Troop 255 - ARTE Help Page
Automated Reservations for Troop Events System v1.0
Help File v0.6
Welcome to Boy Scout Troop 255!
The ARTE (pronounced Are-tee) system is the troop’s primary method for scouts and adults to sign up for troop activities. If you do not have regular access to a computer or the Internet, please discuss alternative sign up methods with the troop leadership.
Contents
3. Login Page
4. Scout Event Registration Page
5. Adult Event Registration Page
All system users need to be registered on the system before they can actively sign up for troop events. Scouts and adults need to register separately – they cannot share a common email address on this system. The registration process consists of three steps:
· Initial login and registration
· Waiting for the ARTE administrator to approve your registration
· Testing the system to confirm that your login was accepted and processed.
For your initial login to ARTE, start by entering into your web browser the web address given to you by the troop leadership. You will see the general login screen.
From the pull-down box near the top of the login screen, select New Member Registration. For the next field, labeled Email Address, enter “newmember” without a space and without the quotation marks. For the Password field, enter the “default” troop password (generally give at the Troop meetings). Clicking the NEXT button should bring you to the Registration page.
This same page is used for new member to initially register and for existing troop members to change their registration information. New members should use the process given above. To change their registration data, existing members need to sign in to the Login Page by selecting Change Existing Registration from the top pull-down menu – at the login page, be sure and enter the email address and password that you originally registered with.
The registration page consists of most of the standard background information for each person. Most fields are self-explanatory, but a few do require some comments:
· Email Address. This field needs to be unique for each person; it must be different for a parent and his/her son. This email address is tied directly to all events that you register for. If the person registering does not have their own, unique email address, enter the person’s last name, first name, and four-digit year of birth in the email field. Do not include any spaces or punctuation or the system will reject it. Only lower-case characters should be used for this field.
· Password. You need to enter your password in this field. Passwords must be 6-10 characters long and must start with a letter. Spaces and punctuation are not allowed in this field. The ARTE administrator cannot retrieve passwords, but he can reset them. Existing users can update their password by simply entering a new, valid password in this field. All users should write down their password in a safe place.
· Registration Type. Three categories exist for people using the system. Scouts, Adults, and Registered Leaders. Adults can be any parent, guardian, grandparent or any other person that will attend events with the scout (subject to troop approval.) Registered Leaders are adults who have formally applied and been accepted by the local Boy Scout (BSA) office. BSA requires each troop event have an appropriate number of registered leaders, and hence the distinction from the Adult category. Use the pull-down box to select the appropriate category for the person registering.
· Cell phone is an optional field. If the scout has one, please enter it into this field when registering a scout, but do not enter the parent’s cell phone number.
Note that registering for this system does not automatically add you to the troop email distribution list. To register for the email list please inquire at a troop meeting.
Press the Submit button to enter your input into the troop database. If the system detects any errors or omissions with your entries, it will list the errors on the bottom of the data input part of the page. Please correct any errors, re-enter your password, and again press the Submit button.
If all the data entered looks correct, ARTE will display a brief message noting that you will need to be approved before you can use the system. If you supplied a valid email address during registration, you will most likely receive and email that your registration has been accepted. If you did not supply an email address, and instead entered your names and year of birth as an ID, simply wait several days and attempt to log into the system.
Please, only register on ARTE a single time! If the system does not seem to accept your email address and password, it may be because you have previously registered. Contact the ARTE administrator for additional help.
This is the initial page that is always displayed first when using the ARTE system. New members should log into the system with the method given above.
Scouts and adults who have been approved on the system must log into ARTE by selecting the event you wish to sign up for on the login page. You cannot sign into the system a single time, and sign up for multiple events! For each event you wish to sign up for, you need to start at this page and re-enter the system. The process is always the same: select the event from the pull-down menu, enter your email address and password, and then press the Next button.
Upon loading this page, check to make certain the event listed at the top of the page is the one you intended to select. If not, restart ARTE with the link given at the bottom of the page. If the event is correct, use the option box to indicate if you will be attending the event.
The next two check boxes are used to indicate whether or not you will be driving to the event with the troop. If you will be dropped off at the event late or need to be picked up early, be sure to uncheck the appropriate box. By unchecking either of these boxes you are responsible to make certain you have alternate transportation available.
The last field is a comment section. Enter any important comments you have here but be aware that these comments will be visible to anyone approved to access the system. It is strongly suggested that scouts and adults list an emergency contact number in this field.
Upon loading this page, check to make certain the event listed at the top of the page is the one you intended to select. If not, restart ARTE with the link given at the bottom of the page. If the event is correct, use the option box to indicate if you will be attending the event.
The next two input boxes are used to indicate how many total people you can transport to and from the event. Here are some important tips for this field:
· If you cannot drive to the event, enter 0.
· If you will be driving separately to or from the event, enter a 1 in the appropriate field since you will be transporting one person. This is critical to keeping the seat count accurate for the rest of the troop!
· If you and your son will be driving separately from the troop, enter 2 in this field.
· If you plan on driving with the troop, enter the number of belted positions you have in the vehicle (driver plus passenger seats).
· Take into consideration cargo space when entering the number of seats available. Events such as Summer Camp are equipment intensive, so you may not want to report all seats as being available. Discuss your situation with the Troop Transportation Coordinator if you have questions.
The last field is a comment section. Enter any important comments you have here, but be aware that these comments will be visible to anyone approved to access the system. It is strongly suggested that scouts and adults list an emergency contact number in this field.
This page displays all the troop members that have signed up for a given event. The top section is primarily a transportation checklist, and the bottom section is for general notes about the event’s participants. Here are a few notables on the top section:
· Two check boxes are listed for each person. The first is for transportation to the event, and the second is for transportation back from the event. For scouts, if the box has an X in it, then that scout is not driving with the troop. Unchecked boxes are to be used by the SPL to take attendance prior to departure.
· In the adult column, a line is used to separate registered leaders from other adults attending. This helps ensure that Troop 255 follows BSA policies for leadership.
· After the names of some of the adults, ARTE lists the number of seats they have available driving to and from the event. The format is (5T,1B) where the 5T indicates that he/she can drive five people to the event, but that the driver will be returning separately (hence, only bringing one person back.) Adults who are not driving do not have this information displayed.
· The right column of the top chart lists several miscellaneous items. On top ARTE system lists people who had originally signed up for the event, but they had to cancel out. In some cases, this may be used to calculate cancelation charges.
· A drive summary for the event is also given. This lists how many people are attending and how many seats are available in each direction. Adults should look at this section and make their driving plans as appropriate (i.e. please consider driving to the event if you see we are short of available seats!).
· (Yes, the names are in alphabetical order, but starting from the bottom up. Why? Well, really because of the last name of the person who generated the forms. J)
Here are a few noteworthy items on the bottom section of the Event Summary Page form:
· Scouts and adults are listed on a single chart, with their phone numbers on file based on the registration page.
· The comments column simply displays the notes the person entered when they signed up for the event.
· The first two columns can be used by the SPL or Quartermaster to track which scouts are in which tent, and who will bring the tent home to be cleaned or dried.
· A miscellaneous column is also given where patrols can be assigned or other information record. (This info, like the tent info, will not be record on this website but can be used by the troop leadership by printing a paper copy of the form before departure.)
The last section of this page displays a list of email addresses for those attending the event. If you need to send an email to the attendees, simply copy this section into the TO field of your email client.
ARTE is new, and may not function as expected in all cases. If you have any issues with the system please contact Jim Tarchinski, Troop 255 ARTE Administrator, at jim@tarch.net.