Employee Directory
Professional Edition Documentation

An employee is an individual who works part-time or full-time under a contract of employment to perform tasks within an organization.

An Employee Directory event is a gathering that is sponsored by a business for its employees, business partners, clients and/or prospective clients. These events can be for larger audiences such as conventions or smaller events like conferences, meetings or holiday parties.

To create employee records in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Employees' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the employee list page.
4. Start filling in your employee fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set employee taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click Publish. If you do not have publish privileges, the "Submit for Review" button is displayed.
7. After the submission is completed, the employee status changes to "Published" or "Pending Review". Users must have "publish" right to publish employees. Users who do not have "publish" right can still create employees; however, these employees must be reviewed and approved by a user with employee "publish" right. Check Roles and Responsibilities section of this document to see which access groups have employee "publish" right.

Employees can be modified by clicking on the "Edit" link under the employee title in the employee list page in the admin area. Make any necessary changes and then click Publish.

In Employee Directory, users are only allowed to search employees they have access to. Users who have access to employees can search using the filter system in the employee admin areaor search forms in the frontend You can use drag-and-drop admin interface for sorting, creating/saving complex filters, and ordering columns in the entity list pages.

Administrators and users who have access to advanced Employee search page on the frontend can also utilize "Search operators" to drill down the result set without any limitations on access.

To schedule Employees for publication on a future time or date in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Employees' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the employee list page.
4. Start filling in your employee fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set employee taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click "Edit" in the Publish area next to the words "Publish immediately". You can also change the publish date to a date in the past to back-date Employees. Change the settings to the desired time and date. You must also hit the "Publish" button when you have completed the employee to publish at the desired time and date.
7. After the submission is completed, the employee status changes to "Published".

To create a password protected employee in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Employees' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the employee list page.
4. Start filling in your employee fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set employee taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Password protected".
7. Enter a password that will be required to view that employee in the text field. The password is limited to 20 characters.
8. When you are ready, click the "Publish" button (or "Update" if the employee is already published.)
9. After the submission is completed, the employee status changes to "Published".

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right can change the password set for your employee or modify visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

When employee content is password protected, employee title displays the text "Protected: " before the employee Title and the content prints a password form with this text: "This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:".

If multiple employees have the same password, one will only have to enter the required password once. Only one password is tracked at a time so if you visit two different employees with two different password, you must re-enter the employee password to access content. WordPress saves passwords for maximum 10 days. After this period expires, one must reenter the password again to view the protected content.

Employees can be privately published to remove them from employee lists and feeds.

To create a private employee in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Employees' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the employee list page.
4. Start filling in your employee fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set employee taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Private".
7. Once you change the visibility to private, the employee status changes to "Privately Published".
8. When you are ready, click the "UPDATE" button.

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right for the employee can change visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

To preview employee content press the "Preview" button - a button directly above the “publish” button - in the publish box before officially publishing or sending for review.

To create a draft employee in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Employees' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the employee list page.
4. Start filling in your employee fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set employee taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click "Save Draft" button in the publish box.
7. After the submission is completed, the employee status stays at "Draft".

Once the employee is published the user who created the employee is assigned as the employee author. Employee authors can view and edit the employee. One can change the employee author from the author box. The author box drop down is limited to the users who have employee "publish" right.

You can create connections between Employees and Employees by clicking on "Create Connection" link in the "Direct Reports" box and then clicking on "Plus" sign adjacent to the record title you would like to connect. Optionally, you can create new record. If you create a new one, the record is created as a draft. You must publish all connected draft records to make the connections valid.

After the connection created, set the values to: Title(dropdown). Take a look at the glossary section for dropdown values available. Now, you can update or publish your employee. You can create at most one connection.

Employee Directory Professional supports creating of custom fields. Creating of custom fields provides a quick way to allow you to extend the content with key/value pairs also known as meta data. Custom fields store arbitrary extra information about employees.

To create a custom fields for your employees

1. Edit any employee or create a new one in the admin area. You will see the Custom Fields metabox. if you do not see it, enable it from Screen options.
2. Creating a custom field requires a key and a value. The key is constant, but the value can change for each employee. Click on Enter New link or select a key from the dropdown list.
3. Enter a value and click Add Custom Field button
4. Repeat the steps above for creating more fields

You can create as many custom fields as you need. If your custom field key may have multiple values, create a new field and use the same key with different values. You can use HTML code in the value box. Employee Directory concatenates each value separated with a space character. By default, WordPress shows 30 custom fields in the dropdown list.

Once you create employee custom fields, they are displayed in the frontend. The custom fields are available to be for your forms too. You can enable or disable them in the form layouts from EDirectory Pro menu > Settings page > Forms tab . By default all custom fields are disabled.

Certification can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Certifications" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Certification is optional. Certification is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Certification value to another.

Certifications do not have preset values.

Department can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Departments" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Department is optional. Department is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Department value to another.

Departments do not have preset values.

Employment Type can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Employment Types" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Employment Type is optional. Employment Type is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Employment Type value to another.

Employee Directory comes with a preset Employment Types defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Employment Types.

Gender can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Genders" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Gender is optional. Gender is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Gender value to another.

Employee Directory comes with a preset Genders defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Genders.

Group can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Groups" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Group is optional. Group is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Group value to another.

Groups do not have preset values.

Job Title can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Job Titles" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Job Title is optional. Job Title is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Job Title value to another.

Employee Directory comes with a preset Job Titles defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Job Titles.

Language can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Languages" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Language is optional. Language is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Language value to another.

Employee Directory comes with a preset Languages defined in detail in Glossary section of this document. Administrators can always add/remove/modify the list based on your organizational needs. Some widgets created upon installation are based on predefined Languages.

Location can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Locations" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Location is optional. Location is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Location value to another.

Locations do not have preset values.

Marital Status can be set by clicking on the desired option in "Marital Statuses" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Marital Status is optional. Marital Status is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Marital Status value to another.

Marital Statuses do not have preset values.

Skill can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Skills" box and updating/saving the employee. Setting a value for Skill is optional. Skill is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Skill value to another.

Skills do not have preset values.

Displaying Employee archives can be done by creating a link in the Appearance Menus Screen in the admin area.

Alternatively, if you'd like to display a specific Employee, you can select the link from Employee metabox and add it to your menu. If you don't see Employee metabox, check the Screen Options to ensure it is set to display.

To create a custom link for Employee archives:

1. Goto Appearance in the admin menu and click on Menus link
2. On the right hand side, pick the menu you’d like to include from Select a menu to edit dropdown
3. Under Links menu navigation item, type in /employees to the URL field
4. Type in Employees or another label describing the custom link URL in the Link Text field
5. Click “Add to menu” button to add the item to the menu
6. Pick “primary location” under “Menu Settings” below the menu
7. Save your menu
8. Go to the frontend and click on the link you created to access Employees. Employee archive page content is only displayed to the authorized users who have access permissions.

In Employee Directory, Employees are locked during editing, preventing other users from accessing and modifying the Employee.

If a user clicks to edit one of the Employee records that's currently locked they are presented with three options in a pop-up dialog:

1. Go Back - Return to the Employees listing.
2. Preview - Preview the current state of the Employee that's being edited.
3. Take Over - Lock out the current editor of the Employees and begin editing. (The other user will receive a notification)

The user that has been locked out receives the following dialog, and is no longer able to edit the Employee. It can take up to 15 seconds for the current Employee editor to be notified that another user has taken over.

To create event records in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Events' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the event list page.
4. Start filling in your event fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set event taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click Publish. If you do not have publish privileges, the "Submit for Review" button is displayed.
7. After the submission is completed, the event status changes to "Published" or "Pending Review". Users must have "publish" right to publish events. Users who do not have "publish" right can still create events; however, these events must be reviewed and approved by a user with event "publish" right. Check Roles and Responsibilities section of this document to see which access groups have event "publish" right.

Event Pictures image file can be linked to Events using the admin backend when creating a new event. You can upload unlimited number of Pictures.

After the event is created. Only the users who has "publish" right can upload Pictures using the event edit screen.

Events can be modified by clicking on the "Edit" link under the event title in the event list page in the admin area. Make any necessary changes and then click Publish.

In Employee Directory, users are only allowed to search events they have access to. Users who have access to events can search using the filter system in the event admin area. You can use drag-and-drop admin interface for sorting, creating/saving complex filters, and ordering columns in the entity list pages.

To schedule Events for publication on a future time or date in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Events' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the event list page.
4. Start filling in your event fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set event taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click "Edit" in the Publish area next to the words "Publish immediately". You can also change the publish date to a date in the past to back-date Events. Change the settings to the desired time and date. You must also hit the "Publish" button when you have completed the event to publish at the desired time and date.
7. After the submission is completed, the event status changes to "Published".

To create a password protected event in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Events' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the event list page.
4. Start filling in your event fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set event taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Password protected".
7. Enter a password that will be required to view that event in the text field. The password is limited to 20 characters.
8. When you are ready, click the "Publish" button (or "Update" if the event is already published.)
9. After the submission is completed, the event status changes to "Published".

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right can change the password set for your event or modify visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

When event content is password protected, event title displays the text "Protected: " before the event Title and the content prints a password form with this text: "This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:".

If multiple events have the same password, one will only have to enter the required password once. Only one password is tracked at a time so if you visit two different events with two different password, you must re-enter the event password to access content. WordPress saves passwords for maximum 10 days. After this period expires, one must reenter the password again to view the protected content.

Events can be privately published to remove them from event lists and feeds.

To create a private event in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Events' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the event list page.
4. Start filling in your event fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set event taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. Click the "Edit" link next to Visibility in the publish box and select "Private".
7. Once you change the visibility to private, the event status changes to "Privately Published".
8. When you are ready, click the "UPDATE" button.

Only an Administrator and users with "publish" right for the event can change visibility setting by clicking the "Visibility: Edit" link again.

To preview event content press the "Preview" button - a button directly above the “publish” button - in the publish box before officially publishing or sending for review.

To create a draft event in the admin area:

1. Log in to your Administration Panel.
2. Click the 'Events' tab.
3. Click the 'Add New' sub-tab or the “Add New” button in the event list page.
4. Start filling in your event fields. You must fill all required fields. All required fields have red star after their labels.
5. As needed, set event taxonomies and relationships. All required relationships or taxonomies must be set.
6. When you are ready, click "Save Draft" button in the publish box.
7. After the submission is completed, the event status stays at "Draft".

Once the event is published the user who created the event is assigned as the event author. Event authors can view and edit the event. One can change the event author from the author box. The author box drop down is limited to the users who have event "publish" right.

Employee Directory Professional supports creating of custom fields. Creating of custom fields provides a quick way to allow you to extend the content with key/value pairs also known as meta data. Custom fields store arbitrary extra information about events.

To create a custom fields for your events

1. Edit any event or create a new one in the admin area. You will see the Custom Fields metabox. if you do not see it, enable it from Screen options.
2. Creating a custom field requires a key and a value. The key is constant, but the value can change for each event. Click on Enter New link or select a key from the dropdown list.
3. Enter a value and click Add Custom Field button
4. Repeat the steps above for creating more fields

You can create as many custom fields as you need. If your custom field key may have multiple values, create a new field and use the same key with different values. You can use HTML code in the value box. Employee Directory concatenates each value separated with a space character. By default, WordPress shows 30 custom fields in the dropdown list.

Once you create event custom fields, they are displayed in the frontend.

Group can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Groups" box and updating/saving the event. Setting a value for Group is optional. Group is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Group value to another.

Groups do not have preset values.

Location can be set by typing the desired option in the empty text field and clicking "Add" button in "Locations" box and updating/saving the event. Setting a value for Location is optional. Location is also not organized hierarchically meaning there's no relationship from one Location value to another.

Locations do not have preset values.

Displaying Event archives can be done by creating a link in the Appearance Menus Screen in the admin area.

Alternatively, if you'd like to display a specific Event, you can select the link from Event metabox and add it to your menu. If you don't see Event metabox, check the Screen Options to ensure it is set to display.

To create a custom link for Event archives:

1. Goto Appearance in the admin menu and click on Menus link
2. On the right hand side, pick the menu you’d like to include from Select a menu to edit dropdown
3. Under Links menu navigation item, type in /events to the URL field
4. Type in Events or another label describing the custom link URL in the Link Text field
5. Click “Add to menu” button to add the item to the menu
6. Pick “primary location” under “Menu Settings” below the menu
7. Save your menu
8. Go to the frontend and click on the link you created to access Events. Event archive page content is only displayed to the authorized users who have access permissions.

In Employee Directory, Events are locked during editing, preventing other users from accessing and modifying the Event.

If a user clicks to edit one of the Event records that's currently locked they are presented with three options in a pop-up dialog:

1. Go Back - Return to the Events listing.
2. Preview - Preview the current state of the Event that's being edited.
3. Take Over - Lock out the current editor of the Events and begin editing. (The other user will receive a notification)

The user that has been locked out receives the following dialog, and is no longer able to edit the Event. It can take up to 15 seconds for the current Event editor to be notified that another user has taken over.

Using Event Calendar, one can

• Set allowed calendar views:
  • Month
  • Basic Week
  • Basic Day
  • Agenda Week
  • Agenda Day
• Set the default calendar view
• Enable or disable jQuery UI Theme

Click on calendar menu link under EDirectory Pro menu to access configuration options.

Employee Search is a integration sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published records without any page navigation links.

Employee Search WO Opt is a integration sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published records without any page navigation links.

Featured Employees is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published employee records without any page navigation links.

Get to Know is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 1 published employee records without any page navigation links.

Recent Employees is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 5 published employee records without any page navigation links.

Recent Events is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 5 published event records without any page navigation links.

This Month\'s Anniversaries is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published employee records without any page navigation links.

This Month\'s Birthdays is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published employee records without any page navigation links.

This Week\'s Anniversaries is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published employee records without any page navigation links.

This Week\'s Birthdays is an entity sidebar widget. It shows latest 10 published employee records without any page navigation links.

"Alphabetical Search" is a standard view which displays -1 Employee records per page with a post status of publish in descending order by menu_order. Page navigation is disabled. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Alphabetical Search". You can visit this page to access the view. To display it in another page or post, use [alpha_employees] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Employee Circle Grid" is a standard view which displays 10 Employee records per page with a post status of publish in ascending order by menu_order. Page navigation is enabled. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Employee Circle Grid". You can visit this page to access the view. To display it in another page or post, use [employee_circle_grid] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Employee List" is a standard view which displays -1 Employee records per page with a post status of publish in ascending order by menu_order. Page navigation is disabled. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Employee List". You can visit this page to access the view. To display it in another page or post, use [employee_list] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Employee Search Grid" is a standard view which displays -1 Employee records per page with a post status of publish in ascending order by menu_order. Page navigation is enabled. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Employee Search Grid". You can visit this page to access the view. To display it in another page or post, use [employee_grid_search] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Stacked Events" is a standard view which displays -1 Event records per page with a post status of publish in descending order by date. Page navigation is disabled. To display it in another page or post, use [stacked_events] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Std Anniversary" is a standard view which displays -1 Employee records per page with a post status of publish in descending order by meta_value. Page navigation is disabled. To display it in another page or post, use [std_anniversary] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Organization Chart" is a org chart. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Organization Chart". You can visit this page to view the chart. To display the chart in another page or post, use [employee_orgchart] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button. This chart comes with a full width container. All charts adjust to the browser window size changes.

"Events Calendar" is a combo report. If you choose to install setup pages during plugin activation, a WordPress page is created with a title of "Events Calendar". You can visit this page to access the view. To display it in another page or post, use [events_calendar] shortcode or select the view name from the WPAS component list after clicking on the WPAS toolbar button.

"Mini search emp wo opt" form is used for searching employee records from the frontend. You can use [mini_search_emp_wo_opt] shortcode to display it in a page or post of your choise as well.

The following are the fields used in the form:

• Email (text)
• Full Name (text)

"Mini search employees" form is used for searching employee records from the frontend. You can use [mini_search_employees] shortcode to display it in a page or post of your choise as well.

The following are the fields used in the form:

• Email (text)
• Full Name (text)

"Search emp wo operators" form is used for searching employee records from the frontend. You can use [search_emp_wo_operators] shortcode to display it in a page or post of your choise as well.

The following are the fields used in the form:

• First Name (text)
• Last Name (text)
• Employee No (text)
• Phone (text)
• Extension (text)
• Email (text)
• Full Name (text)
• Direct Reports (select-only single selection allowed)
• Groups (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Locations (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Departments (select-only single selection allowed)
• Languages (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Skills (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Certifications (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Job Titles (select-only single selection allowed)
• Genders (select-only single selection allowed)
• Marital Statuses (select-only single selection allowed)
• Employment Types (select-only single selection allowed)

"Search employees" form is used for searching employee records from the frontend. You can use [search_employees] shortcode to display it in a page or post of your choise as well.

The following are the fields used in the form:

• First Name (text)
• Last Name (text)
• Employee No (text)
• Phone (text)
• Extension (text)
• Email (text)
• Full Name (text)
• Direct Reports (select-only single selection allowed)
• Groups (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Locations (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Departments (select-only single selection allowed)
• Languages (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Skills (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Certifications (select-multiple selection allowed)
• Job Titles (select-only single selection allowed)
• Genders (select-only single selection allowed)
• Marital Statuses (select-only single selection allowed)
• Employment Types (select-only single selection allowed)

When any Employee record:

• added from backend
• changed

The following get notified:

• Employee Email
• Reports To

To install your Employee Directory Plugin using the built-in plugin installer:

1. Download Employee Directory Plugin to your desktop.
2. Go to Plugins "Add New".
3. Under Upload, click "Browse".
4. Find the employee-directory-professional-VERSION.zip file.
5. Click Install Now to install the Employee Directory Plugin.
6. A popup window will ask you to confirm your wish to install the Plugin.
7. Click Proceed to continue with the installation. The resulting installation screen will list the installation as successful or note any problems during the install.
8. If successful, click Activate Plugin to activate it, or Return to Plugin Installer for further actions.

Replace VERSION in instructions with the version number of Employee Directory you want to install. After the activation, the Employee Directory plugin setup may display notification asking if you if you'd like to install setup pages or skip setup page installation, click the appropriate button.

To uninstall your Employee Directory Plugin using the built-in plugin installer:

1. Go to Plugins screen.
2. Find the Employee Directory Plugin you wish to deactivate and uninstall.
3. Click Deactivate.

WordPress auto-update system displays notification in the Admin Bar and also on the plugins page when new version of the Employee Directory is available.

To install the new version, simply hit the "Update automatically" button. WordPress will automatically download the new package, extract it and replace the old files. No FTP, removing old files, and uploading is required.

Upgrading your plugin

We offer different plugin editions to better match your needs. If you purchased a different edition of Employee Directory, follow the steps below to upgrade your plugin:

1. Go WordPress plugins page and deactivate and optionally delete the current Employee Directory Professional edition.
2. Install the new edition based on the instructions in WordPress Codex
3. Activate the new edition
4. Go to Plugin Settings page and save settings

Upgrading Employee Directory Professional edition does not have any impact on your existing data but it is always a good idea to back up your WordPress database as a rule of thumb before any changes.

Using Plugin Extensions

Employee Directory Professional edition is configured to work with many plugin extensions. Most plugin extensions work regardless of the edition unless specified specifically in the plugin page.

if you purchased a plugin extension, follow the instructions in WordPress Codex to install and activate your plugin extension like any other WordPress plugin.

If your extension comes with a license key, you must save and activate your license key to get software updates and support.

Maintaining your plugin

Keeping your plugin up-to-date is very important. At emdplugins.com, we regularly update our products to offer plugin or WordPress related bug fixes, product enhancements, patches for security vulnerabilities and more. Ability to receive these updates is critical to maintaining your software and site in working condition.

To be able to see the update notifications and receive updates, you must have a valid, activated license at all times. If your existing license is expired, you must renew it manually if you opted out of automatic renewals.

Please also note that you must have a valid license to get support for your plugin.

To activate your license:

1. Go to EDirectory Pro > Licenses page
2. Enter the license key you receive in your purchase receipt
3. Click "Save Changes" button
4. Now, you will see, "Activate License" button and "INACTIVE" right next to your license key
5. Click "Activate License" button to activate your license
6. If you see "VALID" message in place of "INACTIVE", you should be able to get your plugin updates.

If you followed the steps above and still are not able to get the plugin updates, there could be additional configuration needed for your site.

Administrators can import/export from/to CSV files or reset Employee Directory entities, taxonomies and relationships by clicking on Operations button in entity list pages. You must be able to get a backup of your content and files before starting importing/exporting or resetting. Operations page is divided into Import, Export, and Reset tabs.

Importing

Import tab is used to visually import existing records into an entity, its taxonomies and relationships. Each fields to be imported must be mapped to the app design.If you have custom fields in your CSV files, these fields can be imported as well. By default, custom fields are not mapped and they do not have a mapped label. You need to specify custom field's label in the corresponding textbox to import it correctly. The imported custom fields are created for every record with the corresponding value specified in the CSV file.

In you import large files with a lot of images or files attached, your server may be temporarily unavailable and return a white screen. This is due to the extended time needed by WordPress to process and create image thumbnails. If you get a white screen, open up a browser screen and monitor the activity in Media library. If you see images getting created, wait until all activity stops. After image or file addition stops, check if all your records are imported correctly. As a sanity check, you can do the import again but this time checking the Update existing data based on unique field(s) option.

Updating and syncing with external systems

Update option checks the existing records against the CSV file and see if there is a change. If there is a change, it finds the difference and updates the record. For example, if an image is added, the new image is added. If the incoming record does not include an existing image, the existing image which is not included in the incoming record gets deleted. All deletions are permanent. If the incoming record is not there, new record is created. You can use the update option to sync your existing records with external systems.

Exporting

Export tab is used to export the content of an entity as a CSV file. If an entity has relationships, they must be exported separately from the main entity. You will see additional export buttons if this is the case. When you export records, all custom fields are exported as well.

Resetting

Reset tab is used to permanently delete the content of an entity including all the attached images and files. You can also choose to delete all entity content, relationships, or taxonomies. Make sure you have a backup of your content, attached images and/or files before any reset action.

You can take a backup of your content to CSV using export tab. However, you need to take a backup of your attached files manually. In addition, if you need to re-import after the reset using the exported CSV, you must modify the URLs of your attached images to the new or backup location to import them back correctly.

Administrators can show, hide, and resize form elements by clicking on the Settings page under EDirectory Pro menu. In addition, form captcha element can be set to "Visitors Only","Always Show", or "Never Show".

Required fields can not be disabled however you can change the column size. The optional fields can be enabled, disabled, or modified to occupy more or less space in the form layout.

Make sure to save your changes after any modification otherwise your changes will not take effect.

Administrators can set global options available for Employee Directory. After logging in as administrator, click Settings page under EDirectory Pro menu. Modify the ones you want to be changed and click Save button to make changes active. The following lists the available options:

Hide Last Modified By

Hide Last Modified By text in employee pages when checked.

Advanced Search Link

Type in any text or link which will be displayed in the first row of employee search widget.

Change JobTitle Label

Changes the Job Title label on the front end

Disable Org Chart Job Title Link

Displays job titles in organization charts as text when checked.

Hide Org Chart Photo

Hides employee photos in organization charts when checked.

Hide Employee No

Hides the employee number column of employee list view when checked.

Hide Employee Extension

Hides the employee extension column of the employee list view when checked.

Disable Org Chart Tooltip

Disable tooltip in organization charts when checked.

Employee Search Grid Default

Enter the comma separated values to be displayed in the employee search grid view. Make sure there is no space between the comma separator and the values. The values must match the taxonomy values. If left blank, employee search view will show all the employee regardless of the tags associated. You can enter any value from Locations, Departments, Employment Types or Groups. For example; Miami,Marketing.

Employee Search Type

Inclusive: Search employees matching any of the selected tags. Exclusive: Search employees matching all of the selecting tags. Single: Only allow one tag at a time to be selected and show the employees that match that tag.

Alphabetical List All text

Set the text in alphabetical list navbar for the button displaying all employees

Alphabetical List No Match text

Sets the text to be displayed when there is no employee to show.

Alphabetical List Initial Letter

Set the letter to used for filtering initially

Alphabetical List Search By

Set the list to be indexed with. Accepted values; Name, Department, Job Title

The default entity base slug can be changed within entity tab of settings page in EDirectory Pro menu. After you update, make sure to refresh your site's Permalinks under Settings. You can only change base slug if post name based permalink structure is selected.

For the most part, Employee Directory templates will integrate nicely with most WordPress themes. However you may run into issues when the default Employee Directory content wrappers do not match your chosen theme or your theme's CSS rules overwrite Employee Directory CSS rules.

Theme related issues manifest themselves by;

• Breaking your layout on Employee Directory pages and shifting your sidebars into incorrect positions
• Some random text getting displayed in header or footer of your site
• Some sections in plugin pages not getting displayed as in the plugin's demo site.

Theme related issues can potentially affect all single, taxonomy, archive and shortcode pages because Employee Directory uses templates of its own to display these pages and it’s impossible for eMDPlugins to know exactly what markup or CSS rules your theme uses.

There are three methods to resolve theme related issues;

• Copying and modifying your theme's header.php and footer.php
• Copying and modifying your theme's page.php
• Adding custom CSS rules

Modifying header.php and footer.php

1. Go to your theme's folder -- wp-content/themes/YOURTHEME/
2. Copy header.php of your theme as header-emdplugins.php
3. Copy footer.php of your theme as footer-emplugins.php
4. Remove the conflicting code from header-emdplugins.php and/or footer-emplugins.php.
5. This will make Employee Directory use these newly created header and footer instead of your theme's default header and footer. Save the files. You’re done.

Copying and modifying your theme's page.php

If the issue can not be resolved through simply modifying the header and footer templates, you need to modify your theme's page.php.

To set up this template page:

1. Duplicate your theme’s page.php file, and name it empd-pro.php. This file should be found like this: wp-content/themes/YOURTHEME/empd-pro.php.
2. Open up your newly created empd-pro.php in a text editor, or the editor of your choice.

3. Next you need to find the loop (see The_Loop). The loop usually starts with a:

   <?php if ( have_posts() ) :

   and usually ends with:

   <?php endif; ?>

   This varies between themes. Once you have found it, delete it. In its place, put:

   <?php empd_pro_content(); ?>

4. This will make your theme use Employee Directory’s loop instead. Save the file. You’re done.

Adding CSS rules

You add custom CSS rules in the Custom CSS field of Tools tab under EDirectory Pro menu, settings page to overwrite your theme's default CSS. The custom css rules added in the settings are not deleted when your plugin gets updated.

You can learn CSS language by completing the tutorials at w3schools.com

Employee Directory Professional comes with Visual Shortcode Builder(VSB) module which allows creating advanced custom shortcodes without manually writing code. To use Visual Shortcode Builder:

1. Create a new page
2. Click on WPAS button right next to Add Media button
3. Find and select the view or form you'd like to use a base from the drowdown list
4. Modify the shortcode by adding filters from taxonomy, attribute, relationship or misc categories
   • Don't forget to click + icon every time you add a filter
   • You can create as many filters as you need in the same shortcode
5. When you finished, click Insert Shortcode button. The shortcode will be inserted to the page
6. Update or publish the page to see the shortcode result
7. Repeat the same process for all your shortcodes

An employee is an individual who works part-time or full-time under a contract of employment to perform tasks within an organization.

First Name

First Name is filterable in the admin area. First Name does not have a default value.

Last Name

Last Name is filterable in the admin area. Last Name does not have a default value.

Photo

Photo of the employee. 250x250 is the preferred size. Photo does not have a default value.

Employee No

The unique identifier for an employee Employee No is a required field. Being a unique identifier, it uniquely distinguishes each instance of Employee entity. Employee No is filterable in the admin area. Employee No does not have a default value.

Featured

Sets employee as featured which can be used to select employees in available views using Visual Shortcode Builder and Featured employee widget. Featured does not have a default value.

Hire Date

Date the employee is hired Hire Date is filterable in the admin area. Hire Date does not have a default value.

Birthday

Birthday is filterable in the admin area. Birthday does not have a default value.

Phone

Phone is filterable in the admin area. Phone does not have a default value.

Extension

Extension is filterable in the admin area. Extension does not have a default value.

Mobile

Mobile is filterable in the admin area. Mobile does not have a default value.

Email

Email is filterable in the admin area. Email does not have a default value.

Mailing Address

Primary mailing address of an employee Mailing Address does not have a default value.

Map

Displays employee primary address in a map. Map does not have a default value.

Status

Brief status on your current availability. For example, At a conference all day, checking emails. Status does not have a default value.

Facebook

Facebook does not have a default value.

Google+

Google+ does not have a default value.

Twitter

Twitter does not have a default value.

Linkedin

Linkedin does not have a default value.

Github

Github is filterable in the admin area. Github does not have a default value.

Bio

Bio does not have a default value.

Full Name

Full Name is a required field. Full Name is filterable in the admin area. Full Name does not have a default value.

Excerpt

Excerpt does not have a default value.

Reports To

Allows to display and create connections with Employees. One instance of Employees can associated with only one instance of Employees. The relationship can be set up in the edit area of Employees using Reports To relationship box. After a relationship is setup by pressing the plus icon, you may fill out relationship fields to complete connection creation.

Direct Reports

Allows to display and create connections with Employees. One instance of Employees can associated with many instances of Employees. The relationship can be set up in the edit area of Employees using Reports To relationship box. After a relationship is setup by pressing the plus icon, you may fill out relationship fields to complete connection creation.

Title

Enter the title of the supervising employee. For example, Manager, Supervisor, Lead etc. Title is an attribute of Reports To relationship and can be set after the connection created. Title has a default value of "Manager".

An Employee Directory event is a gathering that is sponsored by a business for its employees, business partners, clients and/or prospective clients. These events can be for larger audiences such as conventions or smaller events like conferences, meetings or holiday parties.

Pictures

Pictures does not have a default value.

Venue

The place where the event will be happening Venue is a required field. Venue is filterable in the admin area. Venue does not have a default value.

Start Date

Start Date does not have a default value.

End Date

End Date does not have a default value.

Location Address

Location Address does not have a default value.

Location

Location does not have a default value.

Companywide

Companywide is filterable in the admin area. Companywide does not have a default value.

External URL

External URL is filterable in the admin area. External URL does not have a default value.

Event Name

The name of this event. Event Name is a required field. Being a unique identifier, it uniquely distinguishes each instance of Event entity. Event Name does not have a default value.

Event Description

The description of this event. Event Description does not have a default value.

Global attributes can be set in the Settings page, Global tab under EDirectory Pro menu.

Hide Last Modified By (checkbox)

Hide Last Modified By text in employee pages when checked.

Advanced Search Link (wysiwyg)

Type in any text or link which will be displayed in the first row of employee search widget.

Change JobTitle Label (text)

Changes the Job Title label on the front end

Disable Org Chart Job Title Link (checkbox)

Displays job titles in organization charts as text when checked.

Hide Org Chart Photo (checkbox)

Hides employee photos in organization charts when checked.

Hide Employee No (checkbox)

Hides the employee number column of employee list view when checked.

Hide Employee Extension (checkbox)

Hides the employee extension column of the employee list view when checked.

Disable Org Chart Tooltip (checkbox)

Disable tooltip in organization charts when checked.

Employee Search Grid Default (text)

Enter the comma separated values to be displayed in the employee search grid view. Make sure there is no space between the comma separator and the values. The values must match the taxonomy values. If left blank, employee search view will show all the employee regardless of the tags associated. You can enter any value from Locations, Departments, Employment Types or Groups. For example; Miami,Marketing.

Employee Search Type (select)

Inclusive: Search employees matching any of the selected tags. Exclusive: Search employees matching all of the selecting tags. Single: Only allow one tag at a time to be selected and show the employees that match that tag.

Alphabetical List All text (text)

Set the text in alphabetical list navbar for the button displaying all employees

Alphabetical List No Match text (text)

Sets the text to be displayed when there is no employee to show.

Alphabetical List Initial Letter (text)

Set the letter to used for filtering initially

Alphabetical List Search By (select)

Set the list to be indexed with. Accepted values; Name, Department, Job Title