ISG Blog

The Salvation Army is an international movement and a global organisation.  As such it has a number of policies and regulations set by International Headquarters to assist the various territories in implementing their localised policies and procedures.  This includes Orders and Regulations, Guidelines and Reference materials.

Historically this was only accessible through the old Lotus Notes client, but recently IHQ have upgraded this to a new system called Notes Transformer.  It is important to note this system is solely for IHQ applications for now.

Notes Transformer can be accessed through your web browser.  This includes Orders and Regulations, IHQ Applications, Guidelines and Reference applications.  Further IHQ based applications will be added to this in the future. 

The URL is transformer.salvationarmy.org. ISG have added the link to the ISG Supportal My Links page, TSA Intranet Quick Links Menu and your salvationarmy.org.nz bookmarks in Chrome browser

When you get to the login page, click on the “Login with Microsoft” button.

 When you get into the system you won’t have any applications bookmarked. Click the “Bookmark an Application” button to add the applications you want to access.  You will only see the applications you have access to.
 

Click the check boxes to select the applications you want to add to your dashboard, or click “All” at the top, then scroll down to click “Save Changes” at the bottom. This will add a link to each of the applications to your dashboard.  These will be remembered next time you log in.
 

If you know the specific application title, you can filter the dashboard by using the “Filter” field
 

Otherwise you can use the “Search…” field found on top left corner of window, using keywords for searching through all applications you have access to.

Here's a few notes from Google on how to use Google Keep.

Hope it's useful to you. Just another app readily available for you to use within the TSA environment.

There is a fantastic app available from The Salvation Army! The Whole World Mobilising encourages people associated with the Army, or who simply follow Jesus, to make a difference. As an app it lets you take practical steps to reveal God's love wherever you are.

The official app for The Salvation Army’s Whole World Mobilising Campaign. The Whole World Mobilising app and website will provide real-time updates on mobilisation activities, practical coaching, community and global prayer. Track all your activities on a live global map. Celebrate the work being done all around the world by downloading the app and participating in the campaign.

Read more about the app on the international Salvation Army website (here), or download it from here. 

Carrying on with the focus on travel apps we've had, today we focus on TripIt. It is possible you may be on a trip that isn't with Air New Zealand, if so TripIt is the app for you. What it does is pull all of your travel itinerary into a single place (including accommodation) then keeps you updated of delays or changes.

Key Features:

• Just forward your itinerar to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get started
• Maps and driving directions are included so you make it to the airport / train station / hotel
• All your travel plans are in your pocket (smartphone) or on your tablet, computer or wearable 
• Sync with your calendar!
• Share your trip (or part of it) with anyone you choose

If you've got a trip coming up then you may like to try TripIt.

Following on from the blog on Monday about the Air NZ app for traveling (Travel Much?), today we're featuring an app about getting those cheap flights! Often travel for work is very time specific. Sometimes you know in advance and can be flexible. If so then check out the Grab-a-Seat app: play.google.com/Grab-A-Seat

If you travel then the Air New Zealand app is a really handy download for your mobile. All your flights are listed, you can check-in directly from your phone, see live updates about the flight (boarding, gate, your seat number, etc). You can even travel completely paperless!

Check it out here on your Android smartphone: play.google.com/AirNZ

Google Sheets is an app that lets you create and manage spreadsheets, even those created in Microsoft Excel. It is available with your @salvationarmy.org.nz account and with Google Drive PLUS there is an app for your phone (or tablet) making it possible to work wherever you are (which *may* be a good thing).

Google Sheets is very similar to Microsoft Excel, but may appear to be missing some features. Most of the time they just are in a different place or have a different name. Sometimes there are features missing because Google Sheets is a lot younger than Microsoft Office.

Google are committed to Google Sheets (and the entire G-Suite platform - a competitor to Microsoft Office) and are constantly updating all of the apps. Google Sheets is no different and not that long ago they added number of features. We think the most helpful of these new features is rotate text.

Check out the updates and all about rotate text here: GoogleSheets/Updates 

Now that you've got some GREAT photos getting them printed is often the next hurdle for people. Touchnote is an app that lets you create postcards and greetings cards with your photos. Maybe you could use these as super personalised thank you notes to people who have helped. Or perhaps it could be as part of marketing an upcoming event at your centre.

As you can see below, the app lets you use a phone, add captions, and a message all within an easy to use app. When completed the finished product gets sent as a physical post or greeting card.

The cards are really great quality and typically take a week or 2 to arrive. This is because they're coming from outside of NZ. The price is reasonable and it is a fantastic way to say thanks with a really personalised touch. 

Sometimes photos don't look as you imagined they would when you're snapping them. It is something I find with most of my photos and I'm always looking for a way to have the picture in my head be the one that is actually taken.

Snapseed is an app for editing photos that makes it quick to adjust light, contrast, colours, etc. You can also add a range of different effects and tune the intensity. This means that in a minute a photo can go from this:

to this:

The holidays are approaching so we're going to feature some apps in the next couple of posts. Time off sometimes means that we have the capacity to fiddle around with our devices and learn new tricks. So the next few posts will feature apps that you can play around with from the comfort of your armchair (unless we get great weather, then it will be your deckchair)!

Quick is an app that lets you add titles and / or captions to photos. It lets you turn a photo into a statement really quickly. This is one of my holiday goals:

OK, so a wallpaper app isn't necessarily going to change how you work. But we look at our phones so often during the day wouldn't it be great if you could see images that inspired you? Maybe they're your own photos (perhaps you've edited or put captions on them!), or some stunning images from elsewhere.

Whichever you want Google Wallpaper lets you not only set wallpaper and lock screen images, but it will rotate them so you get a fresh image each day. 

Hopefully the last few posts have encouraged you to use your mobile to do more. You've got it with you all day everyday, and it is a powerful little computer that can make many of the tasks you have to do quicker and easier. 

The last couple of posts have been about editing photos on your phone. Sometimes you don't need to edit a photo because it was such a great shot! You may want to caption it though. Get Involved or Come Along or another caption transforms a photo into a powerful message or marketing image.

How can you easily add a caption? Quick!

Quick is an app that makes it simple and fast to put some words onto a photo. You can do some basic formatting of the words, but the purpose of the app is to quickly (like the name suggests) get a caption (or title) onto a photo.

More of us do more on our phones than ever before. They're a really personal computer, a personal assistant, a productivity tool a camera and many other things. So why not get more done from your phone, especially when talking about photos.

Most of us can snap a great picture but with just a little editing (cropping or balancing) it can be transformed into an incredible shot. So why not do some photo editing on your phone? It is surprisingly easy even on a small (when compared to a laptop or desktop) screen.

Check out 12 great photo editing apps for mobile here.

Time lapse videos can be a great way to show off an event. Maybe you have something happening at your Corps or centre and really want to capture part of it to show others. Time lapse videos let you compress the time of an event making it easy to give viewers a sense of the how the event felt. 

Maybe a Sunday Service timelapse, or setting up for a special event. A cooking or budget session at a CM, or perhaps a Mainly Music or Playgroup. PR events, Congress, officers councils, the list is neverending in this magnificent organisation and whatever it is a time lapse video could capture the energy of your event to share later.

There are two different options for this on Android, Microsoft Hyperlapse and Lapse It Pro (there is a free version with some limitations to try out here).  

When you're using your phone are there some apps you use a lot and need to flick between? Do you think there must be a better way clicking the home button, then launching the app? Circle Sidebar is an Android app that solves that problem.

They borrow from the edge screen idea Samsung has and you swipe in from the side of your screen to see different actions. The actions are whatever you set. So if you have a few apps you want to quickly flick between try Circle Sidebar.

There is a free version here, and a paid version here.

Do notifications on your phone bother you? Sometimes you're on your phone doing something and alerts start popping up and hijacking what you're trying to do. Then you forget what you needed to do because of distraction or frustration!

Dingless is an app that stops notifications when you're using your phone. When you switch your screen off alerts will restore so you won't miss anything BUT you can have control over that as well! Helpful controls like how many times it beeps if lots of emails arrive, or what to do when the phone is charging.

If you prefer to mute your phone, then forget to turn the volume back up check out Shush! We love this app as it makes it really easy to mute your phone and have it automatically turn volume of notifications back on!

At various times when talking to you, our users, about the features of Google Apps, we have mentioned that there are some features found in the Microsoft Office equivalent that may not be available in Google Apps.

We have also mentioned that the way Google works is that, because its based on the web, updates can happen without you even noticing, and so although today what one asks for may not be available, tomorrow it may.

One of the features people have asked particularly with regards Google Docs is the ability to create Columns, and we are thrilled to let you all know that this now exists!!  You can now easily split your document into multiple columns in Docs. Just choose “Columns” in the “Format” drop-down menu when you need more formatting options to get your point across.

Of course, if there is a feature you can't find within the app, search the "Add-Ons" menu to see if you can find what you need.  Google work with a number of other companies who may have created just what you are looking for and through the Add-Ons menu its there waiting for you to install it.  You don't even need ISG for this!!  Just find the Add-On, add it, and get on with using it.

There can be lots of reasons you're running late, and often traffic is the challenge. But there is an app that can keep people updated with where you are and when you're likely to arrive. It is especially helpful as it means you don't have to talk or text while driving. If you are a passenger then it is far simpler than trying to type or tell someone where you are, how fast you're moving, and what your expected arrival time could be.

There are several variants of the app, but all provide the same functionality. See them here. Try it out on your commute to see what it is like. 

Occasionally I stumble on a link that I want to read but don't have the time right now. Or I want to hang on to the link so I can refer to it anytime. Mot often this means I want to access it from my phone when I'm waiting for something, or sitting on the couch in the evening! 

There is a great app called Pocket that does exactly this! A Chrome extension (get it here) lets me capture a webpage to look at later. Then an app on your phone (get it here) lets you hang onto pages for viewing later. 

Learn more about you can capture everything you want to read and watch in your pocket at their website: getpocket.com Oh and you can use your @salvationarmy.org.nz Google account to sign yourself up so you don't need another username and password!

With the introduction of Google apps to TSA, one of the apps that may be very useful to Corps and centres is the Google Calendar.

Did you know that within the Calendar you are able to create a publically shared calendar.  This could be useful to Corps who wish to share the upcoming events to their congregation, but also really useful to set up for a team you may manage to share overall events that the team need to be aware of (eg. staff on leave).

To create this "shared" Calendar, simply:

1. login to Google with your TSA account (ie. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) ;
2. then in Google Drive, select the icon on top right corner of window;
3. select Google Calendar  and your calendar will appear;
4. On the left hand side column you can select the drop down arrow next to "My calendars", then "Create a new calendar".  
5. Fill in the necessary information on screen and then "Create Calendar".  If you are creating this to share with external emails (i.e. not TSA emails) then ensure when you select "Share this calendar with others" that the box marked "Make this calendar public" is ticked and that the selection is to "See all event details".  This allows you to share it with
6. Under "Share with specific people", you can then select who you wish to share the calendar with by typing their email address and selecting the appropriate permission settings.

You can always go back to share the calendar with more people if you wish to, or to manage any required removals etc.