DairyLive has two unique qualities that you will not find in any other comprehensive herd management application: ease-of-use and flexibility. Those things, coupled with DairyLive's great price, make it the best value in herd management software you can find.

How do I create a new herd database?

To create a new herd database, go the File menu and select New Herd. A "wizard" dialog will prompt you for all the information that DairyLive needs. You will be asked if you want the herd database to be for dairy cattle or dairy goats. You'll also be asked for the name of the herd, and whether you want sample data to added to the new herd.

Now you can start entering animals and lactation data into DairyLive. The easiest way to do this is to import a file from your DHIA lab. (AgSource, AgriTech, Raleigh DRMS, and PA DHIA are all supported.) If you want to enroll your animals manually, use the Enroll New Animals screen (available in the Tools menu).

What is the difference between an event and a reminder?

An event is something that has already happened to an animal. A reminder is something that is expected to happen to an animal. Otherwise, they are essentially the same thing.

How do I set up my own event types?

Go to the Herd Explorer window and select one of the event type categories on the left side of the window (or you can create a new event type category). Now select Object from the main menu bar and then New Event Type. The Event Type editing dialog will be shown where you can provide an event type name, additional information to be collected, and automatic reminders.

How do I set up DairyLive Anywhere?

You will need to obtain a DairyLive Anywhere account from Living Software. Go here to request an account.

From DairyLive on your desktop, select Synchronize with DairyLive Anywhere from the Tools menu. Enter your DairyLive Anywhere user name and password and click Next. Now click the Options and Checklists button to set up your preferences, including which check lists you want to upload to the DairyLive Anywhere server.

Now you're set to go. Continue with the DairyLive Anywhere wizard to upload your herd data. Once that is done, you can access it through any browser, including your mobile smart phone. Just go to here to login.

What does a scatter graph tell me?

It can tell you if one of your animals is "out of whack" in her production figures for her lactation number and DIM. For example, if one of your first lactation animals is producing only half as much milk as other animals in her group for a DIM of around 100 days, this will be obvious in a scatter graph.

What does a standard chart tell me?

A standard chart is similar to a scatter graph except that it shows you your herd data in relationship to national or regional averages. For example, you can view the daily production of your first lactation cows as compared to average herds in your part of the country. Your cows appear as dots on the chart, and the averages are shown as curves. Dots that appear below the curve are below average, and those that appear above the curve are above average.

How does the on-line backup work?

From DairyLive you can send your herd data to DairyLive's on-line backup service. It is very easy to do this. You simply start the Backup Wizard (from the Tools menu) and select the on-line backup option.

DairyLive first compresses your data so that it occupies less space. Usually the compressed data is only about 20% to 30% of the original data size, taking less time to send across the Internet. Next the data is sent to the DairyLive server where it is saved and recorded.

If you ever need to restore your herd database, you use the Restore Wizard. DairyLive contacts the DairyLive server to get a list of backups that you have made and you choose the one you want to restore. DairyLive retrieves data and then decompresses it to its original contents.

What is the difference between a check list and an analysis report?

A check list is a list of animals that meet a certain set of criteria. Check lists are defined by a list design. The list design tells DairyLive how to decide which animals are to be in the list and what animal properties to show.

An analysis report is based on one or more check lists and can cover several periods of time, whereas a simple check list is relative to a single point in time. You can think of a report as being a summary that is generated over and over for different dates, for example, for each month of the last year. Analysis reports can show the information either as a tabular list or graphically.

A special kind of analysis report is called a scatter graph. A scatter graph shows a dot for each animal in a certain list. The "X axis" indicates one value (such as DIM) and the "Y axis" indicates another value (such as Last Milk Wt). You can easily see which animals are near average and which ones are not.

Can I have more than one herd database open at the same time?

Yes, you can. Just select Open from the File menu and open another herd database. The Herd Explorer window will show the name of the herd database, but the other view windows will not.

Why and how often should I compact my herd database?

That depends on how often you add or change data in DairyLive. As you add and delete data, the herd database file will get "holes" in it. Compacting the herd database reorganizes the data so that the holes are filled in and the file takes less disk space.

How can I enter the same event for more than one animal?

In the Herd Explorer or in a check list view, select all the animals you want to enter an event for. (Hold the control key down on your keyboard as you select the animals.) Then select Object->Animal->Add Event (from the check list view, select Animal->Add Event) from the main menu. Now enter the event information in the dialog and press OK.

What kinds of photographs can I import into DairyLive? How do I do this?

You can import bitmaps (.BMP), GIF's (.GIF), and JPEG files (.JPG).

To import pictures, you will need a way to create these files. You can use a scanner to scan photographs, or, you can use a digital camera. Save the image to a file on your hard disk.

Now open up the Animal Details View for an animal for which you want to enter a photograph. Go to the Description tab and press the Enter/Change button. In the dialog that pops up, find the file that contains the image and press Open. That's all there is to it.

The image files are not physically imported into the herd database. Only the names of the image files are stored in the database. This means that if you delete the original image file, move it, or rename it, DairyLive will not be able to find it.

Why can't I delete or rename certain groups and event types?

Some groups and event types are used by DairyLive internally and cannot be deleted. For example, the Breeding event type cannot be deleted because DairyLive uses it to determine calving dates.

How can I see all my animals at once in the Explorer?

Normally, when you select a group on the left side of the Explorer, the right side will show only the things that are in that group. If you select Group->Show Children Group Members from the main menu, the Explorer will also show all things that are in the selected group's subgroups.

So to see all of your animals, make sure the Show Children Group Members option is turned on (there will be check mark next to the menu item). Now select the top-level Animals group on the left side.

Can I use DairyLive to manage my dairy goat herd?

If you raise dairy goats, you can use DairyLive to manage your herd. If you have a small herd, choose the Small Farm Edition, which supports up to 50 goats. For larger farms, use the Professional Edition. When you set up a new herd database, you will be prompted for whether you have dairy cattle or dairy goats. If you select dairy goats, the defaults for things such as gestation time will be set to what applies for dairy goats. Also, you will see the common dairy goat breeds and icons instead of the dairy cattle breeds and icons and you will see event names, check lists and analysis reports that are customized for dairy goat herds. Outside of that, the program will behave identically.

Why, when, and how should I backup my herd database?

You should backup your database regularly. It is a good idea to make a backup whenever you are finished using the program for the day. The reason for this is so that you can recover the data if something catastrophic should happen to your computer. For example, if your hard disk crashes, you will probably lose all of your data and will have to re-install all of your software. Sometimes an operating system error can corrupt a file, or you may accidentally delete a file.

DairyLive has two different kinds of backups: Backup to a CD-R or USB drive and on-line backup. We recommend that you backup your data to a removeable USB drive (sometimes called a thumb drive). Or use the on-line backup feature to backup your data to the Internet.

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