📘 Screen: Scale
This is where you register the scales on the farm or at the warehouse — the truck scale at the gate, the second scale in the cotton gin yard, the scale at another site. Each one becomes an option when a truck is weighed: whoever fills in a load ticket picks which scale the vehicle went onto.
There are two types. On a manual scale, the operator reads the display and types in the weight. On an electronic/digital scale, the system talks to the scale indicator over the network and brings in the weight by itself — that is what the IP and Port fields are for.
📍 Location in the system
Menu: Storage > Scale
🧩 Main function
Record which scales exist and, for electronic ones, the network address of the indicator, so that the Capture Gross Weight and Capture Tare Weight buttons on the load tickets read the weight straight from the scale, with no typing.
📝 Main fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | Suggested automatically when you click New, always one higher than the highest code already registered (0001, 0002…). It can be changed. |
| Description | Required. This is the name shown to whoever fills in the load ticket — use something the operator can recognize at a glance: "Scale 1 - Gate", "Scale 2 - Cotton Gin". |
| IP | Network address of the scale indicator. Only relevant for electronic scales. |
| Port | Communication port of the indicator. It goes together with the IP: both must be filled in for capture to work. |
| Brand | Equipment brand, for reference only. |
| Model | Equipment model, for reference only. |
| Type | Required. Manual (the weight is typed in) or Electronic/Digital (the weight is captured over the network). |
| Sector | Sector where the scale is located. The list comes from the sectors used on fields — it is the same vocabulary as the Sector screen in the Basic menu. |
| Active | Only active scales can be selected on load tickets. Uncheck it instead of deleting when a scale goes out of use. |
⚖️ How the scale appears on load tickets
On all three load ticket screens — Inbound, Outbound and Standalone — active scales appear as a row of options right above the weights, next to the capture buttons. Good to know:
- If no active scale is registered, the row of options and the two capture buttons disappear from the screen, and weights can only be typed in.
- If you click capture without choosing a scale, the system warns you to select one.
- If the chosen scale has no IP or no Port, the message tells you to fill in those fields here, on the Scale screen.
- The load ticket records which scale took each weight — the gross and the tare can even have been taken on different scales.
- The weight goes onto the load ticket exactly as the scale read it, with no typing errors
- It is recorded which scale each weighing was done on
- If you have more than one scale, you can keep grain weighing separate from cotton weighing
❓ Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register the scale to use load tickets?
No. With no scale registered, load tickets keep working: the scale selection and the capture buttons disappear, and weights are typed in by hand. Registering is only required if you want to pull the weight straight from the indicator.
The capture weight button brings nothing back. What should I check?
Check three things: whether the scale was selected on the load ticket screen, whether it has IP and Port filled in on its record, and whether the indicator is on and reachable on the same network as the computer. Without IP or Port the system warns you right away; if the address is wrong, the reading simply never comes back.
What is the difference between a Manual and an Electronic/Digital scale?
It is how the weight gets onto the load ticket. With manual, the operator reads the display and types it in. With electronic/digital, the system fetches the weight from the indicator's network address. The physical scale can be digital and still be registered as manual, if you are not going to connect it to the system.
Can I delete a scale I no longer use?
It is better to uncheck the Active field. Old load tickets record which scale did each weighing; by deactivating it, the scale disappears from the selection lists without touching that history.