Our new feature enhances the speed of printing student reports in a hosted environment. Synergetic now detects if it is running in a hosted environment and optimizes the process by generating, combining, and optionally storing reports directly from the hosted file system. This guide will help you configure and utilize this feature for efficient report management.
What is a Hosted Environment?
A “hosted” environment refers to setups where Synergetic’s main application (SynMain) is accessed via remote technology, such as Citrix or Amazon AppStream. These technologies allow users to run applications on remote servers while interacting with them as if they were running locally on their own devices.
Understanding the feature
How does Synergetic behave differently for hosted environments?
When running in hosted mode Synergetic will generate and combine reports in a temporary work area on the hosted environment. The resultant generated file(s) will be then copied to the archive path.
When not running in hosted mode Synergetic will generate and combine directly to the archive path (as it always has).
Do I have to tell Synergetic if my site is hosted?
No, Synergetic will automatically detect if it is running in a hosted environment. When detected, all report generation, combining, and optional storage will be handled directly from the hosted file system.
How do I know whether Synergetic is running in hosted vs non-hosted mode?
Synergetic will display an information symbol indicating it is running in a hosted environment and processing reports using the optimized method.
What is Synergetic isn’t detecting the right mode?
There is a new configuration key,
StudentReportsPrint|Archive|HostedMode, which allows you to override the default behavior. This key can be adjusted based on your specific needs and preferences.The key takes three values:
Y - for Hosted mode
N - for On premise mode (non-hosted)
Blank - When set to blank, Synergetic will determine the environment and process accordingly.
Setting to Y or N will force Synergetic to work that way
User Facing Changes
New Tick Box for Storing Individual Class Reports
When the user is in hosted mode and navigates to the Print Student Reports under Assess module and on processing a Student Report based on a preferred search criteria, a new tick box appears on the report printing screen, asking if you wish to store individual class reports in the archive path. This pop up box is displayed on choosing the Process Type as “Archive“ and continuing with Process All.
If ticked: Individual class reports are stored in the archive path. Combined reports are stored in the ‘Complete’ subfolder of the archive path. This is how the feature always operated in the past.
If not ticked: Only combined reports are stored under the archive path, and the ‘Complete’ subfolder is no longer used. This option is slightly faster in a hosted environment as it avoids downloading individual class reports. It is also useful in a non-hosted environment when the individual class reports are not needed in the archive.
Process Overview
Generation and Combining: Reports are generated and combined directly on the hosted file system.
When the configuration key StudentReportsPrint|Archive|HostedMode , is set to Y or blank, Synergetic generates all the individual reports in the temporary folder and then saves the combined reports to the Archive Path.
When the configuration key StudentReportsPrint|Archive|HostedMode , is set to N
The reports are now archived straight to the Archival Path. The individual reports are generated in the Archival path and combined in the same location.
Storage: Combined reports are copied to the selected archive path. If the tick box for storing individual class reports is not selected, the process is faster as it skips downloading individual reports.
Testing and Validation
If you are running on a hosted site, you may wish to verify that Synergetic is detecting this, and override the config key if it is not
Communicate with Your Community
Inform Users: Notify staff and relevant stakeholders about the user facing changes described above
For further assistance or detailed instructions, please contact our support team.