• GrainCorp Acquisition File
• GrainCorp Payrun File
• Viterra (AusBulk) Acquisition File

Imported loads are created as saved loads to allow you to review them prior to processing in the usual way.

Suppliers can be matched using either their NGR Number, or another number that is unique to each supplier that suits your purposes (eg a Bulk Handler-specific supplier number). These are entered on the Supplier window, Other tab, as shown below:

Commodities are matched using the Cross Ref code entered on the Commodity window:

It is assumed that all bulk handlers use the same code to identify the same commodity and grade eg APW for APW Wheat.

Each Bulk Handler will have their own codes for the storage sites used. Our recommendation is that you create a storage for each Commodity and Bulk Handler you use; this will make it easier for you to keep track of who owns what and where over time. If later you no longer wish to use a combination you can just make that storage Inactive and it won't be available for selection from drop-down lists etc.

You need to obtain the Storage cross-reference codes used by the Bulk Handler you are dealing with from them, and enter them in the XRef column of the grid on the Storages tab of the Commodity window, as shown below:

Metrics are the measurements of the various parameters of the grain that can be used to determine its grade and/or quality and/or price - for example, Protein, Moisture, Oil Content etc. You might not be using them for purposes such as these, and depending on the grain, the Bulk Handler and other factors they may or may not be present in the import file you obtain from the Bulk Handler.

Even if you're not using metrics to classify the grade or make bonuses or deductions based on their values, you may wish to record them for potential use in the future. Grain Trader recalculates a weighted average of up to the first five metrics for the commodity in each storage on every incoming load, so you can tell at a glance the overall storage averages.

Because there are different import file types available from some Bulk Handlers (notably GrainCorp), but all the formats from one handler can use the same cross-reference terms, Grain Trader allows you to define the terms only once for each Bulk Handler and Commodity (however the system is flexible enough to allow for a different list of terms should this be needed in the future). To configure these you first need to give each Bulk Handler schedule of terms a name of your own choosing, then allocate the file format(s) they provide to their schedule. Select the Utility | Import | Manage Load Import Formats menu to display the Manage Load Import Formats window: The names you give to Schedules are used as the column headings on the Bonuses & Deductions grid on the Commodity window. The order of the Schedule names on the Manage Load Import Formats window top-to-bottom corresponds to the order left-to-right on the Commodity window.

To add a new Schedule, click New and enter the name you want to use in the grid, then click Apply. You can also delete a Schedule if it is no longer required. Deleting a Schedule removes the column with that heading from all Commodity windows, and all its XRef values from the database. Existing loads are not affected in any way, but you will not be able to import additional loads using that Bulk Handler Schedule.

You then need to associate the import File Format(s) to its Schedule as appropriate. CDA Software provides a file for each type of Bulk Handler import file, whose contents define how Grain Trader is to interpret the import file. These definition files have an extension of .idf and reside in the same folder as your Grain Trader program, usually C:\Program Files\CDA Software\CDA Grain Trader on 32-bit systems or C:\Program Files (x86)\CDA Software\CDA Grain Trader on 64-bit systems. Grain Trader automatically finds these files if they exist on your computer (or terminal server) and stores information about them in your database. If the file is later deleted from disk, the stored data is not automatically removed, but the checkbox in the Found column of the Formats grid will be unticked, and you will not be able to import files of this type from the workstation you are using. Definition files for all currently-supported formats are installed when you install Grain Trader or a patch upgrade. You can download additional or missing formats from the CDA Software website if needed.

To associate an import File Format with a Bulk Handler Schedule, click in the Metrics XRef Schedule column cell of the Formats grid for the Format you want to associate and select the Schedule from the drop-down list, then click Apply. You can also delete a format definition (.idf) file from your disk, and all its associated data from your database, by clicking Delete. Existing loads are not affected in any way, but you will not be able to import additional loads using that file format. Note however that if the format is still supported by Grain Trader, the next time you install a patch update the format definition file will be re-installed, automatically found and added again.

When you have finished configuring the Bulk Handler import formats you can enter the Bulk Handler's cross-reference codes for each metric on the Commodity window. Scroll the Bonuses & Deductions grid across to the right to see the column(s) for each Schedule you have defined, and enter the values in the cells for each Bulk Handler and Metric as required.

To import loads from your Bulk Handler file, select the Utility | Import | Loads From Bulk Handler File menu: The Import Loads From Bulk Handler File window will be displayed. Click the Browse button to locate and select the Bulk Handler file you want to import, and select the Import File Format from the drop-down box.

Select the various optional settings as described below:

If you select the Use the imported Docket No as Load Number option and a load with that number already exists when you try to import it, you will be prompted as shown below: Take one of the following actions:

• Click Yes to use the next auto Load Number instead of the Ticket Number as the Load Number. Select this option only if you are certain this load has not been imported before; the duplicate Load Number must just be a coincidence.
• Click No to skip this load and continue; for example you've imported this file before, have corrected some errors and are now re-importing it. (Unless you've changed the Weighbridge Ticket numbers for the load already imported, you should already have been prompted about the duplicate Ticket Number on this load.)
• Click Cancel to abort the import altogether; for example you might not have realised this file has previously been imported.

In any event a record noting the duplicate and your action will be saved in the import error log.

If you select the Use the next auto Load Number option you'll not be prompted about this because Grain Trader ensures a Load Number is not duplicated.

If you select the Prompt me to choose what action to take option and a load with that Weighbridge Ticket number already exists (in either Weighbridge Ticket field) when you try to import it, you will be prompted as shown below: Take one of the following actions:

• Click Yes to save the load with the same Ticket Number. Select this option only if you are certain this load has not been imported before; the duplicate Ticket Number must just be a coincidence. Note that if you have also selected to use the Ticket Number as the Load Number as described above, and a load with that Load Number already exists you will be prompted again about the duplicate Load Number, as described above.
• Click No to skip this load and continue; for example you've imported this file before, have corrected some errors and are now re-importing it. A record noting the duplicate and your action will be saved in the import error log.
• Click Cancel to abort the import altogether; for example you might not have realised this file has previously been imported. A record noting the duplicate and your action will be saved in the import error log.

If you select the Don't import the load; just log it and skip to the next one option the record will just be skipped; for example you've imported this file before, have corrected some errors and are now re-importing it. A record noting the duplicate and your action will be saved in the import error log.

If you select the Prompt me to choose what action to take option and a load with a Contract is being imported, and whose imported commodity is not one of the Grain Trader Commodities on the Contract, you will be prompted as shown below: Take one of the following actions:

• Click Yes to save the load and use this contract anyway. This is the equivalent of clicking the Show All button on the Load window in Grain Trader and selecting a Contract with a different Commodity on it. The import error log record will include a notation that you should check the details for this load.
• Click No to import the load but ignore the imported contract, leaving the Grain Trader Load without a Contract.
• Click Cancel to skip the load altogether.

In any event the details of the load and your action will be recorded in the import error log.

The remaining three options on this panel have the same actions as the three responses above, except that the action will be taken automatically and no prompt will be raised.

If a load being imported contains data for a Metric for which you have not recorded a cross-reference value as described in the Matching Metrics section above, this checkbox governs the program's action.

• If the checkbox is unticked an record will be stored in the import error log.
• If the checkbox is ticked, no error will be logged and the data will be ignored.

In either case, and all other things being equal, the load will still be imported.

When the import has finished, either normally or abnormally because you aborted the process, a dialog similar to the following will be displayed:

If no errors or warnings have been logged the dialog will just advise you of the number of records imported successfully; no error log will have been created. Otherwise the dialog will also advise you how many warnings or errors were logged and prompt you to review the log file straight away, as shown in the sample image above. You should always review the log if it exists to ensure you haven't missed importing any loads - for example if a Commodity, Supplier or Storage could not be matched to the import data. You can also review and manage log files later as described in the The Import Error Log section below.

If you find errors such as missing NGR numbers or cross-references, you can fix these issues in Grain Trader then re-import the same file, making sure that the import options you have selected and/or responses to prompts will avoid duplicating loads.

You should also be sure to check any loads whose contract was changed, to make sure the correct pricing has been applied to the commodity imported.

All imported loads are created as saved loads, and you can review and change them before processing them as normal.

As mentioned a number of times in the documentation above, information about various errors, warnings and actions taken during the import process is saved to a log file. These files are located in the same folder as the Grain Trader database into which the loads are being imported and are named according to the following format: {Database Name} Bulk Handler Import {yyyy-mm-dd}.log where {Database Name} is the name part of your database (.mdb) file, without the .mdb, and {yyyy-mm-dd} represents the date. It follows that one log file will be created for each combination of a database into which you import loads and the date on which you do the import. Multiple imports on one day into the same database just keep appending information to the same log file. Each import session is clearly defined and includes details such as the file being imported, the date and time and the selected import file format.

You should always review the error log if one is generated by your import, to ensure you haven't missed any loads (for example, due to NGR numbers, commodities or storages that can't be matched to your Grain Trader equivalents). Similarly, even if loads have been imported there might be missing Metric data, different Contract numbers and so on.

You can either review an error log if one exists on completion of the import process by clicking OK at the prompt, as described in Finishing the Import above, or from the Error Logs tab on the Import Loads From Bulk Handler File window.

The default folder being viewed is that in which the database that is currently open in Grain Trader resides, which is the same folder that log files relating to imports into this database will be created. However if you have multiple databases in different folders you can also use the browse (…) button to select a different folder if needed to manage the log files (if any) in that location.

Select one or more rows in the grid and click either View to review the log file in your plain text editor (eg Notepad), or Delete to delete them.