Technology Updates

Windows 11-Should I upgrade?

October 5, 2021 was the release date for the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows 11. When Windows 10 was first released, anyone running Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 got a free upgrade. Windows 11 has the same option for Windows 10 computers as long as the computer meets certain requirements.

Windows 10 is supported until October 14, 2025, so by the time you need to switch to Windows 11, it will very likely be time to replace your existing computer.

Windows 11 has a number of specific hardware requirements in order to upgrade your existing computer. Here are the links Hardware Requirements, supported amd cpu list, and supported intel cpu list. If the hardware requirements for your computer do not meet the Windows 11 standards, you will not be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
 *There are some workarounds if your hardware doesn’t meet the requirements, but we do NOT recommend them. 
What’s the difference between Windows 10 and 11?
The answer is: not much, it’s a slightly altered user interface.
If you’re currently running Windows 10, we recommend you wait to upgrade for at least a year. That will give Microsoft and other software companies time to work out the bugs and compatibility issues.
If you do decide to upgrade to Windows 11, you have a very short grace period (currently 10 days) that you can revert back to Windows 10. If you fail to revert back in this time, the only way to get back to Windows 10 is to reinstall it, which means backing up all your data and reinstalling all your programs.

Please welcome John Woodraska to the IT team!

John Woodraska and his family are members of St. George Parish in Hartford, and John has joined the diocesan IT staff as of Monday 10/25.  John has extensive experience working with data, databases, querying, and extracting data and reports.  His email is jwoodraska@sfcatholic.org and his direct phone number is 605-988-3751. For now, you can continue to contact Dawn Wolf for any ParishSOFT Family Directory questions until we get John fully acclimated to our systems.

Great Article-The Ultimate List of Free Stock Photo Sites for Churches

Use this link to read the article and see all of the sites where you can get free stock photos for your design needs.

The Ultimate List of Free Stock Photo Sites for Churches

 

ParishSOFT FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Question: Since switching to the new PS Offering Module, why aren’t the donations I am entering in batch showing on the donor’s giving history?

Answer: The old offering module didn’t require you to close your batches, but with the newly redesigned offering module, you must close your batches in order for the donations to appear on the family’s giving history.

Question: Will you be sending us step-by-step instructions on how to run end-of-year statements in the newly redesigned offering module?

Answer: Yes! Not only are we planning to send you instructions, but we are planning to send you a video detailing the steps. We also hope to offer some Zoom meetings where you can attend to see a demonstration of the process and ask questions.

Question: How do I make a correction batch entry in a batch that I closed in the new offering module?

Answer: Here is a great link with step-by-step instructions from ParishSOFT on how to make a correction on a CLOSED batch.

https://support.parishsoft.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054884291-IO-Batches-Correction-How-to-correct-or-remove-a-closed-batch-posting-amount-due-to-the-entry-being-an-NSF-wrong-amount-or-entered-in-error

ParishSOFT Celebrant Cleanup Project

Many of you may remember during our Parish Admin day workshops this year in June that I spoke about the need to cleanup the celebrant listing in ParishSOFT. We decided to tackle that project on behalf of all the parishes because you all have plenty to do! Darla has been busy merging all of the duplicate celebrant records into a single record.

The naming standard when adding a new celebrant is:

Deacons

Deacon Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Pastors/Priests

Rev Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Monsignors

Msgr Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

Bishops

Most Rev Legal/Full First Name Legal Last Name (no spaces and no punctuation)

 

God Bless you in all you do for your parish/parishes!

Dawn Wolf, director, dwolf@sfcatholic.org

John Woodraska, data administrator and analyst, jwoodraska@sfcatholic.org

Adam Staebell, Helpdesk specialist, helpdesk@sfcatholic.org