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DataLoad User Guide
Use the Options form to configure how DataLoad works

Customising DataLoad using the Options Window

DataLoad can be customised in the Options window, which is opened from the Tools menu or from the toolbar icon. This page describes each of the options available.

When any options are changed the "OK" button must be clicked for the changes to take effect. "Cancel" should be used to cancel any changes and close th window.

The "Make Default" button can be used to save the current configuration as the default for all future loads sheets. To revert to the default configuration click "Load Defaults".

Display Options

Font This changes the font used in the DataLoad spreadsheets.

Font Size This changes the font size in the DataLoad spreadsheets.

Show Toolbar & News Messages DataLoad has a message area in the toolbar and will also occasionally show pop-up messages when first started. These messages can be turned off in DataLoad Professional by un-checking this option. It is not possible to turn off these messages in DataLoad Classic.

Automatically Fit Columns to Title Widths When this option is turned on column widths will automatically adjust to fit the column titles. This means the full title is always displayed and is readable. By default this option is not set.

Use Date Picker in Date Cells Data validation can be used to specify that a column must contain dates. If this option is enabled then a date picker is displayed when a user edits any cell in a date column. This helps the user to pick a date and also ensures a valid date is entered.

Show DataLoad Sstartup Screen The DataLoad startup screen is shown if this checkbox is ticked, otherwise DataLoad starts without showing this.

Macro Loads

Enable Macro Loads Controls whether DataLoad processes the load file as a Macro load when the load is started. This can be disabled for loads where the Macro should not run and instead a PHP script will deliver all load functions, e.g. whe using PHP to load into a database.

Cell Colours Cell colours in a DataLoad Macro spreadsheet are very useful to show different the types of cells (data, keystrokes and commands). Default colours can be set for data, command and keystroke cells and cells are painted that colour as soon as DataLoad identifies what the cell contains. By default all cells are white, but by clicking on the colour panels a dialog box is displayed and a new colour can be chosen.

Show Progress Bar During a load DataLoad displays a progress window indicating how many columns of the current row have been sent and how many rows of the total load have been processed. By unsetting this check box this window will not be displayed.

Wait if Hourglass Cursor When checked, this option will cause DataLoad to pause sending data and keystrokes to the target application while the cursor is an hourglass. If the cursor is an hourglass this indicates that the application may be still processing the previous data or keystrokes. Pausing the load can prevent DataLoad from sending data that the application is not ready to process. DataLoad queries the state of the cursor for the application window under the cursor. Thus, the mouse pointer must be kept over the Macro's target application for DataLoad to know if that application is displaying an hourglass. Moving the cursor outside of the target window may mean DataLoad responds to the cursor state in another window. When the cursor is no longer an hourglass DataLoad will continue with the load after a further optional pause, the duration of which can be set in the Delays window. If the progress bar is activated its title bar is used to tell the user whether the load is currently waiting because the cursor is an hourglass.

Auto Insert Commands Where a DataLoad column's title is a command name that command will be inserted into the column's cells whenever the user navigates in to one of the cells. This feature is designed to save time when setting up a spreadsheet, however this functionality can be disabled by unsetting the check box.

TAB After Every Data Cell Most Macro loads involve data being entered in a series of fields and the Tab key is used to navigate between each field. If this option is enabled then DataLoad will automatically press the Tab key after each field is populated, thus avoiding the need to add columns to the spreadsheets to send the Tab key. When this option is enabled DataLoad can be forced not to send a Tab key after processing a cell by prefixing that cell's data with a &.

Legacy Keystroke Mode The methods used to send keystrokes to target applications changed significantly in DataLoad V5.1. The new methods are fully backwards compatible but added support for many more languages. By default the new methods are always used, however DataLoad will revert to the original methods if this checkbox is checked.

Cell Comment Prefix Specify a cell text prefix that tells DataLoad to ignore the cell or treat the cell as a comment. For example, specify # as the Cell Comment Prefix and if a cell's value starts with # DataLoad will ignore that cell and move to the next cell during a load. One or more cells may be automatically converted to/from comments using the Convert To... function on the pop-up menu (right click on the spreadsheet to activate) and the Edit menu.

Default Load Method If a cell doesn't contain a command then it will be treated as keystrokes or data. The Default Load Method controls whether cell data that isn't a command is sent using copy & paste or keystrokes. If data in a cell is prefixed with a \ (backslash) then the alternative load method is used. For example, if the Default Load Method is Copy & Paste and a cell contains "Hello World" then that text will be pasted to the target application, but if the cell contains "\Hello World" then it is sent using keystrokes. This behaviour can be reversed by changing the Default Load Method. If the Default Load Method is changed, it may be necessary to remove and/or add backslashes to existing cell data. This can be done using the "Convert to..." options on the Edit menu. Alternative, the Edit menu's "Switch Load Method" function can be used to switch all selected cells load methods, that is add backslashes where they are missing and remove backslahes where they are used.

Paste Keys By default DataLoad pastes data into target applications using the Ctrl-V keystroke. This can be changed to Shift-Insert using this option if required.

Forms Playback

Exit Oracle E-Business Suite After Load If this check box is set then Oracle E-Business Suite shuts down when the forms playback load is complete. By default Oracle stays open at the end of a load.

Character Set Specify here the character set for Forms Playback (FLD) files. This option affects all DataLoad files but is only significant for forms playback files. Forms playback files must be in a character set that is compatible with the database character set. By default DataLoad reads and writes files using the default PC character set. That is almost always compatible with the character set in the Oracle database, but if the latter uses Unicode (UTF-8) then certain characters may not be compatible. To prevent this causing problems this option should specify the correct character set. More…

The following three fields are only relevant for Oracle E-Business Suite versions prior to 11i or where users login to 11i/R12 forms directly and not through the Self Service, "Personal Home Page", browser login. This latter option is not recommended and thus these fields are not used with the majority of forms playback loads.

Username The username to be used to login to Oracle E-Business Suite for the forms playback.

Password The password to be used to login to Oracle E-Business Suite for the forms playback.

Responsibility The responsibility to be used after logging in to Oracle E-Business Suite.

Export/Import

DataLoad is Oracle E-Business Suite Export Target If this check box is checked then DataLoad will be the helper application used by the Oracle E-Business Suite export functionality. That means that DataLoad will be opened and populated with data when the user runs an export.

DataLoad can automatically import data from an Excel spreadsheet and the following two options control the import process. Note that Excel must be running for Excel Import to work and DataLoad will then import from the currently active Excel worksheet.

Excel Data Source This option controls whether just the selected data or all data in the spreadsheet is imported. The data is pasted into DataLoad at the position of the active cell.

Excel Import Action After the Excel import DataLoad can automatically start a Macro load into the target application, thus enabling users to easily load data from an Excel spreadsheet into another application. This option controls whether or not a Macro load starts as soon as the import finishes.