Import RIDs into Unitrunker

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ResQguy

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Now that I have unitrunker running well, I would like to import a few hundred radio IDs into it and see what happens. I have a spreadsheet of IDs and labels for those IDs already. What do I need to do to associate that information with Unitrunker?
 

scanpprcn

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Hi ResQ-

I have done this many times, but there is a process...

Are you using the "retro" (dos-looking version) or the newer windowed version?

Rick wrote the new one to handle xml, so you should be able edit it in Excel. If you're using the new version, open up the Unitrunker.xml. You should be able to make sense of it and manipulate the data.

I still work with the retro version which stores its data in a type of csv file format. I edit the .RID file in the retro version first then use the native import feature on the new version which makes life very easy.

If you're using the retro version, let me know and I'll provide a little more detail.

Best Wishes,

Mike B.
 

ResQguy

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Thanks for the offer. I am using the latest windows GUI version. I have been running the original trunker for years, and finally that old computer died so I created a new spreadsheet of IDs- but I have no idea how to put it in the XML file that unitrunker has now created.
 

scanpprcn

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Thanks for the offer. I am using the latest windows GUI version. I have been running the original trunker for years, and finally that old computer died so I created a new spreadsheet of IDs- but I have no idea how to put it in the XML file that unitrunker has now created.

Did you open the Unitrunker.xml file in Excel?

Scroll down the list of items until you see recognizable radio ID's and aliases that you've already entered manually through the GUI. If you haven't entered anything manually yet I don't know if an xml file is created. If Rick is reading he will probably chime in.

Good so far?
 

ResQguy

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Thats the easy part. Problem is once I've added in the 2000 or so IDs where they go, excel tells me it can't export back into xml!
 

scanpprcn

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Thats the easy part. Problem is once I've added in the 2000 or so IDs where they go, excel tells me it can't export back into xml!

That's correct ResQ... The xml file cannot be exported directly.

First off, there is no associated .xsd (schema). {Note to the author: Rick, a self-contained schema would be nice in the xml ;-)} I thought I was the only one doing this. ;-)

ResQ, there's a help article from Microsoft covering this issue:

Here

I started writing out the instructions to get Excel going, but realized it was getting out of hand for this post.

If you're having trouble getting Excel set up, might I recommend one of the free xml editors... Liquid Technologies has a free editor which will infer the xsd (Excel does this too but has limitations). You can easily bypass all of the Excel quirks, but it requires a tiny bit more work on your part to 'pre-format' the data.

If you import the Unitrunker.xml into Liquid XML Studio 2009 you'll get a message that there is no associated xsd. We expect this... Just go the top and select Tools>Infer XSD Schema. Select the Unitrunker.xml file and a new schema file will be created. Now go back to your xml file and copy out a line that has an example of the ID and alias... Make duplicates in another tool (like a text editor or Excel) with all of your new data and then paste it back in. Save the new xml and you're done.

I realize that reading these instructions may be a bit cumbersome, so let me know if something isn't clear.

I'm not a professional programmer or database guru- I'm just someone who loves Unitrunker. So, if someone has a better method please let us know...
 

JBuff27

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.xml

Besides Liquid Techs. programs you maybe should also look at OpenOffice.org. On this spreadsheet it can handle Excel programs as well in .xml, .xls and .csv and you can read and write (save) as well. It might also be able to do what you are trying to do.

JBuff27
 

ResQguy

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Sorta getting somewhere. Between work and play I may actually figure this xml stuff out. Thanks
 

bravada

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Rick, this will be much appreciated when you get the opportunity. I just switched from Retro version to the new today and will be watching for any updates. Thanks again Rick for all your work -
 

kd2pm

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Importing

I need to get off my lazy behind and add a "universal" delimited import option.


Would love to be able to run reports against the log data collected. Motorola used to have a product called system watch (was replaced with genwatch) that allowed for reporting all the details about a system, counts per talkgroup per day or per hour, seconds used per talkgroup, etc. I dont believe you collect start and stop times of calls but that would help to determine amount of time certain talkgroups use the system...
 
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SCPD

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I need to get off my lazy behind and add a "universal" delimited import option.

Did you ever happen to work on the spereadsheet import function you mentioned here? If so, can you point me to a link with some instructions for importing from a csv?
 

SCPD

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I will tell you what I did ....

I let Unitrunker make the xml file as needed ... and then I chopped off the top and bottom. That left me with the middle part .. containing the group and id information.

I then took my data in csv format (from etrunker in this case), and used MS Access to create records for my 6400 radios and 450 groups that were like the required Unitrunker xml records.

I then exported it out into text format (which really was like xml but not knowing anything about xml and not willing to learn at that point, this worked) .. and then using a dos copy command added the 4 files (top, groups, ids and bottom) back together into one file (.txt in this case) like file that Unitrunker would understand. Renaming the .txt file to a .xml file was my last step. Worked perfectly.

It saved me countless hours of entering the data into Unitrunker. It had taken me 10-15 years to acquire the data in Etrunker and I was not going to start from scratch.
 

NDRADIONUT

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What is the process to import the .gid and .rid files from retro into the new unitrunker ? Not having any luck....
 

rabrol

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I need to get off my lazy behind and add a "universal" delimited import option.

Yes, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do this!

I've just spent the past 8 hours trying to convert data from a CSV file and 'hack' it into the Unitrunker XML.
Didn't get very far, and am resorting to entering by hand :-(

I'd love to take a simple CSV with Radio ID and User Label and be able ti import it directly into a given system.
 

ausscan

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Just wondering if there's been any progress on this. I've got roughly 10,000 RIDs to import that I just can't get my head around doing them in Excel.
 

N0BDW

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I believe I am having the same difficulty. I have a large number of RIDs and labels in Uniden's Sentinel software for the x36 series. I would like to import those into Unitrunker so that I can easily see which IDs I've already identified and which still need to be added.

I can get the information from Sentinel into a simple two-column spreadsheet but it doesn't appear Unitrunker can import this.
 

mikev10

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Help...

When I open the unitrunker.xml doc with Liquid XML and make alias changes, save it,
and restart Unitrunker it ignores the file and always creates a new one. Changes the
altered one to unitrunker.xml.1. I'm fine with manually changing but whats the secret to
making this animal accept the changed file???? Many Thanks for any assistance!
 
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