Loading The Texas Book Buying Guide - Ratex

Overview

This guide has the steps for loading the Texas Book Guide. It is important to remember to try this first in your upgrade account. Texas Book will send ftp site url, credentials, and filename via email. The file is a flat file in a .txt format. Do not open the file and save it as any other type of file. Use your standard ftp program to put the file onto the server.

As of August 2023 the TBC Ratex Buyer’s Guide source was available from:

(Case Sensitive)
    o     Server:   ftp.texasbook.com
    o     Username: TBCRTEXG
    o     Password: [rotating]
    o     Filename: TBC_Format_Ratex.txt

Steps to load the guide

In the upgrade account, go to ADMIN->Parameters->General Code File, CD.BUY.LIST and add TBC to the list.

Open

In the upgrade account, go to BUYBACK->Utilities->List Load Maintenance.

Type TBC in the first field and hit OK to “Add new record TBC.

Open

Refer to the image below for the correct data entry.

Choose F to Peripheral Type. F is for File.

Choose FS to Record Type. FS is for Flat Sequential.

Choose No to Text Compare. The TBC file does not contain enough data to compare it to the textbook system.

Type 115 for the block size.

Type 115 for the record Length

Type the full directory path to where the file will be stored. This can be the location that you currently put your buyback guides or it could be the VR_DATA_IMPORTS directory. RBS recommends the VR_DATA_IMPORTS directory and this can usually be found at /vr/XXX/VR_DATA_IMPORTS/ where XXX is your control account.

Leave Record Key blank

Type ^010 (zeroes) in the Record Delimiter.

Type 80.0 in the Net Price Percent. This field isn’t actually used.

Leave Sensitivity Percent, Copyright Conv and Edition Conv blank.

Author column first row = 1, second row = 14

Title column first row = 16, second row = 39

Pub Code column first row = 56, second row = 10

Edition column first row is 66 second row is 3

Copyright column first row is 70 second row is 2

Comment column first row is 72 second row is 15

List price column first row =88, second row = 5

Buy Price column first row = 93, second row = 5.

Binding column first row is 98 second row is 3.

ISBN13 column first row = 101, second row = 13

Leave all other fields blank.

Save the record.

In the upgrade account, go to BUYBACK->Lists & Guides->Wholesale Buying Guide->Load Wholesale Guide.

Type Continue to go to the process entry screen.

Choose TBC from the drop-down list.

Enter the effective Date of the guide. This information is provided by Texas Book.

Data Device ID is the path to the file. It should fill in with the default information from the previous step. Add the name of the current file from Texas Book.

Data block size will fill in with 115.

Compare to Text should be No.

Always Overlay New Prices should be Yes.

Load Condition Codes should be No.

Routing should be set to H for HOLD.

Click Process to process.

Depending on the speed of your server this could take up to 10 minutes to load.

Now test the data in the upgrade account.

Go to Buyback->Maintain Buyback Titles and do a search for common titles.

Make sure that the data looks correct.

In the upgrade account, add the guide to buyback and try to do buyback transactions and post.

Add the guide to your test user at Admin->User Maintenance

Add the guide to the buyback priority Buyback->Session Setup->Purchasing Priority

Buy some books from the guide in Buyback->Buy Books.

Post the guide in Buyback->Posting->To Wholesaler

If and only if everything checks out and you feel the data is good. Then repeat the above steps in the live account. RBS suggests that you load the guide after hours and after all guides have been posted.