Overview

Today, Sonar Tracker displays and stores preferred names. Schools generally prefer to use these instead of legal names. Follow the steps below to edit a Sonar CTF to include the legal names of pupils instead of their preferred names to avoid potential issues when importing data into your MIS.

In the future, it is planned that Sonar Tracker will include this information in its CTF file; however, we understand that you will be keen to import data as soon as possible, so we suggest the interim solution below.

Instructions

Follow the steps below to edit a Sonar CTF to include the legal names of pupils instead of their preferred names:

1. Note the names of those pupils whose details are not matched when you import the Sonar CTF file into your MIS.
2. Using your file manager, locate the ZIP file that you downloaded from Sonar Tracker that contained the Sonar CTF file.
3. Extract the CTF file from the ZIP file into a folder (right-click the file and select Extract All). 
4. Open the folder where the CTF is located.
5. Right-click the CTF filename.
6. Selecting Open with.
7. Select Notepad.
8. When Notepad opens, select Edit > Find.
9. Enter the name of a pupil whose name you need to change, for example, Allie.
10. Select Find.
11. Edit the name, for example, change Allie to Allison (Do not use Find and Replace as there may be Harry's who need to stay as such!)
12. Repeat Steps 8 - 11 for all other pupils on your list.
13. Select File > Save to save your changes.

Instructions - video

Outcomes

Once you've saved your changes, you'll have a CTF file that should import into your MIS without any issues.

Updated 19 June 2025 12:20