Do you have growers whom keep records in systems other than ApRecs? This is a guide to show you how to bring those records onto ApRecs.
Align will allow you to bring in applications from third party sources, and then assign them to the correct customer. The goal of this is to unify all of your application records into one consistent and easy to understand format.
When going to start Aligning records it is helpful to have a list of all growers, and be able to get a hold of your field staff easily. It will help to start with a smaller batch of information at first. It it is also helpful start by doing the files that you know for sure which grower/location it belongs to, and save the ones that you have questions about for last.
1) Upload
Choose the Align tab from the main page and select upload located at the bottom left of the page
Choose a third party file, and then open it. The files usually upload quickly. In most cases you can wait about 2-3 minutes, then reload the page by pressing the “Align” tab again.
2) Assign
Once the files are upload you can start assigning them to growers. Right click on the file name.
From here you can are given four different things you can do.
1. Assign Location from an existing list of your customers and their locations
2. Create Customer: This will create a brand new customer that can be identified by (AA) at the end of their names for ApRecs Align
3. Disconnect if you accidentally assigned something wrong you can use disconnect unassign it
4. View the original file: If you are using a multiple page PDF it will always open to the first page, and If you are using a CSV file it will always load the entire file
If you are assigning the item to an existing customer press “Assign Location”; a new window will appear. Search and Find the Customer and click the row to Select the Customer/Location. Then press “Assign”
If you are “Creating a new Customer” then the customer can be modified and edited (such as to add multiple locations) in the “Customer” tab. Furthermore you can then using the Assign Location functions in the future to assign records to this customer account you have created.
3) Add Field
Once the files are assigned the status will be changed from Unassigned to Partially Assigned. To Fully Assign a file fields have to be added. Select the file then in the fields box right click on the field and create a field.
When right click on the field you are given 4 options.
1. Assign field gives you the option to choose a field that has already been created
2. Create an association allows you to divide a field into multiple varieties
3. Create field which allows you to create a new field (with most of the files they will not have any existing fields)
4. Disconnect if you accidentally assigned something wrong you can use disconnect unassign it
When creating a field make sure that you have all of the information including GROWER NUMBER! If needed you can assign multiple Grower Numbers to Field. (see “Association” to assign multiple crops and/or Variety to a field). It is best not to leave anything blank.
If you are more comfortable with the traditional fields editor you may choose “edit” fields to see the other fields within that specific Customer/Location or to provide additional detail.
4) Association
At times when information is upload there is only crop information. As a packer you need to be record down to the variety level. By using association you will be able to breakdown the fields into multiple varieties.
7) Load
Once everything is fully assigned press apply to load the new records into the system. ApRecs will only load the records that are fully assigned.
Now that the Records are loaded you can view them alongside all other ApRecs Application Records in the “Records” tab.
ApRecs considers Aligned Record Data as normal ApRecs Data and it is not available in all of the reporting functions including Application Records, Export, Agile and Watch. Please note there are some differences with the External Data Application Records which is described below.
Now if you go to your records the records that you loaded will be there. When you go to view or edit the record you will see that the name is no longer Plant Protection Product Application Record it is now Recognized External Application Record Data to indicated that it has come from a third party source. If you go to edit these records you will find that the automatic calculations for things like treated aces no longer work. If there are any changes made it is the responsibility of the person making the changes to make sure the math is correct.
This is done to preserve the integrity of the ApRecs AR so that is matches the external record.
Troubleshooting
When using Align there are a couple decisions that will need to be made. If you have a location that has multiple names you will have to decide if you want to put all of the records into one location or try to divide them up into the other locations. Also if you have a location that has multiple grower numbers you can either assign the grower numbers to everything, or if you know what varieties go to which number you can divide them that way.
