eForms
Form 6 - Annual Report of Oil Pipeline Companies
Viewer Instructions and Download
The public version of the Form
6 database is available for partial or complete download to client
sites and may be viewed with the Form 6 Viewer software. The Database
Viewer will permit the selection, viewing and printing of any or all Form
6 submissions for 2000 through the latest filing period. The filing
deadline for Form 6 Submissions is March 30 after the filing
year. For example, the 2000 Form 6 data would be available after March
31, 2001. Some companies request a filing date extension which
results in a delay of their data appearing in the Form 6 database.
Before
downloading the Viewer Application, please print
and read this page of instructions. You will save yourself a lot
of time by referring to this page first, before contacting FERC
with problem issues. Most problems will involve Internet communication
issues which are addressed below. Of course, we make mistakes-and
need to fix things on the server or with the software, so we do
not mind emails, questions, and suggestions.
Downloading and Viewing the Form 6 Database
The public version of the Form 6 database is available for partial
or complete download to client sites and may be viewed with the
Form 6 Database Viewer.
The Database Viewer will permit the selection, viewing and printing
of any or all Form 6 submissions for 2000 through the last filing
period.
The resulting
Form 6 Database downloaded to the local client may be manipulated
for specific reporting or analysis needs using Microsoft Visual
Foxpro 6.0 (VFP 6.0), Microsoft Access using the supplied ODBC
Driver for Visual Foxpro Databases, or commercially available
reporting
software such as Crystal Reports or others that support the VFP
6.0 database container structure.
Depending on
your browser, you can either download the installation file, or
run the installation from within your browser. In any event, the
downloaded file is named Form6v.exe and can be considered
the Installation Disk(s) for the Viewer Application. You must
execute
this file to install the Viewer Application. Follow the instructions
given during the installation process. It will be easier for us
to help you with problems if you use the default directory/folder
names for the software. The default for the viewer is C:\F6viewer.
The software should be installed on the workstation. The database
is stored in C:\Form6ViewerData by default, but
may be installed on or copied to a network drive for multiple
user
access.
Once the application
is installed on the client PC, it is accessed through the Start/Programs
menu and is stored in Program Group FERC Applications. There are
two sub-items under this heading named Form 6 Viewer Data Download
and Form 6 Data Viewer. You must first use the Download application
to obtain the database. Within the download application, you should
select the companies you are interested in and the filing year.
(You select multiple companies by highlighting them on the displayed
list. To highlight multiple companies, use the standard Windows
selection technique of ctrl key/left mouse click.) You have the
option of selecting all respondents (Form 6 Filers) for a particular
filing year.
The download
process may take a few minutes, depending on your connection speed
and the number of companies requested. When requesting one or
more
companies, the server extracts the requested companies from our
database and creates a small database with just the requested
companies.
This database is compressed, sent via Internet to your PC, and
decompressed. All this takes some time. So, give it a few minutes
before you think
something is wrong.
The more companies
you select, the longer it will take to get the data. If you want
many companies, it may be quicker to download the entire database
instead of selecting individual companies.
When you use
the Viewer, click on Company Selected
to obtain a list of companies download to your PC. Then, select
the company you wish to view.
The downloaded
information is cumulative. When you download a
new selection, it is added to the previously downloaded data.
Download Problems
You should not experience much trouble downloading and installing
the Viewer application on your workstation. However, the component
of the viewer that downloads
the database may not work properly with your workstation or network
configuration depending on your local computer/network usage policies.
Download Problems-Potential Solutions
The Form 6 Viewer
Data Download uses HTTP (to get the list of companies) and FTP
Receive (to download the selected database data) and notify you
of availability
of updated Viewer software. These common Internet Communication
Protocols may be blocked by your Internet Firewall for security
reasons. This will require intervention by your computer or network
support personnel. To assist in diagnosing this problem, we make
available an Internet Communications Test Application - which you
can download and run on your workstation just as you did the Form
6 Viewer. Please see a description of this application below under
Forms Communications Test Application. Note that your workstation
only needs to pass the HTTP send/receive and FTP Receive tests.
FTP Send is not necessary for proper operation of the Form 6 Viewer.
The software creates a Log File of activity and
error messages. The log file is created in the C:\F6Viewer folder
and is named F6View.log. You or your IT Support
staff may review this log if you are experiencing problems. You
can read it with WordPad. Be sure to attach the F6View.log
to any emails you send to FERC requesting assistance.
The easiest and most effective solution to Firewall access issues
is to ask your Firewall Administrator to install a rule in the Firewall permitting
HTTP Send/Receive and FTP Receive from IP 208.207.43.25.
This presents a minimal or non-existent security risk since all
communication requests are issued by the Client (your workstation).
The FERC Forms Server does not "push" unsolicited information
to your workstation.
Problem Reporting and Assistance
If you have any
problems with downloading or using the viewer application, please
send an email describing the problem to FERC
Online Support. In order to help in diagnosing a problem,
please attach the file F6view.log to your email. The Viewer
Application
writes little notes on how it is feeling about life on your PC
to this log file. If you don't attach it, we will send you a
reply email asking for it. So, it just saves time for all of
us if you
do it first off. This file is found in the c:\F6viewer
folder. If you see two files called F6view, and can't determine
which is the log file, attach and forward the smaller of the two
files.
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Downloads & Links
Form 6 Viewer Software
Form Communications Test Application
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Contact
Information
Submission Software Questions
FERC Online Support
Telephone: 202-502-6652
Toll-free: 1-866-208-3676
Email: ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov
Form 6/6-Q Filing Matters
Samuel Berrios
Telephone: 202-502-6212
Email: samuel.berrios@ferc.gov
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