After much input from last years validation process and much thought about interface design issues, we have produced a tool to try and smooth the submission, validation, and correction of AMICO submissions for the 1999 year. This new tool encompasses many of the tools that you have already seen and used to view and edit last years data, as well as integrated validation tools, so that validation can happen on your schedule and results can be available immediately.

These tools can be accessed at: http://update.amico.org/amico/fulldb/

Instructions:

The following tools are available upon login in:

• Record Editing
• Record Withdrawal
• File Submission
• Data Parsing Report
• Term Occurrence Reporting
• GII Matching
• Contribution Download

Many of you have used most of these. The only tool that is new, is the File Submission tool. This tool is designed to give you the ability to validate your own files interactively.

The following options are available from the file submission menu:

• View Files - Allows you to view (and subsequently validate) all of the files in your member's incoming directory.
• Upload New Files via Browser - Automates the uploading of files via the web browser. This method automatically puts the files in the correct place on the server, but isn't as easily automated if you are sending many files.
• Upload New Files via FTP - Displays directions on how to connect to the server to upload files via FTP, and where to put your files on the server so that the validation tools can find them.
• Validate Text Files - Allows you to schedule or directly validate multiple text files at once.
• Validate Image Files - Allows you to schedule or directly validate multiple image files at once.
• Display Media Log - Allows you to view all media that has been received and validated at AMICO. The media names are thus links to a list of files, and the validation results, that were contained on the named media.

PLEASE NOTE: the "View Files" page is dynamically generated, and changes each time that you or someone else validates files for your member institution. As browser and proxy caches can some times return stale information to you, please make sure not to use the back button on your browser. Always navigate with the links on the navigation bar.

PLEASE NOTE: this tool is very much a work in progress, and although it has been tested, may contain some bugs. It would be very helpful for all of us if you would report any bugs, inconsistencies, or other desired changes to us. There is a mailto: link in the navigation bar, for these comments.