The GTR Batch Processor (RGT) is a fairly recent addition to Chris21. You may already be familiar with the original General Transactions (GTR) process for loading large quantities of records into Chris21 electronically. For instance, uploading training records or updating salary increases. For more information about the GTR functionality read my blog Increase Your Productivity Using GTR Processing.

In recent years, new functionality was added to Chris21 to enable easier loading of larger amounts of data (multiple thousands of records). This process is called GTR Batch Processor (RGT).

One of the difficulties of using the GTR process is the time it takes to load larger blocks of data. This is because the output is printed to the GTR Output Screen as each record is processed. While this is useful because you can see the process running and notice errors as they occur, it does slow the process down considerably.

With the GTR Batch Processor the data is loaded in the background. This means it will load quicker and also allows you to do other work in Chris21 while RGT is running.

Another very useful feature of the GTR Batch Processor is that it produces the following three output files:

• Success – reports all records that were successfully loaded in this process.
• Failures – reports all records that were unsuccessful and were not loaded in this process.
• GTRFail – reports all records that have failed. These can be corrected and re-loaded.

This is preferable to the GTR process where the output file that is produced shows all records, both successes and failures. You then have to sort through the file to find the errors.

On the downside, you will need access to your Chris21 DAT directory because you need to copy your GTR formatted text file to this location prior to starting the process. Output files will also be written to the DAT directory. If you don’t have access to this directory you will have to ask your system administrator to help.

Also be aware that any subsequent RGT processes will overwrite the existing output files in your DAT directory. Therefore you need to ensure you have removed these files after you run an RGT process and before you run the next one.

How to run the GTR Batch Processor

First you need to create your GTR input text file. My blog GTR Processing Guide explains how to do this.

Once your input file is ready, copy it into your Chris21 DAT directory. It’s a good idea at this point to make a backup of the file you are about to change. For instance, if you are loading Training History (TRH) records then you would backup EMTRH.DAT.

Login to Chris21 and go to the GTR Batch Processor form. In the Input File Name field enter the name of the GTR Input file that you have copied into your DAT directory. The default name for this file is GTRINPUT.TXT but you can rename it to whatever you want. Bear in mind that you only have 8 characters available for the file name.

Then click the Save button. It will not be immediately obvious that the process is running. You can check this by viewing the Scheduled Reports (SRP) form:

Click Refresh to check if the process has finished. You will know this when the process no longer appears in the list. Once the process has finished you can retrieve the output files from the DAT directory for review.

One other important note is that the RGT process is not optional. If you try to run a large file directly using the GTR process you will receive the following message:

In this case you must use RGT to load the input file.

Whether you are using GTR or RGT you will find that these processes are extremely efficient and will save you a great deal of time if you have to process bulk data into Chris21.