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Added Support for Custom Recordings
November 29, 2021
The Tikkun view already had default recordings available for almost all the aliyot throughout the year. Now we've added support for cantors to uplaod their own recordings. This has been a very common request and in order to implement it we first needed the Tikkun to function in all circumstances. Now that we have the Tikkun perfected we can now allow Cantors to upload any recording for any aliyah.
Once a recording has been uploaded it will override the default recording for that specific aliyah. There will be a icon next to the Tikkun icon in the Parasha reading list. This icon denotes that a custom recording is available for that specific reading. When you load the Tikkun for a specific reading that has a custom recording, the recording will play once you click the "Play" button.
Note that only members of your specific synagogue will be able to listen to your custom recordings.
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Streamlined Book/Chapter/Verse Designations
November 26, 2021
We have worked hard on streamlining the chapter and verse designations and standardizing on the format
Chapter:Verse - VerseorChapter:Verse - Chapter:Versefor circumstances where the chapter changes.As part of this development we added the option to add the Book name as a prefix for the chapter verse designation. This can be toggled on and off from the Checkbox at the top of the Parasha definition table.
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Report By Parasha Update
November 21, 2021
We replaced the dropdown that allowed admins to select a report by Current year, last year and year before last with a dynamic year list. This enhancement reads the years from the database and allows an admin to load any parasha reading report by any year since they started with Torah Readers.
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Assign all Open readings to a single member
November 21, 2021
When assigning readers as an admin, you can now select to assign ALL the open readings to a single member. Checking the checkbox shown above and then selecting a member from the list, will assign all open readings in the current parasha to that member.
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Major Enhancement
Implementation of Perpetual Calendar
November 20, 2021
This major update sees the implementation of a perpetual calendar for defining both Shabat and Holiday readings. Many people have been asking for this and even though its been in development for many months, we only released it once we were sure that it was perfected and defect free. Now, admins who define parshiot can populate the correct readings for either Full or Triennial readings without the need to select options from drop downs. The old way of manually defining the parasha is still available and will be useful in specific circumstances.
We added a new link in the Admin menu to enable quick access to the calendar, you can also directly access the calendar from the regular Parsha Management page. Once you select the Parasha from the calendar the program will behave exactly as it has in the past and you will be able to add and remove aliyot as required, edit the Parasha definition and assign people. This implementation uses hebcals perpetual calendar APIs in order to pull the correct definition from their web services.
Please note that as you change years, the web service must pull down updated information and this takes a few moments to load and populate into the calendar.
Currently not supported through the calendar are weekday readings and some of the minor holiday readings during weekdays, such as the daily Chanukkah readings.
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Customize Trope Pattern Colors - Part 1
October 12, 2021
The first part of this implementation dealt with defining the interface for customizing the trope pattern colors. This was a complex implementation that required changes to the database therefore this implementation was not released until it was completely tested and defect free.
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Customize Trope Pattern Colors - Part 2
October 28, 2021
The second part of this enhancement is the implementation of the customized colors onto the correct trope patterns. When the user selects the "Colorize" option from the Tikkun menu, the right side of the Tikkun view will be colored in the colors selected in the settings. It's important to note that if no colors have been defined in the the settings, the default colors will be applied.
Colors can be printed by turning on the "Print Background Images" option in the print settings dialog. Most color printers have this option and you will be able to see the colors in the print preview prior to printing.
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Email Templates
September 12, 2021
The system generates over 20 different automated email notifications for various things. An example is notification of upcoming readings, the password reset email, the reading confirmation or cancelation emails. With this enhancement, admins can define a different standard template to be used for each of the various types of automated email. When the email is sent, the template will be applied to the email. This enables admins to customize the messages that appear in the email and tailor it to their specific requirements.
Note: many of the paragraphs of text in the emails have auto generated values populated, for instance details about a reading, these parts of the email can currently not be modified.
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Admin Reset Password Option
August 22, 2021
The biggest support request has to deal with people having issues with their login. It might be forgotten passwords, usernames or simply selecting to login to the incorrect synagogue. With this enhancement we have enabled the admin to reset their members passwords for them. This optionwill send the user an email with a temporary password in it. The user can then login with the password sent in the email.
This option is available on the admin page for member management.
Note: We still believe that the user initated password change "Forgot Password" option is still the easiest and most efficent way of resetting a users login credentials, however this option gives the admin some control over a users login problems.
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Added Verse count to Reading List
August 20, 2021
Members wishing to reserve a reading can now see how many verses they are required to read before reserving the reading. we have added a verse count to the reading list for each Aliyah.
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New Enhancement and Bug report Form
August 15, 2021
We have added a request form to the interface. Any user of Torah readers can now submit an enhancement request, a bug/defect report or a general request directly to R&D.
The option is available on the top menu bar by clicking the icon and is accessable from any page.
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Recording Playback Speed Control
August 7, 2021
Users can control the speed of the playback for any recording being used with the Tikkun. The speed control slider appears whenever a recording is being played. Users can slow down the speed or speed it up depending upon their level of proficiancy.
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Edit Print Report Template
August 3, 2021
We have enabled some of the fields in the Parasha Print Report to be customized. An admin can edit the Title and the Triennial Reading fields prior to printing the report.
We have also added the Page Number field to the Print report - page numbers can be defined in the field for each reading when editing the Parasha.
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Tikkun Print View
July 22, 2021
We have enhanced the Tikkun Print Preview to include colors and a side-by-side representation in-line with the standard Tikkun. The page has been formatted to fit both potrait and landscape orientations of the paper even though landscape is the prefered printing option.
Note: You must select to Print background graphics in order for the color highlighting of the Trope patterns to print correctly.
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Major Enhancement
Implementation of Tikkun Toolbar
June 10, 2021
With this major update we are providing additional power to the existing Tikkun by enabling users to control the display of the Tikkun through the new toolbar that has been Added at the top of the Tikkun View.
Users can now switch between different views of the texts, the Nikkud view, the Torah View or Both. The chapter/verse designations can also be switched from numerals to Hebrew letters. A very useful option is the increase and decrease size of the tikkun text.
We have added several new functions to help highlight various parts of the text. From the "Colorize" menu, users can now highlight the Trope patters in the text, Highlight just the vowles, or highlight just the notes/Ta'amim/Trope.
Where available the Translation to English can be displayed from the Translate button. The Trope Teacher is a function that enables you to focus on a specific Trope pattern and listen to the sounds that the pattern makes. This works as a Toggle button. When Trope Teacher is turned on, clickin on any word in the text will load a view of the text and play the associated pattern.
The final functions on the toolbar are the Print and Play functions. Print enables you to make a hard copy of the Tikkun view. Currently the Tikkun is printed on 2 seperate sheets of paper, one for the Torah View and one for the Nikkud view. The Play button will play a recording of the specfic verses that are loaded into the tiikun - if a recording is available.
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Dynamic Reading Report
April 5, 2021
A new page has been added to the Admin section. You now have accesss to a dynamic reading report. The report updates every 30 seconds and shows in real-time people who are signing up for readings. The report cam be sorted by any of the columns and you can also search the data for a specific person, or date. This option gives admins a real-time accurate report on all the upcoming assignments.
Note: Only future reading assignments are listed in this report.
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Email Reporting Upgrades
April 5, 2021
We have had a lot of requests for upgrading the reading reports sent out by email to admins. Some admins wish to receive an email everytime a member signs up for a reading assignment. While this capability was existing in Torah Readers, it was not consistent in sending out the emails. We have improved the reliability of this and enhanced the email report that gets delivered to admins.
A new option has been added to the Temple Settings: You can now check if you wish to receive a notification everytime a member signs up for a reading. By default this option is not checked.
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Edit Parasha Details
December 7, 2020
A new feature allows admins now to edit all the details related to the Parasha, regardless whether its been published or not. You can now edit the Title of the Parasha, the date and any notes related to the Parasha. Previously these options were locked down and once defined, could not be changed.
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Add Additional Fields to Parasha
December 20, 2020
We've added some additional fields to each Aliya. The "Additional Comments" and "Book and Page Number" fields can now be defined if required. These fields are saved with each Aliyah for the specific Parasha.
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Prayer for The Sick List
Major Enhancement
November 8, 2020
This is a brand new option in Torah Readers. You can now manage the "Misheberach" List for the sick.
At the top of the page you will now find the icon. Clicking this will open the interface for adding a person to the Misheberach list. If you are a member, you can just add people to the list. You can view the people that you've added to the list in the table below the interface for adding people.
The people you add to the list will remain active on the list for 2 weeks. Prior to the end of the two week period you will receive an email asking if you wish to extend the period that the peron is on the list by a week. Clicking the link in the email will extend the period automatically. If you do not click the link, the person will be removed from the list after 2 weeks.
Admins have options to manage the list and print it out. Admins can also add people to the list manually.
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Haftarah Hebrew Text Available
Major Enhancement
October 30, 2020
We have now made the hebrew texts available for every Haftarah listed through Torah Readers. This option can be accessed through the Tikkun icon that you will find in the left column of the Parasha reading reservation table. This new text replaces any existing PDF files of the Haftarah.
As with the Tikkun texts, this is an implementation of the texts provided by Sefaria (https://github.com/Sefaria).
Currently, the text is provided as is with no voice recording available yet. We plan to add voice recording in the coming year. We also plan to implement print functions at some point in the coming year.
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Admin Add New Member
July 22, 2020
Admins can now add members to their synagogue directly from the member management page in the Admin section. This option is good for admins who wish to sign up their members instead of having them go through the registration process on their own.
The member will receive an email informing them that they have been signed up for Torah readers. The email will contain instructions on how to login to Torah readers and will also provide them with a temporary password. Once logged in, the user can change their password to something more user friendly.
When an admin signs up a member through the interface, that user is pre-approved for access to the system and there will be no requirement for the admin to approve them.
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Welcome Message
July 13, 2020
Admins can now define a welcome message that get's displayed on the home page of Torah Readers for their members. This message can be instructions on how to signup for a reading or any other message that you wish to convey to your members.
Your saved welcome messages will be displayed in a table below the New Welcome message interface. You can reload, edit and use any of these saved welcome messages.
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More Tikkun Enhancements
Major Enhancement
May 20, 2020
We have been working on improving the Tikkun view provided through Torah Readers. We now have Tikkun texts available for all Triennial and full readings. The new Tikkun view replaces all existing PDF files that had been available through Torah Readers. The new Tikkun can be accessed through the icon in the Tikkun column for each reading in a Parasha.
Currently we have provided a static view of the Tikkun, however it is our intention to provide more functionality in the Tikkun view throughout the year.
This is an implementation of the texts provided by Sefaria (https://github.com/Sefaria).
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Cross Highlighting Added to Tikkun View
Major Enhancement
Feburary 23, 2020
We just added cross highlighting to the Tikkun view. We are so excited about this enhancement that we decided to release it as a standalone enhancement. This enhancement turns our static text into a dynamic and intelligent set of texts.
Click on the left side of the Text (the Torah View) and it will cross highlight the corresponding word on the Nikkud side. Click on the Right side of the Text in the Nikkud view and it will cross highlight the corresponding word on the left side of the screen.
This is the first of many exciting enhancements that will be coming this year with regards to the new Tikkun View.
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New Tikkun View
Major Enhancement
Feburary 18, 2020
We have a new view of the Tikkun replacing the old PDF files that we had been using for the tikkun. Currently we only have texts for full readings but are expecting to provide the Tikkun for all triennial readings in the near future.
You can access the new tikkun view from the same place where you accessed the PDF files. Click on the File Icon in the Tikkun column for each reading in a Parasha. The text is currently static however it is our objective to provide a dynamic interface that makes the most use of the text and the layout.
This is an implementation of the texts provided by Sefaria (https://github.com/Sefaria).
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Additional Support for More Holidays
September 2, 2019
We have added support for a lot more holiday readings - Specifically minor holidays, fast days.
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Filters for Reading Report
April 24, 2019
You can now filter the top readers by any date range. Selecting a To and From date and clicking the "Filter" button will update the list of readers in the table below.
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Reading Report Pie Chart
April 22, 2019
We now have Bar charts and Pie charts for the Reading reports.
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Reading Report
March 13, 2019
We added a new page in the admin section to present dynamic reports. Currently we have report by User, report by all users and reading reports that can be filtered by date. More reports will be added over the coming year.
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Added Megilah Readings
Feburary 2, 2019
This release sees the addition of support for Megilah readings in Torah Readers. You can now select to define any of the five Megilahs. The system has the assignments defined by standard Chapters. At this time there is no text displayed, this is just for signing up to read a specific chapter. Otherwise this behaves just like the assignment for regular Torah readings.
Available Megilah readings will be displayed on the main page under the Shabbat and Weekday readings.
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Revamped Login & Forgot Password Experience
January 8, 2019
Torah Readers must ballence the ease of use of the site with the need to keep our members data secure. This is a tough ballencing act that we've struggled with for the past few years. In this release we address the experience of logging into Torah Readers as well as the experience for users who wish to reset their password.
We have totally re-programed the login experience from scratch and added an option to keep a user logged in. This enables a user to access the system without having to input their username and password every time.
The forgot Password user experience has also been revamped to make it easier to use while maintaining a 2-factor authentication methodology through the users registered email address. We are hopeful that these improvements will reduce the difficulties related to logging in and reseting a password.
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Ability to add Extra Aliyot to Shabbat and Holiday Readings
Major Enhancement
November 12, 2018
In this release we've added the capability to add additional Aliyot to any Shabbat or Holiday reading.
Additional Aliyot that are defined in the Parasha will be available for people to select or be assigned to by an Admin. The additional aliyot behave exactly like regular aliyot, however the admin defining the extra aliyot will have to input the chapter/verse designation or the reading plus any additional comments that might be required.
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Daven Templates Added
Major Enhancement
September 1, 2018
In this release we've added the capability to define standard templates for any service. Once defined, these templates can be loaded and used instead of havinng to define each assignment for every service. The new template capability saves time in defining new services.
With a drag and drop interface, its easy to define a new template. Just select from the large menu of service assignment options and drag to the right side and then re-order as required. The template can be saved and then reused time and time again. Once defined and consumed, additional assignments can be added to a service, or assignments can be removed from a service.
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Daven Schedule assignments added
Major Enhancement
July 15, 2018
Members can now reserve an assignment for a service. This capability functions exactly like the regular reading reservation.
Simply select a service that you wish to participate in, Select the part of the service that you wish to lead. You will receive email conformations and reminders of your assignment just like you do for regular readings.
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Daven Schedule
Major Enhancement
July 10, 2018
Admins can now create a new schedule for a service. By selecting various parts of the service from the long menu of options, you can define parts of the service thatyou wish to be led by your members. This can obviously change from week to week so the system allows you to define different pre-set types of service.
Define the service, the date of the service and the parts of the service that you wish to make available to the members to sign up for and publish your service.
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Defect Fixing
March 8, 2018
This release contains many fixes to outstanding problems that have been reported over the last couple of months. Some of the fixes are fairly major and result in increased performance, stability and completed functionality.
Torah Readers continues to place an emphasis on a clean user experience and we continue to address any problems in a tiemly manner.
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Redesign of Interface
Major Enhancement
August 10, 2017
We've totally revamped the interface of Torah Readers in order to mke it responsive, clean and suited to run on any device, mobile phone, iPad, laptop or desktop screen. This is a major development that has taken several months to complete. While redesigning the interface, we streamlined the colors used throughout the site in order that the user experience may be consistant.
We now have dynamic tables and menus that adjust for any screen resolution and aspect ratio. This site will run as well on a desktop as on your mobile phone.
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Completed Input of Trienniel Chapter Verse Assignments
Major Enhancement
March 13, 2017
After more than a year, we have finally input all the data required to support the book, chapter and verse assignments for every aliyah throughout the year. We now fully support Full readings, Triennial and most Major holiday readings.
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Major Enhancement
Launch of Torah Readers
May 4, 2016
Torah Readers was first launched to the public on May 4, 2016 - the first Parasha to be published was for Acharai Mot that was read on May 7, 2016. There were two synagogues signed up for Torah Readers at this point.