skim.xpl

skim.xpl (version from 21 Jan 2004) extracts from the HTML class list served by Banner the ID numbers and NAMES of students in a TAB delimited format. Technically it is a Perl script but you can view it and customize even without knowing Perl.

Perl works on many platforms so skim.xpl should be portable too, but I did not try it under Windows.
Here is how to install skim.xpl and use it on a Unix machine.
I will assume that you are logged to newton.math.montana.edu
The red text gives commands to be typed to an ordinary shell window and terminated with ENTER

Installation of skim.xpl :

  1. Click the link to download skim and save it as skim.xpl
    (in a directory of your choosing where all the rest of the action will take place.)
  2. Change the permissions to executable: chmod u+x skim.xpl
  3. Test: ./skim.xpl
    (You should get some usage info or at least something else than "Command not found" .
    Otherwise --- and this is likely if you are not down the hall from me --- check if the first line of skim.xpl has the correct path to perl on your system by comparing it with the outcome of which perl ; edit skim.xpl if necessary.)

Extracting records with skim.xpl :

  1. Download to Netscape your "Summary Class List" from
    the "secure area" at Banner served site https://atlas.montana.edu:9000/
    and save it as a SOURCE html file named, say, roll.html
    (NOTE: there is an option "source" in the Netscape "Save as" dialog.)
  2. Assuming that you are in a directory with roll.html and skim.xpl type at prompt something of one of the following forms:
    ./skim.xpl roll.html
    If you want output what you see to file, do
    ./skim.xpl roll.html > plain.txt
  3. Chances are that you are done and you can view the file plain.txt in an editor of your choice.
    The file plain.txt contains a plain text file with ID followed by a TAB followed by NAME of a student
    each student's entry on a separate line (terminated by Unix's ) --- any spreadsheet should be able to import that but let me know if I am wrong.
Please submit any bug reports to me via e-mail.

Take care,
jarek