DXKeeper: Logging (recording and managing) QSOs

DXKeeper Online Help Contents

DXKeeper allows you to capture more than 100 items of information about each QSO. Some, like the station's callsign or the QSO's start time, will always be of interest. Others, like the station's grid square, may never be utilized. DXKeeper organizes these items into 9 groups:

Each of these groups is associated with a panel on the Log QSOs tabbed dialog. The QSO panel is always present; you can independently control the presence of the Aux, QSL, Awards, and Contest panels using the Log Panel checkboxes in the Configuration screen's Log tab or using the six checkboxes to the right of the QSO panel. All 49 information items are stored with each QSO, whether or not the panels displaying them are visible. This allows you to adjust DXKeeper's consumption of screen real estate to meet your operating needs of the moment.

Uncapitalized first letters of each word entered into the Name or QTH items will be automatically capitalized unless the word contains a capitalized letter.

To allow operation without removing one's hands from the keyboard, DXKeeper provides keyboard shortcuts  for navigating among the Log QSOs items.

Log files

QSOs and their information items are stored in a log file. When you run DXKeeper for the first time after installing it, you will be prompted for your callsign. DXKeeper uses your callsign to create a log file in the databases subfolder of its DXKeeper folder, and automatically opens that log. If you installed DXKeeper in the folder c:\program files\DXKeeper and your callsign is AA6YQ/KH6, for example, DXKeeper will create and open the file c:\program files\DXKeeper\aa6yq-kh6.mdb. This log file may be all you ever need. But if you participate in contests or operate from multiple locations, you may wish to maintain multiple log files; the controls in the Configuration screen's Log File panel support this mode of operation by enabling you to

If you start DXKeeper with a command line argument that specifies a valid pathname, DXKeeper will attempt to open the designated file as a log.

If you operate from multiple QTHs and wish to automatically generate QSL cards or labels that correctly reflect the QTH from which you were operating , DXKeeper allows you to specify the details of each QTH (e.g. city, country, state, grid) and assign each QTH a unique identifier that can be logged with a QSO. 

 

Logging new QSOs using the Main window's Log QSOs tab

There are three basic steps in logging a QSO:

  1. create a new QSO record

  2. capture the information items you care about

  3. save the QSO record

If you are logging a new QSO (as opposed to logging already-completed QSOs from a paper logbook), check the optimize for realtime QSO entry box.

To create a new QSO record, click the New button. This saves any previously open QSO record,  initializes all of the textboxes used to capture information items to blanks, and places the cursor in the call item awaiting your entry of a callsign.

If, after entering or modifying a callsign in the call item, you strike the Enter key or the Tab key or immediately click the mode item selector, DXKeeper will 

You can set any of the remaining items manually. Double-clicking several items immediately performs useful actions.

In determining the DXCC entity from the callsign, DXKeeper uses the current ITU Prefix Allocations. If you are logging an older QSO, you should verify that that DXKeeper has deduced the correct DXCC entity by inspecting the Aux panel's  entity item. If you log a 1990 QSO with UP1BZO, for example, DXKeeper will set the QSO's DXCC entity to Kazakhstan, which is incorrect. You can correct this by selecting the correct DXCC entity -- in this case, Lithuania -- in the Aux panel's entity item.

If the first letter of the callsign you enter is an exclamation point, DXKeeper assumes that you are logging a CQ, an unsuccessful call, a test, or some other transmission that you wish to record but does not represent a QSO. Such log entries are not assigned a DXCC entity, do not initiate a Callbook database lookup, and are not included in award tracking statistics.

DXKeeper provides items in its Awards panel that let you record a callsign's Primary Administrative Subdivision and its Secondary Administrative Subdivision. Some DXCC entities formally define a set of Primary Administrative Subdivisions, e.g. States in the United States, Oblasts in Russia, and Prefectures in Japan; unique abbreviations or codes are used to identify these primary subdivisions. For such entities, DXKeeper provides an appropriately-labeled (e.g. state, oblast, prefecture) selector that lets you choose from among the valid codes; if you click the ? button to the right of this selector, DXKeeper's Main Administrative Subdivision Selector window will appear, which provides a cross-reference between codes or abbreviations and full names, and lets you choose a primary subdivision by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector. Some of the DXCC entities that define a set of Primary Administrative Subdivisions formally define a set of Secondary Administrative Subdivisions for each of their Primary Administrative Subdivision, e.g. Counties in the United States, Districts in Russia, and Cities and Guns in Japan; unique abbreviations or codes are used to identify these secondary subdivisions. For such entities, DXKeeper provides an appropriately-labeled (e.g. county, district, city/gun) selector lets you choose from among the valid codes; if you click the ? button to the right of this selector, DXKeeper's Main Administrative Subdivision Selector window will appear, which provides a cross-reference between codes or abbreviations and full names, and lets you choose a secondary subdivision by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector. For entities that do not define Primary or Secondary Subdivisions, DXKeeper provides pri sub and sec sub textboxes with which any subdivision name can be recorded; you can use this to capture a subdivision name for QSO with a country that does not formally define its subdivisions, but this information may not be accepted by other logging applications when they import an ADIF file that you export.

DXKeeper also provides the ability to capture entity-specific information required for certain awards:

Entity Award(s) Region/DOK
Austria CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe 4U1V (UN Vienna)
England Worked All Britain Area reference
Germany DARC DOK DOK
Guernsey Worked All Britain Area reference
Ireland Worked All Ireland Area reference
Isle of Man Worked All Britain Area reference
Italy CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe IG9/IH9 (African Italy), IT9 (Sicily)
Jersey Worked All Britain Area reference
Northern Ireland Worked All Britain, Worked All Ireland Area reference
Scotland CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe, Worked All Britain GM/S (Shetland Islands), Area reference
Serbia CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe YU8 (Kosovo)
Svalbard CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe JW/B (Bear Island)
Turkey CQ Marathon, CQ DX, DARC Worked All Europe TA1 (European Turkey)
Wales Worked All Britain Area reference

After entering or modifying a German callsign in the call item, if you strike the Enter key or the Tab key or immediately click the mode item selector, DXKeeper will display a DOK box in the Awards panel. If you instead enter or modify an Austrian, Italian, Scottish, Serbian, Svalbardian, or Turkish callsign, DXKeeper will display a region selector in the Awards panel. If you know the correct code for the DOK or region, you can enter it directly; if not, click the ? button to the right of the DOK or region box, and the Main Award Selector window will appear. This window provides a cross-reference between codes and full names, allowing you to select a DOK or region by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector.

If you enter callsign from England, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, you can capture an Area reference in the region item for the Worked All Britain and/or Worked All Ireland awards. If you are pursuing the Worked All Britain award and the DARC Worked All Europe, CQ DX, or CQ Marathon awards, you should record the Worked All Britain Area reference when logging a QSO with a station in Scotland's Shetland Islands; the DARC Worked All Europe, CQ DX, and CQ Marathon progress reports will credit the QSO properly.

When any item is modified, the panel labels are rendered in blue as a reminder to save the information. To do so, click the Log button; this resets the panel labels to black. If you plan to immediately log a new QSO, you can instead click the New button, which will save the information and create a new QSO record. With the cursor in any item textbox, you can perform these operations without lifting your hands from the keyboard; strike Ctrl-L or Ctrl-J respectively.

If the Provide audible feedback box is checked, successfully logging a QSO via the New or Log buttons will play the "Windows Default Beep" sound.

If an item contains an invalid value, or if a required item is missing, clicking the Log  or New buttons or attempting to select another QSO flashes the labels of any such items in red, but does not enter the QSO into the current log; if the Provide audible feedback box is checked, the "Windows Default Beep" will play each time the labels flash. Frequencies not falling within a defined band are considered invalid. Callsign validity checking can be enabled or disabled via the Flag Invalid Callsigns setting. If an item's data exceeds its specified maximum length, its label will be flashing in red and the Log button will not enter the QSO into the current log. Until you correct the error(s) causing tem labels to flash, the New, Log, and Delete buttons will not function, nor will you be able to select another QSO.

If a non-critical item is missing or contains an inappropriate value, clicking the Log or New buttons or attempting to select another QSO will enter the QSO into the current log but flashes the labels of any such items in blue (if the panel's that contain them are visible). Examples of non-critical errors include: 

Iota items that are valid but not in standard format will be placed in standard format when you click the Log or New buttons. For example, AF1 will be changed to AF-001.

If you modify one or more items and then change your mind, clicking the Undo button will restore them to their last saved state.

Double-clicking on the caption of an item selects that item:

Logging a new QSO automatically selects the call item.

If an item has a default value, Ctrl-double-clicking the caption of that item will display the Configuration window and place the mouse cursor in the default value,

In fields containing dates, the year must be 1930 or later.

If you do not include time separators in the  begin or end fields, DXKeeper will insert them appropriately:

 

Time Result
1 01:00:00
12 12:00:00
123 1:23:00
1234 12:24:00
12345 1:23:45
123456 12:34:56

If you have configured Windows to use a time separator other than colon, DXKeeper will use the time separator you have specified.

With the mouse cursor in the begin or end fields, you can incrementally change the specified date and time using the up and down arrow keys:

Modifier Effect of Up or Down Arrow keys
none increases or decreases the date and time by 1 minute
Ctrl increases or decreases the date and time by 10 minutes
Shift increases or decreases the date and time by 1 hour
Alt increases or decreases the date and time by 1 day

Striking the Enter key in the QTH field initiates a word-by-word inspection of the  QSL field.

To make it easy to copy QSL route information into a QSO record, the address field supports drag and drop from OLE sources such as Pathfinder or Microsoft Internet Explorer. To use this feature, first select the QSL route text in the source; then drag the selected text to the address field and drop it there. Semicolons in the selected text will be converted to newline sequences in the address field.  The drag and drop action replaces any pre-existing address field contents with the selected source text. You can also invoke the Address Editor by double-clicking the address field or the via field.

Double-clicking the comment or QSLMsg item will invoke a Field editor that makes it easier to edit their content. You can include substitution commands in the QSLMsg item to include information determined by your current location.

Double-clicking or striking the Enter key in the Grid Square item updates DXView's display to show the specified grid square as its current position. Depressing the CTRL key while double-clicking the Grid Square item updates DXView's display and rotates the antenna to the short-path heading; depressing the ALT key while double-clicking the Grid Square item updates DXView's display and rotates the antenna to the long-path heading.

 

Logging or updating already-completed QSOs using the Main window's Log QSOs tab

If you are manually entering completed QSOs via the Main window, you will find it convenient to un-check the optimize for realtime QSO entry box:

Un-check the optimize for realtime QSO entry box will uncheck the Contest Mode box.

Note: if you don't wish to record a frequency with a QSO, set its value to 0.

 

Logging QSOs using the QSO Capture Window

To facilitate rapid real-time logging with minimum screen space consumption, DXKeeper provides a QSO Capture window, activated by clicking the Capture button located on the Log QSOs tab. The QSO Capture Window records 38 items, all but four of which (call, DXCC, tx frequency, and mode) are optional. By dragging the Capture window's lower border up or down, the Capture window can be configured to display from as few as two items to all items.

Clicking the Lookup button,  or striking the Enter key in the Call textbox, or striking the Tab key in the Call textbox results in the following actions:

Allowing the mouse cursor to linger over the DXCC item when it contains a DXCC entity prefix will prompt DXKeeper to display a popup window containing the full name of the DXCC entity. Similarly, allowing the mouse cursor to linger over a State or Province item will prompt DXKeeper to display a popup window containing the full name of the state or province.

If the first letter of the callsign you enter is an exclamation point, DXKeeper assumes that you are logging a CQ, an unsuccessful call, a test, or some other transmission that you wish to record but does not represent a QSO. Such log entries are not assigned a DXCC prefix, do not initiate a Callbook database lookup, and are not included in award tracking statistics.

Double-clicking or striking the Enter key in the grid textbox updates DXView's display to show the specified grid square as its current position. Depressing the CTRL key while double-clicking the Grid textbox updates DXView's display and rotates the antenna to the short-path heading; depressing the ALT key while double-clicking the Grid textbox updates DXView's display and rotates the antenna to the long-path heading.

Clicking the Begin button, entering a received signal report in the RST rcvd field with the Set QSO start when RST Rcvd box is checked, striking Alt-B in any Capture window field, or striking CTRL-B in any Capture window field

Clicking the End button or striking CTRL-E in any Capture window item

DXKeeper provides items in its Capture window that let you record a callsign's Primary Administrative Entity and its Secondary Administrative Entity. Some DXCC entities formally define a set of Primary Administrative Subdivisions, e.g. States in the United States, Oblasts in Russia, and Prefectures in Japan; unique abbreviations or codes are used to identify these primary subdivisions. For such entities, DXKeeper provides an appropriately-labeled (e.g. state, oblast, prefecture) selector lets you choose from among the valid codes; if you click the ? button to the left of this selector, DXKeeper's Capture Administrative Subdivision Selector window will appear, which provides a cross-reference between code or abbreviation and full name, and lets you choose a primary subdivision by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector. Some of the DXCC entities that define a set of Primary Administrative Subdivisions formally define a set of Secondary Administrative Subdivisions for each of their Primary Administrative Subdivision, e.g. Counties in the United States, Districts in Russia, and Cities and Guns in Japan; unique abbreviations or codes are used to identify these secondary subdivisions. For such entities, DXKeeper provides an appropriately-labeled (e.g. county, district, city/gun) selector lets you choose from among the valid codes; if you click the ? button to the left of this selector, DXKeeper's Capture Administrative Subdivision Selector window will appear, which lets you choose a secondary subdivision by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector. For entities that do not define Primary or Secondary Subdivisions, DXKeeper provides pri sub and sec sub textboxes with which any subdivision name can be recorded; you could use this to capture a subdivision name for QSO with a country that does not formally define its subdivisions. 

DXKeeper also provides items in its Capture window that let you capture a DOK for German callsigns, and a region for Austrian, Italian, Scottish, Svalbardian, or Turkish callsigns. If you don't know the appropriate DOK or region code, click the ? button to the right of the DOK or region box, and the Capture Award Selector window will appear. This window provides a cross-reference between codes and full names, allowing you to select a DOK or region by clicking in either the window's Code or Name selector.

If you enter callsign from England, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Northern Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, you can capture a Worked All Britain reference in the region box. If you are pursuing the Worked All Britain award and the DARC Worked All Europe, CQ DX, or CQ Marathon awards, you should record the Worked All Britain reference when logging a QSO with a station in Scotland's Shetland Islands; the DARC Worked All Europe, CQ DX, and CQ Marathon progress reports will credit the QSO properly.

Checking the QSL Requested box indicates that a QSL card or label should be sent and a confirmation requested. If logged, the QSO's QSL Sent and QSL Rcvd items will be set to 'R' (for requested); when you later run the QSL Workflow, the Add Requested button will automatically generate a QSL card or label for this QSO; printed cards and 2-column labels will bear a "please!" in their QSL? column.

Checking the use bureau box indicates that the QSL should be sent via the QSL bureau. If logged, the QSO's QSL Sent Via item will be set to 'B'.

Checking the LotW member box indicates that the callsign participates in the ARRL's Logbook of the World. If logged, the QSO's LotW Member item will be set to 'Y'.

Checking the eQSL.cc member box indicates that the callsign participates in eQSL.cc . If logged, the QSO's eQSL.cc Member item will be set to 'Y'.

Double-clicking the QSL Via item invokes the Address Editor .

Double-clicking an item's label will filter the Log Page Display to show all QSOs whose item matches the value in the Capture window.  If the Capture window's IOTA item contains OC-005, for example, double-clicking the IOTA label will filter the Log Page Display to show all QSOs whose IOTA item is OC-005.

If an item has a default value, Ctrl-double-clicking that item's label will display the Configuration window and place the mouse cursor in the default value,

Striking the Enter key in the QTH item initiates a word-by-word inspection of the  QSL item.

Clicking the Clear button with Contest-mode unchecked clears all items and presents the Begin button; if Contest-mode checked, the TX# item is not cleared.

Clicking the Log button 

Note that striking CTRL-<enter> or CTRL-L in any Capture Window item is equivalent to clicking the Log button.

If the Log Page Display is filtered to show previous QSOs with the station in the Call item, the number of previous QSOs is parenthetically appended to the Call item's label, whether or not the main log window is visible. Clicking on the Call item's label will display the main log window, should it be minimized. Information about the most recent QSO -- date, time, frequency, mode, and QSL status -- is displayed in the Capture window is appropriately resized; click the window maximize button on the right side of the title bar to expand the Capture window enough to show all information.

With Contest Mode disabled, a  Log Page Display entry will be rendered in red font if its Callsign, Band, and Mode match those in the Capture window; this can help avoid duplicate QSOs; with Contest Mode enabled, a  Log Page Display entry will be rendered in red font if its Callsign, Band, Mode and Contest ID match those in the Capture window.

If required items are missing or contain invalid values, clicking the Log button highlights the labels of these items in red, but does not enter the QSO into the current log. Frequencies not falling within a defined band are considered invalid. Callsign validity checking can be enabled or disabled via the Flag Invalid Callsigns setting. If a Capture item's data exceeds its specified maximum length, its label will be highlighted in red and the Log button will not enter the QSO into the current log. 

You can include substitution commands in the QSL msg item to include information determined by your current location.

Uncapitalized first letters of each word entered into the Name or QTH items will be automatically capitalized unless the word contains a capitalized letter.

To allow operation without removing one's hands from the keyboard, DXKeeper provides keyboard shortcuts for navigating among the Capture Window's items.

While DXKeeper can log a receive frequency (distinct from a transmit frequency) for each QSO, the Capture window does not provide a means of recording this information. For cross-band QSOs -- Satellite QSOs, for example -- use the Main window for logging.

If SpotCollector is running and has been configured to generate cluster spots, then clicking the Spot button will use the Capture window's Call, TX frequency, and Mode items to generate a DX spot; if the Mode is not CW or SSB, it will be included as a spot note. If the Spot split frequency setting is enabled, outgoing spot notes will include the difference between the Capture window's TX and RX  frequencies unless that difference exceeds 9.9 KHz, in which case the full TX frequency will be included. If the band is 6m or above and a gridsquare has been captured, it will also be included as a spot note; if the operator's gridsquare is specified in the current myQTH, then the spot note will be of the form "DX_Grid > Operator_Grid".  Depressing the CTRL key while clicking the Spot button will display a dialog box that lets you specify notes to be included in the spot; in this case, you must manually include the mode and or gridsquare  in the notes should that be appropriate.

If WinWarbler is running and Capture window F-Keys via WW is checked, then striking the function keys F5 through F12 in a Capture window textbox will invoke a WinWarbler macro, with Shift key and Alt key modifiers functioning as they would within WinWarbler. Striking the Esc key in a Capture window textbox will abort any active WinWarbler transmission.

 

Viewing and editing logged QSOs

The Log Page Display contains one entry for each QSO in the current Log file, subject to settings in the Filter panel. Each such row contains multiple cells, each cell containing an information item stored for that QSO. The caption at the top of each column identifies the information item in the cells below it. Dates displayed in the Log Page Display follow the date format specified in the Windows Control Panel's Regional and Language Options applet's Regional Options tab.

A Log Page Display entry will be rendered in red font if its Callsign, Band, and Mode match those in the Capture window; this can help avoid making duplicate QSOs.

With the Log QSOs tabbed dialog selected, resizing DXKeeper's window allows you to vertically and horizontally expand or contract the log page display. Vertical and horizontal scrollbars allow you to view all cells of all rows in the log page display.

The left-most column of the log page display is shaded, and has no column caption. Click in this selector column selects the associated QSO:

The four VCR-like control buttons in the Log QSOs tabbed dialog allow you to select the first, previous, next, or last QSO in the current Log file. You can similarly navigate the Log Page Display using the CTRL-Home, PageUp, PageDown, and CTRL-End keys respectively.

You can edit items in the currently selected QSO by directly modifying the item textboxes; within an item textbox

You can make your changes permanent by clicking the Log button, or back out your changes using the Undo button.

If the optimize for realtime QSO entry setting is checked,

The CFM button in the QSL panel makes it easy to confirm an incoming QSL card for the currently selected QSO. Clicking this button

You can delete the currently selected QSO by clicking the Delete button, and then clicking the Yes button in the subsequently displayed confirmation dialog box. You can delete all QSOs in the Log Page Display by depressing the CTRL key while clicking the Delete button.  There is no undo operation for a confirmed delete.

Double-clicking an entry in the Log Page Display filters the Log Page Display to show only QSOs with that entry's callsign; Double-clicking an entry in the Log Page Display while depressing the Ctrl button filters the Log Page Display to show only QSOs with that entry's DXCC entity

If the Highlight duplicate QSOs box is checked, then entries in the Log Page Display whose callsign, band, and mode match those of the Capture window will be highlighted in red font.

 

Sorting the Log Page Display

To view the Log Page Display in order of each QSO's begin time, click the UTC button in the Sort panel below the log page display. To view the Log Page Display in callsign order, click the Call button in the Sort panel below the log page display. To view the Log Page Display in the order each QSO was added, click the # button in the Sort panel below the log page display. 

You can sort any column in the Log Page Display by double-clicking on its caption. The first time you do this, the Log Page Display will be sorted in ascending order of the selected column; if you do it again, the Log Page will be sorted in descending order. The Sort panel's caption will indicate how the Log Page Display is being sorted.

For more sophisticated sorts, click the Adv button to the right of the Sort panel to display DXKeeper's Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window. In this window's Advanced Sort panel, you can compose four different advanced sorts, each containing up to three sort fields. To compose a sort, select the first field to be sorted in the ADIF field name control at the top of the window; then double-click in the First Field textbox. If the first field is to be sorted in ascending order, click the First Field panel's Ascend button, otherwise click the Descend button. If there is a second field to be sorted, specify it in the Second Field panel; if there is a third field to be sorted, specify it in the Third Field panel. If necessary, use the X buttons to the right of a sort field textbox to clear its contents. Double-clicking one of the four sort textboxes at the bottom of the Advanced Sort panel will assemble your specified sort in that textbox. To apply a sort, click the Select radio button to its right, and click the Adv button in the Main window's Sort panel. You can directly edit an Advanced sort; doing so will reset the Select radio button to its right. Click an Advanced sort's Select radio button with the Adv button in the Main window's Sort panel already selected will immediately sort the Log Page Display.

Depressing the CTRL key while clicking the Filter panel's X button both resets the Log Page Display filter and sorts the Log Page Display in UTC order.

Invoking a Sync eQSL.cc QSLs or Sync LotW QSLs operation sorts the Log Page Display in order of eQSL date rcvd or LotW date rcvd respectively.

 

Filtering the Log Page Display

The controls in the Filter panel, located at the bottom of the  Log QSOs tabbed dialog, allow you to control which QSOs appear in the Log Page Display. Note that QSLing and Exporting operations act only upon QSOs appearing in the Log Page Display, so you can use filtering to QSL or Export a specific subset of the QSOs in your log. 

At startup, the Filter is set to None, thus the Log Page Display contains rows for every QSO in the current log file. If you enter a callsign into the Filter textbox and click the Filter panel's Call button, the Log Page Display removes rows for any QSOs whose call item does not match the Filter callsign. Similarly, entering a callsign into the Filter textbox and clicking the Filter panel's DXCC button removes rows for any QSOs whose DXCC entity does not match that of the Filter callsign. If the contents of the Filter textbox cannot be mapped to a DXCC Entity, then it is assumed that these contents are DXCC Prefix rather than a callsign, and the Log Page Display is filtered by this DXCC Prefix. For example.

Filter textbox contents Clicking the Filter panel's DXCC button filters for all QSOs with
3B8IK Mauritius Island (DXCC = 3B8)
UN1DX Kazakhstan (DXCC = UL)
UL1DX Uzbekistan (DXCC = UJ)
Y German Democratic Republic (DXCC = Y)

To use the DXCC button to locate QSOs with a deleted DXCC entity, type the deleted entity's DXCC prefix into the Filter textbox preceded by the ~ character. To locate QSOs with Serrana Bank, for example, type ~HK0S into the Filter textbox and click the DXCC button.

You can use * (asterisk) as a wildcard character in Filter callsigns. For example,

    K6MI*

will match K6MI, K6MIO, and K6MIO/KH6.

When you invoke the Call filter on a callsign that doesn't contain a wildcard character, DXKeeper automatically uses a search expression that will match prepended or appended prefixes or designators. For example

    K6AB

will match K6AB, KH6/K6AB, K6AB/QRP, and KH6/K6AB/P but will not match K6ABC or ZK6AB.

Both the Call and DXCC filters select the appropriate DXCC entity in the Progress Grid and provide detailed award status in the Progress Details Grid.

Double-clicking on a callsign in the Call field in the Main window's Log QSOs tab filters the Log Page Display to show previous QSOs with that callsign; if Contest-mode is checked, then only QSOs whose recorded Contest IDs match the current Contest ID setting are shown. Double-clicking on an entry in the Log Page Display filters the Log Page Display to show previous QSO's with that entry's callsign; if Contest-mode is checked, then only QSOs matching the current Contest ID are shown. Double-clicking on an entry in the Log Page Display while depressing the Ctrl key filters the Log Page Display to show show all QSO's with that entry's DXCC entity. 

The UTC filter allows you to restrict the Log Page Display to those QSOs falling within a specified range. You can specify this range as being 

To specify the UTC filter range, depress the Control key while clicking the filter panel's UTC button, or click the Adv button to the left of the Filter panel. This displays DXKeeper's Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window, whose UTC Filter panel lets you choose between within and after/before ranges, and specify the parameters for that range. Date-and-time parameters can be specified using your locale's standard date/time format,  the dd-mmm-yyyy hh:mm:ss format, or the yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format. 

After specifying the UTC filter range, you can activate the filter by clicking the Filter button in the Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window's UTC Filter panel. Alternatively, you can activate the UTC filter by placing a valid date-and-time in the Filter panel on the Main window's Log QSOs tab and then clicking the Filter panel's UTC button. If the Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window's UTC panel specifies a within range, then the date-and-time in the Main window's Filter panel specifies the center of that range;  if the Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window's UTC panel specifies an after/before range, then the date-and-time in the Main window's Filter panel specifies the beginning of that range.

Clicking the Sel button displays all QSOs whose Select items are set to Y.  Every QSO's Select item can be manually set to N or Y, so this provides a means of specifying and selecting an arbitrary group of QSOs. You can also configure DXKeeper to set the Select item of each imported QSO to Y; with this option enabled and the Select items of all logged QSOs were set to N before the import operation, the Sel filter will show only newly-imported QSOs after the import operation completes.

To set the Select item of all QSOs in  the Log Page Display to N, depress the CTRL key while clicking the Sel button. Note that this only affects QSOs in the Log Page Display; to set the Select item of all QSOs in the current log to N, either reset the Log Page Display filter before invoking CTRL-Sel, or click the Set all Select to N button on the Main window's Import QSOs tab.

Clicking the LotW button displays all QSOs whose LotW Sent items are set to U, meaning that their acceptance by LotW has not been verified.

Clicking the SQL1 button invokes the first SQL filter defined in the Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window, as described below.

Clicking the Broke button filters the Log Page Display to display only QSOs that

If the Subdivisions box is checked on the Config window's Awards tab, the Broke filter also displays QSOs that

Clicking the Adv button located between the Sort and Filter panels displays the DXKeeper Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window, which enables you to

The filter setting -- whether based on callsign, DXCC prefix, time window, band, mode, broken, or an SQL query -- is shown in the Filter panel's caption. 

To reset the Log Page Display filter so that all QSOs are visible there, click the Filter panel's X button. Depressing the CTRL key while clicking the Filter panel's X button both resets the Log Page Display filter and sorts the Log Page Display in UTC order.

Filter's can also be invoked by striking control keys in the filter textbox.

To facilitate sequential filter operations, striking the Enter key with the cursor in the filter textbox invokes the last filter operation. For example to quickly check for previous QSOs with JY4NE, IK4VYX, and YV1DIG, one would

  1. enter JY4NE in the filter textbox

  2. click the Call button in the filter panel to see previous QSOs with Ali

  3. enter IK4VYX in the filter text box and strike the Enter key to see previous QSOs with Fab

  4. enter YV1DIG in the filter text box and strike the Enter key to see previous QSOs with Paul

Double-clicking an item's label in the Capture window will filter the Log Page Display to show all QSOs whose item matches the value in the Capture window.  If the Capture window's IOTA item contains OC-005, for example, double-clicking the IOTA label will filter the Log Page Display to show all QSOs whose IOTA item is OC-005.

Depressing the ALT key while clicking the Log button will reset the Log Page Display filter; if the Sort panel is set to UTC, the most recent QSO will be made current.

DXKeeper's title bar shows the number of QSOs visible in the Log Page Display, taking any specified filtering into account.

QSL and Export operations only apply to QSOs visible in the Log Page Display, thus you can use filtering to choose a specific subset of QSOs to which these activities apply.

Generating QSLs and SWL Confirmations via the Log Page Display

To add the confirmation of a QSO to a batch of outgoing QSL cards or labels, place confirmation of that QSO in the QSL Queue by right-clicking on its entry in the Log Page Display and then left-clicking on the Add to QSL Queue option. 

To add a Shortwave Listener (SWL) confirmation for a QSO to a batch of outgoing QSL cards or labels, place an SWL confirmation of that QSO in the QSL Queue by right-clicking on its entry in the Log Page Display and then left-clicking on the Add SWL Entry to QSL Queue option.

If the QSL Queue is empty, right-clicking on a QSO in the Log Page Display will provides a set of immediate QSLing options:

Log Reports

The Report button generates a log report with one entry for each QSO in the Log Page Display, and places that report in a file in DXKeeper's Reports subfolder. This report's sort order and layout are those of the Log Page Display with one exception: if the Log Page Display includes the country code, the report appends the full DXCC entity name to the country code. You can create a layout optimized for this report and save it in a file for later recall, as described below.

Plotting QSOs

If DXView is running, the Plot button conveys all QSOs in the Log Page Display to DXView for display on its world map. 

Modifying QSOs en masse

The Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window provides two facilities for applying modifications to many QSOs: the Modify QSOs panel, and the Script panel. To display the Advanced Logs Sorts, Filter, and Modifiers window, click the Adv button at the bottom of the Main window's Log QSOs tab. Its a good idea to make a backup copy of your log before using either of these facilities; this makes it easier to recover if things don't go as expected.

The Modify QSOs panel lets you designate an item and provide a new value for that item. When you click the panel's Modify button, the designated item of each QSO in the Log Page Display will be set to the specified value. To designate an item, use the panel's Item's ADIF field name selector to choose the item's  ADIF field name. Enter the desired new value in the panel's New item value setting. Clicking the panel's Modify button applies the change to every QSO in the Log Page Display; if you intend to change only some of the QSOs in your log, first filter the Log Page Display so that only the QSOs to be modified are present.

Item Computation Prerequisite
tx band determine tx band from tx frequency
  • valid tx frequency
rx band determine rx band from rx frequency
  • valid rx frequency
lat compute latitude and longitude from grid square
  • valid grid square
lon compute latitude and longitude from grid square
  • valid grid square
grid compute grid square from latitude and longitude
  • valid latitude and longitude
dist compute distance from grid square or latitude and longitude
antenna az compute antenna azimuth from grid square or latitude and longitude


New item value

 Effect
+1y adds one year
-1m subtracts one month
+3d adds 3 days
-2h  subtracts 2 hours
+5n adds 5 minutes
+3s adds 3 seconds

Neither fractions nor combinations are permitted; if you want to add 3 hours and 30 minutes to each QSO's start time, for example,  use +210n.

worked <Name> on <Band>

then a 20m QSO with ON4UN will have its comment item set to  

    worked John on 20m

If you modify the QSL Rcvd or LotW Received items of one or more QSOs, the Log's Award Progress may requiring updating; DXKeeper will prompt you to invoke the Recompute function after any such change, but if you are making a sequence of changes involving either of these items, it will be faster to run Recompute once after all changes are complete.

If the Subdivisions box is checked on the Config window's Awards tab and your modification results in one or more QSOs with DXCC entities that formally specify Primary or Secondary Administrative Subdivisions specifying an invalid primary or secondary administrative entity, a message window informing you of this situation will appear at the conclusion of the operation. You can invoke the Broke filter to display QSOs specifying invalid primary or secondary administrative entities.

Scripts

The Script panel contains a single Run button that when clicked

The script log file is created in the folder in which the script file resides; its filename is constructing by appending _Log_YYYY_MMM_DD to the script log's filename, where YYYY is the current year, MMM is the current month, and DD is the current day, and its filename extension is .log .

The Filter command specifies a structured query language (SQL) expression that is used to filter the Log Page Display. The number of QSOs present in the Log Page Display after executing the Filter command is recorded in the script log file. This Filter command, for example, 

Filter QSO_Begin < #1/1/1979# and call like '*KB6*'

selects all QSOs with Baker and Howland Islands prior to January 1, 1979.

Ordinarily, DXKeeper remembers the Log Page Display Filter in effect before you initiated script execution, and restores this filter after script execution has completed. If the selected script contains the command Retain Filter, however, DXKeeper does not restore the original Log Page Display Filter; the Log Page Display Filter will be established by the last Filter command executed by the script. This allows script files to be used purely to filter the Log Page Display.

The Sort command specifies an expression which is used to sort the Log Page Display. The expression specifies the items by which the log is to be sorted, with each item's ADIF field name separated by comma's. They keyword DESC is appended if an item is to be placed in descending rather than ascending order. Thus

    Sort Band DESC, Call

will sort the Log Page Display by band in descending order, and then by callsign in ascending order. Executing a script containing a Sort command will clear the Sort panel on the Main window's Log QSOs tab.

The Report command directs the generation of a log or progress report into a specified filename. Its generic format is

         Report Kind ReportFilename

Kind can be one of the following values

Kind Report Format Description
ARRL_entities_progress text progress report showing worked/confirmed status for each entity defined by the ARRL
  • can be used to generate progress reports for a variety of entity-based awards, e.g. BARTG
  • the filename component of ReportFilename is used as the generated report's title
ARRL_entities_submission text submission report showing confirmed entities defined by the ARRL
  • can be used to generate submission reports for a variety of entity-based awards, e.g. BARTG
  • the filename component of ReportFilename is used as the generated report's title

 
CQDX text CQ DX progress report
DOK text DARC DOK progress report
DXCC text DXCC progress report
Fields text Maidenhead Fields progress report
Grids text Maidenhead Grid Squares progress report
IOTA text Islands On The Air progress report
JCC-G text JARL Worked all Japanese Cities and Guns progress report
Log text one entry for each QSO visible in the Log Page Display
RDA text Russian District Award progress report
US_States text ARRL Worked All States progress report
US_Counties text CQ United States of America Counties progress report
VUCC text VUCC progress report
WAB text Worked All Britain progress report
WAC text ARRL Worked All Continents progress report
WAE text DARC Worked All Europe progress report
WAZ HTML CQ Worked All Zones progress report
WPX text CQ Worked All Prefixes progress report
WPX-summary HTML CQ Worked All Prefixes summary report
WPX-submission text CQ Worked All Prefixes submission report

 

ReportFilename supports the following substitution commands:

Substitution command Replacement
<stationcallsign> the Default station callsign 
<operator> the Default operator callsign
<ownercallsign> the Default owner callsign 
<date> the current UTC date in the format dd-mmm-yyyy (e.g., 25-JAN-1952)
<ISOdate> the current UTC date in the format yyyy-mm-dd (e.g., 1952-01-25)

 For example, the commands

    Filter Band='6m'

    Report Grids C:\Program Files\DXKeeper\Reports\<operator>6M grids.txt

will produce a 6 meter Maidenhead Gridsquare progress report in the file 

AA6YQ 6M grids.txt  

in the folder 

C:\Program Files\DXKeeper\Reports.

The log report's sort order and layout are those of the Log Page Display with one exception: if the Log Page Display includes the country code, the report appends the full DXCC entity name to the country code. You can create a layout optimized for this report and save it in a file for later recall, as described below. 

The Modify command designates an item and provide a new value for that item; its operation is comparable to the Modify QSOs panel.  Consider the following  Modify commands:

Modify DXCCid 20
Modify DXCCprefix KH1
Modify CQZ 31
Modify ITUz 61

These commands will change the DXCCid, DXCCprefix, CQZ, and ITUz items of each QSO in the the Log Page Display. If placed after the above Filter command, these four Modify commands would update all pre-1979 QSOs with Baker and Howland Islands to contain the correct country code, DXCC prefix, CQ zone, and ITU zone.

Within the new value, the character sequence <cu