Importing Site Mate Files into Farm Site and Site Pro

The process of transferring files between Site Mate and Site, or Site Mate and Site Pro can be difficult if users are unfamiliar with Windows Explorer. Follow these steps to move files from Site Mate to Site or Site Pro and to move files from Site or Site Pro back to your Site Mate program. This process will be automated in the future.

To Transfer Files from Site Mate to your Farm Site or Site Pro:

  1. Place handheld in Cradle. If the handheld synchronizes with your computer, you will see a green circle at the bottom right-hand corner of your computer screen. If the handheld is not synchronized, the circle will appear gray.
  2. Go to Windows Explorer on your desktop computer. You can access this by right clicking on the Start button, and selecting Explore.
  3. Click on Mobile Device on the left side of the screen. This will open up all the files found on your handheld. In most cases, the saved files will be located in My Pocket PC, My Documents.

Note: Each time a file is saved, the location of the saved file will be verified on the screen. If you are unsure where your Site Mate files are, in the Site Mate program go to File, Open Scouting and select Open Log File. The look-in folder will be displayed.

  1. Select the files you wish to transfer to your desktop. If working with Arc View Shape files, each Shape file will have three files associated with it. For example, if you called your file "Field1", you will find a field1.shp, field1.dbf, and a field1.shx file. Select all three files by holding down the <Ctrl> key on the keyboard, and clicking on each file you wish to transfer. Once your files are selected, release the Control key.
  2. Right click on the files and select Copy.
  1. Now move to your Hard Drive C, Farmproj directory on the left side of the screen.
  2. Select the Farmproj folder.
  3. At the top of the screen, click File, New, Folder. This will add a folder to your Farmproj directory.
  4. Select the New Folder. Click on File, Rename. Type a meaningful name for the folder: Site Mate Files, for example.

Note: Organization of these folders and sub-folders is at the user's discretion. You may find it useful to use a general Site Mate Files folder as above, or geographic-based folders, such as Helgen Farm and Teegardin Farm, or even activity-based folders, such as Planting, Scouting, Variable Rate and Harvest.
  1. Select the Site Mate Files folder. Right-click, and select Paste. You will see the copied files transfer into the folder Site Mate Files: field1.shp, field1.dbf, and field1.shx .
  1. In Site or Site Pro on your desktop or laptop, go to File, Import or select the Import button found on the Layer Tools toolbar.
  2. Select Arc View Shape Files as the file type from the drop-down list.
  3. Click the Input File Browse button. Use the Look In: drop down menu to move to your Hard Drive C. Select Farmproj, Site Mate Files. You will see the field1.shp file transferred earlier. Note that the .dbf and .shx files will not appear. Select the file you wish to import: field1.shp, for example. Click Open.
  4. Activate Layer should be selected. Click Import.
  1. Choose the Category under which you would like the layer saved. To add a new folder: Boundaries, for example, in Site Pro select the client to whom the layer will be added. In Site, select the filing cabinet to which the layer will be added.
  2. Go to New, Category and type in the Category name: Boundaries, for example. Click OK. The Boundaries file should be highlighted. Type in the Layer name: Field 1, for example.

  1. Click Import. Once imported, the Import box will remain open. To Import another file, follow steps 12 thru 16. When finished, click Done.
  2. In the Layer Tab, you will see all visible layers. The new layer will be on top

To Export Files From Farm Site or Site Pro to Site Mate on a Handheld:

  1. Select File, Export or select the Export button found on the Layer Tools toolbar.
  2. Select the Type of file you will be exporting. In most cases, you will export in an Arc View Shape File format.
  3. Select the Output File location by clicking Browse. Select Hard Drive C from the drop-down menu, Double-click on Farmproj, Site Mate Files.
  4. Type in a file name and click Save.
  5. Select the Layer you wish to export. It will default to the Active Layer. To choose another layer, click the Layers button.
  6. Select the type of data you wish to export. In most cases, select <Base Data>.
  7. Click Export. Once completed, the Export screen will be ready for the next export process. To export more layers, repeat steps 2 thru 7. When finished, click Done.
  8. Go to Windows Explorer. You can access this by right clicking on the Start button. Select Explore.
  9. Now move to your Hard Drive C, Farmproj directory on the left.
  1. Select the Farmproj folder.
  2. Select Site Mate Files.
  3. Select the files you wish to transfer to your Handheld. If working with Shape files, each Shape file will have three files associated with it. For example, if you called your file "Planting", you will find a planting.shp, planting.dbf, and a planting.shx file. Select all three file types by holding down the Shift key on the keyboard and selecting each file you wish to transfer. Once your files are selected, release the Shift key.
  4. Right click on the files and select Copy.
  1. Click on Mobile Device on the left side of the screen. This will open up all the files found on your handheld. Right click on My Pocket PC, My Documents.
Note: Organization of these folders and sub-folders is at the users discretion. You may find it useful to use a general Site Mate Files folder as above, or geographic-based folders, such as Helgen Farm and Teegardin Farm, or even activity-based folders, such as Planting, Scouting, Variable Rate and Harvest.
  1. Right-click on the folder to which you'd like the files saved, and select Paste. You will see the copied files transfer into the folder Site Mate Files: planting.shp, planting.dbf, and planting.shx.

To Open Files as Background Maps Within Site Mate:

  1. On your handheld in Site Mate, select File, Open Scouting or click on the Open Scouting button.
  2. Select Open from Background File drop-down list.

Note: Log files are files to which you will be recording information. Background files are visible background layers to which you will not record information.

  1. Select the type of file from the top drop-down list, Arc View Shape Files, in most cases.
  2. Select the file folder in which the transferred files were saved. Click Open.
  3. Proceed as usual.