OVERVIEW: DataGrabber

The information provided in the article is supplementary information for third-party technicians or IT Consultants that install DataGrabber to bridge a practice management application to their third-party imaging application. For detail information or instructions, please refer to the following documents:

• DataGrabber System Requirements
• DataGrabber Installation Guide
• DataGrabber User Manual

What is Datagrabber

DataGrabber is a bridging application located in the Windows System Tray that understands how to bridge patients from one application to another. DataGrabber works with most third-party practice management software, and will launch most third-party dental and medical imaging software.
For example, if you have patient "John Doe" open in your practice management application and then click on the icon in the system tray, DataGrabber will automatically open that patient in your medical imaging program. Using DataGrabber, the cumbersome and time consuming practice of manually starting applications, finding a specific patient and then opening that patient is automated with a single click of the mouse. For more information refer to the DataGrabber product page on Apteryx.com.

How does it work

DataGrabber has TWO components to it. The Name Grabbing component can be used standalone or in conjunction with the DataDrilling. The DataDrilling is rarely used as standalone component, it is always used in conjunction with the Name Grabbing component.

Name Grabbing - component 1

Name Grabbing is the actual grabbing of names from a windows display. This can be done in TWO ways. Either way can be used with a DataDrill or without a DataDrill. The DataDrill is only needed if the Name Grabbing cannot Grab an ID or some other unique Identifier.

Name Grabbing from the TitleBar

When there is data displayed in the title bar DataGrabber can read that information using it's Name Grabbing component.

• In the example above only the patients first and last name are displayed. This is not enough information to be a unique record. For a record to be unique it needs a unique identifier like a Patient ID, Chart ID, or SS#. In this Title Bar Name Grabbing example a DataDrill would be needed to provide the unique identifier. DataDrill's will be discussed later in this document.

• In the example above the ID is displayed. In would not require a DataDrill to create a unique record. The Name Grabbing function on its own would pass First Name, Last Name, and Id to the imaging program. A DataDrill may be used in this scenario to provide additional demographic information such as date of birth, gender, etc.

name grabbing using One or More Controls in a window

• A control is a editable field in a windows application. In this example the patients First and Last name are displayed, this example would require a DataDrill as well to get a unique identifier.

Data Drilling - component 2

DataDrill's are components of DataGrabber which allow it to read the Practice Management applications database. With a DataDrill you can display the entire list of Patients in the Practice Management applications database.

If the Name Grabbing component can only grab the First and Last name of a patient and there is a DataDrill setup properly, the Name Grabbing component asks the DataDrill to find that First and Last name in the Practice Management Applications Database. Once the DataDrill finds the Patient it will pull the ID, DOB, SS, and Sex if there is only one match for First and Last Name. If the DataDrill finds two or more patients with the same First and Last names the DataDrill will prompt the user to select the appropriate one.

Makeup of DataGrabber

DataGrabber has very few files in it's application sub directory, below you will find a brief explanation of each type.

• DataGrabber.exe - This file is the main application executable and is the first file that needs to be run on each workstation. you may see an OEM version of this executable like Universal Integrator.exe.
• ApteryxINI.dll - This file is a file used for Apteryx's registration process.
• DataGrabber.CHM - This file is a Complied HTML help file. The folder may contain a CHM file with a OEM name like Universal Integrator.CHM.
• *.DGDLL - DGDLL files are used to pass the patient information to to a third-party imaging application. In the example above, the DGDLL file is specific to Schick. There are several OEM versions of this files for each imaging application DataGrabber is capable of launching and passing patient information to.
• *.DRL - DRL files is a DataDrilling files that tap into a practice management's database to extract patient identification and demographic from. In the example above, the DRL file is specific to the SoftDent practice management application. There are several DRL files every Practice Management software Apteryx is able to drill for data. To remove any DataDrill simply delete the appropriate *.DRL file.
• DataGrabber.REG - This file is created during registration. The file will be named used is dependent on the OEM version of DataGrabber being registered.
• Backups - This folder that is created during any upgrade. The DataGrabber.exe and it's OEM's, any DataDrill, and even the *.DGDLL may be updated at any time. After the upgrade, the original files are stored in the backups folder in case there is an issue with the new version. When this is the case there will be a ApplicationDowngrader.exe in the application sub directory which will downgrade any of the files to the previous version or versions.
• Configs - The Configs folder is where all the configuration data is stored for all the workstations. There will be a list of Configs files beginning with each Net BIOS computer name. The config files have somewhat of intuitive names assigned to them, for example the COMPUTERNAME_SoftDent_DRL.DAT file is used to hold the path to the softdent patient database on the network. At any time all of these config files or some of them can be deleted, by deleting the configs files you are resetting the application to the defaults.