration Status began showing as Not Active for almost all members. This is due to a everyone’s registration expiring in the BSA’s systems upon entering a new calendar year and a glitch in the API that is not sending us the expired registrations. Until unit and council charters are processed, BSA Registration Status will come back as not active. When running the BSA Verification process, verification of BSA ID, Gender, and Date of Birth will still work correctly, and YPT statuses and dates will be updated. The LodgeMaster team has been in contact with the BSA API team to resolve the issue as soon as possible and get the additional data we need to correctly show if a member has an active registration. As soon as we have the issue fixed, we will let everyone know.

Thank you for your patience while we work through this issue with the new BSA API integration. We are working to have this issue resolved as soon possible.

Thank you,

OA LodgeMaster Leadership
Chadd, Mike, Rob

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.2.0! We fixed 44 bugs, made 5 improvements, and added 2 new features. The inventory module has now been migrated to the LodgeMaster 4 platform! The inventory module has been migrated off the Silverlight platform allowing use on mobile devices and any modern web browser. In the coming months we will be working to migrate our final module, finance, off the Silverlight platform.

Additionally, we released the BSA Automation features discussed at NOAC this past summer! BSA Membership status and YPT information now syncs between LodgeMaster and the BSA ScoutNET system. The legacy membership audit tool in the member manager has been replaced with a new BSA Verification tool. The new integration allows you automatically verify a members BSA registration as well as their YPT date without the need to import or export files. The new tool can be run from the member module or from individual member records. When running the BSA Verification tool for the grid, all members displayed in the grid will be processed.

The new BSA Verification process can also be run from the Event Manager when adding attendees to an event or checking attendees in. This will allow you to automatically verify that event participants are YPT compliant and registered members of the Boy Scouts of America. We have updated the built-in views in the member module to reflect the results of the BSA Verification process. You can also add the BSA Membership and YPT fields to the member manager grid and the event attendee grid.

A couple other important reminders:

• If you are running the offline program and have an older version (version 4.1.2 or earlier), you must upgrade to a newer version. You will no longer be able to sync version 4.0.2 or earlier as of January 3, 2019, and version 4.1.2 or earlier as of February 14, 2019. More information can be found here.
• As of January 1^st, we’ll be disabling the ability to claim a version 4.0 account based on your version 3.0 username and password. We’ll be removing all the old version 3.0 usernames and password from databases and marking any users that have not claimed a 4.0 account or have an active invitation older than 30 days as deleted.

We’re going to be instituting a couple data retention policies as of January 1^st as well:

• We’ll be removing member change history older than 5 years. We believe that will give everyone enough time to see any changes and who made them on a member while also making sure each lodges database remains optimal.
• We’ll be keeping sent emails for 5 years as well, so you can go back and clone an old email as a new one and see past sent history. As a subset of this, we’ll be keeping email attachments on messages for two years and we’ll be keeping images in emails for 2 years as well (images will be kept for 2 years from the last used date since images can be kept used in multiple messages).

Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/ to access the online system, and if needed, download the offline version. As always, if you have questions or problems, please submit a request online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC).

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team,

Chadd, Mike, Rob, and Mike

Release Notes for Version 4.2.0

What If I Have Questions?

Please submit a ticket on the help desk if you have any questions - this allows each of the team members to respond as they have time - instead of sending all questions to one member of the development team. You can submit a ticket online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC) or via email at support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.1.2! We fixed 72 bugs and made 28 improvements! The LodgeMaster development team has been hard at work fixing the most common user report bugs; and making improvements the most used modules.

Important notes about the release:

• We’ve improved the 2018 membership card format and added the ability to print selectable fields on the back of the cards.
• We’ve added the JTE performance worksheet to allow you to see all numbers input and submitted from past years and the current year.
• We fixed an issue with the Lodge Selector not displaying any lodges after logging in. Users should now be automatically logged into their lodge. If you still cannot see your lodge when you’re logged in do a CTRL + F5. This command clears the page cache and brings back your lodge.
• We fixed several bugs relating to data export and imports. Fixes include corrected column names on data exports, an issue when importing members and the chapter name was not the same case, and an issue with import file names.
• Fixed several issues relating to positions. The leadership reports have been updated for version 4 and the new Lodge Structure. Reports now are correctly sorted and return all your current leadership. We fixed an issue when adding new positions within the Lodge Structure, added new errors messages when removing positions from areas, fixed an issue when adding newly created positions to an area. We also fixed the sorting issue when looking at positions in an area in the Lodge Structure.
• Made several improvements to the Member grid when adding position information. The new Active Positions field in Advanced Filtering allows you to filter based on Position. This new field allows you to create custom views for your LEC and lists of specific positions and send emails, etc.
• Fixed a couple of calculation errors in the JTE Module relating to youth inductions as well as inactive districts not being counted.
• We made improvements to the error messages with the Lodge Client. Error message now clearly indicate what the issue is. We have plans to add some more detailed error messages in future updates.
• Fixed refresh issues in the User Manager. After adding new users, you can see them in the grid.
• Added search and export functionality to the member status (archived, deleted, deceased) views.
• Added search functionality to the column chooser.
• Fixed an issue when filtering columns and the filtered value no longer existed. You can now clear the filter.
• Added the ability to add and remove ceremony team members.
• Fixed an issue resulting in custom views not saving the column order.
• Fixed an issue with middle initial not being printed on membership cards.
• Fixed a caching issues in Internet Explorer. Users can now use Internet Explorer to access the Lodge Client.

These are just a few of the bugs and improvements made in 4.1.2. Below is the full list of bug fixes and improvements

A couple important reminders and notes:

• If you are running the offline program and have an older version (version 4.0.2 or earlier), you must upgrade to a newer version. You will no longer be able to sync version 4.0.2 or earlier as of January 3, 2019. More information can be found here.
• As of January 1^st, we’ll be disabling the ability to claim a version 4.0 account based on your version 3.0 username and password. We’ll be removing all the old version 3.0 usernames and password from databases and marking any users that have not claimed a 4.0 account or have an active invitation older than 30 days as deleted.

We’re going to be instituting a couple data retention policies as of January 1^st as well:

• We’ll be removing member change history older than 5 years. We believe that will give everyone enough time to see any changes and who made them on a member while also making sure each lodges database remains optimal.
• We’ll be keeping sent emails for 5 years as well, so you can go back and clone an old email as a new one and see past sent history. As a subset of this, we’ll be keeping email attachments on messages for two years and we’ll be keeping images in emails for 2 years as well (images will be kept for 2 years from the last used date since images can be kept used in multiple messages).

Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/ to access the online system, and if needed, download the offline version. As always, if you have questions or problems, please submit a request online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC).

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team,
Chadd, Mike, Rob, and Mike

Release Notes for Version 4.1.2

Bug Fixes

[OALMLC-1194] - Default Lodge Login After Timeout

[OALMLC-1228] - Can't View Report On Mobile

[OALMLC-1234] - Attendee Delete Confirmation

[OALMLC-1247] - Unit Export Column Name Improvements

[OALMLC-1251] - Include Middle Initial On Membership Cards

[OALMLC-1253] - Column Chooser Button Doesn't Update

[OALMLC-1264] - Export Labels To XLS File Error

[OALMLC-1277] - Lodge Structure Position Sort

[OALMLC-1289] - Vigil Committee Prospects View Error

[OALMLC-1295] - Error Adding Members To Events

[OALMLC-1305] - Lodge Structure Refresh

[OALMLC-1320] - Unable To Edit Lodge Wide Event Status

[OALMLC-1321] - Event Summary Report Date Calculation

[OALMLC-1324] - Clan Editor Add Candidate Search

[OALMLC-1325] - Event Check-In Age Calculation Error

[OALMLC-1332] - Member Manager Event List

[OALMLC-1337] - Deceased Members With Valid Current Position Date

[OALMLC-1338] - Deactivated Positions Still Available

[OALMLC-1340] - Issues When Joining Positions To Member Grid

[OALMLC-1342] - Event Manager Payment Type & Amount Paid

[OALMLC-1343] - Separate Pages Per Report Option

[OALMLC-1355] - Event Location Column Chooser

[OALMLC-1378] - Action Links Are Missing From Left Nav Between 400px And 450px

[OALMLC-1380] - Toolbar Disappears Between 1206 and 1224 Pixels

[OALMLC-1382] - Next And Back Buttons Don't Prompt To Save

[OALMLC-1384] - Member Manager Unit Number Filter List

[OALMLC-1388] - Event Views On Mobile Duplicate First Column

[OALMLC-1393] - Vital Statistics Report Error

[OALMLC-1396] - JTE District Calculation Error

[OALMLC-1399] - Login After Timeout Cache Issue

[OALMLC-1435] - Conversion Rate Error

[OALMLC-1436] - Charter Wizard Display Issues On Mobile

[OALMLC-1437] - Header Filtering Dropdown Issue

[OALMLC-1248] - Unit Manager Search Error

[OALMLC-1256] - Cleanup Member Fields - Change Empty Strings To Nulls

[OALMLC-1284] - Fix IE Cache Header Issue

[OALMLC-1335] - Reset View After Empty Filter Dataset

[OALMLC-1432] - Member Grid Views - Dues Related Issues

[OALMLC-1464] - Membership Card Backs Are Incorrectly Sorted

[OALMLC-1465] - Chapter Information Report Failing

[OALMLC-1466] - Adding Positions to Areas

[OALMLC-1467] - Error Adding Positions in Lodge Structure

[OALMLC-1468] - Position Not Showing In Member Editor

[OALMLC-1180] - Edit Account Button

[OALMLC-1282] - Unable To Save Ceremony Team Members

[OALMLC-1303] - Change Minimum DOB Date Requirement

[OALMLC-1311] - Remove Chapter Requirement For Ceremonies Team

[OALMLC-1318] - Unable To Delete Ceremonies Team Members

[OALMLC-1323] - Import Modal Field Column Widths

[OALMLC-1368] - Search Box Does Not Work Under 991 Pixels

[OALMLC-1400] - Unable To Save Vigil Event

[OALMLC-1427] - Deleting Org. Unit Position Error Message

[OALMLC-1471] - Can't Type in 1900 Dates

[OALMLC-1472] - Cleanup All Date Field Usage

[OALMLC-1211] - Import With Blank Phone Number

[OALMLC-1241] - Custom View Columns Reorder On Reload

[OALMLC-1260] - Dues Trend Report Error

[OALMLC-1290] - Attendee Event Notes Are Lost On Subsequent Edits

[OALMLC-1291] - Add Elangomat Member Search Issue

[OALMLC-1296] - Event Refresh After Editing Clans / Generator Doesn't Reset Numbers

[OALMLC-1297] - Unable To Delete Medical Record Date

[OALMLC-1309] - Member Import Not Case Sensitive

[OALMLC-1331] - Capability To Add Non-USA Members

[OALMLC-1334] - Offline Client Causes "Connection Reset" Error

[OALMLC-1346] - Chapter Refresh In Member Manager

[OALMLC-1375] - Event Attendee Grid Ordeal Date Column Update After Running Ordeal Wizard

[OALMLC-1398] - User Manager Refresh

[OALMLC-1475] - Lodge Listing Blank In Launcher

[OALMLC-1476] - Error Saving Event Attendee If Cost Or Payment Method No Longer Exists

[OALMLC-1477] - Error Message If No Event Selected When Adding Event

[OALMLC-1478] - Error Messages In Grid Edit Modals Don't Show

[OALMLC-1479] - Dues Modal Has No Required Field Validation

Improvement

[OALMLC-380] - Improve Printer Order For Lodge Positions List

[OALMLC-738] - Add Ability To Print Groups For Position Reports

[OALMLC-801] - Vacant Positions On Leadership Roster

[OALMLC-884] - JTE Performance Worksheet

[OALMLC-1159] - Enable 2018 Membership Cards

[OALMLC-1174] - Sort Units Numerically

[OALMLC-1209] - Member Position Static Reports Need To Be Updated

[OALMLC-1254] - Group By Column Show (Blank) For Null/Empty Values

[OALMLC-1279] - Allow Printing Blank Cards

[OALMLC-1354] - OData Query Node Count Maximum

[OALMLC-1439] - Enable Column Chooser Search

[OALMLC-1456] - Reorder Event Manager Context Menu

[OALMLC-1363] - Remove Duplicate Custom Contact Types

[OALMLC-1455] - Add Clear All / Back To Roster Button

[OALMLC-1122] - Event Checkout

[OALMLC-1197] - Export Inactive/Archived Members

[OALMLC-1202] - Add Search Box To Member Special Views

[OALMLC-1266] - Add Event Age As Column Option

[OALMLC-1273] - Change In/Out Buttons To Two Columns

[OALMLC-1448] - Cleanup #2003 Error Message

[OALMLC-1469] - Update Client Code To Save Empty Strings As Nulls

[OALMLC-942] - Set Print Column Widths For New Columns

[OALMLC-1285] - Allow Filtering Of Positions In Grid

[OALMLC-1316] - Event Roster Defaults

[OALMLC-1474] - Add Message If Selectable Data Column Added To Grid

What If I Have Questions?

Please submit a ticket on the help desk if you have any questions - this allows each of the team members to respond as they have time - instead of sending all questions to one member of the development team. You can submit a ticket online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC) or via email at support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.
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OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the immediate release of version 4.1.0! We fixed 15 bugs, made 1 improvement, and added 1 new feature – the 2018 Charter & JTE forms. Notable bug fixes include BSA Audit import errors, add position error in Lodge Structure, and report improvements for archived members. Improvements include a new Vital Statistics report which allows numbers to be run just for youth.

We’ll be adding one additional Charter & JTE report like past worksheet reports that will let you see detailed numbers from past submissions - that report will be available online in the next couple days.

There were 3 small bugs with the 4.1.0 release that we’ve fixed already before we were able to get the release announcement out, so we’ve also released version 4.1.1 and those bugs are included in the list below.

Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/ to access the online system, and if needed, download the offline version. As always, if you have questions or problems, please submit a request online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC).

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team,
Chadd, Mike, Rob, and Mike

Release Notes For Version 4.1.0 And 4.1.1

Bugs

[OALMLC-1163] - Merge Function Not Validating Value

[OALMLC-1164] - Duplicate Payment Methods

[OALMLC-1170] - Unit Manager Dues Counts

[OALMLC-1206] - Adding Positions in Lodge Structure

[OALMLC-1212] - Remove Chapter Requirement from Member Unit Selection

[OALMLC-1225] - Location Merge Not Merging All Records

[OALMLC-1229] - Suppress Archived Members From Reports

[OALMLC-1250] - Unable to Delete Email in Draft Status

[OALMLC-1262] - Importing Dues Error

[OALMLC-1269] - Error Loading BSA Audit Results

[OALMLC-1349] - Vital Statistics Report Error

[OALMLC-1356] - Asset Delete

[OALMLC-1367] - Multi-Sort Does Not Work

[OALMLC-1371] - Event Paid Check Box

[OALMLC-1377] - Area List Not in Correct Alphabetical Order in User Permission

[OALMLC-1389] - Error Exporting Member Grid All Columns

[OALMLC-1387] - Location Type Field Does Not Return Values

[OALMLC-1386] - State Field Does Not Return Values

New Features

[OALMLC-1013] - Implement 2018 Charter Renewal & JTE Forms

Improvements

[OALMLC-1181] - Update Vital Statistics Report to Accommodate JTE

What If I Have Questions?

Please submit a ticket on the help desk if you have any questions - this will allow each of the team members to respond as they have time - instead of sending all questions to one member of the development team. You can submit a ticket online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC) or via email at support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce the upcoming release of version 4.1! We fixed a number of bugs and added 4 new features! Included in the Lodge Client version 4.1 release is the 2018 Charter & JTE module plus a new JTE worksheet view report. We have also added an updated vital statistic report that can be run for youth-only numbers. Bug fixes in version 4.1 include fixing a bug when importing BSA audit results, a vital statistic report error, location merge not merging all records, and a dues import bug.

LodgeMaster 4.1 Update Scheduled

On Wednesday, October 3, 2018 the LodgeMaster team will be updating both the online and offline Lodge Client to version 4.1. Users should expect downtime on Wednesday afternoon while we perform the upgrade. We expect the upgrade to take between 90 and 120 minutes. In version 4.1 we have made database changes that require you to re-download the offline database. Please read the Offline Client Update Instructions below if you use the offline Lodge Client.  

Offline Client Update Instructions

Offline Lodge Client users will need to sync before running the offline 4.1 installer. You will receive a warning message in the installer reminding you to sync before installing, this is very important, and you should make sure you have synced any changes before upgrading. Once you install and run version 4.1 your local database will be cleared and then update with the new database structure and your lodge data will be downloaded again. Please let all of your users know this important note.

LodgeMaster Webinar

The LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce our second LodgeMaster 4 webinar! Our second webinar will be held on Thursday, October 11, 2018 at 8PM ET/5PM PT. This webinar will cover the 2018 charter & JTE module as well as an in-depth look at the new lodge structure. We will also be addressing some of the most common questions we receive. We encourage everyone to join us for our second LodgeMaster 4 webinar! The link for the webinar will be sent out via email one week prior to the start of the webinar. It’s easy to join! Just click the link you receive on October 11th at 8PM Eastern, 5PM Pacific. Make sure to invite your friends too!

LodgeMaster 4 Webinar 2

Thursday, October 11, 2018

8PM Eastern | 5PM Pacific

*Link will be sent on October 4, 2018

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team,

Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead

Michael Card, Project Adviser

Robert Anstett, Development Lead

Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster Team is happy to announce the immediate release of version 4.0.2! We fixed 36 bugs and made one improvement. Users can now view sent, bounced, opened, and click rates for sent email. Bug fixes include an issue where users with view only permission could not view event attendees or member data in Member Manager. Fixes for grid data not refreshing after making changes. Date improvements, advanced filtering options, and several other small issues in the Event and Member Managers. A detailed list of bug fixes can be found below.

Go to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/ to access the online system, and if needed, download the offline version. As always, if you have questions or problems, please submit a request online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC).

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team,

Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead

Michael Card, Project Adviser

Robert Anstett, Development Lead

Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

What changed in this version?

Bugs

[OALMLC-1151] - Offline SSL Certificate Issues In Chrome & Firefox

[OALMLC-1161] - Enable Silverlight Client For Finance / Inventory

[OALMLC-1162] - Charter Reports Cause Errors On Running

[OALMLC-1169] - Built-In View Errors

[OALMLC-1171] - Entered Date Value Error

[OALMLC-1172] - Check-in/Out Dates

[OALMLC-1173] - Email Function

[OALMLC-1175] - Current Position in Member Summary

[OALMLC-1177] - Unit Elections Start Month Migration Error

[OALMLC-1178] - Menu Auto Collapse

[OALMLC-1179] - Fix Awards & Resources Notes In Screen

[OALMLC-1183] - Event Permission Errors

[OALMLC-1189] - Member Not in Lists

[OALMLC-1192] - Change Adviser Position Types

[OALMLC-1193] - Position Name Field in Filter

[OALMLC-1195] - Email Approval Notice

[OALMLC-1198] - Email Contact Types

[OALMLC-1203] - Fix Time In Change History Grid

[OALMLC-1207] - Save/Reset Button

[OALMLC-1208] - Event Grid Refresh On Back To Events

[OALMLC-1215] - Highlight YPT Date if Not Current

[OALMLC-1218] - Add Out of Range Warning But Allow Value

[OALMLC-1219] - Column Filter Doesn't Match Data

[OALMLC-1221] - Event View Access

[OALMLC-1222] - Advanced Filters in Events not Filtering Correctly

[OALMLC-1223] - Error Viewing Data After Creating Custom View

[OALMLC-1224] - Unit Contact Date Changes After Saving

[OALMLC-1227] - Clans Do Not Auto Generate

[OALMLC-1231] - Member View Access

[OALMLC-1232] - Event Check-in Date Shows Wrong Value From SignalR

[OALMLC-1235] - Error Removing Event Fees

[OALMLC-1240] - Clan Members Removed As They Checked In

[OALMLC-1242] - Position Buttons Do Not Work

[OALMLC-1243] - Log File Error Installing Offline Client

[OALMLC-1244] - Unit Visit Date Badly Formatted

[OALMLC-1249] - Addresses Not Shown in Detailed Clan List Report

Improvements

[OALMLC-1073] - Report Open Rates Plus Bounces For Sent Emails

What If I Have Questions?

Please submit a ticket on the help desk if you have any questions - this will allow each of the team members to respond as they have time - instead of sending all questions to one member of the development team. You can submit a ticket online (http://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC) or via email at support@lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org.

LodgeMaster Users,

The LodgeMaster Team is excited to announce our first LodgeMaster 4 webinar! Our first webinar will be held on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 9PM ET/6PM PT. This will be the first of several upcoming webinars we plan to hold. This first webinar will cover the major changes we made in LodgeMaster 4. We will also be addressing some of the most common questions we receive. We encourage everyone to join us for our inaugural LodgeMaster 4 webinar! It’s easy to join! Just click the link below on May 17th at 9PM Eastern, 6PM Pacific. Make sure to invite your friends too! 

LodgeMaster 4 Webinar 1
Thursday, May 17, 2018
9PM Eastern | 6PM Pacific
Join Webinar

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team, 

Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Michael Card, Project Adviser
Robert Anstett, Development Lead
Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

OA LodgeMaster Users,

The OA LodgeMaster team is very excited to announce the immediate release of Version 4! The system has been completely rewritten from the ground up. The LodgeMaster team has spent the last three years developing this version which has incorporated more than 100 user requested enhancements - over 1/3 of all open user enhancement requests! The enhancements include making the application faster and compatible with any modern browser including mobile phones, making managing your lodge structure easier and giving you more granular permissions over users, and allowing searching, accessing, and reporting on your data simpler in members, events, and units.

Removing the need for Silverlight has allowed us to build the new lodge client with mobile functionality in mind. This allows you to use LodgeMaster anytime, anywhere, from your smartphone or tablet. Another new feature in the next version of LodgeMaster is single sign-on with ArrowID. Users will no longer need to maintain separate user accounts for LodgeMaster, NOAERS, and other Order of the Arrow systems.

When accessing the system for the first time, users will need to link their old OALM 3 account to their ArrowID. Directions on how to do this can be found here. You will only need to do this once. If you do not have an ArrowID you can create one here.

You can access the new Lodge Client by going to https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org. While there is an offline client available in LodgeMaster 4, we strongly encourage users to use the online Lodge Client when possible. We have developed the offline client for use at events where you do not have internet access.  If your Lodge Master account has offline access you can use your ArrowID username and password to login offline. If you currently have the old offline client installed, you must uninstall the old Lodge Client before installing the new Lodge Client. Directions for uninstalling can be found here.

A couple important notes on offline: first, all user management task must be done in the online client. This includes inviting users, editing permissions, and deactivating user account. Email management has also been moved to the online client only - composing, editing, and approval must be done in the online Lodge Client.

If you are trying to login, and are having problems, please contact your lodge administrator. The LodgeMaster team cannot create accounts or reset passwords for users. We can only create and or reset passwords for the one or two official lodge administrators. If you are unsure who your lodge administrator is, check with your lodge adviser or council Scout Executive. If you are a lodge administrator, and need help logging in, or managing lodge users accounts, please submit a ticket. And we will get back to you as soon as possible.

We know that there will be a lot of questions as you begin to use the new Lodge Client due to the large number of changes. To help address these questions, we will be scheduling a series of webinars in the next couple weeks. The webinars will guide you through using the new client and address the most common questions we receive. We will then schedule regular webinars to answer questions and help users to better understand the functionality of the Lodge Client.

Our development team has worked hard to eliminate as many bugs as possible in the next version of the Lodge Client. As you use the new system you may find bugs that were missed by our development team and beta test group. We ask that you submit this through the LodgeMaster Support Center. As bugs come in, we will work to fix them as quickly as possible. We will be pushing regular updates to the online Lodge Client fixing the bugs that have been found. Updates to the offline Lodge Client will be published less frequently and announced to the mailing list.

The Finance and Inventory modules will be available in the coming months but until then you can access them on the old platform which will be available later this week. The LodgeMaster team will continue to support any lodge who uses these modules.

As always, if you have questions or problems, please check out the new version 4.0 documentation or submit a request online (https://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC). Our support team will work through submitted tickets as quickly as possible.

We are extremely excited for the next version of the Lodge Client! The LodgeMaster team is made up entirely of volunteers, donating their time to the project. We would like to thank everyone for their support of the project and the development of the next version of LodgeMaster.

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team

Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead

Michael Card, Project Adviser

Robert Anstett, Development Lead

Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

OA LodgeMaster Users,

We wanted to provide everyone with a quick status update on the LodgeMaster 4 upgrade. We have successfully migrated all lodge databases to LodgeMaster 4. We are working on fixing a few final bugs that were discovered during our testing this weekend. Once we get these final bugs fixed, we will push out the final release of LodgeMaster 4.0.0. We expect all systems to be back up and operational by tomorrow evening. We will send out a final message once everything is up and running again. 

Thanks,

The LodgeMaster Team
Chadd, Mike, Rob, Mike

OA LodgeMaster Users,

This is a final reminder of the LodgeMaster 4 upgrade scheduled for Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018. During this time all LodgeMaster services will be unavailable while we complete the upgrade to LodgeMaster 4. Please review the release notes and FAQ below prior to Friday, April 13, 2018.

Important Release Notes:

• The entire OA LodgeMaster system will be unavailable Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018 while the LodgeMaster team performs the system upgrades.
• All offline data MUST be synchronized with the OA LodgeMaster server by Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 11:59pm eastern. Any data not synchronized by the 12th will not be available after the OA LodgeMaster release. Your old offline database WILL NOT be compatible with the new version of OA LodgeMaster. Any changes after the 12th at 11:59pm eastern that are made in the old program will need to be manually re-done in the new system.
• OA LodgeMaster 4 will be available on Monday, April 16, 2018. OA LodgeMaster should be considered offline and unavailable until Monday morning. 
• Users with the offline client will need to uninstall the OA LodgeMaster Lodge Client 3.3.11 before installing the 4.0.0 Lodge Client. 
• During the upgrade window, status updates will be posted to the OA Status Page. The status page is located at status.oa-bsa.org.

FAQ:
Q: Will all our data still be in LodgeMaster after the update?
A: Yes, all your lodge data will be in LodgeMaster after the upgrade.

Q: What if we have a lodge event on the weekend of the upgrade?
A: We recommend that prior to Thursday, April 12, 2018 you export your current membership into an Excel sheet. Work from the Excel during your event. And then upload any dues payments or event registrations after the update. Please contact us other with questions if you have an event during next weekend.

Q: I don’t have an ArrowID. Where can I create one?
A: Go to id.oa-bsa.org and click Create an account.

Q: I don’t remember my LodgeMaster 3 account information. What should I do?
A: Contact your LodgeMaster Lodge Administrator and ask them to reset your LodgeMaster account password.

Q: Will there be an offline client in the next version of LodgeMaster?
A: Yes, there will be an offline client in LodgeMaster. You will be able to download the offline client from within the online lodge client.

Important References

• LodgeMaster Web Site - https://lodgemaster.oa-bsa.org/
• LodgeMaster Status Page - https://status.oa-bsa.org/ 
• LodgeMaster Support Center - https://docs.oa-bsa.org/display/OALMLC 
• Previous Release Email – 1. https://docs.oa-bsa.org/x/B4MwBg 2. https://docs.oa-bsa.org/x/QoMwBg

We are less than three days from the next major release of the Order of the Arrow LodgeMaster system. The LodgeMaster is excited for the first release of LodgeMaster 4! Years of development and months of beta testing are coming to close. And it’s almost time for all that work to be showed off.

While this is our last update reminder email, expect several more emails from us during and after the release highlighting the over 100 user requested enhancements and bug fixes. We’ll also be announcing several new tools coming to the LodgeMaster support center, including a new email announcement platform and brand-new feature request system.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to this email.

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team
Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Michael Card, Project Adviser
Robert Anstett, Development Lead
Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

OA LodgeMaster Users,

This is a reminder of the LodgeMaster 4 upgrade scheduled for Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018. During this time all LodgeMaster services will be unavailable while we complete the upgrade to LodgeMaster 4. Please review the release notes below prior to Friday, April 13, 2018.

We have received many questions regarding the update weekend. We have done our best to respond to each email. But due to the volume of email, we may have missed your email. To better answer your questions, we have answered the most common questions below. If you still have questions about the upgrade, please reply to this email.

Important Release Notes:
- The entire OA LodgeMaster system will be unavailable Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018 while the LodgeMaster team performs the system upgrades.
- All offline data MUST be synchronized with the OA LodgeMaster server by Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 11:59pm eastern. Any data not synchronized by the 12th will not be available after the OA LodgeMaster release. Your old offline database WILL NOT be compatible with the new version of OA LodgeMaster. Any changes after the 12th at 11:59pm eastern that are made in the old program will need to be manually re-done in the new system.
- OA LodgeMaster 4 will be available on Monday, April 16, 2018. OA LodgeMaster should be considered offline and unavailable until Monday morning.
- Users with the offline client will need to uninstall the OA LodgeMaster Lodge Client 3.3.11 before installing the 4.0.0 Lodge Client.
- During the upgrade window, status updates will be posted to the OA Status Page. The status page is located at status.oa-bsa.org.

FAQ:
Q: Will all our data still be in LodgeMaster after the update?
A: Yes, all of your lodge data will be in LodgeMaster after the upgrade.

Q: What if we have a lodge event on the weekend of the upgrade?
A: We recommend that prior to Thursday, April 12, 2018 you export your current membership into an Excel sheet. Work from the Excel during your event. And then upload any dues payments or event registrations after the update. Please contact us other with questions if you have an event during next weekend.

Q: I don’t have an ArrowID. Where can I create one?
A: Go to id.oa-bsa.org and click Create an account.

Q: I don’t remember my LodgeMaster 3 account information. What should I do?
A: Contact your LodgeMaster Lodge Administrator and ask them to reset your LodgeMaster account password.

Q: Will there be an offline client in the next version of LodgeMaster?
A: Yes, there will be an offline client in LodgeMaster. You will be able to download the offline client from within the online lodge client.

We are just under a week away from the next major release of LodgeMaster. We can’t wait to show you the future of LodgeMaster. Over the next week, expect several update reminder emails from the LodgeMaster team.

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team
Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Michael Card, Project Adviser
Robert Anstett, Development Lead
Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

Dear OA LodgeMaster Users,

It’s finally the time we all have been waiting for - the next version of OA LodgeMaster is nearly ready for general release! Thank you to everyone who has waited patiently as we’ve developed the next great version of OA LodgeMaster and thanks to the users who have helped us test the new system over the past two months.

After nearly three years in development, and nearly two months in beta testing, we are almost ready to release the next version of the Order of the Arrow LodgeMaster system. We have worked hard to ensure the new version is built to provide a robust and easy to use platform. We also took the time to incorporate more than 100 user requested enhancements to make the platform easier to use.

The new LodgeMaster client has been completely rewritten from the ground up. It completely removes the need for Silverlight - instead the new version is completely web-based and runs in any modern web browser, including mobile phones and tablets. While the functionality is like the current version, the look of the OA LodgeMaster client has been modernized - content dynamically scales to fit any size screen. The new Lodge Client will be new yet familiar to all users. 

OA LodgeMaster also now leverages the new ArrowID single sign-on system - you will be able to sign into LodgeMaster with you existing ArrowID account. Users will connect their ArrowID to their old account by signing in with the old username and password once, from then on you’ll just need your ArrowID. New users will be invited by email instead of creating a username and password for them.

We’ll have many more details on the enhancements we’ve made to the client with the final release and starting at the beginning of May we’ll begin hosting a series of webinars on the new version. We’ll also be hosting a series of trainings at NOAC this summer.

Important Release Notes:

• The entire OA LodgeMaster system will be unavailable Friday, April 13, 2018 – Sunday, April 15, 2018 while the LodgeMaster team performs the system upgrades.
• All offline data MUST be synchronized with the OA LodgeMaster server by Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 11:59pm eastern. Any data not synchronized by the 12^th will not be available after the OA LodgeMaster release. Your old offline database WILL NOT be compatible with the new version of OA LodgeMaster. Any changes after the 12th at 11:59pm eastern that are made in the old program will need to be manually re-done in the new system.
• OA LodgeMaster 4 will be available on Monday, April 16, 2018. OA LodgeMaster should be considered offline and unavailable until Monday morning.
• Users with the offline client will need to uninstall the OA LodgeMaster Lodge Client 3.3.11 before installing the 4.0.0 Lodge Client.
• During the upgrade window, status updates will be posted to the OA Status Page. The status page is located at status.oa-bsa.org.

Due to the size of the project, a few of the modules have not be moved into the new OA LodgeMaster Client. The finance and inventory modules will remain on the Silverlight platform for a short time more. We expect to release the inventory module along with the 2018 charter and JTE forms around a month after the initial release. We will continue to support any Lodge that uses the finance or inventory modules until we move them over to the LodgeMaster 4 platform.

We are excited for this major release of OA LodgeMaster. We have spent the past 3 years building and creating a new platform for the Order of the Arrow’s membership and event management. We are thrilled to be able to offer this program, free of charge, to Lodge’s across the country. Over the next two weeks, expect more email reminders and look for updates to be posted to status.oa-bsa.org.

Yours in Brotherhood,

The OA LodgeMaster Team
Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Michael Card, Project Adviser
Robert Anstett, Development Lead
Mike Gaffney, Support Lead

On September 25, 2017 Apple released macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13) it's latest version of their Mac operating system. The LodgeMaster team was made aware of an issue exporting data from LodgeMaster earlier this week and began investigating the issue. The LodgeMaster team has confirmed an issue with Silverlight and the new macOS 10.13 operating system. LodgeMaster users who update to the latest version of macOS will no longer be able to export data from LodgeMaster using Safari. The Silverlight issues only impacts the Apple Safari browser. Mac users who have updated to 10.13 can download Firefox ESR 52.40 and continue to use LodgeMaster. LodgeMaster users who have not updated to 10.13 are encourage not to update if they want to continue to use Safari. Mac users can download Firefox ESR 52 here.

The LodgeMaster team is actively working on the next version of LodgeMaster, LodgeMaster 4. LodgeMaster 4 is built on new technology and does not use Silverlight. The LodgeMaster team is working to finish development of the last module and begin the beta testing process very soon. Stay tuned for more information on LodgeMaster 4 in our next development update. 

Yours in Brotherhood,
The OA LodgeMaster Team

Chadd Blanchard, Project Lead
Mike Card, Project Adviser
Rob Anstett, Development Lead