This HoweScape ScoutBook Label Print plugin allows labels to be printed for Scout advancement Cards. Currently the tool
being recommended for recording scout advancement is ScoutBook. ScoutBook only has the ability to print full sheets of award cards.

The ScoutBook.com web site provided the ability to print onto a sheet of 8 advancement cards. HoweScape ScoutBook LabelPrint Plugin is
configured to use Avery 6570 labels.
A sheet of labels contains 32 labels. The Plugin provides the ability to skip label positions so that you can print a single label
or a whole sheet, starting at any label on the sheet. After the labels are printed a list is printed. The output from the plugin
is a PDF file which is displayed in a new tab. This tab can be saved or printed using the features of the browser. Some of the
merit Badge names do not fit on the label with the other text. A list of abbreviated for Merit Badges has been included. The information
is loaded from an XML file. There are 3 settings Drawn Border, Presentation Card and Merit Badge / Rank Images. The only active control is
Draw Border. This feature was used to help verify that the information was positioned correctly in the label.
The other fields are for future features. The settings page also displays a table of the original and abbreviated name of merit badges and awards

Installation

Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/plugin-name directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress
Use the Settings->”HoweScape ScoutBook LabelPrint” to configure the plugin
Use the short code “[hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint]” to insert the dialog box into a page.
Use the short code “[hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_samplePDF]” to insert a link to a sample CSV input file.
Use the short code “[hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_sampleCSV]” to insert a link to a sample PDF output file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What ShortCodes are defined by the plugin?

hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint – Short code display form.
hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_samplePDF – Short Code to put a link to sample Output file
hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_sampleCSV – Short Code to put a link to sample Input file
hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_advancement – short code to display form for advancement cards on poster

Q: Can All 4 short codes be placed on the same page?

A: Yes, the first 3 are indended to placed on the same page. These provided a form, and link to sample input and output.
The fourth short code is intended to be a seperate page.

Q: What does the input file look like?

A: The Comma Separated Values (CSV) file produced by ScoutBook.com.
See list below.

Q: Can I test this without an input file?

A: Yes, Use the short code “hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_sampleCSV” to create a link to the CSV file.
Download and save the file and use it to run the application.

Q: What columns are in the CSV file?

“First Name”
“Last Name”
“Patrol”
“Quantity”
“SKU”
“Item Type”
“Price”
“Item Name”
“Date Earned”

Q: Is the column header line required?

A: Yes, the plugin assumes that the actual data starts on line 2 of the input file.

Q: Are all columns used?

A: No, but the are expected to be present.

Q: Which columns are used?

Name
Item Type
Item Name
Date Earned

Q: Are there any settings for the application?

A: Yes, there is a setting which allows a box drawn around the labels.

Q: Can the list of the Councils be changed?

A: Yes, the list of Councils is stored in a an external file: CouncilList.xml. Please let me know of any errors so
that they can be fixed in a future release.

Q: Are there other information stored in XML files?

A: Yes, The file ScoutBook_DropDown.xml contains the values for the:

Fonts
Unit Types
Rank Message
Merit Badge Message
Merit Badge Abbreviation List
Boy Scout Awards
Output Types
Advancement Types
Award Title Line Breaks

Q: Are other label styles supported?

A: No, not at this time.

Q: Does the plugin contain a sample of the CSV file used as input?

A: Yes, HS-TestMeritBadges.csv
The shortcode “hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_sampleCSV” will create a link to access the CSV file.

Q: Is there a sample of the output

A: Yes, HS-TestMeritBadges.pdf
The shortcode “hs_ScoutBookLabelPrint_samplePDF” will create a link to access the PDF file.

Q: Why does the form remember the settings used?

A: Each selection in the form is stored as a cookie in the browser.
The cookies are updated each time the form is processed. This has been updated to use a single cookie which stores a JSON object.

Q: Why is there a %n%, %rank%, and %mb_name% in the Rank Message and MeritBadge Message?

The rank message is what is printed on the rank advancement card.
The MeritBadge Message is what is printed on the merit badge card.
The %n% allows the inseration of a new line character.
The %rank% is where the rank title will be inserted.
The %mb_name% is where the merit badge name is inserted.

Q: Can the %n%, %rank%, %mb_name% be translated or changed?

A: No, not at this time.

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Screenshots

This screen shot Show the dialog box which is used to generate the output. DialogBox.png
This Screen shot showing the label location dialog expanded. DialogBoxExpanded.png
This screen shot of the Settings page, showing the control for draw box. SettingPart1.png
This screen shot of the list of merit Bages names which have abbreviations. SettingPart2.png
This screen shot is of the output tab showing the merit badges labels. SampleLabels.png
This screen shot is of the output part of the tab showing the list of merit badges SampleList.png
This screen shot is of the links created from the Short Codes. It displays samples input and output file. LinkToSample.PNG

Changelog

1.7.4

General updates to support language translation
testing with new version of WordPress
Update TCPDF library

1.7.0

Updated messages to remove “+” to ” “
Clean up code for Total Page to be cleaner
Updated some code to create functions and reduce code.

1.5.0

Updated Cookies to use JSON. Missed one case
added settings at end of poster

1.4.0

Updated to add print settings at the bottom of the report.

1.0.0

Updated cookies to use JSON structure to support all needed fields.
General update to remove old code.
Added second short code to create poster of advancement cards
Added sample input files to create Poster(HS-Test_Scout.csv, HS-Test_Advancement.csv)
Added sample label input file (HS-TestMeritBadges.csv) and output (HS-TestMeritBadges.PDF)
moved line break information to JSON structure in XML
Added advancement list to ensure that cards are proper style
Tested in WordPress 6.0.1

0.4.0

Updated Readme file
added count of sheets for each Category

0.2.9

Update label allignment for form

0.2.8

Update to parameter processing

0.2.6

Corrected load / access error XML data file

0.2.5

General update to improve structure and investigate other possible options

0.2.1

Changed library which creates the PDF file. From FPDF to TCPDF
Update process to use more constants

0.1.6

Updates to add new control, allow generation of labels only, List only, or both. General revision to steps taken to generate the labels. Improvements in processing.

0.0.6

Updates to make plugin acceptable to WordPress Plugin standard.

0.0.5

Revised to add “Label Layout” button to dialog box.

0.0.4

Revised to improve application

0.0.3

Revised version submitted for approval.

0.0.2

Initial version of plugin

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