Creating a merge file

A merge file is a text file that contains the barcodes of all items to be included in the stocktake and their stock count. Each line in the text file has an item barcode and the item's stock count separated by a delimiter character.

Note: A delimiter character is a special character that does not appear in the file's information. It is used to separate information so that Synergetic can tell where one piece of information ends and the next piece begins. The standard delimiter character is a comma.

A merge file can begin with a Header Row; a row that indicates the order of the information on each line.

If it does not, the information must be ordered according to the Stocktake Import Rules.

Opening the Stocktake Import Rules

To open the Stocktake Import Rules window:

Select Module > Sales > Item Stocktake.
If there are no open stocktakes, the Create New Stocktake window is displayed. Otherwise, the Item Stocktake window is displayed - skip to step 7.
Select the Business Unit to perform the stocktake for, if it is different to that displayed.
Change the Process Date if the effective date of the stocktake is different to today's date.

Note: You can reprint an existing Item Stocktake report at this stage. See Reprinting Item Stocktake reports.
Click .
The following dialog is displayed.
Click .
The Item Stocktake report is displayed.
Click to close the Item Stocktake report window.
The Item Stocktake window is displayed.
Click .
The Load Merge File window is displayed
Click .
The Import Rules window is displayed.

Creating a merge file

You can create a merge file:

with any word processing application such as Microsoft Word, Notepad or WordPad
with Microsoft Excel.

For larger merge files, it is usually more efficient to use Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel allows you to sort information, which makes finding duplicate barcodes much easier.

Creating a merge file with a word processor

To create a merge file using a word processor such as Notepad:

Open the word processing application and create a new file.
If you are using a Header Row, type the name of each header, followed by a comma. Do not put a full stop at the end.
Press Enter to go to the next line.
Type the item's barcode.

Note: If you have used a Header Row, enter the information in the same order as the Header Row.
Press the comma key.
Type the count of the item. Do not put a comma or full stop at the end of the line.

Note: Do not use a thousands separator. The number "twelve thousand and forty-seven" must be written as 12047 not 12,047.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 until no more items are to be counted.
Combine any duplicate barcodes into one entry by adding their counts together.
Remove any blank lines.
Save the file as a text file (that is, with a suffix of .txt).

Note: If you are using Microsoft Word, you need to select this from the Save As Type: drop-down list.
Exit the word processor.

Creating a merge file with Microsoft Excel

To create a merge file using Microsoft Excel:

Open Microsoft Excel and create a new file.
If you are using a Header Row, type each header into its own cell in the first row.
Go to the start of the next row.
Type the item's barcode.

Note: If you have used a Header Row, enter the information in the same columns as the headers.
Go to the next column.
Type the item's count.

Note: If numbers higher than 999 are appearing with a comma, highlight the affected column and click Format > Cells.... Make sure the Category is set to Number and the Use 1000 Separator (,) field is cleared.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 until all there are no more items to be counted.
Click Data > Sort.
If you have used a Header Row, select Sort By: Barcode. If you have not used a Header Row, select Sort By: Column A.
Combine any duplicate barcodes into one entry by adding their counts together.
Repeat steps 8 through 9 to remove any blank lines.
Click File > Save As....
Enter a file name.
Select Save As Type: CSV (Comma Separated Value).
Click Save.
Exit Microsoft Excel.