1.1. What are the flags for?

Click on them to see a translation of the page you are looking at in the respective language. This is an external real-time translation service and is not a part of TransDat - do not blame us if you don't like the translation. Also, have in mind that it doesn't work for features that can be used only while you are logged in (i.e. supplier console).

1.2. What do I do if I find an error on the site?

Please email mail@transdat.com.au and we will fix it as soon as possible.

2.1. How do I go about putting machines in that I am dismantling ?

Log In with your User Name and Password
you should now see your Control Console
press : + add Unit .. in wrecking section

Select Category and Wait for the Sub-Categories to load
select type of Unit

Fill in ALL required fields (they have a * )
Enter ONLY Numbers for Price or only a (zero) 0 for POA
(DO NOT enter $ , or letters)

To add a Photo press Browse select your photo (double click).

Press Submit and this should bring you back to Console!

2.2. I have a machine I want to put for hire - how?

When you log into your supplier console, you have two ways to put a machine on the "for hire" list.

First, you can do it through the normal machine add/edit/delete controls - just fill in the relevant "for hire" part of the machine description and select the "yes, this unit is available for hire" option from the drop-down menu.

Alternatively, you can use the "For Hire" menu. The first button there shows you the machines you have announced for sale but not for hire - press "Hire" for each machine you want to appear on the list and fill in the required details.

The second button gives you a list of units that are for hire - use that to edit hire conditions or remove the unit from the list (it will still remain on the "for sale" list).

In this menu, you also have a "stock list" which you can use to send to your contacts or incorporate into your own website.

3.1. Can I link to a machine/part listing from my site?

Yes. However, have in mind that listings are quite dynamic and can be deleted/updated at any time, so make sure you check them out regularly.

3.2. Can I have a stock list on my site?

Yes, if you are a supplier you will see a link to a "stock list" in your control panel.

This shows a list of your machines on TransDat, but without the TransDat navigation or logos.

This makes it easier to integrate into other websites by a normal link, frame or IFRAME.

3.3. Can I have a custom stock list on my web site?

Yes, you can.

The stock list does not have to look the way it looks now - this is just an easy example.

You can have it look any way you like (see here for a customer who customized his).

Email mail@transdat.com.au for details.

3.4. What is the XML feed for?

TransDat has an XML export feature available. It exports machine listings in a standard RSS 0.91 format, which can be syndicated into web sites, or accessed through a news aggregator.

The address of the generic feed is http://www.transdat.com.au/rss.php which lists the latest additions to the TransDat machines database.

You can customize the feed and get only machines from a particular supplier by adding a "supplier id" parameter as follows: http://www.transdat.com.au/rss.php?s=XXXX where XXXX is the supplier id (if you are a supplier log into your console to see the correct link for yourself; otherwise go to the supplier info page to get the link).

The "Add to My Yahoo!" icon () is an extention to the XML feed, which lets you embed it into your personalized Yahoo! homepage. http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://www.transdat.com.au/rss.php gives you all latest machine listings on TransDat, while http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://www.transdat.com.au/rss.php?s=XXXX lets you specify a particular supplier by changing XXXX to the supplier id.

4.1. What's the idea?

The feature we call X-DAT allows you to export data from the TransDat server, which you can then import into any standard spreadsheet program you may use (such as MS Excel, for example).

4.2. What is the data format of the export?

TransDat exports the data in the standard "comma-separated-values" format (or .csv files).

They are importable in any standard spreadsheet program.

The files consist of a number of lines, where each line is a data row from the data table, and each column is separated by a comma from the next column.

This is essentially a text file, so there can be no images in it.

4.3. How do I export the data?

If you are a registered supplier, you will find the X-DAT feature in your control console.

You have a couple of options to select from here:

• The first selection is for "owner" of the listings you want to export. Select "all" to see all regardless of owner, "other dealers" for listings by all other members of TransDat, excluding your own, or "my items only" for your listings only - this can be handy if you want a quick way to see what you have listed on TransDat, or you want to send a data file to one of your business partners.
  
• The second selection gives you the option to get the data as a file to save or open directly into Excel, or to see it straight in your browser.
  
• The number of listings can be either 100, 75, 50 or 25.
  
• By the last option you can select what type of listings to download - machines, parts or wrecking units ("attachments" is the attachments category in the Machines part of TransDat).
  

Additionaly, in the next table you can download earthmoving machines only - all or from a specified subcategory.



If you are not a member, you will see the export feature on the homepage of TransDat, but you will not have all of these options to select from.

4.4. What next?

If you have selected the "view in browser" option, you will see the listings in your browser.

If you have selected the "file" option, you will be prompted to save the file, which will have a name such as "machines", "parts" or "attachments" (depending on the content) and the standard .csv extension.

You can then email that to a business partner, or open it up in Excel and import into an .xls spreadsheet, or any other type of internal database you may have.

4.5. Can I bookmark the data file?

The one on TransDat's homepage is accessible by all and can be bookmarked without problems.

The data export file in your control console, however, is restricted - you have to be logged in in order for it to work. So, if you bookmark it, your bookmark will only give you a meaningfull file if you are logged in. If you aren't, you will get a blank file with no data in it.

So, if you are a registered supplier - do not bookmark the file you get in your console, use the link in the console instead.

5.1. Can I import unit listings from a .csv / Excel file?

Yes, you can import multiple listings (up to dozens of thousands) from a spreadsheet. It has to follow the Transdat templates provided in your supplier console (there is one for machines and one for parts). Data has to be listed precisely as in the templates - do not delete or move around columns.

You have to put in Category and Subcategory names precisely as their appear on Transdat (go to the Add Machine or Add Part pages to see a drop-down list of available categories and subcategories).

If you use the .xls template, save it in the .csv ("comma separated values") format before uploading it to Transdat.

5.2. How do I import unit listings from a .csv file?

Log into your supplier console and click the "Upload from .csv" link in the Machines or Parts section, then follow the prompts. If there are problems with some listings, these will be printed out after the file is processed. You can then either decide to ignore and proceed with the rest of the listings, or go back to Excel and edit the rows that had problems, then re-upload.

5.3. Can I import listings from an external service?

Yes. This currently works for listings from Machinerytrader only. If you have units listed at another service, please contact us so we can see how to add it to our functionality as well.

5.4. How can I import unit listings from Machinerytrader?

Log into your supplier console and click the Upload from other archive link in the Machines section.

On the next screen, select the Machinerytrader .zip archive option. Youl will then be asked to enter the archive URL. Enter the full link, starting with http://www.machinerytrader.com/ (other URLs will be ignored and you will get an error). The system will then download the archive, which may take several minutes if you have many photos.

If the download was successful, you will get a message to that effect; you can then click the link to process the archive.

The next screen will tell you how many units were imported, and will report any errors. You will then be able to proceed to the list of units to be imported.

Since there is no way for the Transdat server to match categories from an external service, and as some of these units may have been listed on Transdat already, you will need to edit/confirm them one by one. This is a quick process assisted by the system as much as possible.

When you click the Click to edit link next to a unit, you will see a page consisting of two parts. In the top half, a box will contain everything about the unit from the archive: category, make, model etc., as well as photos. If there are more than eight photos, only the first eight will be shown.

The bottom part of the page contains your listings that are already published at Transdat. By default, the Similar machines option is selected, telling the system to try and match the unit to one of your listings on Transdat. They will be compared based on stock number, make and model (after all, price, description, location etc. do change...), so you may get more than one match to select from. On the other hand, the system may not be able to find the existing listing - for example, you may have the make listed as Link-Belt, where Transdat has that make as Link Belt - to a server, the extra dash makes it a different thing... In this case, you will have to click All machines and see all your listings, then select the one that matches (click the Add link). They are listed "oldest first", so when you work your way through the list, units that you have confirmed will "sink" to the bottom (they will now be "new listings") and you will have less listings to look at before you find the right one.

Of course, the listing may be a completely new one - in that case, just select the Add to Transdat as new option.

The next screen is similar to your normal screen for adding a machine to Transdat, but most of the fields have been pre-filled for you. You will need to select a suitable category and subcategory for your unit if it is a new one, or re-confirm the current category. The name of the respective Machinerytrader category will be listed under that as a reminder.

If the machine is already listed at Transdat, some of the listing details will also be pre-filled. Where there is data from both Machinerytrader and Transdat (e.g. - price, description, location) - the new values (from Machinerytrader) will be pre-filled in the forms, while the old values will be listed under them as a reminder.

When you save the machine, photos from the archive will be uploaded too. If there are more than eight photos, only the first eight will be uploaded.

After the machine is saved, you will be brought back to the list. When every item on it is processed, you will be prompted to go back to your supplier console. You can then list all of your units, and see which of them have not been re-confirmed, which probably means they have been sold. Click to edit them and change their status to Sold. Do not delete them - it makes it easier for people (and search engines) to find your listings if there is a full list of your units online, past and current, as compared to current only.