The contents of a farm file can be modified by the farm owner or by other users. In both cases each time a change is applied, an internal list is updated with some information related to the change, including who made the change. The content of the list can be checked by the owner of the farm to understand which changes have been made to the contents of the file. A comprehensive list of the operations tracked during a farm file working session is:
- Updated feed: a feed stored in the farm file is saved with the Save button;
- Added feed: a new feed is added to the farm file; you can create it from scratch or with the Save as command starting form an existing feed;
- Updated formula: a formula/mix is saved with the Save button;
- Added formula: a formula/mix is added; you can create it from scratch or using the Create mix command in a recipe, or with the Save as command starting form an existing formula;
- Updated recipe: a recipe is saved with the Save button;
- Added recipe: a recipe is added; you can create it from scratch or with the Save as command, starting from an existing recipe;
- Changed cost: a cost is added or modified through one of the available cost features (direct imput, cost management, etc.).
In a farm file, beside the farm data, are also stored all the feeds, mixes and recipes related to the farm; moreover, all the feeds included in the user farm list are exported in the file, even those not used in recipes or mixes related to the farm. The feeds included in the CNCPS Feed Library and RUM&N Feed Library are also available during a farm file working session.
A farm session file ends when the user clicks the OFF button.
The file farm is then compressed and NDS resets its settings to those of the user database. It is also possible to switch to another farm file with the (open) Farms button, without closing the currently opened farm. Since the farm file is closed before opening the farm explorer, in case that the Farm Explorer is closed without selecting another farm file, NDS will point to the user database.
When a user that is not the farm owner opens and makes some changes to a farm file, an automatic back-up of the original file is provided; after closing the file, if some changes have been made, there will be two files in the farm file folder: the original farm file, that keeps its original name, and another with the user’s changes, having a “_M” sub-string added to its file name before the file extension (.farm).
Note that the back-up is made for the original farm files only; modified files (_M), when opened and modified, are simply updated without making a back-up copy; if the original file is re-opened and modified, a new _M file is created, overwriting the existing one (previuos changes made on the old file are also ignored).