Last update: December 9, 2009 by Dennis Dykstra


Newest Version of MyFTP
The MyFTP version date is found on the Introduction Page of MyFTP and should be 10/3/2007.

If you have an older version, download MyFTP.msi to take advantage of the latest updates. This version can be installed without administrative privileges, even under Windows Vista and Windows 7.


Changes and Improvements
This version corrects an error that occurred on computers running Windows XP as well as several minor bugs.


Installing MyFTP

1.	Errors encountered by users attempting to run MyFTP analyses are often caused by faulty installations. Even though MyFTP comprises a set of Excel workbooks, it is essential to install the software by executing the MyFTP.msi installation module. Attempts to install MyFTP by simply copying files from someone else will not work correctly. This is because MyFTP requires two dynamic-link libraries and other files that must be registered with the operating system so that Excel can find them when MyFTP is running. This is accomplished as part of the installation process.

2.	If a previous version of MyFTP has been installed on your computer it should be removed before the new version is installed. To uninstall a previous version, click on the “Start” button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, select “Settings” → “Control Panel” → “Add/Remove Programs”. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, the path to follow is “Start” → “Control Panel” → “Programs and Features”. Find MyFTP (or MyFTP_installer), click on it and select “Remove”. 

3.	Download the installation module, MyFTP.msi. If presented with an option to either Open or Save the file, usually it’s better to select Save. You can have the file saved on your Desktop or any other location that you find convenient. After the installation has been completed you can delete it.

4.	After the MyFTP.msi download has completed, double-click the MyFTP.msi file name. Follow the InstallShield Wizard to install MyFTP on your system. The only option presented to you is an opportunity to specify a location where you want MyFTP to be installed, if you don’t like the default location “My Documents\MyFTP” (in Windows Vista or Windows 7 this is “Documents\MyFTP”). Warning: If you select a location that is protected by the operating system or by administrative policy, MyFTP will fail to install. This is because the installer has been configured so that it does not require administrative privileges. Certain locations, such as the root directory of the C: drive or the C:\Program Files folder, are restricted and require administrative privileges.

Note: Installation may be prevented if Excel’s macro security level is set to “High”. To change this setting, users with Excel 2002 or 2003 should open Excel, click the “Tools” menu and choose the “Options” item. In the options dialog that pops up, click the “Security” tab and then click the “Macro Security” button. The security level should be set at “Medium”. If you can’t change this it may be protected by administrative policy and you will have to get administrative privileges or have an administrator help you make the change. Users with Excel 2007 should follow the instructions in the file “Excel_2007_Setup_for_MyFTP.pdf” available from the MyFTP download web page.


Quick-Start Instructions

1.	Start the program by double clicking the MyFTP icon on the desktop or by pressing the “Start” button in the lower left hand corner of the screen and then selecting “Programs” → “My Fuel Treatment Planner” → “MyFTP”.  If you don’t like the MyFTP icon on your desktop, just delete it.

2.	If prompted, enable macros. Macros comprise programming code embedded in MyFTP that is necessary for MyFTP to operate correctly. In Excel 2003 and earlier, the prompt to enable macros is a pop-up window that you can’t ignore. In Excel 2007 it’s somewhat less visible. For a description of how to enable macros in Excel 2007 refer to the final pages of the file “Excel_2007_Setup_for_MyFTP.pdf” available from the MyFTP download web page.

3.	In Excel 2003 or earlier, choose Tools/Add-Ins and make sure the box for Analysis ToolPak is checked. If not, check it. Also in the Tools menu select Options/Save, uncheck the top box and check the lower box (to Disable Auto Recovery). These steps are different in Excel 2007 but are described in the file “Excel_2007_Setup_for_MyFTP.pdf” available from the MyFTP download web page.

4.	MyFTP opens at the “Introduction” page. Read the introductory information and then select “Navigation Page” from the MyFTP toolbar or click the “Navigation Page” button near the center of the Introduction page. From the Navigation page, or from the MyFTP toolbar, access the following MyFTP pages and enter the required information:

a.	Rules – select a scenario location (state and county); enter acres, slope, pretreatment surface fuels, and a name for the scenario (in batch entry the scenario name is automatically entered); select the chip type (clean or dirty); fill out the rules table for each species (unless the default conifer (XC) or hardwood (XH) species is selected).

b.	Enter Cut Tree Data – For single tree entry: click the “Enter Individual Trees” button, enter tree information, and then click the “Calculate Tree Data” button to compute results. Batch file tree entry is also possible in MyFTP. Batch file processing uses two Excel workbooks (see the section on Batch Run Results). Information in the two workbooks (TreatSum.xls and Error_file.xls) is based on the current status of all other MyFTP pages (see the User’s Guide for details). Batch FVS cut-list files can be imported with the “Import FVS File” utility. A cut-list file must have the .TRL extension to be processed. Import the FVS cut-tree list, push the “Select batch file for processing” button, and select the imported file. If you already have Excel or correctly formatted text files, go directly to “Select batch file for processing”, eliminating the file-import step.

c.	Mastication, Mechanical Treatments, Prescribed Burning, Harvesting Costs, Hauling Costs, and Log & Chip Prices – must all be changed as appropriate and site-specific data entered.

d.	Treatment Summary – add other costs if appropriate; check or uncheck boxes to include or not include Mastication, Mechanical Treatments, and Prescribed Burning costs. This is most important for batch runs with more than one scenario.

For more details on how to operate MyFTP, refer to the User’s Guide which is available from the MyFTP download web page.


Closing MyFTP

The best way to close MyFTP is to select Exit MyFTP from the MyFTP toolbar (in Excel 2007 this toolbar is available from the Add-Ins component of the Excel ribbon). Before closing MyFTP, you can enter documentation for the runs you’ve made on the “User Documentation Page” and you can save scenario data on the “Save / Load Scenarios” page. See the information below on Saving Scenarios and User Documentation. After MyFTP has been closed you may still have to close Excel itself in the usual way. This depends on which version of Excel you are using.

In some cases when the MyFTP files are closing you may see a warning message (“Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”) If you receive this message, uncheck the box “Recover my work and restart Microsoft Excel” and click the “Don’t Send” button when asked if you want to send an error report to Microsoft.


Batch Processing

The scenario name is a combination of the Stand_Id and Stand_Year fields (the first two fields in the batch file), if either or both change a new scenario is produced. During a batch run the TreatmentSum.xls workbook is created and contains treatment summaries for all scenarios within the current run. Error_file.xls workbook is also created and lists any errors from the current run. Both of these files are cleared when a new batch run is initiated. The results from the final scenario in the batch file can be viewed on the Treatment Summary Page. The cut list from the final scenario can be found on the Enter Tree Data Page.


Individual Tree Data Entry

The results can be viewed on the Treatment Summary Page.


Saving Scenarios

Scenario data, including log prices, rules selected, prescribed fire designations, and the cut-tree data table can be saved for later reloading on the Save / Load Scenarios page. 


Comparing Scenarios

Scenario summary information can be viewed and compared on the Compare Scenario Results page. Previously saved (see the previous section on Saving Scenarios) scenarios can be viewed side-by-side on this page. The numerical fields of the scenarios shown on the screen can be totaled and saved to a new workbook by clicking the “Create TOTALS File” button.


User Documentation

Click “Add New Comment Box” to add a blank documentation area at the top of screen. When a new box is added the date and time are automatically inserted at the top of the box. Enter a user name under the date stamp and then enter comments in the large white area below the name cell. Scroll down the page to view or edit previous documentation.

 
Problems You May Encounter

1.	Species availability – Currently only 12 conifer species can be treated as “logs”. See the dropdown list on the Rules Page or the individual tree entry form on the Enter Cut Tree Data page. For batch runs, if XC is selected on the Rules Page the remaining conifer species (of the 12 possible ones) that have not been individually entered into the Rules table will be assigned the characteristics (dbh and top dib) of XC. The FVS species code OT (other tree) and OC (other conifer) are not available, will not be processed, and for batch runs will show up as errors in the Error_file.xls workbook. Use the “Change a Species Code in Imported File” utility to rename unsupported species codes to one of the available species. Different states and counties have different species available. Unfortunately, the species dropdown lists contain all possible species for all combinations of western states and counties. Therefore, even if the species is found on the dropdown list, it may not be available in the selected state and county.

2.	When calculations occur – Once a record has been processed and added to the data table on the Enter Cut Tree Data page, biomass calculations are complete and the records must be reentered for biomass recalculation to occur. Changes to the treatment selection rules on the Rules Page as well as the location and volume model will not take effect (and will not result in updates to the Treatment Summary) unless the batch file is reentered. Changes to other pages (Harvest, Haul, Mastication, Mechanical Treatments, Prescribed Burn, Log & Chip Prices, and the name, size, slope, pretreatment surface fuels, and damaged tree information on the Rules Page) will recalculate and immediately show any changes on the Treatment Summary.

3.	Users in the Interior West can only select a 4-inch top diameter limit for logs. If prices are not specified all the way to the 4-inch minimum diameter, then you can have a lot of 4-inch logs that get harvested and incur cost, but generate no revenue. This means you could have some treatments with more volume but lower revenue than other treatments. To avoid such inconsistencies, be sure to enter price data all the way to a 4-inch top diameter.

4.	OH (other hardwood) trees in California have inflated volumes. This is a known issue with the volume equation used.


Support
Contact Dennis Dykstra, research scientist at the Portland Forestry Sciences Lab, Pacific Northwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 620 SW Main St., Suite 400, Portland, OR 97205.

Email: ddykstra(at)fs.fed.us