Now that I have finally gotten around to re-scaling and sizing about 31 photos for the new id, I can't find the upload app.
I had heard some scuttle that the app was munging the pics, anyone know where its hiding?
I tried to find it the other night and couldn't find it. Individuals can still upload their own through the new Member Search function (it's about 3 levels down inside your own info).
OOPS, just found it - Image Upload for Commanders on the right side, if you have permission for that app.
Are you seeing it today? I don't. !@#$%!
Nor do I see the ability to upload / change photos in either my own area or that of my other unit members.
I'm just the CC, why would I have it? >:(
(I have VALIDATE, just not UPLOAD, sent a note to the webmaster)
Well, two feathers for quick replies from NHQ - both personal to my email, but -500 hit points for a poorly designed interface.
The app is inside Commander's Corner, inside Admin.
Interestingly, after I complained, it showed up on my right-hand menu.
Do the apps appear there after you use them? Or did they tweak the front end when I moaned.
(on a side note, my digging revealed 56 actions waiting for approval, despite the fact that it said no approvals waiting on the front)
Re: earlier msg about "munging the pics". They've fixed it. What was happening is that any photo submitted with a dimension greater than 1 inch had that dimension compressed to one inch (software property of HTML: can't maintain aspect ratio). So my new photo, 1 inch by 1.5 inches, was compressed to 1 inch by 1 inch. Made me look almost gnome-like. Reason for bug: sort of worked for the old 101-card photos.
The "upload image for commanders" privileged application (right hand column of eServices home page) can be assigned to any CAP member by a WSA. My recommendation: each unit commander should assign a project officer for the new photo IDs, and have the WSA assign the project officer this privilege. The unit commander still retains the final approval using the "validate CAP picture" privileged application, also assignable by your friendly WSA.
I've done about 60 photos for my squadron and helped another squadron get started doing theirs. NHQ has fixed the software to make it fairly reasonable, but they still should do several more tweaks to make it user friendly. I simply can't see each CAP member doing this on his/her own, which is why I recommend a computer-literate project officer to take the pictures, process them to NHQ's specifications, and then upload them.
The remaining problem is what software to use to process the images from some digital camera. Most of the free ones (Picasa, Adobe Photoshop starter edition, etc.) can do most of the job but not all. Adobe Photoshop can do it all, but it is pricey. My recommendation is to use the Free Software Foundation's GIMP image processing program. It's professional-level and free. I'll consult on this topic if not-too-many people want me to.
The photo-processing fixes I'm doing for my squadron are:
(1) Level adjustment to remove the "haze"
(2) Fix red-eyes caused by flash. (Or have enough good lighting that you don't need flash; there are some other ways to avoid the problem.)
(3) Crop to EXACTLY 1 inch wide by 1.5 inches high with a resolution of EXACTLY 125 pixels/inch (private email from NHQ). This results in an image of 125 pixels wide by 188 pixels high.
I'm also adding the following requirements above and beyond NHQ's:
(1) Uniforms (blues or BDUs) for cadets (but not for seniors in support roles)
(2) Nothing hanging, like glasses or pencils.
Sirs:
Any skinny from NAT HQ on when the new ID's will get out ?????
Please advise..... our sqrdn has worked the picture angle... now when are the cards coming ???
I heard from someone who just went to NCSC....there is still problems with the blank cards...the examples he saw were terrible. The CAP command patch was very digitized and did not print very clear. I understand they are still trying to fix that before they start producing cards.
I just uploaded about a dozen pix using the above info, and they looked great. Thanks. :)
Once the pictures are uploaded, monies paid, and the initial cards are issued, will the I.D. card fee be a recurring fee every time the I.D. card has to be updated/changed? Will the regular cards also be issued?
Quote from: Psicorp on August 25, 2006, 01:23:36 PM
Once the pictures are uploaded, monies paid, and the initial cards are issued, will the I.D. card fee be a recurring fee every time the I.D. card has to be updated/changed? Will the regular cards also be issued?
It was my understanding from the information NHQ released when the ID's were first being proposed/approved was that normal membership cards will continue to be issued on the basis they are now. The photo ID card does not replace the
membership card we get in the mail every time we renew. In fact, the photo ID card must be accompanied by a current membership card, otherwise it's "useless." So your annual membership card will still arrive in the mail when you send NHQ your hard-earned cash every year, regardless of whether or not you have a photo ID.
I also got the impression that the photo ID will cost you $4 every time you want a new one (I'm guessing for things like grade change, unit transfers, name changes (marriage), lost it in the ocean, etc.).
Quote from: Pylon on August 25, 2006, 03:07:58 PM
Quote from: Psicorp on August 25, 2006, 01:23:36 PM
Once the pictures are uploaded, monies paid, and the initial cards are issued, will the I.D. card fee be a recurring fee every time the I.D. card has to be updated/changed? Will the regular cards also be issued?
It was my understanding from the information NHQ released when the ID's were first being proposed/approved was that normal membership cards will continue to be issued on the basis they are now. The photo ID card does not replace the membership card we get in the mail every time we renew. In fact, the photo ID card must be accompanied by a current membership card, otherwise it's "useless." So your annual membership card will still arrive in the mail when you send NHQ your hard-earned cash every year, regardless of whether or not you have a photo ID.
I also got the impression that the photo ID will cost you $4 every time you want a new one (I'm guessing for things like grade change, unit transfers, name changes (marriage), lost it in the ocean, etc.).
Okay, that makes sense....sorta. ;D
Thank you, Sir.
I received the following email today (29 Aug 06):
Happy to report, we just reviewed the initial batch of picture ID cards and are putting the first 100 in the mail today!
We had about 15% reject due to quality of the photo. We are looking to see if that's a problem with our interface with the vendor or the vendor himself or simply the quality of the photo submitted.
To ensure our members get the quality card they ordered, we will continue to individually review pictures and the ID cards themselves once produced until we have good assurance the process is ready to be fully automated.
Mark H. Richardson, III
Senior Director
HQ CAP, Maxwell AFB, AL
But are they telling folks whose pictures are rejected?
Don't think so. YMMV.
I received my card in the mail last week - it looks pretty spiffy!
Quote from: Major_Chuck on September 01, 2006, 12:23:04 AM
But are they telling folks whose pictures are rejected?
Yep, had a unit member that got an email from NHQ saying that his ID card was "denied" due to his photo not meeting NHQ's specifications in one respect or another.
As for the ID itself... *blech!*
Maybe on my next card I'll actually be able to recognize myself and the command badge won't have any jagged edges (-;
Quote from: dws on October 02, 2006, 02:17:12 PM
Maybe on my next card I'll actually be able to recognize myself and the command badge won't have any jagged edges (-;
Discussions at Civil Air Portal (http://"http://www.civilairportal") and CAPBlog's (http://"http://capblog.typepad.com") have indicated that a Version 2 of the new photo ID card will be forthcoming, fixing the horribly messed up CAP command shield, improving the hologram, and other problems. If it's true, thank God.
No indiciation so far has been given on when to expect the Version 2. If the timeline to develop version 1 is any indication, members can expect the updated card to ship by the end of FY10.
Another amusing note is that, even though I paid for my photo ID a while back (and knew there would be some delay when I did so), I do like that fact that NHQ shipped me in the test batch of IDs. This way, my new photo ID arrived in time to expire in two months. Thanks, guys! Money well spent!
Don't feel like the lone ranger Pylon, I wound up in the same boat. I just renewed and am waiting to see what I get for my next card. There was some discussion that you should get a photo ID the next time you renew if you already have one.
Quote from: Pylon on October 02, 2006, 06:41:51 PM
Quote from: dws on October 02, 2006, 02:17:12 PM
Maybe on my next card I'll actually be able to recognize myself and the command badge won't have any jagged edges (-;
Discussions at Civil Air Portal (http://"http://www.civilairportal") and CAPBlog's (http://"http://capblog.typepad.com") have indicated that a Version 2 of the new photo ID card will be forthcoming, fixing the horribly messed up CAP command shield, improving the hologram, and other problems. If it's true, thank God.
Another amusing note is that, even though I paid for my photo ID a while back (and knew there would be some delay when I did so), I do like that fact that NHQ shipped me in the test batch of IDs. This way, my new photo ID arrived in time to expire in two months. Thanks, guys! Money well spent!
That's really funny...in a very sad, yet typical way. Just goes to show that no matter how hard some may push us away from our Air Force parentage, there are still constants in the universe that cannot be altered.