May 2006

Instructions for Downloading Agricultural Software

(Using Farmplan as an example)

1. Go to the Downloadable Software page on the Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives web site http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/financial/farm/software.html Scroll down and click on Farmplan Financial and Production Planning Software
   
2. After you click on this link, you will be asked for your name, email address and some contact information. We would like to have this information ONLY so that we can inform you about future updates and news about our software.
1. Type your name and email address, etc., in the space provided.
2. Click the Download Now button at the bottom of the page.
3. You will see a window with the "Save this program to disk" option already selected.
1. Click OK
4. A Save As window will appear.
1. Select a folder from the "Save in:" box, Write it down here, ___________ (you will need the name of the folder later) and then click the "Save" button.
2. Your Download is now complete. Click OK. The "Zipped" file was saved to the folder of your choice.
3. When the Download is complete, click on the CLOSE button.

Unzipping the file

5. Using Microsoft-Explorer, go to the folder you selected in 4.1.
6. Locate the file you downloaded. It is called "farmplan.exe" and it has an icon beside it that looks like a "C-clamp" compressing a file-folder (this is a WinZip icon.) Now, with the mouse, right click on that file.
7. Select "Extract to folder …" from the pop-up menu.
8. A new sub-folder, called "Farmplan", will be added to the folder you are in. Locate this new sub-folder.

Using the Excel file

9. With Microsoft Explorer, left-click on the new folder called "Farmplan". You will see your Excel file in this folder.
10. Double-left-click on the Excel file to open it. (You will need to have Excel ‘97, or higher, on your computer to run this program. If you do not have Excel, see footnote.)
11. Select File, Save As, from the pull-down-menu to save the file to a folder of your choice. This file will be your "blank", or "template" file from which you can make your personalized on-farm files.
12. Select File, Save As, again to give this file a personalized file name. You can use this file for saving your figures.

Buying Excel - Farmplan requires users to have a computer that runs a Windows 95 environment (or higher), the Microsoft Excel Program '97 (or higher), a working knowledge of Excel and a compatible printer. Producers who do not have Microsoft Excel '97 (or higher) can purchase Microsoft Office XP, Small Business Edition, DSP/OEM version for less than $300 from most computer stores. Having Excel also enables producers to use the Cost of Production programs and other Decision-Support Software (a total of over 40 programs) that are available for download from the Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives web site at http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/.

You can purchase the DSP/OEM version of Microsoft Office XP, Small Business Edition from most computer stores for under $300. This purchase will include Excel, Word, Publisher and Outlook, all 2002. The DSP/OEM version costs less than the "regular" price of $695. To "qualify" for the DSP/OEM version, Microsoft requires that you buy some hardware along with your software purchase. Any hardware purchase will qualify you for the DSP/OEM version, even if you only buy a mouse, diskettes or, sometimes, a package of screws ($1-$2). Also remember that students and teachers get discounts. For more information on the other MS-Office XP editions, such as the Professional Edition DSP/OEM version ($610) which includes all of the above plus PowerPoint and Access, see the Microsoft web site at http://www.microsoft.com/office/howtobuy/default.mspx .

In the past it was possible to buy the "Excel Competitive-Upgrade Package" for $170, which let you upgrade from Excel '95 to Excel '97 (or higher). This has all changed since the release of Microsoft XP. The latest Upgrade package upgrades you only from Excel '97 (or higher) up to Excel 2002 - that's it! Also, programs such as MS-Works, Quattro or Lotus no longer qualify you for the "competitive upgrade." For more information on Microsoft upgrades, see http://www.microsoft.com/office/howtobuy/default.asp