Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why is the
load through keystrokes doesn't proceed properly?
Ans. There can be many reasons
- Make sure you are using the
right keystrokes to move between the fields and right keys
to save the record.
- Many a times Forms Data
Loader will be sending the data at a fast speed than the
target application can process it. This can be tune by
inserting delay times in between the cells. You can insert a
delay time in milliseconds by entering the amount of time
preceded by a "# " for example by entering "#500" in a cell,
you are telling FDL to wait for 500 milliseconds.
- Use the feature of
interactive load known as Step by Step loading i.e. FDL will show a dialog after
processing each cell. This is a very good feature to find out
whether the keystrokes you are sending are doing the right thing
as you have wanted in the target application.
- You can also use Verify Data
Option to verify data as entered into target application for
more information please look into help file which comes with
Forms Data Loader.
If you are loading data in
Oracle Apps, we recommend Forms Record
and Playback loading. Which is more reliable and nearly 25 times
faster than macro loading and stops the load whenever an
error comes
Q. Is Forms Data
Loader used only for Oracle Applications?
Ans. No, you can use FDL to load
the data in virtually any active window, whether it is
customized application form or HTML form. But FDL contains
special shortcuts for loading the data in Oracle Applications.
Q. What Key
Strokes I can Use in Macro Loading?
Ans. Please click
here to see the list of keystrokes
Q. Which File
Extensions are used for Macro Loading file and Forms Playback
File
Ans. For Macro Loading Forms Data
Loader uses (*.dlf) Extension and for Forms Playback File it
uses (*.fdl) extension.
Q. Does Forms
Data Loader supports Multiple Languages?
Ans. Yes, If you
want to use Forms Data Loader for languages other than default
English such as Chinese, Korean etc, you need to setup
Windows operating as follows
1. Click on
"Start Menu" -> "Settings" -> "Control Panel" menu;
2. Double-click on "Regional Options" icon;
3. Select a non-English language you want to use, for example
Simplified Chinese, in "Language settings for the system" box
under "General" option;
4. Set "Simplified Chinese" as the default language, this step
is required.
Q. How do I
select a Check Box Value in Macro Loading?
Ans. By entering a \{SPACE}
keystroke in the cell
Q. Can I use Forms Data Loader
for entering data through HTML Forms?
Ans. Yes, you can use Forms Data Loader Macro loading feature
to load data in HTML Forms through Macro Loading. But we
strongly recommends you to use our special tool
HTML Forms Data Loader
for this purpose. Which loads data much faster and accurately
than macro loading.
Q. How do I
select values from Predefined Drop down list?
Ans. By entering the initial
characters as keystrokes in the cell. For example if the list is
like this and you want to select "Argentina"
then, as you see if you press "A"
once "Algeria" will get selected and by again pressing "A" ,
"Argentina" will get selected. So you can enter a keystroke like
this \AA.
Q. Can I use
mouse clicks?
Ans. Yes, you can by entering
*MC(x,y)
in the spreadsheet cell. X means X - Screen Coordinate and Y
means Y - Screen Coordinate. For example if you enter
*MC(430,240) then FDL will simulate a mouse left click on the
screen at the 430,240 coordinate while loading. To capture exact
coordinates please use our Get Screen Coordinate Tool by
clicking on the Tools Menu.
Q. Can I run a
macro load automatically?
Ans. Yes if you have already
saved a macro load and ran it successfully then, you can run the
load again without any interaction by using command line
argument "-run". For example if you want to run a macro load by
name "test.dlf" then you can create a shortcut by specifying the
following command
C:\Program files\Forms Data
Loader\FDLoader.exe -run c:\test.dlf
The above command will
automatically launches Forms Data Loader, loads the test.dlf
file and starts loading in the target application form without
any user interaction. Please note that the target application
window, which was used when you run the test.dlf first time,
must be open otherwise FDL will show a dialog to start the
target application before continuing.
Q. Why I am
not seeing the recorded files or Problems in Forms Record and
Playback.
Ans. There could be various
reasons. Please check that
- You have properly edited
the appsweb.cfg and appsweb_<sid>_<hostname>.cfg file as
described in
Setting_Up_Forms section
- You have edited the
ICX:Forms Launcher Profile setting correctly, many a
times users enter "&" character between record and
playback. The record and playback options should not be
separated by anything except %20 character in ICX: Forms
Launcher string.
- In Unix, check the
following directory locations $8.0.6_HOME}/forms60/log}
and $COMMON_TOP/admin/log/[Context_Name]
for recorded files,
because depending upon the Forms Patch Set level Oracle
will create recorded files in either of the directory.
- Check file permissions
on the above log directories. because of no write
permissions on the log directory, Oracle will not be
able to create the record files. Change the permission
to 777 on the above log directories.
Q. I am
able to record successfully but not able to playback in Forms
Data Loader?
Ans. If you are able record but
not able to playback. Then, please check that
- Try to enter data directly into
fields rather than using List of Values (LOV's) while
recording.
- Please make sure you have edited the
ICX:Forms Launcher Profile setting correctly, many a
times users enter "&" character between record and
playback. The record and playback options should not be
separated by anything except %20 character in ICX: Forms
Launcher string
For Example:-
http://host.domain:port/dev60cgi/f60cgi?record=rec.fdl%20play=myplay.fdl
- Please make sure that you have copied
the playback file to the correct directory, that is, the
same directory where you have found the recorded file
and it has proper permissions.
- In Oracle Apps Rel
11.5.10.2 you must also have to specify record
option along with play option for playing a file. Please
check this.
- First try record and playback on a
simple form rather going straight for a complex form
If none of the above helps, then please make sure you
have recorded the file correctly that is you have used
keyboard keys for navigating the form and try to avoid
using mouse clicks. In LOV fields try to enter the data
directly rather than using LOV's.
Q. What is the
limitation in Forms Data Loader Trial Edition?
Ans. The Trial Edition contains
all the features except it doesn't load more than 25 rows.
otherwise, whatever feature is there in Registered version it is
available in Trial Version.
Q Are there any
new templates available?
Ans. Keep looking at this website
we publish new templates regularly.
Q. How do I get
support?
Ans. We provide unlimited support
through email for registered users of Forms Data Loader. Please
write to us at support@formsdataloader.com
Q. What is the
difference between Forms Data Loader Standard Edition and
Professional Edition
Ans. Forms Standard Edition
supports only Macro Loading whereas, Professional Edition
supports both Macro loading and Oracle Forms Record and Playback
loading.
