Option A Getting Started Guide
Option B Getting Started Guide
Overview
The Option A PRL eForm program is an application designed to assist you in electronically recording Pesticide Reporting Law (PRL) information and reporting it to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Each time you run the program you are asked to enter or verify some basic contact information. You can then view and fill out electronic forms that are similar to the four paper forms used to report pesticide usage and sale.
Option A runs under Microsoft Windows®.
After you download the Option A installation file, see the PRL Software Installation Guide to help you install the software on your computer.
Starting the Software
There are a couple of ways1 to open up the main window:
A message box saying something like “Data directory created called 'C:\PRL2011'.” may appear. This is normal. The data directory is the location to which your data files will be written. The registration form then opens.
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Other Registration Form Functions
There are several buttons and menu items available on the registration form that can help you prepare and submit your PRL report.
Report Forms
The PRL report forms are where you will enter the data that you need to report to the NYSDEC. Each form is used to report a particular type of pesticide-related activity.
Reporting No Activity
On each of the forms you can indicate that there was no reportable activity for the report year.
Data Entry Grid
Most of the area of each form is a data entry grid. If you have applications or sales to report, enter each pesticide application or sales record in its own row. Although the forms open with a limited number of lines, additional lines will be added to the grid as needed.
On Form 25, 26, and 27 the data entry grid is hidden if you have indicated that you have No Applications (or No Sales) to report.
You can use the arrow keys, tab keys, Enter key, or mouse to move from one cell in the grid to another. If you hover over a cell with your mouse, a tool tip containing a description of the intended contents for that cell will display. Additional information about the fields in each form is available from the Data Guides for that form.
If you make an invalid entry in a cell, you will be given an error message, the background color of the cell will change to pink, and the cursor will return to the field in error. Sometimes the program may erase the invalid entry.
Please Note
Ditto marks or use of the words "ditto", "same", or similar entries are not accepted by the Pesticde Reporting Service Bureau. Instead, you can use the EPA Reg Number List. or copy and paste as a convenient way to enter the same information repeatedly.
EPA Reg Number and Product Name
These columns can be filled in by selecting a product in the EPA Reg Number List.
Units
The Units column on forms 25, 26 and 27 has a drop-down list for easy entry of units. When a cell in the Units column has the input focus, a button with down-pointing arrowhead appears in the cell. If you click on the arrowhead (or press Alt-DownArrow), a list of acceptable choices drops down.
Date(s)
Date values must be entered in one of these formats: mm/dd/yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, mm-dd or mm/dd where mm=month, dd=day, yyyy=year (two-digit years are ok). If the year is omitted, the application will use the Report Year.
County Code
Forms 26 and 27 have a column for County Code. A list of county codes is included in the appendix. As an added convenience, a county code popup dialog is available to help you select the correct county code.
Footnotes:
1 - It is also possible to run the program by clicking on the executable file, PRL_eForms.exe. The program is installed by default to C:\Program Files\NYSPRL, but you may have changed this setting to another folder during installation.
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