Wow, thanks for the comprehensive information Dave.  Unfortunately after studying the message and digging into the links you provided, I have not fully resolved my situation.  Here's where I stand:

- I saved a copy of the AA4M.mdb file in another folder.

- I've downloaded the DXCC credits and have more than 1,000 showing on the report.  BTW - this run took about 45 minutes, this is with a FAST connection and a FAST computer, hi.

- What I'd like to do now is delete all the records that don't include 4 items (Call, Date, Band, Mode) and upload the remainder to my database.  Then want to be able to see these new contacts in any award reports but do NOT want to upload them to LotW.

It seems this should be easy to do, but in reading all the information you've provided I'm more confused than ever!

Can you help?

73, Bill  AA4M


On 11/22/2020 18:51:34, Dave AA6YQ wrote:

+ AA6YQ comments below

I have about 1,000 old QSL cards, some dating back to the 1960's, that I'd like to add to DXKeeper, just so that the progress report somewhat matches what the ARRL has on their records.  A number of deleted countries are included in the 1,000.  Hopefully all I'll need to add are Call, Date (Year only hopefully?), Band and Mode.  None of the other information is needed (time, grid, etc.) for my purposes, at least I don't think it is.  My current DXKeeper database starts in 2018, so I may need to change the starting date from how I originally configured DXLab 2 years ago.

What do I need to do to simplify entry of all these cards?

+ DXKeeper can be configured to optimize for the entry of "already-completed" QSOs from paper logbooks or QSL cards. See

<https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxkeeper/Help/LogCompletedMain.htm>

+ Getting familiar with DXKeeper's keyboard shortcuts will help speed QSO entry:

<https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxkeeper/Help/KeyboardShortcuts.htm>

+ When you enter a callsign, DXKeeper will select the appropriate DXCC entity based on current callsign=>entity rules. That selection may be incorrect for older QSOs, particularly those with now-deleted entities. Perform the correction based on the information specified on each QSL card. There's a set DXKeeper scripts that will update logged QSOs with the appropriate DXCC entity based on the callsign and the QSO date, but your QSL cards are generally a more authoritative source; as with everything else in DXing, there are exceptions.

+ You must specify a valid date-and-time with each QSO. If you're going to take the time to enter these QSOs, I suggest that you accurately capture the year, month, and day; leaving the times at 0Z would be fine.

+ If you're not that concerned about accuracy, and alternative to adding manually logging completed QSOs to match your DXCC credits is to have DXKeeper download your DXCC credits from the ARRL, and fabricate "credit-only QSOs". This functionality is described here:

<https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxkeeper/Help/Progress.htm#Managing%20DXCC%20Credits>

+ Before you can fabricate "credit-only QSO", you must first direct DXKeeper to link each of your DXCC credits to a logged QSO, if possible; typically, 25% of your DXCC credits from QSL cards you submitted to the ARRL DXCC desk will have to be manually linked to logged QSOs due to data entry errors or shortcuts taken by the DXCC desk. DXKeeper can then be directed to fabricate a QSO for each DXCC credit not linked to a logged QSO.

+ Step-by-step instructions are here:

<https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxlabwiki/ManageDXCCCredits>

+ and here

<https://www.dxlabsuite.com/dxlabwiki/CreateCreditOnlyQSOs>

+ If you choose this approach, be sure to make a backup copy of your log before you start.

        73,

              Dave, AA6YQ