1 Topic by Louise.bacon2

  • Louise.bacon2
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Topic: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi all

this is very very odd.

I have been trying to import some data with vague dates into a server copy of R6.

At the initial data validation stage of importing my spreadsheet, I get an error for every row which contains a vague date, either a date range or a month range  (but a single year is OK, or a month - its a range with two things).

My colleague Lorna can log onto the database and import it absolutely no problem, so it must be somewhere in a permissions file..

Anyone got any ideas, bright or otherwise?

Louise Bacon

2 Reply by MikeWeideli

  • MikeWeideli
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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

This is odd. I wonder if it may be something to do with the date format set up in Region and language on your machine.

Mike Weideli

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3 Reply by Louise.bacon2

  • Louise.bacon2
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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

checked that - its fine.... have since that issue this morning achieved one import of a dataset with year, and a dataset with dates.... but additionally I have also failed at validation with another dataset containing single dates..........

I plan to test a small part of the dataset with another, standalone copy of R6.......

4 Reply by MikeWeideli

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

If you have a small dataset which is causing problems please can you let me have a copy to see if I can duplicate the problem

Mike Weideli

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5 Reply by Louise.bacon2

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi - it imported OK on my own copy of R6 here at home.

It surely has to be something really odd to do with permissions, as a colleague logged onto same database can import with no problem whatsoever....

Very very odd indeed.

I can still send you either the tiny subset of the "problem" data I have here, or the whole things for you to compare to something I had no problem with....

Louise

6 Reply by MikeWeideli

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi

As a first step send me the files and I will take a look. I could provide a special version of R6 which identifies exactly why this is happening. If I did so, is this something you can implement. It would mean temporarily replacing Recorder6.exe. running the test and then restoring the original version.

Mike Weideli

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7 Reply by lornashaw

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

further to this i have just tried to import a file and Recorder has taken exception to the date format on every records (only about 17 in total). the date is "2017"!

8 Reply by MikeWeideli

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi

There is nothing I can see wromg with the data.  Please can you let me know which version of R6 you are running ?

Also can you look in Options  and see if the Option to use the previous R6 import wizard is set to false.  This will only be there on older versions of R6 and I am not sure what exactly it was called.

Mike Weideli

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9 Reply by lornashaw

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi Mike, we are using Recorder 6.25.1.284. I cannot see that option under the options tab, but i will have another look.

I did also wonder if Recorder objected to the date because 2017 hadn't finished yet, so I tried replacing the date with a smaller date range that stopped before November and it still threw up an error. Worth a try.

10 Reply by MikeWeideli

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Does seem to be something to do with the workstation on which is running. I think the option to use the previous version of the import wizard was there in 6.25. I will try to be more specific about where it is to be found, but it has gone from my version so will need to dig a bit.  I wanted to check it because it is something which may not be the same  for all users.

The other possibility is that for some reason a different version of R6 is being run by Louise . I have seen this before and it can cause some odd things to happen. However, it can only come about if there has been some change to where R6 is installed. If you right click on the R6 icon and choose properties is the target the same on all workstations ?

Mike Weideli

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11 Reply by Louise.bacon2

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

I'm not in till next week, but Lorna might be able to check.  they should be the same, as mine was installed about a month ago.....

12 Reply by lornashaw

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

I have checked the target on both workstations and it is the same, both copies of Recorder 6 appear to be the same version as far as i can tell. The problem now appears to be occurring on two different workstations for two different users, using the same copy of Recorder. Odd.

13 Reply by MikeWeideli

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

I will see if John has any thoughts on where to start looking for this. Could you try converting the Excel file to text file (csv file) and importing that. This will tell us if the problem is in interpreting the original file or in validating the dates at later stage.

Mike Weideli

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14 Reply by johnvanbreda

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi Lorna
1) What is the exact error you are getting and is it the same in all the cases that you mention?
2) What Windows version does this problem occur on? Is it possible that the 2 workstations which show the problem are a different windows version to the others?
3) You mention that you have had some success with importing one dataset (in the 3rd comment) but not another. Can you post up a selection of the date values that are in the failing and the succeeding file please so I can compare them?
Regards
John

John van Breda
Biodiverse IT

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15 Reply by Louise.bacon2

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Hi all

An update......

not sure if this gets us anywhere or not but.....

The file with a set of vague dates which does not import when I am logged on to the machine i usually use (a new, win10 machine)  DOES import if I log on to the old Win 7 machine I used to use.

Which confirms my suspicions that it is something to do with set up or permissions rather than the data per se. (I was able to establish that, as I imported some of it into a stand-alone R6, then exported it as an NBN xml file, which was approved for import from the same Win10 workstation which refused this data when in excel.

I took a look at the 'aboutR6' tab from my log-on on both machines.... and from both workstations, it thinks it is looking at a windows7 machine.  I wonder if this could be the problem.  As we have to go via our external IT folk to do some things but not other things, it would be useful to have any thoughts on what the problem is and how we might be able to fix it.  If anything else needs checking on the PC's themselves, Lorna will have to do it.....

Anyway, looking forward to any thoughts on the updated situation.

Louise Bacon / Lorna Shaw, Essex Wildlife Trust

16 Reply by charliebarnes

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

Watching with interest... just a thought - can you add the troublesome dates manually via the observation hierarchy?

Charlie Barnes
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Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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17 Reply by Louise.bacon2

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

sometimes it picks on a whole set of 'normal' dates... we're looking at several thousand records................

18 Reply by charliebarnes

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Re: Vague dates not recognised on import (user-specific)

I was just wondering whether it's a problem with the import wizard or a wider issue. In theory the import wizard should use the same validation code as when entering dates manually. If you can enter data manually then it suggests the problem is with the import wizard - if you can't, then it's a wider problem affecting Recorder.

Charlie Barnes
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Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership

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