Softconf START sync is a tool for Google Sheets which helps conference area chairs sync their data with Softconf START quickly and effectively.
The help for using this tool is to be found on this page:
You can report issues with the tool to Github issues of the project here:
The tool relies on Softconf's ability to export area data as web service. Through this, it enables area chairs to:
- Import data to Google Sheets (see First Run)
- Construct links to papers, PDFs, discussions and reviews
- Subsequent updates of data, where the tool updates only columns found in the original data, prefixed with ‘%’, and colors the updated values in blue, so you can see what changed since the last update
The easiest way to start working with the tool is to:
- install it :)
- set it up
- run it for the first time
- do subsequent updates
Install the tool from the following URL:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/softconf-start-sync/kjbckhokbhhnhimelcfjcajiejbmbcnc
After installing the tool, you will get the Softconf START sync menu under your Add-ons menu, with Setup, Sync with START and Help submenus, as shown on the following screenshot:
First, run the Setup to open up the Setup sidebar where you need to enter two URLs, the Reports URL and the Base URL.
The Reports URL looks something like this:
https://www.softconf.com/conference/shortpapers/cgi-bin/scmd.cgi?scmd=webservice&token=SECRET_TOKEN
and it is URL you will get from Softconf upon exporting the START data as a service. We explain the procedure of obtaining this URL in the next subsection.
Base URL is a base of the track URL, something like:
This URL is used to generate URLs to papers, PDFs, discussions and reviews.
START now allows area chairs to access a web service that provides internal spreadsheets via http requests. Our tool makes use of this service. To enable this service, area chairs need to explicitly activate it. To do so, the area chair must:
- Go to the area management console
- Click on spreadsheet maker
- Click on the Reports tab
- Activate the csv checkbox
- Click on Generate Webservice
- Copy and paste the Webservice URL into the Reports URL field of the setup form for our tool.
Upon entering the Reports URL and Base URL in the Setup section, you're ready to run Sync with START for the first time.
We recommend to start with an empty sheet, as the tool recognises running it on an empty sheet, and populates it with all the report data.
Upon the first run, the tool will create the header
containing all the variables from the imported report, starting with %, e.g. Submission ID becomes %SubmissionID.
It is important to know that the tool will later update ONLY such variables (starting with %), so be careful not to change those column names.
After the first run, you will have the complete reports file imported, together with four additional columns:
%Paper URL%PDF URL%Discussion URL%Reviews URLwhich are generated from theBase URLand the appropriateSubmission ID
From this moment on, you're free to remove any unnecessary columns, and add your custom columns. Bare in mind that:
- the minimum expected column is
%Submission IDand the system will complain if one is not found. - only columns whose names start with
%will be updated with the corresponding column name from the START web service
After the first sync, you're free to change the data however you wish (add and delete columns, change values, add and remove rows).
Subsequent runs of Sync with START ensure that the data in the spreadsheet is synchronised with the data from the service, particularly:
- ONLY columns in the spreadsheet, whose names start with
%, will be updated with the corresponding column name from the START web service (deleted or missing columns won't be fetched) - the tool will fetch and update ONLY changed values, and color them blue, as can be seen in the following screenshot:
- any deleted and/or ignored rows (papers) will be re-added at the end of the spreadsheet
