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Answers (FAQ)

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Answers (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get help with a problem in SnapPlus?

Frequently Seen Problems

  • Why won’t Windows let me install SnapPlus?
    • Microsoft increasingly encourages users to install apps only from their App Store. For Windows 11, you can switch off this restriction in Windows Settings | Apps | Advanced App Settings | Choose Where to get apps | Anywhere.
    • If your computer has “S mode” installed, you may not have access to the above setting and will instead have to remove S mode. This page may help: https://www.techbout.com/switch-off-s-mode-windows-11-71395/. This will permanently allow apps from other sources to be installed on your computer.
  • Why do I get a “Configuration system failed to initialize” error?
    • Windows update sometimes breaks the “preferences” storage mechanism (e.g., whether you want the last database you edited to reopen on startup). You can remove the folder where those are stored without affecting your SnapPlus database files. Detailed instructions here.
  • Why do I see strange behavior such as windows spontaneously minimizing, or wrongly-sized text in grids?

Installation

  • How do I run two versions on one computer?
    • The normal or “release” version of SnapPlus will overwrite any earlier “release” versions on your computer. The “Beta” versions are identical to the release software, but will overwrite only earlier beta versions. So you can download and run a beta without harming a release installation. Farms (.snapDb files) are unaffected by installations. CAVEAT: Once you have opened a farm in a later version, data loss may occur if you open it in an earlier one. We guarantee forward compatibility, but not backward. Also, note that the Beta uses its own SnapMaps server.
  • Is there a Mac version of SnapPlus?
    • The answer to your questions is “No, but…”. It is possible to run SnapPlus on a virtual machine. We use VMWare Fusion; Contact SnapPlus Development team for more information.

Overall Program

  • How can I combine two or more farms for submission in one NM plan?
    • By creating a new farm and using the Import/Export | Entire Farm menu command to bring in each farm’s data. Detailed instructions are in Combining Farms in SnapPlus (PDF download).
  • How can I combine manure sources when I combine farms?
  • On the data grids, can I edit more than one cell at a time?
    • Grid with ‘ALL’ in the left column header are capable of multi-cell editing. See the help document New in version 2.0 and scroll down to Table features to find out additional details on multi-editing.
  • Why can’t I access the bottom of the screen?
    • While running SnapPlus, make sure the window is not maximized then try the main menu View | Reset ALL default sizes. If that doesn’t work, right mouse click on the Windows task bar and select Properties. On the task bar tab make sure Auto-hide the taskbar is checked and click on the OK button.
  • Why does my SnapPlus seem to run so slow?
    • If you have a large farm (200+ fields) and you have 2GB of memory or less we suggest increasing your memory to at least 8GB.
    • You can assign fields to groups or subfarms, and work with smaller sets of fields at a time.

Data Questions

  • How is SnapPlus data stored?
    • Data is stored in a SQLite database, these are the .snapDB files you will see on your computer.
  • Where should I put my SnapPlus data?
    • By default, SnapPlus will store your data in C:\SnapPlus2\MySnapPlusData. You can copy it to other places; we do not recommend network drives or USB drives. If you get a database as an email attachment, move it to MySnapPlusData before opening.
  • How do I back up my data?
    • You can copy or backup your SnapPlus data files (.snapDB) to any disk or backup storage media, just like you do with your important files.
    • Within SnapPlus, you can use the Snapshot feature to save a copy that you can go back to.  This is useful just before making a large number of changes, for example with the Rotation Wizard.  Files > Save snapshot
  • How can I send SnapPlus data to someone else via email?
    • You can email the .snapDB files just like you can email a Word document or Excel spreadsheet.  You can also email the .PDF files from the Reports. If you receive such a file, save the attachment to MySnapPlusData before opening (see above)
  • Where did my data go?
    • If you lose track of your SnapPlus database, try doing a Windows Search.  Search for “.snapDb” in the Start menu or at the top of an Explorer window.
  • Can I import fields or merge two or more farms together?
    • Yes. From the Import or Export menus, choose Field Data or Entire Farm (see details here).
  • How can I convert wastewater nutrient concentrations for use in SnapPlus?

Reports

  • How can I run SnapPlus reports?
    • To run a report, click on one of the reports from the list. A dialog box will open for each of the reports, asking you to choose specific parameters appropriate to the report. After you click OK, SnapPlus will run the report, and it will appear in the right window on the screen.
  • How can I view SnapPlus reports?
    • SnapPlus reports can be viewed and saved as PDF, Excel or Word files. Once the report is run, report contents are loaded in the right window on the screen. Reports can be viewed in this screen or PDF/Excel buttons can be clicked to open reports in these formats. Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader programs need to be installed in your computer to view reports in Excel/Word and PDF.
  • What are the two modes to view reports?
    • In the reports screen, reports can be viewed in Normal or Print Layout mode. The default is Print layout mode. Normal mode displays entire report in one page whereas print layout mode displays how the report will look when printed on a paper. Above the report is a toolbar, which will allow you to scroll through the pages.
  • Can I search within a report?
    • Yes, there is a search function in the toolbar. Just type your query into the box and hit find. Click on Next to keep searching within the report. Note, that you need to be in Normal layout (not print layout) for the search function to be operable.
  • How can I save SnapPlus reports?
    • Once the report is loaded, click Save As to bring up a dialog box with options to save a copy of the report in .pdf or .doc format to the folder location listed. The default report name includes the farm name, report name, report year (if applicable) followed by a timestamp. The default folder location is C:SnapPlus2Reports. If the folder location is changed, Snap-Plus will remember the last visited directory and list it as the folder location the next time Save As is clicked.
  • How can I print reports?
    • Above the report editor, there’s a toolbar which has Print, Print Layout and Page setup buttons. Clicking Print button brings up the Print dialog box where printer and other print preferences can be configured. In Print Layout mode, the button is highlighted and outlined in blue. Print Layout mode previews how the report will look when printed. Users can get a preview on the total number of pages, report margins. Page setup lets user select paper size, orientation and report margins. Default orientation is landscape since reports look better when printed in landscape mode. Other option to print reports is to first save them as PDF/Word/Excel and then print from within the Microsoft office or Adobe Reader program. File -> Print command is available in most programs.
  • Can I customize my SnapPlus reports?
    • Reports saved in Excel and Word can be edited and further customized. SnapPlus also provides two data reports Annual Cropping Data and Applications data as Excel spreadsheets. Annual Cropping Data provides all the cropping data for multiple years and Applications data lists the manure, fertilizer and lime applications for a range of years. Data provided in these spreadsheets can be used to make your own reports. In addition to data reports, reports can be run for a SubFarm/Group.
  • How can I get preparer information in my SnapPlus reports?
    • If preparer information has been entered into SnapPlus, then it can be included in any report. To enter preparer data go to “Edit/Preparer info” from the SnapPlus “View” menu. Then, in the report setup dialog box, select the preparer from the dropdown list. You can edit preparer info from the report setup dialog box as well.
  • When I try to run a report, I get the following exception “Retrieving the COM class factory for component with CLSID {00024500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} failed due to the following error: 80040154 Class not registered (Exception from HRESULT: 0×80040154 (REGDB_E_CLASSNOTREG))”.
    • SnapPlus requires Microsoft Excel to be installed in your computer to import soil test, daily log files and to save reports in Excel format. This exception indicates Microsoft Excel is not installed in your computer. Closing the program and installing Microsoft Office should fix this issue.

Soil Test Import

If you have a question which is not covered in this FAQ page, you can contact the SnapPlus support team (support@snapplus.wisc.edu). We will be adding to this page as we get feedback from users about questions or issues they have with the software. You can also find more information and details about the software in the SnapPlus Help Manual.

SnapMaps

  • Why won’t my shapefiles (fields, wells, etc.) upload to SnapMaps?
    • Check to see if you have the WinRAR archiving tool installed. This tool interferes with the upload of ZIP-archived shapefiles to SnapMaps

Daily Log/Records

  • Why can’t I import a daily log or records template with injection or incorporation in December?
    • SnapPlus assumes that December is a winter month with frozen soils (because historically it usually was), rendering injected or incorporated applications impossible. Click here to learn how to get it right.
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