Q. I am using Windows Vista and the program works fine but I get an error message when I try to read the Help file?
A. This is caused by Microsoft’s ommision of the Help Viewer program from Windows Vista which was included in all previous versions of Windows. This issue affects millions of help files (with type HLP) from software developers (including Microsoft itself) all over the world.

To fix this situation Microsoft has provided a patch file for Vista which can be downloaded and installed from their website at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=82148

It is recommended that you install this Microsoft patch to Vista as it fixes this problem for all past, present and future programs you may have from many companies. (If you are already able to successfully read HLP files, then your Vista may have already been patched previously.)

Q. How do I use the Ringno to ID conversion in BIRDREC V7?
A. In the BIRDS database are two fields for ringno and year. The ringno field takes the letters and/or numbers which are engraved on your bird ring. You may enter this information in any format you desire (eg KY123). It is recommended that you be consistent in how you use it. The year field takes the year (4 digits, eg 1999)which is on the ring .

When looking up birds for reports, sires, dams, pedigrees etc , the birds can be referenced by either their unique ID directly or by a string of characters which includes ring information which is in turn looked up by the program and converted to its correct ID. The ring information in these window forms has a fixed format consisting of the letter R followed by the YEAR (as it was entered in the year field of the BIRDS database) followed by the ringno (as it was entered in the ringno field of the BIRDS database).

For example.
In BIRDS database (ie DATA ENTRY BIRDS or MAINTENANCE BIRDS)
Bird ID = 10
Ringno= KY123
Year = 1999

To print a pedigree for example (or anywhere in the program where the ID/Ringno prompt is seen)
you have the choice of typing 10 (ie its ID) at the prompt
or
type R1999KY123 at the prompt. BIRDREC sees the letter R and knows it has to look up ring information and not an ID, looks at the 1999 as the year and KY123 as the ringno. It searches the database for this information and finds that it is ID 10 and replaces the ring information with 10.

(PLEASE NOTE:- that in the ringno field of the BIRDS database you DO NOT use the R1999KY123 format you use only KY123 as this is what is actually engraved on the ring)

Q. BIRDREC V7 won't accept my blank diskette to do a backup.
A. BIRDREC checks the diskette first to see if it is formatted before writing the backup data to it. Some diskette manufacturers don't put serial numbers on the diskettes when formatting at the factory. Simply format the diskette again yourself with Windows and it will then work perfectly.

Q. I would like to create specialised reports for my birds to suit some special requirements.
A. BIRDREC V7 has a built-in WYSIWYG report writer which can create almost any sort of simple or complex report. Simply use the REPORTS/USER/CREATE menu and select the wizard you need. Alternatively BIRDREC comes with some sample user reports which you can copy and /or modify to suit. Simply use the REPORTS/USER/RUN or EDIT menu and look at some of the reports in the dialog box with the prefix 'USER'.

Hint: To conserve paper and print two nest cards on one sheet of paper in BIRDREC V7, simply print the first one then reload the sheet upside down and print the second, then cut in two.



Q. How do I select grey green in BUDGEN? (This question and answer also applies to AVIAN GENETIC CALCULATOR)
A. There are actually several different colours of greygreen budgerigar, all of which have different genetics but look very similar in colour. The grey factor (or Australian Dominant Grey to give it its full name) modifies existing blue and green colours into grey and green. Therefore it is possible to have Grey Light Green, Grey Dark Green and Grey Olive Green in both single and double factor but all are more commonly called just Grey Green despite being different. The most common grey green is the Grey(sf) Light Green and the most common grey is the Grey(sf) Sky Blue. In Budgen to select this common grey green simply select light green in the Green, Blue & YF list box and then select Aust Grey(sf) in the Aust Grey list box.
Remember that grey green is a combination of grey factor and the base green colour, just as grey is a combination of the grey factor and the base blue colour.

Last modified on Friday, 9 November 2007