Please Contribute Your Questions
Frequently Asked
Questions will be posted to this site based on support
requests and your feedback. If you have questions you would
like to see answered on this page, please
contact us.
Q: How do I get started
with Toolkit Check In Wizard?
A: To get started, view the Net Replay of the
Toolkit Check In Wizard training session. You will learn how to install the wizard, how to scan
and check in files, and how to review your files that have been checked in to the
National Database (i.e., the training or production site). You will also learn best
practices, which will save you time when checking in your file.
To access the Toolkit Check In Wizard training:
- Go to MY.NRCS.
- Log on.
- Click the Accountability tab at the top of the screen.
- Locate the IAS 2004 Training Information heading.
- Click Toolkit Check In Wizard Net Replay. This takes you to the replay web site.
- Enter the required user information and follow the screen instructions to start the
replay.
You can also access the replay web site directly at:
https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PH9678761&p=PRS&t=r
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Q: I can't see the Report button in Step 3
(Add Info) of the check in process. Where is it?
A: Check your monitor resolution
settings in Windows (Start --> Settings--> Control Panel --> Display -->
Settings). The minimum screen resolution for using the Check In Wizard is
1024 x 768 pixels.
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Q: What if some customer folders are "checked out" from the server when I use the Check In Wizard?
A: If customer folders are "checked out"
when you use the Wizard, you run the risk that these files will overwrite any
file modifications made by the Wizard. Thus, you should make sure no one has "checked out" any
customer folders when you run the Check In Wizard.
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Q: Can more than one person use Toolkit
Check In Wizard at the same time?
A: No. The Toolkit Check In Wizard
modifies the customer plan databases (Microsoft Access .mdb files) and is not a multi-user
application. Therefore, only one person should run the wizard to check in the
customer folders for your office, and no other person should access these
folders while they are being checked in or scanned.
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Q: Can I run Toolkit Check In Wizard from
any workstation?
A: Yes, you can run the Check In Wizard from
any workstation. However, you should scan the files only when they are on the
server.
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Q: Can more than one person enter progress information?
A: Yes. Only one person should perform the initial check-in of the files.
After that, however, any authorized
user can use PRS to enter progress information. The newly entered information is
then updated in the National Conservation Planning Database. (Note, however,
that this newly entered information is not saved in your local files.)
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Q: What Check In Wizard version and build number is installed on my machine?
A:
To see the
Check In Wizard version and build number, click the Help button at the
bottom left hand corner of the Wizard. A message box appears with the
version number at the bottom. The first part of the number shows the version, and the last
part shows the build. For example, the number “1.00.0032” indicates Check In
Wizard, Version 1.0, Build 32.
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Q: What map projections
does the Toolkit Check In Wizard support?
A: The Toolkit Check In Wizard will calculate land unit
locations from Toolkit shapefiles that are in UTM NAD 83. If you have shapefiles
that have been digitized in a map projection other than UTM NAD 83 (e.g., State
Plane), you must disable the latitude and longitude calculations. Otherwise,
erroneous calculated values will be saved in each related Access database file
for conservation plans and will be uploaded to the national database during check
in.
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Q: If my shapefiles are
in state plane projection, how can I check in the land unit locations?
A: You can either reproject the shapefiles into UTM NAD
83 before running the Check In Wizard and then automatically calculate the land
unit locations, or you can manually enter land unit locations using the Check In
Wizard's land unit locator tool.
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Q: Some of our offices created shape files without the UTM
NAD 83 projection. Can we turn off or override the automatic calculation of X
and Y coordinates and use PRS to set map pins for those fields? If we do this,
would any subsequent latitude/longitude changes in Toolkit overwrite the PRS
pin settings in the National Conservation Planning Database?
A: Turning off the automatic calculation is a good idea
for these shape files because the latitude and longitude calculation will be
incorrect if the projection is not UTM NAD 83. If you use the Check In Wizard
and there is no value for latitude/longitude in the Toolkit record, the national
database uses any value that you set with PRS to report the progress.
Note, however, that if you use the Check In Wizard and there is a value
for latitude/longitude (whether it was manually set or automatically generated
by the Check In Wizard), it always takes precedent over any value set with PRS.
As long as you do not set any latitude/longitude values for these files in
Toolkit or set a map pin with the Toolkit Check In Wizard, any pin value that
you set with PRS is maintained.
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Q: What data does the
Toolkit Check In Wizard provide to the Performance Results System (PRS)?
A: The Toolkit Check In Wizard is a product developed
for short-term use that lets you check in planning data from Toolkit into the
national database, so it can be accessed by PRS. You will use the Check In
Wizard until the Toolkit 2004 software is implemented.
Until Toolkit NG is available, changes you make in PRS do not
automatically update the data in the customer’s Toolkit database on your local
server or hard drive.
When Toolkit NG is available, you will be able to update
customer data from several applications including Toolkit NG, PRS and ProTracts.
For example, you will be able to certify a practice in ProTracts and the applied
amount and date will appear in the customer’s practice schedule in Toolkit. The
same information will appear in PRS so that you can report it.
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Q: Can data be checked
out from the national database?
A: Until Toolkit NG is available, there is no method to
check out customer data from the national database.
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Q: What data from Toolkit
does PRS access in the national database?
A: The planning data that you check into the national
database is accessed by PRS and verified as to whether or not the records are
complete and reportable. Also, you can add information in PRS to complete and
report planning activities.
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Q: What data from Toolkit
does PRS consider to be incomplete or not reportable?
A: Data must meet the following requirements to be
reportable:
- A land unit must have a valid NRCS land use.
- A practice must have a valid NRCS practice code. For
example, if you upload a practice with practice code 430, PRS will flag
the practice because it recognizes only 430AA, 430BB, etc.
- A practice must have a valid NRCS program. Toolkit
requires program codes only for practices that will be cost-shared, but
PRS requires every practice to have a program code.
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Q: If I check in
incomplete or invalid data, how do I enter or correct it?
A: Until successive versions of Toolkit are released, you have the following options:
- PRS provides data entry screens to complete missing
information that may be required for reporting.
- View the records in PRS to note missing data. You can
add the missing data to the customer’s practice schedule in Toolkit, and
then check in the customer’s file again. This keeps your local data and
the national data in sync.
In addition, you are warned when you check in the
plan and can fix missing at that time.
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Q: If a file with
incomplete or invalid data is uploaded again, what happens?
A: If you correct a practice code, land use, or program
in PRS and then check in the same file at a later time, the data entered in PRS
won’t be overwritten by invalid data or empty values from Toolkit. Only valid
data from Toolkit overwrites data in the national database.
For example, if you enter data such as applied amounts and
applied dates in PRS, the PRS entries aren't overwritten if the Toolkit data has
empty values for the same data. However, if you enter a valid applied amount or date
in Toolkit, it will always overwrite the applied amount or date you
entered previously in PRS.
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Q: What happens if I add
a new land unit using PRS?
A: The land unit is added to the national database, but
it isn’t added to the customer’s Toolkit database unless you add it yourself. To
keep both databases in synch, you may find it easiest to add the land unit in
Toolkit and check in that customer’s database again.
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Q: What happens if I delete a land
unit using PRS?
A: You can delete a land unit in PRS only if you
added it from PRS.
Land units added to PRS from Toolkit cannot be deleted using PRS. You must
delete the land unit in
Toolkit and check in the customer’s database again.
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Q: What happens if I delete a practice
using PRS? Is it also deleted in Toolkit?
A: You can delete a practice in PRS only if you
added it from PRS. If the same practice exists in a Toolkit database, it will
not be automatically deleted in Toolkit when you delete it in PRS. To keep both
databases in synch, you may find it easiest to delete the practice in Toolkit
and check in that customer’s database again.
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Q: If I change the land
unit or practice in Toolkit for a practice I have already checked in, what
happens if I check it in again?
A: Valid data that you check in from Toolkit always
updates the national database. PRS will show the latest changes you made in
Toolkit.
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Q: How does PRS identify plans?
A: PRS identifies plans by Plan Name,
SCIMS ID, State, and County. If you check in a plan that was previously checked
in under the wrong county and need to recheck it in, the second plan checked in
will be seen as a new plan. Contact
toolkitsupport@itc.nrcs.usda.gov for help in removing the duplicate plan
that was originally posted under the wrong county.
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Q: When I check in my customer files, I
get warnings that some of my practices are invalid. What should I
do?
A: It's possible that you are using
out-of-date practice codes. For a current listing of codes, review the
National Handbook of Conservation Practices-NHCP at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/Standards/nhcp.html.
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Q: What folders does the
Check In Wizard look in to find Toolkit Conservation Plan databases?
A:
When the Check In Wizard
scans, it looks for conservation plans in the Plan_Maps\Plan folder, which
is typically located in the F:\Customer Files folder.
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Q: If I assign a SCIMS ID to a customer folder, will that
change the plan modification date?
A: No. Assigning a SCIMS ID does not
change the plan modification date, nor does it change the baseline timestamp.
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Q: Do I have to give my database files a specific name such
as consplan.mdb to upload the file to the National Conservation Planning Database??
A: No. However, the file must be a
Microsoft Access database file (.mdb extension). Also, the file must be located
in the
customer's Plan_Maps\Plan folder.
(This folder name is case sensitive.)
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Q: I just made a new customer folder in Toolkit and copied
it to my customer folder on the F: drive. When Toolkit Check In Wizard scanned
the F: drive files, the new folder didn't show up. What should I do?
A: First, check to see if your customer
folders contain land units. Folders without land units will not show up in
the Toolkit Check In Wizard. Folders must have at least one land unit before you can
check them in. If your folder contains land units and you still experience this
problem, please contact
toolkitsupport@itc.nrcs.usda.gov for help.
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Q: I have
customer files for several counties that are all in the same Customer_Folders
folder. How should I check in these files?
A: To check in these files for their
correct county, you will need to segregate them into County subfolders. To
identify active files, you can scan your files that are modified since Oct 1,
2003, or use Conservation Data Viewer. Then put these files into a county
subfolder and re-scan the subfolders using Oct 1, 2003, for the Last Check In
Date.
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Q: I have associated the
wrong SCIMS landowner to my customer folder while using Toolkit Check-In Wizard.
Is there any way to delete this information and change it to the appropriate
Landowner?
A: Yes. To change the SCIMS landowner
associated with a planc:
- Locate the
SCIMS Customer column in
Step 3: Add Info in the Toolkit Check In Wizard.
- Double-click on the row that displays the
Customer Folder and Customer Database for the plan you want to change.
- Use the SCIMS Browser to select a new SCIMS customer.
- Check in the plan with the new customer
association.
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Q: The program activity code
CTA-GENRL has nine characters, but Toolkit Cost Share Programs allow only eight characters.
Does this mean that I have to enter all CTA Program activity codes manually in PRS after I use the
Check In Wizard? Is there a workaround that I can use?
A: The Check In Wizard automatically sets the program
code to CTA-GENRL when there is no cost share program code in the Toolkit
conservation plan you are uploading. Also, the CTA code automatically maps to CTA-GENRL in the centralized
database. This gives you two workarounds:
Leave the cost share program blank for CTA and let the central database system automatically set it to
CTA-GENRL.
--or--
Configure Toolkit to use CTA as a cost share program and let the central database system automatically
map CTA to CTA-GENRL.
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Q: Is there a training
site available for the Check In Wizard?
A: Yes, there is a training database available for
practicing and demonstrating the Check In Wizard. To upload to the training
site, select “Training Database” for the check in destination instead of
“Production Database” during Step 1: Set Up. Uploading data will overwrite any
data previously checked in. Refer to the
Toolkit Check In Wizard User
Guide for more information.
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Q: When I check a file into the training database, is the
file also checked into the production site?
A: No. You must check in the file(s) to the production site
separately. Use this procedure:
- Check in the file(s) at the training site.
- If you are satisfied with the results, do not exit the Toolkit Check In Wizard.
- Return to the Set Up step of the check in procedure.
- Change the database from Training to Production.
- Check in your file(s).
- (Optional) View the checked-in files at
either the training or production sites using the report generator at
http://cst.nrcs.usda.gov/toolkitreports.
For additional instructions, see the
Toolkit Check In Wizard User Guide.
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Q: Our office has a PLU that falls into two different UTM zones. The farm
has some fields in zone 14 and some in 13. All office geodata is zone 14, even
though part of the county is in zone 13. How does the Check In Wizard handle
this?
A: If you specified all the geodata as zone 14 data (i.e.,
your office
digitized or projected the data as zone 14), the Wizard will treat all data as zone 14, even though part of it actually falls into
zone 13.
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Q: Our field office serves an area in two different UTM
zones and several counties. How should we check in files for this office?
A: Use one of the following UTM zones:
—or—
Typically, the UTM zone used for either of the
above is the default for the county or counties in which the field office resides.
If a field office serves counties that are split between two UTM zones, pick one of
the zones to use as a standard for that field office.
You may still encounter odd situations. For
example, a plan might have shape data in UTM 15 while the county uses UTM 14 as
the standard. In this case, you could either check in that plan separately from
the others for that county or reproject the plan to UTM 14 before checking in.
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