Maintain & Optimize Your System
Here are some quick tips for keeping your identiMetrics Finger Scanning ID System working smoothly.
Daily Maintenance:
Hardware Maintenance:
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Replace your scanners every 4 years for the most up to date scanners
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Meet our current System Requirements (make sure your computers are up to date)
Software Optimization:
Data Management:
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Set Up Automated Import (to bring in the most up to date data for your faculty, staff, and students)
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Set up End-of-Year Process (moving students from grade to grade) with reminders to make sure everything runs smoothly before the end of the year).
System Optimization:
See below for more detailed information about how to maintain and optimize the identiMetrics Finger Scanning ID System in your district.
Send an email to support@identiMetrics.net if you have any questions about any of the ways to maintain the system. We will be more than happy to help out!
Close the Scan Manager at the end of the day*
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Keeps the program from having various issues that may occur if there is an unexpected shutdown or a power surge
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Prevents ‘application opening’ errors from occurring due to the application already running under a different Windows user account
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1. To close the Scan Manager window, click on the little purple box in the upper left hand corner.
2. Once you are presented with the drop down menu, scroll all the way down and click on 'Close'.
3. Click 'Yes' to exit.
*does not apply to Touchpoint Kiosk users
Clean the Scanner with Isopropyl Alcohol (70% alcohol of above)
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Clean scanners after heavy use periods to help service run smoothly - dirty glass makes it hard for the sensors to read through
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Before each lunch period and before breakfast
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Before the start of the day or at the end of the day for Time & Attendance and PowerSchool Plugin usage
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After high volume usage in the media center or library
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Before or after events like football games, the prom, or field trips
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Keeps the scanners disinfected and clean for general use (follow CDC use guidelines)
Replace your scanner every 4 years for the most up to date scanners
The age of your scanner is important for optimal identification and enrollment! We have some information to help you determine if your scanner is over 4 years old and may need to be replaced.
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Futronic Scanners: Serial Numbers start with FP0xxxxx through FP5xxxxx.
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Secugen Scanners: Serial Numbers start with H3xxxxxxxxxx through H5xxxxxxxxxx.
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You notice your scanners are starting to perform differently i.e. fingers are harder to identify and enroll.
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Your Secugen Scanners are shaped like a tower (see picture on the right).
Scanner Replacement FAQs
Q: Will I have to re-enroll all of my students if I get new scanners?
A: New scanners will not require you to re-enroll your students.
Q: Why should I replace my scanner if it is older than 4 years?
A: Finger Scanners, like a lot of other technology, have a finite lifespan. Using older finger scanners for enrollment can cause poor enrollments which cause poor identification. Use and care can also factor in end-of-life for finger scanners.
Q: How does the age of my scanner affect enrolling (the enrollment process)?
A: There is the potential that an older scanner will not create an optimal enrollment template due factors such as scratches on the scanner plate or a weakened signal. This introduces the potential that you may need to re-enroll those students at some point in their K-12 career.
Q: What if I am unsure if I need new scanners or not?
A: Let us know - we can help you evaluate your scanners. If you email us the serial number on the bottom of the scanner, we can look up the date originally purchased or shipped to you. We can also log onto a few computers to see if there are any signs of errors. Send us an email at Support@identiMetrics.net.
Q: Will the purchase of new scanners increase the cost of my annual licensing and support?
A: No, purchasing new scanners will not increase your annual licensing and support because you are replacing an old scanner. You are not adding additional licensed software.
Q: Can I buy a replacement scanner and use it as a Scan Point?
A: A Scan Point is licensed software plus a scanner. The replacement scanner is to replace a scanner on an existing installation of licensed software only.
Q: What do I do if I would like to purchase new scanners?
A: Call 215-836-5640 X100 or email us at Support@identiMetrics.net.
Make sure your computers continue to meet our system requirements
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Technology changes often. We update our system requirements periodically to reflect these changes. If you have an old computer, you may no longer meet our system requirements and that could cause issues while scanning.
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Re-installation is covered under licensing and support. We do all of the work and you can sit back and enjoy the process.
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Check out the most current system requirements to make sure that there will be no issues due to old operating systems or other possible preventable issues like disk space not being available anymore.
Perform Regular Maintenance on Your Computers
Just like the age of your scanner being important for optimal identification and enrollment, the age of your computers, kiosks, servers and other hardware the identiMetrics Finger Scanning ID System runs on is important also. Here are some tips to make sure the system runs well in your school.
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If you notice your computer is not functioning optimally, check out these tips from Microsoft support that might be helpful.
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Check with your local technical people if you have questions about your computer.
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If you are using computers that are older, it might be time to replace them. Ask your district's technical people for guidance about whether you should replace the computers or not.
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If you are running identiMetrics on an unsupported Windows Operating System (Windows XP, Windows 7 or Windows 8), there could be unforeseen and unexpected technical issues. It might be time to replace your computers. See the system requirements above when choosing new computers.
Replace your scanner every 4 years for the most up to date scanners
The age of your scanner is important for optimal identification and enrollment! We have some
information to help you determine if your scanner is over 4 years old and may need to be replaced.
-
Futronic Scanners: Serial Numbers start with FP0xxxxx through FP5xxxxx.
-
Secugen Scanners: Serial Numbers start with H3xxxxxxxxxx through H5xxxxxxxxxx.
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You notice your scanners are starting to perform differently i.e. fingers are harder to identify and enroll.
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Your Secugen Scanners are shaped like a tower (see picture below).
* Each of the 5 Steps build upon one another. Please ONLY schedule Step 2: Deployment Planning for now. Your Experts will let you know when the other steps should be scheduled.
Keep up to date with the most current version of identiMetrics. Run the identiMetrics Updater.
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The identiMetrics Updater updates you to the most current shipping version of our program. It provides features and bug fixes that we have worked over time.
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We update our identiMetrics Finger Scanning ID System periodically to reflect external changes in technology. Running the Updater keeps us working smoothly with any Windows or hardware changes that you may have made over time.
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Learn more about Updating.
Set Up Automated Import
Here is some information to help you set up auto import in
identiMetrics. There are three simple steps to this set up process.
Note: Steps 1 and 2 are your responsibility to set up and should be completed before scheduling with us. We will help you with Step 3.
Step 1: Schedule an export from your SIS or Host Application (you may need their help)
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Runs query for specific export (see attached import file cheat sheet for specific details of what information identiMetrics needs)
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Names file a name that works for your district (use district's naming convention)
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Schedules daily export daily on FTP or SFTP site
Step 2: You direct the scheduled export to a folder on your district’s network.
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Pulls file from FTP site (using a utility for transferring files like FileZilla. Your SIS or host application company may have more options or a specific preference)
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Places export into a location on your districts' network for identiMetrics to be able to grab (local to the computer identiMetrics' top level service is installed on works best)
Step 3: identiMetrics sets up options for the daily import
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Schedule an appointment with us on GOidM.com to set up the import file.
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On Day of the appointment we will log onto the computer with the top level service and set up the import file preferences.
Set up End-of-Year Process
End-of-Year (EOY) is a process that is run in identiMetrics that ‘promotes’ students from one grade to the next.
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This will help you remove students from the database that no longer belong.
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You should run the End-of-Year Process yourself at the END of the school year before any new import files enter the system.
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Find out more about the End-of-Year Process and how to set it up.
Use identiMetrics ID System as a platform
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Your identiMetrics ID System is a platform that works with most of the leading K12 applications you already have in your school, using one biometric database:
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Library software (Destiny, The Library Corporation's LS2, and more)
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Food Service POS applications (Primero, Titan, Mosaic, Nutrikids, eTrition, Wengage, MealsPlus, Lunchtime, PowerLunch, and many more POS applications).
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PowerSchool - our Tardy Management and Minute-based Attendance Plugins for PowerSchool are game changers in automating tardy attendance.
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Staff time clock programs (Frontline Education, our own identiMetrics Time & Attendance, and other time & attendance programs).
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Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) - a simple, easy and efficient way to count students.
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We're here for you if you have any questions.
Please open a support ticket by emailing support@identiMetrics.net or call us at 215-836-5640 Ext 2.