PDF Uploader

If you need to send out contact-specific attachments such as fee statements, report cards, or really any attachment containing confidential information, you can use the PDF Uploader option to have BrightArrow parse out the PDF files so that you can send a whole batch of documents in one go. As long as certain keywords are present our parser will know how which page goes to which recipient.  

In the past we've had you upload to a specific folder using sFTP. Now you can upload using the PDF Uploader built into the interface. Please note that in order to use the PDF Uploader, we will first need to set up a report emailing list for you. Contact us if you do not have a report emailing list set up already. 

The PDF Uploader can only be used to parse out email attachments to each respective recipient. If you need help adding a generic attachment to an email where the same attachment sends to all recipients, see here. 

How to use the PDF Uploader

1. Log into BrightArrow.
2. Click the My Lists button.
3. Find the Report Emailing list you'd like to send through and click on it's name to open the list details page.
   ex: zzAll Parents for Report Emailing
   1. If you click on a non-report emailing list the PDF Uploader button will not be present. Attaching a file to a message will not separate the report by individual and instead send the entire file to all recipients.
   2. Reminder: Report Emailing lists can ONLY email to contacts that have a linked report. If your list has 1000 records in it but your report file only contains 20 then only those 20 matching contacts can receive an email from that task. You do not need to deactivate the other 980 to accomplish this, it's automatic.
4. Click the PDF Uploader button.
5. Follow the steps to upload the PDF.
   1. Note: there is a 50MB size limit when uploading reports.
   2. Remember that each PDF document must contain an identifying phrase (example: Student Number: 1234). For our system to be able to read the phrase, make sure you can select / highlight it on your documents. The identifying phrase may be different than the example based on how your list is set up. If you are not sure which identifying phrase is required for your list, contact us. 
   3. Ideally the identifying phrase should be on every page of the document, but it must be on at least the first page of each respective recipient's document. If a page is missing the identifying phrase, that page will be sent based on the last identifying phrase that was found.
      
      Example: You are sending a confidential 3-page letter to each student's family. The first page of the report contains the identifying phrase: Student Number: ~([01]student_number). The next 2 pages of the report do not contain an identifier. The fourth page contains the same identifying phrase but with a different student's number. BrightArrow will recognize the identifier on page 1 and send all subsequent pages (pages 2 and 3) to that student/family, until a new unique identifier (student number) is found (page 4). BrightArrow recognizes the different student number on page 4 and parses the document to send page 4 and subsequent pages with no identifier to that student/family. If page 4 did not contain an identifier it would be included in the attachment for the first student, based on the last student number that was found on page 1. Since page 4 contains a different student number with identifying phrase, it will be parsed and sent to the selected recipients who match that criteria. Additional subsequent pages in the report will send to those same recipients until the next student number is identified. It is important to ensure that page 1 of each report contains the unique identifier, as any subsequent pages will be sent to the recipient until a new identifier is found. 
   4. The identifying phrase/ID number must correspond with the Contact ID that is found in the report emailing list you are using. To find this, click on the report emailing list then click the edit pencil for a specific contact in the list. The contact ID number that shows in the upper right of the page is the ID number that will be used to parse and send the documents.
      
      The following phrases work, though if you need more please let us know:
      1. Student Number: ~([01]student_number)
      2. Student Number : ~([01]student_number)
      3. Student_Number: ~([01]student_number)
      4. StudentNumber: ~([01]student_number)
      5. Student #: ~([01]student_number)
      6. Student # : ~([01]student_number)
      7. Student ID: ~([01]student_number)
      8. StudentID: ~([01]student_number)
      9. ASN: ~([01]student_number)
      10. MET #: ~([01]student_number)
      11. SASID: ~([01]student_number)
      12. State ID: ~([01]student_number)
      13. ID: ~([01]student_number) *Only if none of the above are found first. Always prefer the methods above.
6. Once the file is uploaded, click either Create Message (starting from a blank email) or Edit Message (starting from previously saved email) to start creating the message for this report.
7. Use the buttons on the PDF Uploader screen to create your message or edit the message that was previously saved to the report emailing list. 
8. Click Next.
9. Click Send Message Now.
   1. * Note: leaving the Create Message screen will lose the PDF and you will need to re-upload before sending.
   2. Report emails sent through the PDF Uploader cannot be scheduled to send at a later date/time. 
10. Once the message is sent you can see the results by clicking the Reports button in BrightArrow Home (the dashboard).