Documentation
There are two ways to use the program:
- GUI mode
- Command line mode
GUI Mode
For the most part the application is very simple to use. Once opened there are a few fields that can be populated:
| Field Name | Description |
| Unit Name | The name of your unit. For example "Valencia Ward", or "Blythewood Branch" |
| Member Data File | Should point to your membership data file. This file can be either MLS or LUWS format. Use the browse button to select the file. |
| Page Top Data File (optional) | This field must be populated to have header information compact directory. A sample file is provided in the installation directory (sampleHeading.xml). It is well commented so open it in a text editor and follow instructions to create your custom header information. |
| Use Short Addresses | If this field is checked city/state/zip data is removed from the addresses that are displayed. This can be useful if all unit members are in the same city. |
| Use Middle Name Elimination | This can be turned off if you have "well maintained" data which doesn't contain unnecessary middle names. With it on, only the word after the last name separator will be displayed on the directory (In my experience most data is poorly maintained and this option should be left enabled) |
| Use Raw Phone Strings | By default the program will attempt to standardize the phone numbers printed in the directory (single phone# with groups separated by dashes). Checking this option disables this behavior. This is useful if your unit stores multiple phone numbers in the household phone field. |
| Remove Those Requesting No Contact | If this option is enabled, families who have requested no contact will not be shown in the generated directory. |
| Disable Line Coloring | By default every other row of the output is colored to make things easier to read. By checking this option that behavior is disabled and lines are separated by lines instead. |
| Shrink Margins | This option will make the top and bottom page margins small so that more of the page can be used to hold directory information. Use this option to make a bit more space on each page. |
Once the fields are populated click the "Create Compact Directory" button at the bottom and your PDF will be created
Command line mode
If running from a source install, the command line version can be invoked by providing command line arguments as described below. The prompt below can be displayed by using the -h option.
usage: ldscompactdirectory -u <unit-name> [options] <input_file> <output_file>
-u, --unit-name <unit name> : name of church unit
-t, --top-data <xml input> : pointer to xml file containing page header data
-s, --short-address : removes city/state/zip from addresses
-e, --elim-middle-name : Try removing middle names from display
-p, --raw-phone : Use raw phone strings (no standardization)
-r, --remove-no-contact : Remove entries requesting no contact
-l, --disable-line-color : Disable the coloring of every other line
-m, --shrink-margins : Use smaller margins on top/bottom of page
-g, --gui : force gui even if parameters provided
-v, --version
-h, --help