See what's coming from your MIS (MIS sync preview)

Your MIS (via Wonde) is the head of the chain — every user, group and classroom downstream is built from what it sends. MIS sync preview answers the question that comes before all the others: what does my school's data actually look like, before we import anything?

It's the same idea as Google sync's preview mode, applied to the source: MIS sync can be on in preview, where the real fetch runs but nothing is imported.

Looking at the page needs the View MIS (Wonde) data permission (it shows pupil and staff details); switching the mode needs Change sync, platform & API settings.

Turn on preview mode

Open School settings and choose the Sync services tab. On the MIS sync card, with MIS sync on, choose Preview — see what's coming under Mode. It applies at once — there's no Save button for this one. From that point the scheduled fetch plans the import without applying it: no pupil, staff or group changes reach Realsmart, Google or Entra. The state is shown plainly (Preview only — nothing is imported), so preview is never mistaken for live. If MIS sync is switched off altogether the Mode choice isn't offered.

See the incoming data

Open MIS sync preview (under Data in the sidebar). A banner reads MIS sync is ON — in preview only, and you'll see:

• Counts up front — learners, pre-admissions, staff, and how many groups/classes are in scope — so the shape is instantly clear.
• Drill into the records — switch between Learners and Staff and page through the individual people the fetch would import, with their key details (name, username, MIS ID, year/registration or job title) and the groups they'd join.

This is the data as the sync sees it — after its scoping, gating and filtering — which is exactly what a live import would write. It's different from the Wonde data area, which shows the raw origin records; this shows what this sync run would actually bring in.

Understand what's held and why

Some people leave no record until they qualify — pre-admission pupils and incoming ("pending") staff. If your school has Pre-admission or Pending mentors switched on, a How the sync reads your MIS card appears: select Show to check Wonde live, using the exact gates the fetch applies, and see who's included or held and why (for example, a pre-admission pupil whose application isn't "accepted" yet).

Run it and export

Preview refreshes on the school's normal fetch schedule (weekdays at 03:00, 05:00 and 15:00), or select Run preview now to queue a fresh one. Run preview now is the same manual MIS import as Sync now on the Dashboard, so it shares its 3-hour cool-down and is refused while your sync is paused for the summer (the page then shows the reason). The page refreshes itself every 30 seconds while a preview is on. You can Download CSV to get the same file the import would consume.

Go live

When you're happy with what's coming, switch the mode back to Live — import changes on the same MIS sync card. The next fetch imports exactly what you previewed. Nothing in preview ever changes anything — it's read-only by design. If you switch back to live, the page keeps showing the last preview, marked as from a previous preview.

Realsmart may also put a school into preview itself on the day it moves to a new MIS, so nothing from the new MIS is imported until the move is ready. The MIS log then reads MIS sync paused for the switch-over ….

If the page says "No preview yet"

With the school in preview mode, select Run preview now — nothing will be changed. If the school isn't in preview mode, the page says Switch MIS sync to Preview mode under Sync services, then run a preview to see the incoming data. A tab that says No learners in this preview (or No staff…) means the last preview run found none that would be imported.

Trust-wide view (MATs)

From MAT overview, open MIS preview (under Data) — MIS preview — trust view — to see every school you administer at once: each school's MIS state (Off, Live or Preview) and its latest incoming counts — learners, pre-admissions, staff and groups — sorted so the schools with the most incoming data lead. Refresh re-reads the latest previews. Selecting Explore on a school switches you into it and opens its full drillable preview.