ASC Import guide

MySchool works with timetabling management software, ASC. These schedules can be imported directly into your MySchool instance, effectively reducing the workload involved when bringing out new timetables. The following import guide shows the step-by-step approach.

You must have a valid registered version of ASC otherwise you will not be able to extract the full XML. 

Please note that similar steps are used for Untis and KJ Timetabler

How to access

If you use aSc software, then the import page will be found in the Administer module, under Advanced options. It will be limited to users who have permission to import timetables in their user group.

Admins note that you will need to contact Myschool support if you cannot access this feature.

MySchool scheduling

MySchool has a schedule which is connected to the courses. Teachers/Students are enrolled into these courses. 

Before uploading the new schedule, then you must check the configuration of courses, timetable configuration (period settings), and term set-up. 

Check process

There are steps to take before importing the ASC file into their software. If the structure is not coherent or set up then mapping their export to MySchool may cause errors. Although we are both able to synchronize existing and create new entities. You must download the configuration file when building your schedule on ASC. 

1. Check your courses are configured

Go through your courses, and make sure you have no duplicates or inconsistencies in the setup. Have a look here for more info on course details. Create new ones if they need to be scheduled in the new year. All records are connected with an internal MSM ID and an ASC ID. This will be discussed in the mapping section below.

2. Timetable Configuration

Make sure you have a coherent timetable configuration in MySchool. Use this when building in ASC. Don't forget when exporting to ASC, it will export the current scholastic year. 

3. Term Setup

Check the term set-up and ensure this is correct for the export. Term configuration is explained in this article.

Import steps

Open the import screen and download your checked aSc config file, from point 4 below. After exporting, then we can start the upload process into MySchool.

1. New or Existing import

If you have already imported the scheduling data to Myschool, then select existing. For a first-time schedule then select new import.

2. Year

Decide which year the schedule is to be applied to, normally for the next scholastic year. We would advise planning ahead, and not applying schedule changes during the current year.

Minor adjustments can be made manually within your MySchool instance, but major changes could corrupt the database.

3. Timetable

Within MySchool you can set timetables, period lengths, and day mapping for each class level. Select the timetable that you wish to create within ASC. 

4. aSc configuration

The resource software, ASC, will need some configuration files, to begin with. The XML file provides the courses, the classes, the students, and the Teachers. It will also configure the days and the periods within ASC.

5. New import file/Term group

Upload the data that has been exported from ASC when you have established the schedule. Apply the schedule to a term group. 

When exporting from aSc software, it must be in XML for the import to work. Depending on the size of the upload this may take a few minutes to complete. 

Press upload once you have everything set up to move to step 2 in the process.

Correcting and mapping

In this stage, you are presented with the errors found in the bulk upload process. This will need to be mapped manually.

Uncheck the 'on data update' field to avoid being returned to the first tab each time you make a change in the mapping.

The actions available :

1. Reload data

On larger timetables or data sets, the upload may not be complete. Reloading the data resets the mapping and will attempt to upload the same data from the import file in the system.

2. Delete the import

Deletes the data from the ASC XML file.

3. Reset the import screen

Takes you back to the import screen at the beginning.

4. Bulk new entry creation

If you have no courses created on your MySchool instance you can bulk-create unmapped entities. 

5. Apply past mapping

When you have imported different versions of the ASC file, the system allows you to roll back to a previous version.

Mapping the data

The following information now needs to be validated and checked. Periods, Days, Subjects, Teachers, Rooms, Classes, Students  & Courses.

Period

In the screenshot above, both export/import data files have been mapped correctly in terms of the period setup. Click on the mapped link, and you are given the option to manually change this if there is a problem. Note also that the ASC key is shown, which will help you change features in their software if needed. 

Days

If you have a classic timetable then this should map automatically, however, if you have built half-day schedules then you may need to map these to your alternate-day set-up. Again clicking on the mapped to link will bring up the option of manually assigning these, same as the periods.

Subjects

In MySchool, Subjects are the determining header for the course structure. Find out more about subject management in this article. The import will have a different status, and you can filter the list by clicking the down arrow to find the subjects that have not been found.

Please be aware that on ASC, you can assign Teachers and students to a subject directly. This is not compatible with MySchool courses. It will attach the Teacher to all courses attached to the subject, and enrol students on all the courses as well. The equivalent to MySchool periods is lessons. 

Teachers

Links up the Teachers who are attached to the courses. Each user in MySchool is attributed a specific User Id, this can be found on the others tab in their profile screen or in the URL bar. 

Rooms

If you have created a list of classrooms in MySchool then the courses can be attributed to them.

Classes

Attaches the classes used in the import and maps them to the classes in the system.

Students

Maps the students from ASC to MySchool users. If the student cannot be found then a new user can be created from this tab.

Courses

Again need to be mapped, more often than not the common status here will be not found or needs to be mapped to the subject. If the course cannot be mapped then these can be created. 

Status of the import

The status represents whether or not an action is required. They will appear on each tab of the screen.

• Mapped - The imported subject can be linked to an existing subject in MySchool
• Not found - cannot find the subject ID to map to.
• Require Subject mapping - Only applicable on the course tab.
• Forced mapping - When the system has been overridden manually.
• Deleted - When the subject has been deleted from the import.

Actions required

If all is configured correctly and no changes to the structure have occurred in creating the schedule then the two systems will find each other's data efficiently via their respective identifiers. MySchool will require action from your side if it cannot match up the entries via this method.

If the status of the field is classed as not found, MySchool will present you with three actions.

1. Map to existing

Click on the Map to the existing link in the action field. The popup window in the example is for a not found subject. You are provided with the aSc key, label and type. If you know that the missing item is available in Myschool then you type the first few letters in the search field or search in the larger index by clicking on the file icon. Once you are satisfied with the mapping then press map to save this. 

There is the possibility to reset the data if any error has been made, but this will reset the entire data mapping. Once mapped, the field will remain mapped for the import.

2. Create New Entry

If you cannot find the existing field, then a new entry can be created from the import stage. Depending on which data tab you are working on the input fields may vary. In the case below, we have asked MySchool import to create a new subject, which requires a Label, Class level and Credit (Default is 1 if you do not use a credit system then leave it as 1).

3. Delete the entry

If the field is no longer in use and does not to be included in the import then select this here and it will be deleted.

Finalising the import

Before moving on to stage 3 which is the final phase, actions must be completed on all non-mapped data. To avoid having too many unmapped fields, then ensure that the export checklist is as complete as possible. 

Try to avoid creating new courses/subjects in ASC, as they will not have a mapped field in MySchool. If you cannot find a field to map to then it is not a problem to delete the import entry. single courses, subjects or classes can be entered and built-in MySchool. You are just deleting the import data and not the stored data on MySchool. 

Final stage

Once completed, you will be moved to the configure and finalise stage. By default, all the import options are selected. Simply deselect if you do not wish to import everything in one go. Once completed, you can press the Import button and the system will process the schedule information. It may take several minutes to perform this action depending on your school size. If a problem occurs then go back to the start screen, and select choose existing upload, you will be able to recover the import with all adjustments mapped.

If you have only a trial version of ASC, then you cannot export a full timetable on XML. MySchool cannot import the data by any other method listed on ASC. On valid licences, there is an export limit of 10 timetable iterations within ASC. You must contact their support services to extend this limit. MySchool cannot import the hard-coded .roz file from ASC.