Before you start building data load, please study the target form carefully and identify how many fields are there and how do you navigate between fields and most importantly the fields navigation order. Please also find out the keystrokes used to save the data.
For Example Suppose we have a form like this.
By closely studying the form we have learned that to add new record we have to press "Alt-A" when we press "ALT-A Key the buttons change like this
and then we have to press {TAB} twice to go the first field. And, then to move between the fields we have to use {TAB} key and then finally to save the
record we have to press "ALT-S" and then again we have to press "ALT-A" to enter a new record and then so on..
In Forms Data Loader you can send a keystroke by entering the keystroke preceded by a backslash "\" for Example: "\{TAB}" will send a TAB keystroke to the target application. For a list of Keystrokes please read the help file which comes with Forms Data Loader.
You can send data to the target application by just typing the data as it is in the cell. Forms Data Loader uses the copy and paste mechanism to send the data to the target application.
To build the load for above form we have to build the spreadsheet like this.
Continued...
Continued...
Notice the last column here we are telling Data Loader to wait for 50 millisecond before starting to enter new record. Delay field is very useful in situation where the target application takes time to processed data entered before processing the next keystrokes. You can adjust the delay time by editing the delay column.
Once you develop a load you can populate the load sheet by copying and pasting data from Excel or any other spreadsheet. Forms Data Loader comes with unique "Paste Skipping Key Columns" and Auto Fill feature which makes populating data from Excel very easy.
After you have prepared and populated the spreadsheet press "Start Loading"
button on toolbar. When you press this button you will get a window as shown below.
Here you can specify the following Loading Options.
If you are using Shortcuts the select Target Application Type, then FDL will map the shortcuts to the keystrokes you define in Shortcuts Form.
Select the Target Window Title. If the target window title is not showing in the drop down list press the "Refresh" button to refresh the list. If you want you can also type the title of the target window.
Select the Range of cells you want load.
If you want to go for interactive load i.e. if you want to wait after processing each cell then select the "Step By Step Loading "checkbox. In this loading FDL will wait after processing each cell. This is usually used to debug load.
Select the "Wait for Cursor Hourglass" check box if you want FDL to wait processing the next cell until the Mouse cursor is an Hour Glass. It's is recommended to select this checkbox since the target application will change the cursor to hourglass when it is doing some background processing.
Select the Speed Slider to adjust the speed with which data is send to target application. You can start with a Slow speed initially and afterwards you can increase the speed in subsequent loads.
Check the "Use Alternate Method for processing Macros" checkbox if you find Data Loader is not sending the keystrokes properly. Some target application doesn't support default method for macros so Data Loader supports separate method for processing macros which can be selected by checking this checkbox.
After selecting the desired options click "Start" button to start loading. When the Loading Start you will see a small on Top Right Hand side of your screen which will show you the progress.
For More Information about Keystrokes you can use in Data Loader, please click here
© Interface Computers All Rights Reserved
