Red Book Plus: Quick Reference for Windows, Holstein Association USA

Quick Reference for Windows

Installing the program

Minimum installation requirements:
• 486/33Mhz PC, 8MB Ram, and 4MB of free disk space
• Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, or Windows 95 operating system

Installation instruction for Windows 3.1:
Step 1) Insert the diskette into your computer.
Step 2) Start Windows and from the Program Manager menu select Run.
Step 3) After the next window appears, at the prompt type: A:\SETUP (or
B:\SETUP) and click the OK button, this will start the installation program.
Step 4) Follow the instructions on the screen to complete installation.

Installation instruction for Windows 95:
Step 1) Insert the diskette into your computer.
Step 2) Select Programs from the Start button then Windows Explorer.
Step 3) From the Explorer select drive A: (or B:).
Step 4) Double click on the file labeled SETUP, this will start the installation program.
Step 5) Follow the instructions on the screen to complete installation.

Starting the Program:
Windows 3.1: After the installation program has completed installation a window will appear with the following header: Redbook Plus for Windows. Inside this window you will find the Redbook Plus for Windows icon. To start the program double click on this icon. The Redbook Plus program (RB+) main menu will appear.
Windows 95: After the installation has completed, select Programs from the Start button then select the Redbook Plus for Windows folder and the RB+ for Windows icon will appear. Double click on this icon. The RB+ main menu will appear.

To receive more information about how to run the program you can select the On-line help menu by pressing the F1 key anywhere in the program.

Looking up a bull

If you wish to search the database for a specific bull, select from the main menu Show Sires. The Search Bull Screen will be displayed. Type in the search edit-box the sire registration number, NAAB code, short name, or part of a name, and press the Search button. RB+ will search for any bull matching the registration number, NAAB code or name you entered. All matching long names will appear in the Bull Found list-box on the right of the screen. If you wish to view one of these bulls, double click on the bull you wish to see or single click and press the Show button.

The next screen that will appear is the Bull Information Screen This screen has six different sections of information:

• Overview • Genetics

• Type Traits • Pedigree

• Other • Confidence

To view any information associated with these sections press the appropriate tab on the screen.

Selecting a group of bulls

Setting up a selection criteria
RB+ allows the user to select a group of bulls based on the information available for each bull. To select a group of bulls select from the main menu Select Sires. The Bull Selection Screen will appear. In the Available Criteria list-box on the left side of the screen you will find all traits you can use to select a group of bulls. Double click on the traits you wish to include in your selection. All the traits you selected will appear in the Criteria list-box in the middle of the screen. To set a minimum value for a specific trait, double click the corresponding line in the Value list-box and provide your minimum value. You can also change the default operator (>=) by double clicking the corresponding line in the Operator list-box. After you have repeated these steps for all traits selected, press the Run button. RB+ will search for bulls matching your criteria and list the number of bulls found in the bottom right corner.

Search options
By default, RB+ will exclude bulls with missing values or bulls with converted proofs for a specific data item you included in your selection criteria. If you wish to include bulls with missing values, press the Include bulls with missing values check-box. If you wish to include bulls with converted proofs, press the Include converted bull proofs check-box.

If you wish to include bulls that match one or another criteria press the Insert Group button in between the traits you wish to select on. For example:

Criteria	Operator	Value
15 TPI	>=	1000
20 PTA Fat	>=	50
NEW GROUP
15 TPI	>=	1000
22 PTA Protein	>=	50

The above criteria will search for bulls that have a TPI greater than or equal to 1000 and PTA Fat greater then or equal to 50 or PTA Protein greater than or equal to 50.

Saving the selection
RB+ allows the user to save a criteria selection setup by pressing the Save Setup button and providing a name for the criteria selection setup. To select a previously saved criteria selection setup, search the Selection Criteria Description combo-box on the top left of the screen and click on the description you wish to use.

View a report for selected bulls

Creating a report
To view the group of bulls you have selected press the Show Bulls button from the Bull Selection Screen. The Selected Bulls Screen will appear. From the Database Items list-box on the top right corner of the screen select the traits and data items you wish to include in your report. To sort on a specific trait or data item select the Sort on combo-box and select the trait or data item you wish to sort on. Select the sort order by pressing the Ascending or Descending radio-button. To display the report press the Display button. RB+ will show the items you selected in the grid on the left side of the screen. If you wish to view data that is displayed outside the boundaries of the grid use the scroll bars at the right and bottom of the grid. You can also reduce the font size by pressing the Font button and selecting a smaller font size.

Show a specific bull
To look up a bull that is listed in your report, select the line in the grid that has the bull listed and double click. The Bull Information Screen will appear. To return from the Bull Information Screen to the Selected Bulls Screen press the Exit button.

Saving the report
RB+ allows the user to save a report setup by pressing the Save Setup button and providing a name for the report setup. To select a previously saved report setup, search the Report Description combo-box on the top left of the screen and click on the description you wish to use.

Evaluate performance for selected bulls

RB+ has the unique capability to show a summary of the bulls you selected in relationship to all the bulls available in the program. To evaluate your selection press Evaluate Selection from the main menu. The Bull Selection Evaluation Screen will appear. This screen has four different types of evaluations:

• TPI Overview (summary of selected versus all active AI bulls based on TPI components)
• PTA Overview (summary of selected versus all active AI bulls based on all PTA’s)
• User Selected Trait (summary of bottom 10, bottom 50, top 10, top 50 bulls, average bulls and selected bulls for a user selected trait)
• Scatter Graph (graph two traits in a XY-scatter plot to compare selected with all active AI bulls, and detect outlier bulls)

To view any information associated with these sections press the appropriate tab on the screen.

Create a user defined multi trait index (UMTI)

If you wish to create your own personal multi trait index, select from the main menu Calculate UMTI and the Calculate Multi Trait Index screen will appear. RB+ allows the user to calculate up to four different UMTI’s. To calculate a UMTI, select from the Available Traits list-box on the left side of the screen a trait you wish to include in your UMTI and double click. Repeat these steps for all the traits you wish to include. The selected traits will be added to the Trait Selected list-box. Assign the weight for each selected trait by double clicking the corresponding line in the Weight list-box on the right side of the screen. For example:

Trait Selected Weight

1 PTA Milk 2

2 PTA Fat 1

3 PTA Pro 1

The above multi trait index will weigh PTA Milk twice as heavy as PTA Fat and PTA Protein in the calculation of your UMTI. When you have entered all the traits and weights you wish to include in the UMTI you can select the Multi Trait Index 1 radio-button or any of the other radio-buttons and press the Calculate button. You can use the UMTI’s in your selections by pressing the Select Sire option from the main menu.

Create a user defined mating index

RB+ allows the user to calculate a mating index by selecting Calculate Mating Index from the main menu. The Calculate Mating Index screen will appear. A maximum of three different conformation traits can be selected. Select the most desirable value for each of the three conformation traits you wish to include by pressing the appropriate radio-button for each trait. Enter a value of 1 to 3 in the Weight box indicating which trait is most important to improve (i.e. 1 is most important, 3 is least important). Once you have selected up to three traits and entered the appropriate weight, press the Calculate button to calculate the mating index. You can use the mating index in your selections by pressing the Select Sire option from the main menu.

Change semen prices

If you wish to update your database with the latest semen prices, select from the main menu Update Semen Price and the Semen Price Input Screen will appear. You have the option to select one or more sires from the list-box on the left side of the screen and assign a price in the Price input-box and press Save or you can enter the Sire NAAB code in the Sire input-box and price in the Price input-box and press Save.

• Overview	• Genetics
• Type Traits	• Pedigree
• Other	• Confidence