Info about cage cards and how to design your own

JCMS is delivered with several cage cards already installed. You can specify which card to use by setting the the appropriate JCMS Setup Variables (go to the administrator button bar). There are four setup variables that control which cage cards are printed:

  • MTS_1PEN_WEAN_CAGE_CARD
  • MTS_2PEN_WEAN_CAGE_CARD
  • MTS_DETAIL_CAGE_CARD
  • MTS_MATING_CAGE_CARD

Designing cage cards is not difficult, but it helps to have some experience with MS Access' report designer. We recommend that you purchase a book or ask a local expert for help getting started.

To view the card designs in the application, you need to log in as mtsadmin, and press F11 and select the reports tab. We encourage you to make a backup copy of your database before doing any of this (use simple file-copy of the database and interface files).

When making a new card, the easiest thing to do is copy a card that you like and modify it. To modify a card, select the report (e.g. OS_MatingCageCard) and right-click your mouse and select design view.

Now you can point/click and draw (an MS access book will help, or you'll find info on line too).

One thing to be aware of: JCMS pre-defines what data items can be displayed on each card. Some of the "objects" on the card are named for JCMS to put data in. Those objects are key to where the data will be written. You can view the objects name by viewing its properties and selecting the "Other" tab. You will notice the Name in the properties box. For example, Pen ID is printed to a text box called.... PenID.

Many of the cards contain fields that are not “visible”. This can be changed in the properties box. Look for the visible property on the format tab and change it to yes.

Some special cards are available with all possible fields on them to help you design new formats. These have names that end “withXtraFields”. The extra fields are located outside the current boundaries for an index card. Some manipulation will be necessary to fit these fields within the boundaries of the current cards. 

It's easy, but a bit tedious to do.

If you do make a new card, please send us a note. We'd love to include your card design in our distribution (and you'll be forever famous!).

For more information on the fields available for designing cage cards, see the User Guide.