Change Log 27/06/2023 (Summer Update)
DescriptionFollowing on from the first major update to Hermes released in April, I am delighted to announce our second major release. This release will again help resolve known issues, enhance the experience and provide useful new features ensuring Hermes is seen as an asset to Lodge Secretary and Chapter Scribes. As before, we’ve produced a short video demonstrating some of key changes included within this update (below). We’ve also collated all of the changes included within this release in to the attached ‘Change Log’ document. An abridged version of the changes included in this release are also included below, though please reference the 'Change Log' for further details.
Updates
New ‘Add Enquirer’ screen A new screen has been added upon clicking ‘Add Enquirer’ on the Prospective Member screen to help Hermes Administrators ensure they add enquirers correctly and, when progressed, send them the appropriate Online Registration Form. 
The screen simply asks what join type they expect the Enquirer to be, and then alters the subsequent screen according to the selection. For example, if ‘Joiner’ is selected, the Hermes Administrator will no longer be able to click ‘Create New’ after searching for the member as they should exist in the database and therefore their member record should be selected.
Screenshot after ‘Joiner’ selected Additionally, should they select Initiate, Foreign Joiner or Foreign Exaltee and then their search identifies a matching member record, they will be asked to confirm they wish to create a new member record, rather than select the existing match. 
These changes should help ensure that, upon progressing an Enquirer and sending them the Online Registration Form, the relevant options are available, making the process more intuitive.
Add Enquirer GL Ref Search Removes Other Search Values When searching for an Enquirer, if a ‘GL Ref’ is entered as a search parameter, any previously entered ‘First Names’, ‘Surname’ or ‘Date of Birth’ will be removed. Similarly, if you enter a ‘GL Ref’ you will not be able to add ‘First Names’, ‘Surname’ or ‘Date of Birth’. This change should help those Hermes Administrators who previously entered a ‘GL Ref’ but then mistyped a name or date of birth and therefore found no matching records. Given a ‘GL Ref’ is unique and a direct link to that member, there is no need to add additional search parameters.
'Date of Birth’ Validation and ‘Age’ Field When adding an Enquirer an ‘Age’ field is now displayed, calculated based on the entered age (it can therefore not be amended directly). This should help highlight mistyped dates of birth. Additionally, if a ‘Date of Birth’ is entered that would result in an age of greater than 120, when saving the system will provide an error. 
Genuine Enquiry & Online Registration Form Completion Emails (Sec/SE & HA) Hermes will now automatically send an email to the Secretary/Scribe E and Hermes Administrator when an applicant completes either the Genuine Enquiry process, or an Online Registration Form, alerting them as well as reminding them of the next steps. 
Proposer/Seconder Emails The emails sent to Proposers and Seconders have been updated to better explain why they have received them and what actions they must take.
WM/MEZ Online Registration Form Approval Emails The emails sent to Worshipful Masters and First Principals have been updated to better explain why they have received them and what actions they must take.
Treasurer Annual Return Approval Emails The emails sent to Treasurers when an Annual Return is sent to them have been updated, to better explain why they have received them and what actions they must take.
New ‘Update Proposer/Seconder’ button added A new ‘Update Proposer/Seconder’ button has been added, allowing Hermes Administrators to change Proposers and Seconders up until the point that the Worshipful Master/1st Principal approves the Prospect. 
New ‘Remove Prospect’ and ‘Remove Candidate’ buttons added New buttons have been added allowing the removal of Prospects and Candidates, where previously this option was unavailable. 
New Menu Screen added to ‘Meeting Management’ To facilitate other changes (listed below), a new screen has been added to ‘Meeting Management’, consistent with other areas of the system. 
New ‘Past Meetings’ Screen Added A new screen has been added allowing Hermes Administrators to see a summary of all meetings submitted through Hermes. This screen can be sorted and filtered, and gives information such as the number of agenda items included in that meeting, the total donations made, the attendance and when the Post Meeting Report was submitted. Additionally, the Meeting Date is displayed as a button, and can be clicked to access further information about that meeting specifically. 
New ‘View Past Meeting’ Screen Added A new screen has been added that allows a Hermes Administrator to view a previously completed meeting. e Member Column, as well as the newly added Membership Type and Date Joined columns, can now be sorted Ascending or Descending as required. The default sort for the Attendance Register will also now be alphabetical by Member, meaning the list is sorted by Surname ascending. This screen initially shows a summary of the Attendance, Post Meeting Report items and Charitable Donations, but ‘View’ buttons can be used to see more detailed information (such as the Attendance Register and what was submitted for a specific PMR Item, including Ceremonial Participation). 
Download Post Meeting Report Summary Document The Post Meeting Report can now be downloaded, using the newly added ‘Download’ buttons available within the Post Meeting Report section of both the ‘View Past Meeting’ screen and the ‘Current Meeting’ screen. 
Post Meeting Report Summary Document The Post Meeting Report Summary Document can be downloaded using the newly added ‘Download’ buttons within both the ‘Current Meeting’ screen and ‘View Past Meeting’ screen, which serves 3 purposes: 1. Prior to clicking the ‘Submit PMR & Complete Meeting’ button, as a form of checking what has been entered for each Agenda Item. This should give confidence to Hermes Administrators that information has been entered correctly.
2. Either shortly before clicking ‘Submit PMR & Complete Meeting’ button or shortly after, via the ‘View Past Meeting’ screen, to use as the basis of their Minutes. The document should help Secretary/Scribe Es to write their Minutes by confirming what took place with basic but appropriate wording.
3. While reviewing a Past Meeting, using the ‘View Past Meeting’ screen, to see what was entered at a specific meeting in the past (rather than viewing each Agenda Item individually). 
(Document abridged for screenshot)
Common Agenda Items Added to Agenda Download Document (e.g. ‘To open the Lodge’, ‘To read the Dispensation’ and ‘The Risings’) Commonly used ‘Agenda Items’ have been added to start and end of the Agenda Download Document to help Secretary/Scribes E when creating their Summons.
New Master and Foreign Joiner Declaration Text Added to Agenda Download Document Additional text has been added to the Agenda Download Document for relevant ‘Agenda Items’ that displays the appropriate Master or Foreign Joiner declarations. The Master declaration will even correctly populate the wording they selected when they completed the ORF approval process. 
Joining Members Can Now be Included as Officers When Completing Installation Returns Members who joined at an Installation Meeting can now be recorded as also having taken up Office at the same meeting. It is important to first update the ‘Agenda Item’ in the Post Meeting Report, to confirm the election of the new joining member was successful. This will ensure that his name will later appear as an option in the list when selecting those Officers appointed.
Automatic Change of Hermes Administrator upon Submission of Change within Installation Return If a new Hermes Administrator is recorded within an Installation Return then, upon the submission of the PMR and completion of that meeting, the system will now automatically change the Hermes Administrator Account to the newly selected member. Before marking the meeting as ‘Complete’, an additional message will be displayed prior to confirming, advising that the Hermes Administrator will be logged out and new credentials sent. 
Further Changes, see download for further information For a list of all the changes, please click here to download a PDF Change Log document.
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