Preferences Window

Preferences are settings that affect the way Fusion does certain things and are a way of customizing Fusion for your operation. Usually when you open this window it will be from Fusion Client and the settings will apply to the entire Fusion system. However, if you open the window from the within a truck the preferences you can set will be different and only apply to the computer in that truck.

On the left hand side of the window there is a list of preference sections. Click a section in the list to see the settings associated with it. At the bottom is the Defaults button. If you click this button Fusion will change all the preferences in all sections back to their factory default values (if they have a default value). Or you can hold the Alt (Option on Mac) key down when you click the Defaults button and Fusion will only reset the settings for the selected section.

When you are finished making changes to the preferences, click the OK button. Or click the Cancel button to not save any of the changes you just made.

System Wide Preferences

These sections are available from within Fusion Client and affect the entire system.

General

• Operation Name. This is where you enter the contact for your entire operation. The name, address, and other information associated with this contact is used by Fusion in many places including reports you print. (See the Data Entry Techniques topic for more information on using contact fields.)

• Company Logo. If your company has a logo that you would like printed on reports, you can add it here. Click the New From File button to get a new picture. Fusion will copy the picture you select to the server and leave the original file in place. You can delete it if you like. Fusion supports most picture file types. You normally want a fairly large picture size so that it will still look good when printed.

  If you don't want the logo anymore, click the Clear Picture button to delete it. If you click the To Desktop button, Fusion will copy the logo picture from the server to your Desktop. This can be helpful when you need to work on the picture file itself and don't have another copy. If you make changes that you want Fusion to have, make sure you use the New From File button again to pull the changed picture file back into Fusion.

Commodities

• Default Contract Auto Close Value. When you set up a commodity contract, one of the field is Auto Close When Within (see Contract Edit Window) which is where you tell Fusion that it can automatically close the contract when it gets within this value of being filled. When you create a new contract, the field will default to the value set up in this preference. If most of your contracts should auto-close with the same value, entering it here so you don't have to enter it for each contract saves time. Note that if you change this preference, it does not go back and change contracts that are already created—it only applies to new contracts.

Lots

These preferences are related to lots in the system.

• Weight Class Increment. Several areas in Fusion can break animals down into weight classes. In Canada, most people like weight classes to be in 100 lb increments, but you can change that here if you want something different. This is a setting you should set once when you start using Fusion and not change it later. If you do change it later you will have to adjust a lot of pricing information that may not match up historically anymore.
• Weight Class Range. Use these fields to let Fusion know the lowest and highest weights you expect to have to set pricing for. When you set pricing for weight classes, only the classes that fall within this range will be available to you.
• Default Yardage. When you create a new lot, the yardage billed to that lot will start off with this value. It can be changed for each lot if desired (see Lot Edit Window), but it is nice to have a default value to start with if most of your lots will have a common yardage. Note that if you change this preference, it will only affect lots created after the change.
• Default Yardage Tax Rate. If you have a tax rate associated with yardage, enter that here and it will be the default tax rate used each time a new yardage entry is added to a lot.
• Default Base Dressing Percent. This will be the default base dressing percent for any new lot that is created. It can then be changed within each lot if desired.
• Field 1 - 5. Fusion allow you to store a lot of information for a lot, but you might find you wished you had another field to store something special in it. These five fields can be customized with any label you want. When you are entering lot information these fields will be available for you to enter any information you want in them. If you change these labels later, the labels will change wherever the fields are shown in Fusion but the content in the fields for old lots will not be changed.
• Interest Fields. In places that Fusion calculates the interest for a lot, you may not want it to apply the same percentage to all the main billing categories. The defaults usually make sense in Canada, but you may need to change them for your own use. If you make changes to these preferences later on, anything Fusion calculates, including old reports if it is recalculating them, will use the new values.

Billing

When Billing Feed With Tempered Ingredients

If you have a water meter which is used to help calculate the amount of water that is in a tempered ingredient, you have the choice of how Fusion bills for the water.

• Subtract water. The water will be subtracted from the weight of the ingredient before it is applied to the bill.
• Leave water in. The weight of the water will be left in meaning that the water will be billed at the same rate as the ingredient.
• Bill water separately. The weight of the water will be broken out in the bill with the possibility of separate pricing for the water.

Tax System

Previous to Fusion 3.8, Fusion used a system of tax formulas to calculate tax. While Fusion still has the possibility for setting up tax formulas (see below), they are only left in for historical purposes, ensuring that when old reports and invoices are re-printed Fusion will calculate the tax the same as before. If you are using the old tax formula system, you should transition to the new tax rate based system as soon as possible. Newly setup feedlots should only use the new system.

The new system works by specifying the tax rate as an attribute for ingredients, drugs, inputs, and water meters. Yardage also has a tax rate associated with it in the Lot Edit window. Other items can have a tax amount associated with them, also in the Lot Edit window. When using the new system, Fusion will look up the appropriate tax rate to apply on a particular day for each item.

In order to provide a way to transition from the old to the new system, this section of the Preferences window has a date field labeled Use tax rate attributes when billing starting on this date. When a date is entered here, Fusion will use the new system when calculating any tax related information on or after this date.

Tax Formulas (Old System)

When Fusion calculates the tax amount for a bill, it will apply the formula you have entered here to the subtotal. If the way you calculate tax changes over time, create a new formula each time it changes and Fusion will use the correct formula depending on the time period of the bill.

Click the + button to create a new formula. Click the - button to delete the selected formula. With a formula selected, you can change its effective date and formula below. Use T in place of the subtotal value of the bill in the formula. For example, if the formula was (T*0.05)*0.1, and a bill's subtotal was $1000, Fusion would calculate the tax this way:

($1000 * 0.05) * 0.1 = $5.00

After you have entered a formula, click the Test Formula button to make sure it works as expected.

Animal IDs

Fusion provides six different fields to store different ways of identifying an animal. One of them is the RFID field and the other ones can be customized for your operation. For example, you might have a management tag besides the RFID tag. You can use the Preferences window to change the label of each of the custom ID fields. You can also determine if each one is actively being used and which one is the default.

If you leave the RFID Tags All Consist Of Only Numbers option on, Fusion will use the touch keypad instead of the touch keyboard on touch screens if you have to manually enter an RFID tag. This is easier to do, but the option can be turned off if you have to enter RFID tags with letters in them for some reason.

Animal Fields

In addition to the custom ID fields explained above, Fusion allows you to define five custom fields for animals to be used to store any information you like. You can also define 5 genetic test fields to store the results of up to 5 different genetic tests. And you can define 5 weight fields for an animal. Fusion already stores the weight of several instances in an animal's life—in weight, last known weight, the weight at each implant—but you may want to capture the weight of animals at another time in an organized way. The custom weight fields are for this use.

In each case, you can change the label of a custom field however you like and the new label will start being used throughout Fusion immediately.

Out Cohorts

When an out cohort is saved, Fusion can adjust the weight of the remaining animals in the pen based on the weight of the out cohort. For example, if Fusion thinks the average weight for a pen with 10 head in it is 1000 lbs and you create an out cohort for 5 animals and their actual weight is 1100 lbs, then in theory the remaining animals must only be 900 lbs. This may be true if you took the 5 heaviest animals from the pen, but it may also be that Fusion had the average weight wrong in the first place. This preference determines how to handle this situation.

• Always. If this option is selected, the pen weight will be adjusted as explained above after any out cohort is saved (assuming there are still cattle in the pen).
• Never. With this option, the pen weight is never adjusted after an out cohort is saved.
• Ask if the change in weight will be more than. With this option you can define a threshold over which you will be asked whether you want to adjust the weight or not. This way Fusion can be allowed to adjust the weight if the difference isn't too great (when it is more likely to be the correct thing to do), but if the weight change will be too much you will get the option to decide what to do.

When the Simple Death Out Cohort window is used to record a dead, you can make sure Fusion always forced the user to link the animal that died by turning the Force animal linking for simple death out cohorts option on. If you are always linking animals this is usually a good idea. However, if you aren't linking animals or aren't always able to identify a dead animal, you should leave this option off.

Bunk Call

These preferences determine how the bunk call graph and surrounding area look in all the feed trucks. If a change is made here, the trucks won't pick up the change until their next full sync.

• Arrows change bunk call value by. When changing the bunk call you can enter a new value directly or tap an up and down arrow to adjust it incrementally. On a touch screen it is usually easier to tap the arrow buttons. The value here determines how much the bunk call changes each time an arrow button is tapped.
• Auto Scale Graph. If this option is turned on, Fusion will scale the bunk call graph vertically based on the highest value. This means that the graph will always be as large vertically as possible, but it also means that comparing pen to pen is more difficult. If you leave this option off, the graph will always be drawn with the same vertical scale (based on the next setting).
• If not auto scale, use this maximum value. If the above setting is left off, this will determine the the maximum bunk call that can be drawn. You want this value to be just large enough to make sure you never go over it, but not much larger or your graphs will be squished vertically more than they need to be.
• Draw Ration Backgrounds. Fusion will draw an alternating background onto the graph representing each time a ration change was made if this setting is turned on.
• Draw Target DMI (Bunk Call). Fusion will draw past bunk calls onto the graph as vertical bars if this option is turned on.
• Draw Actual DMI. Fusion will draw the actual dry matter intake for past days on the graph as a horizontal line (for comparing against bunk calls) if this option is turned on.
• Draw Maximum Target DMI. Fusion will draw a horizontal line across the entire graph representing the highest bunk call so far if this option is turned on. This can help in comparing older bunk calls against what is usually the most recent one.
• Draw Animal Weight. If this option is turned on, Fusion will draw the animal's weight as a line across the graph. The scale is different than the rest of the graph, but it can give a rough indication of weight gain over time.
• Graph Bar Width. Use this slider to adjust the relative width of the bunk call bars on the graph. The wider the bars, the easier it is to see on a touch screen, but the tradeoff is seeing fewer days of the graph at at time.

Below the bunk call graph is a list of indicators that may be helpful when you are deciding whether to change the bunk call for a pen. There is limited space, so not all the indicators can be immediately visible (although you can scroll to see the other ones). The list of indicators can be used to set up how this list will appear in the trucks.

First, you can decide whether an indicator is even displayed by toggling the Display checkbox for each indicator. You can also drag and drop the indicators in the list to change their order. This way you can place the most important ones at the top where they will be seen without scrolling. If you Double-Click an indicator, the color picker will appear so you can change the color of the text of the indicator, perhaps to make it stand out more in the truck. You can also cause an indicator to be bold or italic by checking the appropriate checkboxes in the list. By working with a combination of these settings, you should be able to make it easy to comprehend the most important indicators in the touch at a glance.

• Show As Fed Equivalents (Not Recommended). Bunk calls are made on a dry matter per head basis which has clear advantages over other systems especially now that a computer can take care of all the conversion automatically. However, other systems for bunk calls are still used. If this option is turned on, Fusion will calculate and show the as fed equivalent values beside the main bunk call as it is changed. While this can be helpful for the first few days as you transition to the new way of making bunk calls, we actually do not recommend using this option for more than a few days. It is easier in the long run to switch your thinking to the better system rather than continue to convert in your mind.

Feeding

When you are creating loads and delivering feed, Fusion realizes you don't care to hit the target amount precisely to the pound every time. Instead, you can set a threshold percentage where, if the actual is within this percent either side of the target, Fusion will consider it close enough to consider it done. The top three fields in this section are where you can set these threshold percentages.

• Has the correct amount of this ingredient been added to the load?. Defines the threshold for individual ingredients as they are added to the load. If an ingredient goes over this percentage, it will be shown in red as the load is being made. If it is under this percentage, the driver will be warned that not enough has been added when they go to save the load.
• Has enough feed been delivered for the day?. Fusion uses this threshold when determining if each pen has enough feed for the day.
• Has enough feed been delivered for the current pass?. If you feed with more than one pass, this threshold is used to determine if a pen has had enough feed for the current pass. This is true for all but the last pass where the above setting takes precedence. Many feedlots want a higher threshold for intermediate passes, but want to be much closer on the overall feeding for the day.

You can set Fusion up to help you deliver feed in several passes through the day, with a different percentage of the day's required feed on each pass. This is done on a ration by ration basis (see the Ration Edit Window topic for more information). This preference is where you set up the default pass system for new rations. If you change this, previous rations are not affected and any new rations can be changed later, so this is just to save you time if most rations you create will have a similar pass system.

Click the + button to add a new pass. Double-Click the percentage to change it. Click the - button to remove a pass. If you select a row and click the Make 100% button, the percentage in that row will be changed so that the total for all rows is 100% which is necessary before you can save the preferences.

After you have delivered a load of feed, if there is a small difference between the zero weight of the last load and the new load as you begin making a new load, Fusion can automatically distribute this difference to the pens that were just fed which ensures that your loads are properly billed for. If the difference is more than about 50 pounds, you'll be asked if you want Fusion to do the distribution first. However, you can turn all this functionality off by unchecking the Auto Distribute Feed checkbox.

Synchronization

Most feedlots have feed trucks which need to communicate with Fusion Server. However, it is possible to tell Fusion Server to not listen to feed trucks if you don't have any.

• Allow trucks to synchronize. If you turn this off, feed trucks will no longer be able to synchronize with the server.
• Listening Port. By default, Fusion Server will listen for feed truck communication on port 19820. This port must be open to incoming traffic on the server computer (both TCP and UDP) which is explained in the Fusion Resource Guide. Though rare, if there is a reason using port 19820 will not work on your network, you can change the port number here. If you choose a different port you will need to specify this in each truck as well (see the Full Sync Window topic for more information).

Fusion tries to send as little information to truck computers as possible in order to keep the syncing times to a minimum. It does have to send a certain amount of historical data so Fusion Truck can do its job. For example, in order to draw the bunk call graph, Fusion Truck needs the feeding history for the pen. In most cases this only includes a few months worth of data, but for "temporary" pens such as a sick pen which has never been fully empty, Fusion might try to send years worth of data unnecessarily. This preference can be used to set a limit on how many days of data are sent to the truck for any pen.

• Limit bunk call graph info to. Limits the number of days of history for each pen which are sent to the truck during each full sync. Making this value smaller will speed up syncing in some cases. (Pens marked as temporary are always limited to 30 days.)

Scale Indicator

The setting in this section pertain to the Scale Indicator window when used at chuteside or in the truck.

• Delay Before Calculating Weight. During a chuteside job, Fusion will calculate an animal's weight once it recognizes a new animal is in the squeeze. If you are finding that the scale system hasn't settled enough before Fusion is capturing the weight, you should increase this value. Fusion will wait this many seconds before calculating the weight of the animal.
• Allow the scale indicator to show the hold button. In some rare occurrences, it is helpful to have Fusion freeze or hold the value on the indicator and then release it to compensate hilly ground. If this option is turned on, a Hold button will be available in the Scale Indicator window for this purpose. The user in the truck must also have permission to use this function for it to work.
• Allow the scale indicator to show the compensate for drift button. Similarly, a Compensate For Drift button can be shown and use in situations where the weight drifts incorrectly over time.

Scale House

This section determines how the Scale House window works for all locations.

• Require authentication before weighing a load. The Scale House window can be used in two ways. First, it can be used by any truck driver to weigh loads in and out by themselves. Second, you can ensure that loads are weighed only when your staff are present. If you prefer the latter then make sure this option is checked. Fusion will then require authentication by a user with the correct permissions for each weigh in and weigh out.
• Allow loads destined for one location to be weighed at another. Normally it is expected that a load will be weighed at the same location it is being loaded or unloaded, but if you want to allow loads to be weighed at one location and then be loaded or unloaded at another of your locations, then turn this option on.
• Default number of copies when printing scale tickets. The default copy count each time the Scale House window opens. It can be changed by the user in the window, but that change only lasts until the window is closed.

The bottom section is used to define how the scale ticket number which is auto created for each scale house load is to be constructed. This is different for each location. Choose a location and then enter the prefix, next number, and suffix. For example, if you entered HH as the prefix and TT as the suffix, specifying 100 as the next number, the next few scale ticket numbers would look like this: HH100TT, HH101TT, HH102TT.

Depending on how you have the permissions set up for each user, they may or may not be able to edit the scale ticket once it has been generated. In either case, once a number has been used (even if the scale house load wasn't saved or was deleted), it won't be used again.

Data History

It doesn't make sense to keep some kinds of information in Fusion forever. Use this section to specify how long Fusion keeps data that can be removed after a time.

Fusion keeps an audit trail every day for every feed truck. This information can be extremely helpful, but usually isn't useful after a few weeks or months and it takes up a lot of space in the data file. By default Fusion will delete these audit trails after 270 days, but you can adjust this timeframe. Use the Check Impact... button to see how much room these audit trails are taking. Normally you just change the value and the next night Fusion will remove what is needed, but if there is a reason to you can use the Remove Now... button to do so now.

CCIA

If you are in Canada, Fusion can automate much of the required communication with CCIA. Use this section to enter your CCIA account information for each location by selecting a location and entering its information to the right.

• Account ID. The CCIA account ID for this location. You will need to contact them if you don't have one or have forgotten it.
• Premise ID. The CCIA premise ID for this location.
• Username. The username for this account.
• Password. The password for this account.
• Auto Move In. If this option is turned on, Fusion will automatically send a move in event to CCIA after a chuteside job where new animals where introduced into the feedlot.
• Auto Move Out. If this option is turned on, Fusion will automatically send a move out event to CCIA after a non-death out cohort with one or more linked animals is saved.
• Test CCIA Account. Use this button to test whether you've entered the CCIA account information for the selected location correctly. The following things will be checked: (1) username and password credentials, (2) that the account ID you entered matches with CCIA, (3) that the premise ID you entered is one associated with the account, (4) that the correct security options have been turned on. If successful, Fusion will also show the company name associated with the account so you can make sure you entered the correct account information.

In order for Fusion to be able to automatically send events to CCIA, your CCIA account has to be modified slightly. You will need to contact CCIA (cltssupport@canadaid.ca) and ask them to turn on the WS Birth Date Report and WS Event Submission security options for web services for each of your accounts. If this isn't done, you will get an error when Fusion tries to communicate with CCIA.

For age verification purposes, we sell another product called Symmetry. Symmetry replicates the entire age verification part of the CCIA database locally on your server. If you have Symmetry, you can point Fusion to it with these preferences so that age verification is done very fast and will work even if the internet isn't working.

• Use Symmetry For Age Verification. Turn this on if you have Symmetry installed on your server.
• IP Address. Enter the IP address of the computer Symmetry is running on.
• Port. Enter the port Symmetry is listening on. Unless you have changed this in Symmetry, it will be 19850.
• Test Symmetry Connection. You can click this button to see if the connection to Symmetry is working.

iFHMS

iFHMS Setup

If you use iFHMS at one of your locations and you plan to have iFHMS communicate movement and health charges to Fusion, the following need to be set up in Fusion:

• All iFHMS events will be attributed to the user you enter in the Preferences window. We suggest you create a new user named iFHMS so you can easily see where these events came from.
• Use the Preferences window to select the folder iFHMS will drop its communication files into. You set this per location. If you have more than one location using iFHMS, make sure a different folder is used for each location. Make sure that Fusion has both read and write access to this folder.
• Create a new drug named exactly iFHMS Drug Charge. The Units should be set to unit. Set the Bill At value for this drug to 1 from an appropriate date onward.
• Create a new input named exactly iFHMS Event Charge. Set the Bill At value for this input to 1 from an appropriate date onward.
• Create a new input named exactly iFHMS Procedure Charge. Set the Bill At value for this input to 1 from an appropriate date onward.
• Create a new input named exactly iFHMS Occupancy Charge. Set the Bill At value for this input to 1 from an appropriate date onward.
• Before you start, you must make sure that lot and pen names and counts match exactly between the two systems.
• Fusion will start processing files after you check the Use iFHMS checkbox in the Preferences window and close the window.

Behavior and Expectations

Once a location is set up for iFHMS, please be aware of the following behavior and expectations:

• When iFHMS is turned on, you will not be able to create in cohorts, out cohorts, animal movements, or chuteside jobs at that location. Instead, use iFHMS to do these things.
• After you post your activities in iFHMS, Fusion will process the new information. Fusion checks for new information about once per minute, so there can be a bit of a delay.
• Lot and pen names in Fusion must match the same names in iFHMS exactly. If they don't you will get an error message and Fusion will stop processing files until it is corrected in Fusion. Fusion doesn't create lots automatically, so you need to create a lot in Fusion whenever you create one in iFHMS.
• It is important to post your activities in iFHMS as soon as possible. For example, animal movements will happen in Fusion at the time of processing, not at the time that iFHMS originally made the move. Therefore, Fusion expects that you post your iFHMS events on the same day as they actually happened whenever possible.
• Remember that Fusion automatically closes a lot when the count reaches zero. If you post events in iFHMS where the lot count temporarily goes to zero and then back up again, this will permanently close the lot in Fusion, so avoid this situation.
• After Fusion finishes processing an iFHMS communication file, it will move it inside a folder named Processed which will be created inside the drop folder.

Error Handling

When Fusion encounters an error while processing iFHMS files, it sends a system message to the administrator and then stops further processing for that location. (You can view the status of a location in the Preferences window.) Fusion will re-try processing every minute, so once you correct the error you shouldn't have to wait very long before it takes affect. (If you do not fix the error within three hours, another system message will be sent.)

If the error is the result of a lot or pen name not being correct, make sure you correct this in Fusion, not iFHMS. At this point iFHMS has already committed the information under its lot or pen name and won't create another communication file after you change it there.

NLIS

If you are in Australia, you can enter your NLIS account information for each location here. You can then submit information to NLIS from the Animal List window (see the Animals List Window topic for more information). To enter an account, select a location and then fill in the fields to the right.

• PIC. The NLIS PIC number for this location
• Email. The email address tied to this account.
• Username. The username for this account.
• Password. The password for this account.

There are two other NLIS related settings.

• Timeout. When Fusion submits information to NLIS it has to wait until NLIS process the information before getting a response back to know if the submission was accepted or not. You don't want to wait longer than necessary to find out if a response timed out or not, but you don't want to time out while NLIS is still working too. This field can be used to set the correct value for your operation. If you tend to send lots of animals in a batch, you may need to increase this to 30 or even 60 seconds or higher.
• Enable Logging. If this option is turned on, Fusion will log all communication with NLIS and save it to a log file on the Desktop. This can be useful in troubleshooting situations, but should normally be left off.

Fusion Truck Preferences

These sections are only available from with a truck and only apply to the computer in the specific truck.

Synchronization

These preferences deal with how the truck syncs with the Fusion Server. The IP address and port can also be set in the Full Sync window.

• Server IP Address. This should be the IP address of the computer Fusion Server is running on. If that changes, this field needs to be updates for each truck before you can sync again. You can find the IP address by looking at the Task Bar window in Fusion Server.
• Server Connection Port. This is the port that Fusion Server is listening for syncing on. This should normally be 19820, but it can be changed in the Preferences window in Fusion Client as described earlier in this topic. This setting in the truck needs to match that setting.
• Ping Server. If you want to check the connection from the truck back to the server, click this button. If the connection fails it could be because the IP address and/or port are incorrect, Fusion Server is not running or is set up to not listen for syncing trucks, or there is a problem in the network somewhere between the truck and the server.

The next set of preferences can be used to set Fusion up to automatically sync at certain times. While it is necessary to sync at the beginning and end of the feeding day, we recommend syncing with every load if your network will allow it. The more often you sync the less less likely you will be to lose much information if you have trouble with your truck. And this is especially important if you multiple trucks feeding in an overlapping pattern.

There are two possible situations when Fusion can automatically sync: after you finish making a load and after you finish delivering a load. You will choose what will happen during each situation by clicking the appropriate radio button

• Immediately deliver the feed/mix the load. This is the default, though not recommended, setting and means that Fusion will not try to automatically sync. All syncing will be left up to you to determine when to do it.
• First ask if I want to sync. When this is set, Fusion will open a window asking whether you want to do a Full Sync, Push Sync, or nothing. This option makes sure you remember to sync at the appropriate time, but give you control over exactly when you perform the sync. For example, the window might pop up, but you may know that you need to wait until you get to a certain spot in the feedlot before the truck is connected to the network. When you get there, you can click the appropriate button.
• First automatically perform a Push Sync. Fusion will automatically do a push sync. If it fails, you will be notified and have a chance to try again or ignore it this time.
• First automatically perform a Full Sync. Fusion will automatically do a full sync. If it fails, you will be notified and have a chance to try again or ignore it this time.

Our recommendation would be to select the last option for both situations if your network will handle it.

Getting Here

On Windows, you can open this window by going to Fusion Admin → Setup → Preferences in office computers. On a Macintosh, you can open the window from the application window. On either platform, use Fusion Chuteside Main Menu → Options → Physical Computer Management at chuteside or Fusion Truck Main Menu → Options → Physical Computer Management in a truck.

Related Topics

• Physical Computer Management Window