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Transferring a Z tags file (with matched EID/VID tags) to an EID stick reader [NZ only]

How to download a Z Tags file (with matched EID/VID tags) from the Z Tags website and upload it to an EID stick reader

This article applies to:

  • XRS2i, XRS2, SRS2i and SRS2 EID Stick Readers.

  • NZ customers only

If you have purchased Z tags matching EID/VID tags, you may want to upload the tags file to your EID stick reader so when you scan an animal EID, the matching VID tag number will display. In the scenario below, the VID tag number will be appended with the birth year:

💡You can use the same method to upload a file containing the NAIT numbers for animals. This will allow you to send the information to NAIT and/or Datamars Livestock for analysis.

Hardware/software you will need

A Windows PC with internet connection to access the Z Tags website.

Installed on the PC:

  • Tru-Test Datalink for PC application

  • MS Excel 2016 (or higher)

USB connecting cable for charging, and it is also used for connecting the stick reader to the PC.

Steps:

  • Buy a matched set of EID and VID tags (e.g. 100) from Z Tags and the tags file is made available on the Z Tags website.

  • Download the tags file from the website and manipulate the data in MS Excel as required.

  • Upload the modified tags file onto your stick reader (via Data Link PC software/Animal Lifetime information).

  • Scan each animal in your herd with the stick reader and its VID/Birth Year is displayed on screen.

1: Downloading a tags file from the Z Tags website

Recording your Z Tags Order No.

When you purchased or arranged for your new delivery of tags you will have been given a Z Tags WEB Order. No.

If your ordered via LIC, you may also use the LIC Sales Order number.

Both numbers can be used as your Z Tags Order No.

You will enter this Z Tags Order No.number to access your tags file in the next step.

Downloading from the website

Download your Z Tags file (or bucket file) from the Z Tags website:

  1. Access ztags.com in your browser.

  2. From the Z Tags (New Zealand) homepage click on DOWNLOAD YOUR RFID FILES.​

  3. From the Z Tags RFID Number Export screen enter your Z Tags Order no. and check the File Format and File Extension (are set as shown below).
    Then click the Download button:
    ​

  4. After a few seconds the file will download into your local Downloads folder and you will be prompted to save it:​

  5. Click Save and navigate to save it in a suitable folder on your PC.

📝 The files are named with a syntax of Date_Time_Z Tags Order No._Export.csv

2: Modifying the tags file ready for uploading

Prior to uploading your Z Tags file to the stick reader, some manipulation within MS Excel is required to change the format so that the data displays as you want on the stick reader.

Navigate to the folder where you have saved the downloaded .csv file and double-click the file (to launch MS Excel) and load the file (if MS Excel is already open click Open to then load and edit the file):​

​

With our scenario example:​

Tags file as supplied from Z Tags

Column A = EID with prefix

Column B = VID

Column C = Birth Year of animal

Tags file modified, ready for uploading to the stick reader

  • A header row has been added in row 1 with column names used to match the defaults used on the stick reader (EID, VID).

  • The animal VID # and Birth Years have been combined into the VID field (for useful display on the stick reader)

📝 By default, MS Excel will display a long number (e.g. EIDs) in scientific notation (e.g. 9.85152E+15):

This may cause issues when the file is transferred to the stick reader.

To change this, select the column containing EIDs, right-click, select Format Cells. In the Number tab, select Number and set Decimal Places to 0.

The EIDs will now display normally:

Combining the birth year and VID

In this scenario you want to see the VID/Birth Year on the stick reader screen and manipulate the tags file data into that format.

  1. Click on cell D1 to select it.

  2. Click on formula text box and enter =B1 & “/” & C1

📝 Apart from numbers and letters, only these characters can be used in data to be uploaded onto the stick reader:

Forward slash (/), full stop ( ), hyphen (-) and embedded spaces.

3. Press Enter to perform calculation in selected cell:

4. Click on cell D1 again to select it.

5. Hover mouse around cell till + appears:

6. Double-click on + to fill column with calculated results, but only down to the last row of data:

7. Right-click on calculated column D (column is selected with green border) and select Copy from the dropdown menu:

8. We need to paste the data on top of itself to turn it into “values”, so click
​Home > Paste > Values & Source Formatting (E)

9. Drag your mouse over cells in Columns B and C to mark them as a selected set of cells.

10. Right-click and select Delete from the dropdown menu:

11. Click option button Entire column and OK to delete columns B and C:

Add a header row

  1. Right-click on row 1 and select Insert… from the dropdown menu.

  2. Click on option button Entire row and click OK

A blank row is inserted as a new row in the spreadsheet as the new row 1.

3. Enter EID as the header above the EID column, and VID above the new combined VID/Birth Year column:

4. Now your tags file is ready for upload to the stick reader and can be saved, ready for use (see next section).

Saving the modified CSV file with a different file name

You need to save your modified csv file with a different file name ready for uploading to the stick reader.

💡 When you save your modified Z Tags file, it is recommended that you name it in a consistent manner, and retain the link to the supplied Z Tags file. When prompted to save the file, use the name of the original tags file and prefix it with something like UPLOAD in the filename. You can retain an archive of tags files for use later and easily sort on date/time and distinguish the modified ones.

In Microsoft Excel:

  1. Click File > Save As (and the dialogue prompts with the existing filename and Downloads folder).

  2. Enter a prefix (e.g. UPLOAD) in front of the filename to indicate this is the modified file.

  3. Click Save to export and save the file as a new tags file, ready for upload to the stick reader:

📝 Should you wish to navigate to a different folder to store your modified tags file in, click the More options… link to do this.

3: Uploading modified tags file to the stick reader

Transfer your modified Z Tags file from the PC to the stick reader using Data Link PC software.

  1. Connect the stick reader to a PC using the cable supplied.

  2. Launch Data Link PC software.

  3. Click (Put information onto device) to transfer data from the PC to the stick reader.

  4. Select option button Animal lifetime information and click Next.​

  5. Browse to find the modified Z Tags file, select it and click Open.

  6. Data Link will confirm that the file has been successfully transferred to the stick reader.

  7. Click OK.

📝 If animal lifetime information already exists on the stick reader, the information will be merged with the existing information

4: Using the tags file information on the stick reader

Now that you have uploaded the Z Tags file, you can begin a scanning session with your stick reader:

Scan each animal in your herd with the stick reader and its VID/Birth Year will be displayed on screen:

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Having trouble?

If you need help, click on the Live Chat bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this screen or email sf-support@datamars.com

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