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This page contains answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about DataLoad. It is organised into the following three sections:
General DataLoad Questions
Forms Playback
Macro Loads
Q. Is DataLoad really free?
A. There are two versions of DataLoad - Classic and Professional. Classic is completely free of any charges to download, distribute and use. It provides the Macro loads for simple data loading. No support is provided for users of DataLoad Classic. If you require faster, more reliable loads with better error handling then the Forms Playback loads in Professional should be of interest to you. These loads are significantly faster than Macro loads. Customers who purchase Professional also receive comprehensive support.
Q. Why should I buy DataLoad Professional?
A. The Forms Playback loads in DataLoad Professional are significantly faster than anything you can achieve with a Macro. For instance, a Supplier load in Oracle Applications AP takes around 20 seconds per record for Macro loads and 1 second with Forms Playback. The Forms Playback loads are also more reliable and provide better error handling that is possible with Macros. Finally, Professional customers receive product support.
Q. Where can I get a trial version of DataLoad Professional?
A. DataLoad Classic is the trial version for DataLoad Professional. As well as containing the original Macro ("Copy & Paste") load functionality, DataLoad Classic also contains a demonstration of the DataLoad Professional forms playback functionality. The forms playback functionality is limited to 5 record loads in DataLoad Classic, which should be enough to prove the speed and effectiveness of forms playback. If further testing is required then trial licenses can be arranged by emailing us.
Q. How much does DataLoad Professional cost, how do I buy it?
A. See the Buy DataLoad page on this web site for answers to these questions.
Q. What is the name of the company that develops, markets and supports DataLoad?
A. DataLoad is produced by JD Stuart Ltd. Our contact details can be found here.
Q. Who are Edenbrook, how are they related to DataLoad ?
A. DataLoad is owned, developed and supported by JD Stuart Ltd but Edenbrook sponsor the free version, DataLoad Classic. All enquiries concerning DataLoad should go to JD Stuart Ltd. More details about Edenbrook can be found here.
Q. Why can't I use Excel-like formulas and functions in DataLoad?
A. DataLoad doesn't support Excel-like functions and formulas and we don't intend to introduce this functionality because we would just be replicating Excel. We recommend that users who need to use formulas build their loads in Excel then transfer the data to DataLoad when the load is ready. To help facilitate DataLoad V4.2 and above includes fast Excel Import functionality. This allows the user to import data from Excel in one mouse click and there is also the option to start the load as soon as the data has been imported too.
Q. Does Oracle support data loaded into Oracle Applications using DataLoad?
A. Although Oracle does not support the DataLoad product they do appear to support data loaded via Oracle. Indeed, Oracle Support have been known to recommend DataLoad to customers in certain situations. This has been recently confirmed by the posting of a Note on Metalink, Note 147380.1, which again appears to give Oracle's blessing to DataLoad.
Q.Can we easily check what data has been loaded?
A. Yes, with forms playback loads. During the playback you can also record by adding a record parameter to the command line. For example, add the following to the command line, replacing '[filename]' with the name of a file to record to:
&record=[filename]
The whole load will be recorded to that file. When the load completes open this file in DataLoad and you will be able to see what the load did.
Q. What is the latest version of DataLoad?
A. The latest version of DataLoad is always available from the download area of the DataLoad web site - http://www.dataload.net
Q. Can I use DataLoad with Windows 2000 or XP?
A. Yes, DataLoad has been extensively tested with Windows 2000/XP and can be used without any issues. Indeed, DataLoad is now developed on Windows 2000 and this operating system is the primary testing platform so there should be no issues particular to this OS.
Q. Can I use DataLoad with Oracle E-Business 11i, E-Business R12, etc?
A. DataLoad works with any Windows based applications and contains enhancements for use with Oracle E-Business. DataLoad has been tested with all current versions of E-Business that are supported by Oracle and has been proved to work correctly. As new versions of E-Business are released DataLoad is tested with these releases to ensure continued support. Full R12 compatability was added in DataLoad V4.3.9.0.
Q. Is DataLoad Classic open source/can we have the source code?
A. No. Even though DataLoad Classic is free it is not open source software and the source code is not available.
Q. The DataLoad spreadsheet isn't big enough, how do I make it bigger?
A. DataLoad versions prior to V4.1 had a fixed spreadsheet size, but inserting rows or column using "Edit, Insert." where data has already been entered would add rows or columns to the spreadsheet. V4.1 and beyond have spreadsheets whose size is limited only by the PC's memory.
Q. Will DataLoad start automatically when I double click on a .dld, .fld or tab delimited file?
A. From V4.2 onwards DataLoad automatically configures Windows to use DataLoad to open .dld and .fld files. Prior to this release you would have to do the following. Double click on a .dld file (or your tab delimited file) and in the "Open With" dialog box click on the "Other" button and select dataload.exe in the directory when it was unloaded. Enter a description for .dld files and press OK.
Also see Common Problems - Forms Record and Playback
Q. How can we easily check what data has been loaded?
A. During the playback you can also record by adding a record parameter to the command line. In 11i this needs to be added to the URL. For example, add the following to the URL, replacing '[filename]' with the name of a file to record to:
&record=[filename]
The whole load will be recorded to that file. When the load completes open this file in DataLoad and you will be able to see what the load did.
Q. My load to enter Users fails with a Post insert trigger error, why?
A. All user names must be in upper case. If they are not then this error occurs. Where Oracle converts data manually entered in a form to upper case then the data entered with forms playback should also be in that format.
Q. My load randomly fails and Oracle crashes.
A. If your database uses the Unicode UTF-8 character set certain characters may cause the load to fail because they will have been saved in your local character set and are not compatible with UTF8. For example, €, ä, å, æ and ü are also represented differently in UTF-8 compared to the Windows European character sets. By default DataLoad processes data in your local Windows character set. For compatibility with UTF-8 systems the UTF-8 option must be turned on in DataLoad. That is described here.
Also see Common Problems - Macro
Q. Why isn't data being sent to my form(s)?
A. First you need to establish whether it is DataLoad that isn't sending the data or Oracle that isn't pasting into the forms. Run the following tests to identify the issue:
If 1 and 3 succeed while 2 fails then Copy and Paste isn't working in the Oracle forms. Two common reasons for this are:
If test 1 didn't work or test 2 does work then contact DataLoad support.
Q. How do I send non-printing keys like the function keys (F1.F12) to the target window?
A. First, precede your data with a \ (backslash) to indicate you want to send keystrokes. Then use the appropriate character code - see Sending Keystrokes.
Q. How do I toggle a checkbox in Macro mode?
A. Use a single space in the cell or the *SB command
Q. How do I select an item from a pick drop down list?
A. Values can be selected by the first letter of the value. Where 2 values begin with the same letter, repeating the letter moves down the list. For example:
Column containing I would select Indirect
Column containing C would select Contract
Column containing CC would select Capital
Q. Why don't my mouse clicks work?
A. Follow the same testing procedure as described in the previous answer but with mouse clicks rather than data.
Q. Why doesn't *PB or *NB work in Oracle Applications 11i?
A. A number of users have reported issues with *PB and *NB in 11i and we have identified a number of possible causes of this problem:
If you are unsure what versions of software you are using please ask your Applications DBA.
Q. Why doesn't the *CW() command change forms in 11i?
A. The *CW() command is to change the active window not the form. The command was actually introduced with the intention of it being used to change forms, and this works fine in 10.7 NCA and 11.0.x because each form is a separate window. However, we knew that 11i returned to the single parent window approach so named the command *CW rather than something like *CF (Change Form) because it does actually change the window not the form.
In order to change the active form in 11i you will need to enter the keystrokes and/or mouse clicks in DataLoad that will open or activate the other form for you. In other words, make a note of how you would do this when using the Applications and setup DataLoad to action the same sequence of keystrokes.
Q. When I start the load the first 1 or 2 fields are missed but this only happens at the start, why?
A. This appears to be a forms issue. You have to work around this by adding keystrokes at the start of your load to compensate for this.
Q. Why isn't the window I want listed in the Window Name drop down box?
A. Prior to V4.1 only running Oracle NCA forms were listed in this list. If you want to use a window which isn't Oracle NCA, or an Oracle form which isn't currently running, type the window name in this box manually. V4.1 and beyond lists all active widows.
Q. Why doesn't the Oracle pick list respond when I send data to it?
A. You must send data to a pick list as keystrokes, not the default DataLoad cut and paste. Prefix your data with a \ (backslash) to force DataLoad to simulate keystrokes.
Q. I am using 10SC and commands like *PB and *SAVE won't work. Why?
A. Before V4.1 the built in commands were scripted for NCA and wouldn't work with the different keyboard shortcuts used in 10SC and other applications. You could, however, write powerful keyboard control statements in DataLoad which give you access to all combinations of keyboard characters. Use these to access new or unsupported commands. See Sending Keystrokes. V4.1 introduced "Command groups" that allow you to specify which command definitions should be used.
Q. I have a large amount of data that I need to send as keystrokes, not using Copy & Paste. How can I quickly prefix this data with the necessary '\'?
A. DataLoad has functionality to change single or multiple cells to & from keystroke and Copy & Paste cells. Use "Convert To." from the Edit or grid pop-up menus to access this functionality. See Convert To.
Q. Can I change the names of the command groups in V4.1, or add or delete groups.
A. Yes. The commands.dat file holds the command definitions in a TAB delimited format. Simply edit this file and you can have as many command groups as you want with names of your choice.