To view this list, go to Toy -> Returned

The most recent toys will be listed first.

If you wish to view toys returned for a particular session or for a given period, select the Start Day and End Day from the dropdown calendars, and click Search.
Click Reset to refresh the page.

• id: the number generated for each returned toy; the higher the number the more recent the return
• ReturnDate: the date the toy was returned
• ToyID: the toy’s individual ID. If you hover your mouse over the blue box the image will appear. If you click the box you will be taken to the toy’s detail page
• ToyName: name of the toy
• MemID: the member’s id number. If you click the box you will be taken to the member’s detail page
• Member: the name of the member who returned the toy
• Time: time the toy was returned
• LoanDate: the date the toy was hired out
• DueDate: the date the toy was returned. As can be seen above, if the toy is overdue it will say so in red
• Days: the number of days the toy was loaned out. A negative number means the toy was returned that number of days before it was due. A positive number means the toy was returned that number of days past its due date

You can download this list to PDF and/or Excel by clicking the Export to PDF or Export to Excel buttons. This will export the full list.

If you want to download a filtered list, either use the date range option mentioned above OR export to excel and sort or filter through there.

You can also decide how many rows you wish to see on the screen by using the pagination at the bottom of the list.

The post Returned page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

The post Customised Bag Labels appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

For us to do this for you, you will need to prepare the images in a certain format as well as have them clearly named.

Step 1

Depending on how you take your photos, all images must be in a .jpg format. If they are already in that format, great! Otherwise, the images will need to be converted.

Step 2

All images must be resized to have a width between 600px and 1500px, the ideal width being 1200px. Too large an image will affect loading time.
A quick way to resize all your images at once is to use the program Imagify. Follow the link to see how.

Step 3

Name your images. They must all have a toy id (called idcat in MiBaseNZ) as the file name. If letters are used, the file name must be in lowercase.
For example, if your toy has the id AP001 the file must be ap001.jpg.
If you have only numbers in your toy id, for example 1234, the file name will be 1234.jpg.

Step 4

Once you have finished preparing all your images, they are ready to be sent to be uploaded to your system. To do this you will need to create a zip folder.
You can use the following program WeTransfer (it’s free for up to 2GB). Click on the link and it will take you to the following page.

• Click the blue plus button to add all the images you would like to send
• Email to: info@mibase.co.nz
• Your email: add your toy library email or whatever email you can access as a verification code will be sent to you
• Title: add your toy library name
• Message: “toy images to be uploaded”

Click Transfer. A pop-up box will appear asking to enter a verification code.

Once this has been done the files will start transferring.       

It will let you know when the email has been sent.

 We will let you know when we have uploaded the images to your system.

The post How to do a bulk upload of toy photos appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

The reason MiBaseNZ is set up so IDs cannot be changed is to prevent losing a toys loan, payment, reservation, and missing pieces history which will happen when a new ID is selected. This in turn will throw out any of the statistical information you would obtain from the toy which will result in inaccurate reporting.

Please note, you can change a toy’s category however this will not change the ID. This only affects toy libraries that use categories as part of their toy IDs, for example, AP123. If you move the toy to PUZ, it will still have AP in the ID.

So, the ONLY exception to this rule is if a new toy has just been added to the system and has not been activated yet meaning it will have no loan, payment, reservation, and missing pieces history.
If this is the case for you Open a ticket and let us know which toy ID you would like changed.

Remember, once a toy has been activated and loaned the ID cannot and will not be changed!

The post Toy ID’s cannot be changed, be sure when adding a new toy! appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

So with regards to MiBaseNZ, optimizing your images on the website is important for the following reasons:

1. All images (toy picture, slideshow, images in news articles, profile pics, etc) are used in your Public and Member website, and if they are NOT optimized the website will become very slow and, in some cases, members will not be able to use it.
2. The administration will be faster.
3. You will save us, MiBaseNZ, from paying for more space which would keep the hosting costs from increasing.
4. MiBaseNZ accepts only PNG and JPG, Imagify will help you to convert the file type if you have the image in a different format.

So, how can you ensure your images are optimized before uploading them?

Don’t worry, we have a very simple solution for you

We have subscribed to a web application and we are sharing it with everyone. You will be able to use the web application called Imagify any time you need. You will have 10 GB, which is around 10,000 MB, each month to compress and resize your images.

To access Imagify

To access the application click here https://app.imagify.io/#/login, the username is your toy library email and the password has been sent to you. This is the email that you should receive from Imagify.

If you did not receive this, please open a ticket.

**The API key is not relevant to MiBaseNZ, please ignore this**

How to use Imagify

Once you log in, you can see the configuration on the left and the uploader on the right.

The Compression level should be SMART.
Select Resize images and Specify values in pixels.
Type 1200 in the width field.
Then, click the uploader box and select the images that you need to optimize.

Give the photos a little time to upload and compress. Once done, the following message will appear with the list of photos you have compressed. As you can see, it will tell you the old file size and the new compressed file size and also how much compression had been done.

Click Combine all your images into one zip file, wait a bit and then click Download the zip file.

Uncompress the zip file and you are ready to upload all your pictures!

You can also download the image individually if you have only done one or two images. In which case once you click Download, the image will appear and you will need to right-click it and select Save image as… OR depending on the setup of your device it may automatically save in your downloads folder.

It is much easier to download a zip file.

The post How to optimise an image with Imagify appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

The Stocktake page is also a great way to see an overview of the key details of each toy and in some cases see where gaps are missing.

To access this page go to Toy -> Stocktake

Then check, add or change any information on the list.

Column Description

• id: the toy’s individual id. If the box is blue, an image has been added for the toy. A white box means no image. If you hover your mouse over the box the image will appear.
  If you would like to add an image for that toy, click on the image box and it will take you to the toy’s detail page where you can Upload toy image
  Alternatively, if you would like to update the image you can also follow the same steps and select Change toy image. For further information on changing or uploading images, follow this link.
• Cat: the toy category the toy has been saved under. If you would like to Add a new toy category, follow this link
• ToyName: name of the toy. If a dotted line is under the title it means the toy has a description, no dotted line no description. If you hover your mouse over the title the tooltip with the description will appear
• No: number of pieces the toy has
• ToyStatus: will only list Active or Processing. To change the status to something different other than these two options, select from the dropdown menu and click the yellow Save button
• Condition: this is great for when toys are no longer new and the condition needs to be amended. Select an option from the dropdown menu and click the yellow Save button. If you would like to Add a new toy condition, follow this link
• Storage: what the toy is stored in. If you need to add or amend, select from the dropdown menu and click the yellow Save button. If you would like to Add a new type of storage, follow this link
• Age: the age group for which this toy is suitable for. If you need to add or amend, select from the dropdown menu and click the yellow Save button. If you would like to Add a new age group, follow this link
• User: the admin who made the most recent changes. Whoever makes any further changes, MiBaseNZ will automatically update the user name when they click Save
• DateCheck: the last date a change had been made to the toy. This will also automatically update whenever another change is made and the Save button has been clicked
• Comment: when a comment has been added to the box Stocktake notes in the Edit a toy page, it will appear in this section and vice versa, any comment added here will automatically be saved in the Stocktake notes box. These comments or notes can only be seen by admin

If you need to change more information about a toy, click the blue Edit button and it will take you to the toy’s Edit a toy page. Remember to click Save once done.

More info

To sort or filter the list, click the arrows next to the heading you want to sort or filter the list by or type in the search boxes underneath the headings.

The post Stocktake page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

The Toy Details page can be accessed from a number of pages within MiBaseNZ. These include the Stocktake page, Toy Alerts list, and the Toys List page.

For this article, we will be accessing it through the Toys List in the second menu. From there click on the yellow View button alongside the toy you would like to see.

There is a lot of information on this page. We will break it down in sections and explain it in more detail below.

Toy Name

At the top of the page, the toy id and toy name will appear.
If this isn’t the toy you were wanting to view, you can type in the name of the toy you were after in the Search Toy field and select from the dropdown menu.
If this is the toy and you would like to edit any details, click the blue Edit Toy button to the right.
Underneath the toy name, there are three columns of information.

Toy Information

The first column on the left lists all the information that has been saved in the Edit a toy page.
Note: some headings will only appear if information has been added.
The three sections outlined in red you will not see in the Edit a toy page.

• On Loan to: this toy is currently out on loan. You can also see the Due Date and Loan Date which is the start date of the loan. Clicking the blue member id number will take you to the Member’s Detail page.
  If the toy was in the library, this information would not appear
• Days on Loan in the last year: this is the total days the toy was out on loan
• Changed by User: this automatically updates listing the username of the last admin who made changes to this toy
• Last Updated: this also automatically updates with the date and time of the last change made to this toy

Description & Contents List

The second column shows the description of the toy and list of pieces for that toy. This information is added in the Edit a Toy page. Follow this link for further information regarding this.

Bag Label & More Info

The third column is where you can select a bag label to print for this toy.
Click on the dropdown menu and choose from the large selection of bag labels. Once you have selected click the green Open BagLabel on pdf.
If there is a bag label you would like to create or amend one in the list for your library, you can Open a Ticket and we will add it for you. For further information on this read this article, Customised Bag Labels.

Underneath the bag label is the toy image. You can either delete the image or change it. Follow this link on Uploading Images for further information.

Underneath this, you can see a number of comment or alert boxes. These will only appear if the information has been added in the Edit a toy page.

Missing Parts

Continuing down the page underneath all the information is the Missing Parts section. This is where you can add pieces of the toy that are missing, broken, replaced etc. Follow this link on Missing parts for further information on how to do this.
If no parts are missing you will see this:

If there are missing parts, a list will appear like this:

Toy History

Every time the toy is loaned out, it will be recorded in this table. It will list up to 10 toy loans.

To view any more than that you will need to click the blue All History button. This will take you to the toy’s history page where you can see the full list of previous loans.
To the top right of the page, you will see

• Total: the number of loans for this toy
• Total Days out: total number of days the toy was out on loan

Although it doesn’t quite look like it, both tables contain the same information. The second table just shows the toy’s name which is not necessary for the first table.

You can also export this information to PDF or Excel by clicking the relevant buttons.

The post Toy Details page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

The Edit a toy page can be accessed from a number of pages within MiBaseNZ. These include the Stocktake page, Toy Alerts list, Toy Detail page and the Toys List page.

For this article, we will be accessing it through the Toys List in the second menu. From there, click on the blue Edit button alongside the toy you would like to edit.

There is a lot of information on this page. We will break it down in sections and explain it in more detail below.

Toy details

• Name of Toy: be as descriptive as possible. It will be helpful for everyone; members and admin
• Category: select from the dropdown menu what category best suits the toy. If you need to Add a new category, follow this link
• Sub-Category: select from the dropdown menu what sub-category best suits the toy if you are using this function. If your category list is rather long then you should use sub-categories as it helps members to search for more specific toys. To Add new sub-categories, follow this link
• Toy Status: select from the dropdown menu. Most toys will be Active meaning it can be loaned and seen on all websites unless there is a reason for it not to be, for example, it is damaged, has been sold or it’s being repaired in which case it cannot be loaned Processing means the toy is active in the admin website but not the member or public. This status is used when a new toy has been added to the system and the information and image have still to be completed. It also means this toy cannot be loaned

Toy info

• Age: select from the dropdown menu the appropriate age for the toy. To Add another age group, follow this link
• Condition: the condition/quality/state of the toy. Select from the dropdown menu. To Add a new condition follow this link
• Date of Purchase: the date the toy was purchased. It will always have the current day’s date however you can backdate using the calendar when you click on the box
• N. Pieces: number of pieces – this does not have to be just toy pieces. It can include for example storage bag or box or instruction manuals. The total number of pieces must match with what is in the Contains list outlined below
• Storage: how the toy is stored. Select from the dropdown menu. To Add a new storage type, follow this link
• Renewable: would you like this toy to be renewed by members in the Member Website?
  It auto-fills as Yes so to change to No, select from the dropdown menu
• Supplier: where the toy was purchased from. Type in the name or website
• Manufacturer: who made the toy, type in the name
• Donated by: only use if the toy was donated. Type in the name of the person or company
• Needs battery: if the toy needs batteries type in how many and the type
• Party Pack: would you like to include this toy in the Party Pack if your library has the module, yes or no?
• Location: where the toy can be found within the toy library, for example, shelf or room. This is very handy if your toy library is large or has various locations/shelves. It is also great for volunteers or helpers to know where to return a toy. To Add a new location, follow this link
• Accessories Location: some libraries like to keep a toy’s accessories in another location for example behind the counter. Type in a location if it applies to the toy
• This toy can be reserved: select this box if you would like to make this toy available for members to reserve

Toy cost

• Rent: the cost to hire the toy. To Add a rent group, follow this link
• Cost: the cost of the toy when purchased
• Replacement cost: if the cost was discounted you can add the full price here
• Packaging cost: depending on how precise your toy library wants to be you could add the cost for the storage/packaging or printing of the label
• Freight: or delivery cost. If you have bought in bulk, you can divide the cost of delivery for each toy

Descriptions

• Description: be as descriptive as possible as it will be seen in the Public and Member Website and can also be used on the bag label. It is great for google searches as well. There is no need to create your own description for the toy, you can just copy and paste it from the website it was purchased from. If there is no description, google search the toy in another website. Adding dimensions is also great if toys are rather large.
  Follow this link for further information on Adding a great description
• Contains: be as thorough and precise as possible as this list will be used when checking returned toys. It will be seen in the Public and Member Website and can be used on the bag label which is great for members to see what pieces are in the toy and if any are missing
• Comments: appears in a blue box in the Public and Member Website. This section is great for adding things like purpose of toy or how playing with this toy promotes certain skills or learning
• Alerts: appears in a red box in the Public and Member Website, for example, children will need to be supervised with this toy. It can also be used on the bag label. Follow this link for more information on Toy alerts
• Warnings: appears in an orange box in the Public and Member Website, for example, not suitable for under 3 year olds. It can also be used on the bag label
•  Stocktake notes: this is where you can add notes after completing a stocktake. Only admin can see this

Extra info

• Processing time: where you can record how long it takes to add a new toy into the system
• Block image: selecting Yes will stop this toy image from being seen on the Public Website
• Link: can add a website link but it will be seen on the Public Website or you can add a link to assembly instructions. Follow this link to see how to Upload toy instructions
• Stockdate date: add the date of when this toy had last been checked
• Withdrawn date: if you have decided to withdraw this toy from the system, the date you do this will automatically be added in this section
• Withdrawn Reason: type in a reason for withdrawing the toy for future reference
• Keywords: adding keywords specific to the toy is great for members or the general public when searching on Google.
  The type of keywords you can use is the category, what the toy promotes, manufacturer or key features of the toy.
  It can be more than one word, separate the keywords by a comma, don’t use characters so, for example, Melissa & Doug – take out the ‘&’, use singular words not plural

Save toy

Once all information has been added or updated click Save at the top right of the page.
In the Second Menu, the Toy id button will appear as well as the Picture button.
A Success message will appear as well as buttons to the Stocktake List and Add New Toy page.

• Toy id: clicking this button will take you to the toy’s detail page where you can see all the information added
• Picture: clicking this button will take you to the page where the image can be uploaded. Follow this link for more information on Uploading Images
• Stocktake Page: follow this link for more information on the Stocktake page
• New Toy:  follow this link for more information on Adding a new toy

On the Member and Public Websites, click the View Toy button to see all the information added as well as comments and warnings/alerts if applicable.

The post Editing a Toy page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

As it is an alert for a toy, it will be seen in both the Public and Member Websites in a red Alert box and it is also possible to use in the bag label so be careful what you write.

Admin can also see the alert in the Toy Detail page and the Loan page.

Toy alerts once added will also automatically be added to a list in MiBaseNZ’s Alerts page.
To access this list go to Toy -> Alerts.

Then check, edit or delete any information on the list.

• ToyID: the toy’s individual id. If you hover your mouse over the blue box the image will appear. If you click the box you will be taken to the toy’s detail page
• ToyName: self-explanatory
• AlertDetails: the information that will appear in the red alert box on all three websites
• Delete: if this alert is no longer required you can just click the orange Delete button. The page will automatically update removing the alert. The alert will also be removed from the toy’s detail page in all  three websites as well as on the Edit a Toy page
• Edit: if this alert needs to be edited in some way click the blue Edit button and you will be taken to the Edit a Toy page where you can make the changes. Remember to click Save

To sort or filter the list, click the arrows next to the heading you want to sort or filter the list by or type in the search boxes underneath the headings.

You can also download the list to PDF and/or Excel by clicking the Export to PDF or Export to Excel buttons. This will export the full list, not a filtered list. If you want to download a filtered list, export to excel and sort or filter through there.

The post Toy Alerts page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.

There are two places this list can be accessed from:

1.  in the admin home page under the heading Info, there are two quick access links
   
2. go to Toy -> OnLoan
   

You can see to the right, above the table, is the total number of toys currently on loan.

• id: the number to identify/record the loan
• ToyName: self-explanatory
• ToyID: the toy’s individual id. If you hover your mouse over the blue box the image will appear. If you click the box you will be taken to the toy’s detail page
• Status: either Overdue or OnLoan. As you can see all overdue toys are listed first and highlighted red followed by the loaned toys highlighted in green
• MemID: the member’s id number. If you click the box you will be taken to the member’s detail page
• OnLoanTo: the name of the member who the toy has been loaned to
• Due: due date of the toy. The page lists the overdue toys first and then these are listed by the due date, the toys that are due first
• Days: a negative number means the number of days till the due date, for example, -0 means the toy is due that day. -3 means till the toy is due in 3 days. A number that is positive means it is overdue, for example, 3 means the toy is overdue 3 days
• Edit: clicking the yellow edit button will take you to the Edit Loan Date page where you can change the loan dates for the toy. Remember to click Save

To sort or filter the list, click the arrows next to the heading you want to sort or filter the list by or type in the search boxes underneath the headings.

You can also download the list to PDF and/or Excel by clicking the Export to PDF or Export to Excel buttons. This will export the full list, not a filtered list. If you want to download a filtered list, export to excel and sort or filter through there.

The post On Loan page appeared first on MiBase New Zealand.