You can configure your Slate database to automatically receive and import academic credentials from Scribbles Software.

💭 Questions about this integration? Reach out to the Scribbles Client Support Team.

Configuring the Scribbles source format

The Scribbles source format in Slate

• extracts the contents of the ZIP file sent from Scribbles

• uses an index file to assign new materials to the appropriate records and material types

To configure the Scribbles source format:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Format Library.

3. Find the Scribbles source format and select Add. A popup appears.

   

4. Select Add. A browser dialog appears.

5. Confirm the browser dialog to add the source format. You are redirected to the Scribbles source format overview page.

6. Select Edit.

7. Change the Update Only setting to Update Only.

   • This prevents the source format from creating new records if a matching record cannot be found.

   • New documents are still be created and are available for manual processing in Batch Acquire.

     

8. Select Save.

Confirm the incoming/scribbles directory exists

With the source format added, active, and configured, it’s ready to accept an SFTP sweep. This happens about every 15 minutes.

When the SFTP sweep occurs, the /incoming/scribbles directory is automatically created in your database.

This directory must exist before Scribbles is able to connect. To confirm the directory exists:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select SFTP Explorer.

3. Select incoming.

4. Look for scribbles in the list.

   

5. If you don’t see it in the list, check again in 15 minutes.

6. If you still don’t see the directory, navigate to Database and select Run Force Process Pickup.

Configuring the Scribbles user account

The Scribbles user account is a service account used in the Scribbles Configuration section below.

It allows Scribbles to drop off files to your /incoming/scribbles SFTP directory.

To configure the Scribbles user account:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Configurations, select Slate Template Library (legacy tool).

3. Select refresh the Slate Template Library at the top of the page. A browser dialog appears.

4. Confirm the browser dialog.

5. Under the Users heading, locate the Scribbles Service Account and select Add. A popup appears.

   

6. Select Add.

7. From the main navigation, select Database.

8. Under Users & Access, select User Permissions.

9. From the list of active users, select Service Account, Scribbles.

10. Select Edit User. The Scribbles Service Account popup appears.

11. Select the Roles tab.

12. Under Permissions (Exclusive), select SFTP Access if it isn’t already selected.

13. Under SFTP Access, select Reset Password. A browser dialog appears.

14. Enter RESET in the browser dialog and select OK. A password is generated: this is the server password that you will provide to Scribbles.

15. Copy the password and paste it into a secure location, like a password manager.

    📝  Once you select Save, this password will not appear again. Select Reset Password to generate a new password.

16. Still in the SFTP Access section, copy the entire Username value. Paste it alongside the password you copied earlier.

17. Select Save to save the generated password.

This username is part of the server address that you will provide to Scribbles to configure the SFTP connection.

🔔 Do not change any other settings for the user account. These settings are required for Scribbles to successfully connect to Slate.

Contacting Scribbles to continue configuration

Next, contact Scribbles to set up the SFTP connection and submission of data to Slate. You will need to provide the username and password from the previous section.

Return to this document when you’ve completed the steps described by your Scribbles contact.

Configuring remap settings

Remap settings tell the source format how to process the data in uploaded files.

Once you have received at least one file from Scribbles, you can confirm and customize the remap settings in the Scribbles source format.

📖 Further reading: Field mappings

To configure the source format remap settings:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Formats.

3. From the list, select Scribbles.

4. Select Edit Mappings.

5. In the Field Mappings section, confirm and customize destination field settings as needed, with the following exceptions:

   🔔 Do not change the following mappings:

   • Material Filename: Tells Slate which document in the .zip file is related to which row in the index file

   • Material Code: Tells Slate which material type the document should be assigned to

6. Select Prompt Value Mappings.

7. Provide the value mappings for any unmapped values, including those for the Material Code destination.

Activating remap settings

Once you have finished customizing the remap settings, turn on the import for automatic processing using the following steps:

1. From the main navigation, select Database.

2. Under Import and Data Processing, select Source Formats.

3. From the list, select Scribbles.

4. Select Edit.

5. Set the Remap Active flag to Active.

6. Select Save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are we seeing documents go to Batch Acquire?

Documents are sent to Batch Acquire for the following reasons:

• The Scribbles Source Format is configured not to create new records (via the Update Only setting), and an existing matching record could not be found in Slate.

• Not enough data was included in the index file to match onto an existing record or create a new record.

• The document's filename was not included in the index file.

• The index file did not contain a document type or the document type sent in the index file was not mapped to a material type in Slate.

I forgot to map a document type, and now there are several documents in Batch Acquire. Is there a way to assign these documents in batch? 

Yes!

1. After you map the document type that was not mapped before, run Retroactive Refresh. Any material in Batch Acquire from the selected sources will be eligible for the refresh.

2. If the Slate material type that you selected is school-scoped, you will need to select the school destinations for the refresh in addition to the Material Filename and Material Code destinations. Otherwise, only the material destinations need to be selected.