Silent Dismissal

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====== How to Print Car Tags ======
Silent Dismissal includes a feature to generate parent car tag files in portable document format (PDF). There are also tools to [[print group tags]] and to [[print student bookbag tags]].

All tags print to standard 8.5 x 11 inch letter page. Regular white printer paper may be used or colored paper to designate specific grades or schools years may be used. Depending upon the capabilities of your printer, it may also be possible to print the tags onto heavier card stock for greater durability. Tags may also be laminated after printing to increase durability.
===== Review Your School's Settings =====
Before printing any type of tags, it is recommended to first review your school's settings. To navigate to the school settings page, select **TOOLS** / [[admin:School_Settings|SCHOOL SETTINGS]] from a local admin account. The school name as entered here will appear on the tags, if the school name option is selected when generating the PDF. At the bottom of this page, you will be able to upload a school logo which can also be displayed on the tags.
===== Select Tag Display Options =====
Once the [[admin:School_Settings|school settings]] have been set the configuration for the tags may be performed.

In addition to the actual tags being printed with the associated options listed below, each page includes information for parents on how to obtain the Silent Dismissal Parent Connect mobile application and a list of each student assigned to the number. Parents may use this information to validate the number assignments. This information is printed in a location on each page such that it may be cut off of the page prior to publicly displaying the tag.
==== Tag Scope ====
Tags may be printed either by classroom - generally preferred for initial set up or for a new school year - or number - used typically when adding only a few new students.

Whether printing by number or by classroom, there is a maximum number of tags that may be generated at one time before exceeding the memory limit of the Silent Dismissal server. The actual number will vary based upon the size of the school logo image, the length of the school name and the lengths of the individual student names, but it is generally around 500 total tags. If the selection range results in an out of memory error, reduce the range then try again.

From the menu, select //Tools / Print Tags By Classroom// or //Tools / Print Tags By Number//.
=== By Number ===
When printing tags by number, the selection may be either by specific number entered in a list separated by commas or by a range of numbers by specifying the first and last number in the range to print. Only numbers which have been assigned to students in the range will be printed. For example if the range 1 to 100 is specified but the number 50 to 100 have not been assigned to any students, then only the tags from 1 to 49 will be printed.
=== By Classroom ===
When printing tags by classroom, a separate page with tags for each student assigned to the classroom will be printed. Each classroom will be preceded by page with the classroom teacher name and grade level followed by a page for each student in alphabetical order by last name within the classroom.

Place a check mark in the box adjacent to each classroom for which car tags should be printed. At the top of the column of check boxes is a toggle box which may be used to turn on or turn off all of the classrooms for selection. Depending upon the size of your student population, it may be required to print tags in groups such as Kindergarten and First, Second and Third, and Fourth and Fifth rather than printing the entire school at one time.
==== Format ====
Three different layouts for car tags are available in Silent Dismissal: 2 Up, 4 Up, and Mirror. 

The 2 Up version prints two tags that are approximately half the size of standard letter paper in portrait format.

The 4 Up version prints 4 somewhat smaller tags on a single letter page in landscape format.

The Mirror Tag version prints two tags designed to be hung from the rear view mirror of a vehicle along with a single business card sized tag for a wallet.
==== Bar Code ====
The Bar Code option will include a bar code to be printed on the car tag that may be scanned with a scanner for entry. Before you exclaim how great it would be to have a bar code rather than entering numbers, consider your experience with doing self checkout at the grocery store. In actual practice, bar codes require close proximity to be read by a scanner. Would you prefer to have your staff safely located on the curb entering numbers or walking close to cars to scan codes through a windshield where they could potentially get their feet run over? Bar codes are generally reserved for schools that have a permanently affixed scanner that parents place their tags under and even this is becoming less common with the development of the Silent Dismissal Parent Connect application. By default this option is not set.
==== School Name ====
The school name as it is entered on the [[admin:School_Settings|school settings]] page will be printed on the car tag. This may be turned off so that the school name does not appear.

Attempts have been make to provide a font size appropriate for the size of the tag, but for some schools this size may be either too small or too large. An alternate font size may be entered in the //Size// field to the right of the //School Name// option. Experiment with different sizes to identify the appropriate value for your school.
==== School Year ====
The current school year may be printed on the car tags. This is useful to determine if the tag number is correct for the current year. 
==== Logo ====
If a school logo has been uploaded, it may be included to be printed on the car tags.
==== Student Names ====
It is possible to print the names of each student assigned to a carpool number directly on the face of the carpool tags. This presents a fairly significant security risk for those parents to permanently affix the tags to their car windows. The size of the student names may be varied by changing the //Size// field to the right of the //Student Names// option. This option is disabled by default.
=== Classroom ===
When student names are selected to be printed on the car tag face, it is also possible to print the assigned classroom for each student by selecting this option. If student names are not selected, then classroom assignments cannot be printed.

===== Generate File =====
At the bottom of the page is a green button titled //Create PDF// that will obtain the necessary information from the server and create a PDF file. Exactly what happens after the button is pressed is dependent upon the settings of your local computer. For most users the button will cause the page to change in the browser such that the PDF is generated in the browser window. On those computer, moving the mouse to one of the corners of the window will cause a menu to appear if it is not already visible. That menu provides methods for saving the file locally or sending the file directly to a printer. On these computers, pressing the //back// button on the browser will return to the Silent Dismissal application.

Other configurations may cause the PDF file to not be display but rather to cause the file to be downloaded to the local computer. Once downloaded, the file may be opened for viewing and printing.