What you can do
Connect WinTool TMS to CRIBWISE so tool data flows from WinTool into CRIBWISE and stock levels flow back, giving WinTool real-time quantities from your devices.
Setting it up means preparing cost centers and user transactions in WinTool, editing the interface configuration file, configuring the Admin Portal, and pointing both systems at a shared synchronization target.
Before you start
From CRIBWISE:
- The Professional Cloud offering. On-premise installations are not supported yet.
- The WINTOOL Tool Management System add-on enabled on your subscription.
- A user with Admin Portal access and the Administrator role.
From WinTool:
- Tool Dispenser interface v1.18 or newer enabled on your installation.
- A user who can manage cost centers.
- Access to the WT-ToolDispenser-Interface.ini configuration file.
Quick start
Experienced users – connect the systems in 5 steps:
- Create the device, In Use and Ordered cost centers in WinTool.
- Add the four user transactions between them.
- Edit WT-ToolDispenser-Interface.ini with the cost center ids.
- Configure the WinTool integration in Administration → Integration.
- Set up the synchronization target – Azure Storage or Google Cloud Storage.
Steps
Step 1 — Create the cost centers in WinTool
CRIBWISE uses a simplified cost center structure in WinTool to show the right stock levels for your devices. You can show levels per device, or consolidate them as if there were a single device. To show them per device, repeat the steps below for each one.
Create these cost centers:
- A device cost center – one per device.
- Quantity in use.
- Quantity ordered.
- Open the WinTool application.
- Go to Settings under Logistics in the left pane.
- Select Cost centers in the menu pane that opens.
- Add a new cost center and enter its name in Description.
- Select the Type from the table below.
- Note the technical id assigned to the new cost center, shown in the bottom right corner of the Edit cost centers dialogue.
The technical id appears in the bottom right corner – 32 in this example.
| Description | Type |
| Device name, for example Milling Room | C – in stock |
| In Use | D – in use |
| Ordered | D – in use |
Note: Stock transactions generated by CRIBWISE do not conflict with existing purchasing or inventory tracking transactions in WinTool.
Step 2 — Configure the user transactions
User transactions describe the possible source and target combinations, so CRIBWISE can generate transactions between the cost centers you created.
- Open the WinTool application.
- Go to Settings under Logistics in the left pane.
- Click User transactions to open the Transaction configuration menu.
- Click the New icon in the middle of the menu.
- Enter the name in Description.
- Select the Action.
- Select the Transfer from cost center.
- Select the Transfer to cost center.
Creating one of the four user transactions.
| Name | Action | Transfer from | Transfer to |
| Increase ordered | 04 – Return | CRIBWISE – Ordered | CRIBWISE |
| Decrease ordered | 03 – Issue | CRIBWISE | CRIBWISE – Ordered |
| Pick durable | 03 – Issue | CRIBWISE | CRIBWISE – In use |
| Return picked durable | 04 – Return | CRIBWISE – In use | CRIBWISE |
If you named the cost centers differently, adjust the table to your own names.
Note: To show stock levels for several devices, repeat these steps per device cost center. Ordered and in-use quantities can currently only be shown as the sum for all devices, not per device.
Step 3 — Update WT-ToolDispenser-Interface.ini
Configure the interface with the cost centers to use, by editing WT-ToolDispenser-Interface.ini next to the interface executable. Most parameters are yours to choose, but four must match what CRIBWISE expects:
| Parameter | Value |
| MachineCostCenterColumnNr | 10, to match the format of the stock transaction CSV file CRIBWISE produces. |
| ArchiveFlag | TRUE is recommended – it keeps a local copy of every imported stock transaction file, which makes troubleshooting easier. |
| ExportFlag | TRUE, to enable export of tool data. |
| StockAmountSync | Actions, to match the way CRIBWISE calculates quantity adjustments. |
An excerpt matching the cost centers created in this guide, with comments and unused properties removed:
[GLOBAL] ToolDispenserName=CW ExportFile=C:\WinTool\Export\WT-ToolDispenser-Components-Master-Data.csv CostCenterFile=C:\WinTool\Export\WT-ToolDispenser-CostCenter-Master-Data.csv BMPExportPath=C:\WinTool\Export\Images\ ImportFile=C:\WinTool\Import\ Archivepath=C:\WinTool\Archive ARCHIVEFLAG=TRUE ExportFlag=TRUE ExportModus=ALL DirectRestock=TRUE DirectRestockRemark="Direct restock on dispenser" MachineCostCenterColumnNr = 10 ImportOrderMin=FALSE LOGFLAG=TRUE StockAmountSync=Actions [BitMap] bmpwidth=600 bmpheight=450 pictype=png [COSTCENTER] Stock.Device12047=32 INUSE=37 ORDERED=39
Mapping the INUSE and ORDERED cost centers
Use the technical ids WinTool assigned when you created the cost centers for quantities ordered and in use – 37 and 39 in this guide. Add one line each under [COSTCENTER], in upper case:
[COSTCENTER] INUSE=37 ORDERED=39
Mapping several devices to one cost center
Each CRIBWISE device id goes on its own row, all pointing at the same cost center – 32 here. The device id is found in the Admin Portal.
[COSTCENTER] Stock.Device12047=32 Stock.Device14054=32 INUSE=37 ORDERED=39
Mapping several devices to separate cost centers
[COSTCENTER] Stock.Device12047=32 Stock.Device14054=33 INUSE=37 ORDERED=39
Step 4 — Configure the integration in the Admin Portal
Once the WinTool add-on is enabled, the settings are under Administration → Integration, behind the WinTool logo.
| Setting | What to enter |
| Tool Dispenser Name | The same value as ToolDispenserName in your WT-ToolDispenser-Interface.ini. |
| Export folder name | The folder in the synchronization target where WinTool component master data files are uploaded. CRIBWISE looks for new files there. |
| Import folder name | The folder where CRIBWISE uploads the stock transaction files you relay to WinTool. |
| Image folder name | The folder holding the images referenced in the component master data files. CRIBWISE downloads images only from there. |
| WTxL-Mode enabled | Whether WTxL mode is enabled in the WinTool interface. |
| CRIBWISE device name field | The WinTool UserField used to assign components to a CRIBWISE device from the WinTool UI. |
| WinTool ID field | The custom item field where CRIBWISE stores the WinTool reference. That field cannot be used for anything else – its data is overwritten. |
The WinTool integration settings.
Step 5 — Configure a synchronization target
CRIBWISE and WinTool exchange data through an intermediary storage: CRIBWISE uploads the quantity-on-hand adjustments WinTool later reads, and downloads the component master data WinTool produces. You stay in control of moving files between that storage and the WinTool directories.
Note: CRIBWISE stores sensitive configuration values, such as account keys and passwords, in FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified hardware security modules.
Azure Storage Account (account key)
| Storage Account Name | From Endpoints, the BLOB service URL. For https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/ enter mystorageaccount. |
| Container Name | From Storage browser → Blob containers. Select or create a container and enter its name. |
| Account Key | From Access keys, the value of key1 or key2. |
Google Cloud Storage bucket (service account)
| Bucket Name | From Cloud Storage → Buckets. A dedicated bucket is recommended. The service account needs the role Storage Object User on it. |
| Private Key Id | The private_key_id field of the service account JSON file. |
| Private Key | The private_key field, including the BEGIN PRIVATE and END PRIVATE parts. |
| Client Email | The client_email field of the JSON file. |
| Client Id | The client_id field of the JSON file. |
Success: Component master data from WinTool reaches CRIBWISE, and stock transaction files from CRIBWISE appear in the import folder for WinTool to read.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
| WinTool rejects the stock transaction file. | MachineCostCenterColumnNr does not match the CRIBWISE file format. | Set it to 10. |
| Quantities in WinTool drift from CRIBWISE. | StockAmountSync is not set to Actions. | Set it to Actions, which matches how CRIBWISE calculates adjustments. |
| Stock shows on the wrong device. | A CRIBWISE device id maps to the wrong cost center. | Check the Stock.Device<id> lines against the device ids in the Admin Portal. |
| The WinTool logo is missing under Integration. | The WINTOOL Tool Management System add-on is not enabled. | Add the add-on to the subscription in the CMP. |
| Nothing can be troubleshot after a failed import. | ArchiveFlag is FALSE, so no local copy is kept. | Set it to TRUE. |
Related articles
- How to integrate Zoller TMS with CRIBWISE – the equivalent integration for Zoller.
- How to integrate TDM Systems with CRIBWISE – the equivalent integration for TDM.
- How to find Device ID and Storage Device ID – where the device ids used in the mapping come from.
- Getting started with the CRIBWISE API – the API alternative to file-based synchronisation.