The Herd Explorer is the first view that you see when you open a herd database. It is the window from which you will begin many of your tasks. The Herd Explorer is very similar to the Windows Explorer. On the left side of the window you will see categories of objects. These are arranged hierarchically into groups. On the right side of the window are the members of the group that is currently selected on the left side.
The categories of objects are:
| Animals | An animal is what you would expect. You do not have to put all of your animals into the herd database. For example, you may decide not to enter the young stock that you sell shortly after birth. |
| Semen Inventory | A semen inventory object is similar to an animal, except that it exists only in a nitrogen tank. |
| Check Lists | A check list (or just list) is a collection of animals that are selected according to some criteria, such as "Cows in their 4th or later lactation that are ready to dry off within two weeks." |
| Protocols | A protocol is a sequence of events that are prescribed to occur in a certain order. For example, you may have a protocol for synchronizing and breeding your cows, and another protocol that defines your vaccination series. |
| Analysis Reports | An analysis report shows summary information about your animals over a range of time periods. For example, you may want a production report broken down by months for the last year. |
| Standard Charts | A standard chart shows data about your animals against standard curves. You can use this information to compare your animals' performance against industry standards or your own goals. |
| Event Types | An event type describes the information that is collected for an event. (An event is simply something that happens to an animal at a point in time.) See Event Types for more information. |
| Technicians | A technician is simply a person that works with your herd. Whenever you enter an event, you can provide the name of the technician that observed or reported the event. |
| Billing Profiles | A billing profile is a description of how a customer should be billed for custom heifer raising services. If you are not a custom heifer grower, you can ignore this section. |
| Customers | A customer is someone you are raising heifers for. If you are not a custom heifer grower, you can ignore this section. |
These categories are organized into groups. For each category there is a "master group" which has the same name as the category, for example, Animals. Under each of these master groups you can have one or more levels of subgroups. For example, under Animals, you may want to organize your animals into their physical locations. You may have three barns, and each barn has more than one pen. How you organize these groups is completely up to you.
When you select a group name on the left side, the members of that group will be listed on the right side of the window. If you want, DairyLive can also list all members of that group plus its subgroups. To do this, select Group->Show Children Group Members from the main menu to turn this option on and off.
The groups on the left side are arranged hierarchically. To the left of each group that has subgroups you will see a plus or minus sign. The plus sign means that there are subgroups that are not shown, and the minus sign means that its subgroups are shown. To expand and collapse the subgroups, just click on this plus or minus sign. You can also double-click on the group name itself.
To create a new group, select the group under which the new group is to be placed. Then select Group->New from the main menu. A new group will appear and you can now edit the group name by typing in the name that you want.
You can delete a group only if it does not contain any members or any subgroups that have members. Select the group and then select Group->Delete from the main menu. The top-level groups cannot be deleted. To rename a group, select it, and then select Group->Rename from the main menu. Then type in the new name.
If a group is for animals, you can assign that group to a group number, a premise ID, or both. Select the group and select the Properties menu item in the Group menu, or, right-click on the group and select Properties. The Group Properties dialog will be shown.
When you click on a group on the left side of the Herd Explorer, the members of that group will appear on the right side. You can view these members either in a table format, in large or small icons, or as a very simple list. To change the way they are shown, select View from the main menu and then select Large Icons, Small Icons, List, or Details.
By default, the members of a group are shown alphabetically by the first column. You can sort on any of the columns by clicking on the column name. A small arrow shows which column is the current sort column and which direction the sort follows (ascending or descending). To change the direction, just click on the column name again.
It is very easy to move a member of a group to another group. Select one or more objects on the right side that you want to move. To select multiple objects, hold the control key down and click on each one you want to select. Or, to select a range of objects, select the first object, and then hold the shift key down as you select the last object. Now move the mouse pointer over one of the selected objects and press and hold the left mouse button. While holding the mouse button down, "drag" the objects to the left side until the mouse pointer is over the name of the group where you want them to be assigned. Then lift the mouse button. Voilá. The objects will be moved.
Remember that you can only move objects from one group to another group of the same category. It wouldn't make sense, for example, to move an animal to an Analysis Report group.
The Herd Explorer lets you create new objects (animals, reports, etc.) very easily. To create something new, first select the group you want the new object to belong to on the left side. Then select Object->New [object] from the main menu. The [object] will be filled in with the category that you selected on the left side. Now you will be presented with a dialog or window in which you can enter additional information about what you just created. The actual dialog or window that appears will depend on what kind of object you are creating.
You can open, rename, or delete an object in the Herd Explorer. To open an object, select it on the right side and then select Object->Open from the main menu. You can also double-click on the object to open it. Opening an object means showing a dialog or window that lets you view the object's details. For example, to see an animal's details, simply double-click on the animal in the Herd Explorer.
Renaming and deleting objects are also easy things to do. Click on the object and then select Object->Rename or Object->Delete from the main menu. If you try to delete an object, you will be warned, just in case you change your mind.
Other operations apply only to animals. If you click on an animal and then select Object->Animal, you will see a sub-menu that lists what other operations you can perform on the selected animal:
- Add Event (see Add Event dialog)
- Add Reminder (see Add Reminder dialog)
- Properties (see Animal Details View)
- Events (see Event View)
- Reminders (see Reminder View)
Double-clicking on an animal brings up the Animal Details view.
In some cases, you can select more than one object and then perform an operation on all of them. For example, you can select several animals and then select Object->Animal->Add Event to add an event for all of them at the same time. To select multiple objects, click on the first object. Then, holding the control key down on your keyboard, click on the other objects that you want in the group. To select a range of objects, click on the first object. Then, holding the shift key down on your keyboard, click on the last object. All objects between the first and last will also be selected.
Most of the things that you can do in the Herd Explorer are available through a context menu. A context menu is a menu that pops up when you click the right mouse button. It is usually much faster to get to a desired operation by using context menus.
For example, select an animal in the Herd Explorer and then, with the mouse over the selected animal, click the right mouse button. A context menu will be shown allowing you to quickly pick an operation.
Some of the more frequently used operations are shown as icons (small pictures or symbols) in the main toolbar. Just click your mouse on one of these buttons to quickly invoke an operation. Operations that are not available will be shown as "greyed out" buttons. If you want to know what an icon does, move your mouse over the icon and pause for a moment. A small "tip" window will be shown that explains what the icon does.
You can adjust the size of the Herd Explorer window by moving your mouse to one of the sides or corners until a resizing arrow appears. Then click and drag with your left mouse button down to change the size and shape of the window. You can also adjust the position of the vertical divider between the two sides of the Herd Explorer in a similar way.
You can also control which columns of information are shown on the right side of the Explorer for animals. Select View->Options from the main menu and go to the Explorer tab. You can have up to six columns in the Explorer for animals. See the Options Dialog for more information.