# AD Smart Pickup — user manual

Version 1.61.0 · Farming Simulator 25 · add-on for AutoDrive

*Dansk version: [BRUGERMANUAL.md](BRUGERMANUAL.md)*

AD Smart Pickup makes your AutoDrive tractors think for themselves. You say what goes where, and the
mod decides trip by trip which good to fetch, from which silo, and where to deliver it. It can also run
the farm's fields with Courseplay and bring field silos home. Everything is set up in the **Smart Pickup**
menu in the ESC menu.

Main features:

- **Supply (into building):** keeps barns and factories filled. Each trip the tractor fetches the good
  the target lacks most, from a silo anywhere on the map.
- **Outbound (out of building):** empties factories, silos, barns and pallet sheds. Goods are taken to
  storage or sold when the price is near the yearly top.
- **Field work:** mowing, harvesting, preparation, sowing and crop care. AutoDrive drives the machines to
  the field, and Courseplay works the field.
- **Field silos:** goods in field silos are brought home to the farm's storages.
- **Machine pool:** free tractors fetch detached trailers and implements themselves and park them again.

---

## Contents

1. [Requirements and installation](#1-requirements-and-installation)
2. [Basic concepts](#2-basic-concepts)
3. [Prepare the map: AutoDrive markers](#3-prepare-the-map-autodrive-markers)
4. [The Smart Pickup menu](#4-the-smart-pickup-menu)
5. [Supply: keep barns and factories filled](#5-supply-keep-barns-and-factories-filled)
6. [Outbound: empty, store and sell](#6-outbound-empty-store-and-sell)
7. [Tractors, trailers and the machine pool](#7-tractors-trailers-and-the-machine-pool)
8. [Start, stop and saving](#8-start-stop-and-saving)
9. [The storage tabs: stock and "Needs attention"](#9-the-storage-tabs-stock-and-needs-attention)
10. [Field work](#10-field-work)
11. [The Month tab](#11-the-month-tab)
12. [Field silos](#12-field-silos)
13. [Names of buildings and machines](#13-names-of-buildings-and-machines)
14. [Recipes](#14-recipes)
15. [Troubleshooting](#15-troubleshooting)
16. [Testing and feedback](#16-testing-and-feedback)
17. [Glossary](#17-glossary)

---

## 1. Requirements and installation

**Required**

- **FS25_AutoDrive.** The mod builds on AutoDrive and does not change AutoDrive itself.
- An **AutoDrive road network** connecting silos, barns, factories, selling points, fields, parking spots
  and Wait points.

**Recommended**

- **Courseplay** for field work. Without Courseplay, supply and outbound work, but field work does not.
- **Universal Autoload (UAL)** on the trailers that carry pallets. Without UAL the mod can only haul
  bulk goods such as grain, milk, silage and TMR.

**Installation**

1. Download `FS25_ADSmartPickup.zip` from Releases:
   <https://git.powerdata.dk/masterdraco/fs25-adsmartpickup/releases>
2. Put the zip file in the mods folder. Do **not** unpack it:
   `Documents/My Games/FarmingSimulator2025/mods/`
3. Enable the mod together with AutoDrive (and Courseplay) when you choose your savegame.
4. The mod switches on the AutoDrive setting **"Use folders"** itself when a flow starts. The setting is
   global, so it applies to the whole game.

---

## 2. Basic concepts

**Flow.** A named recipe with a direction, buildings, goods, rules and a list of tractors. All tractors
in a flow are started and stopped together. Older versions called it a *run*, and the word still appears
in a few texts, for example when you delete a flow.

**Building.** A barn, factory, silo, object storage (pallet shed) or selling point. You choose
buildings, not markers. The mod finds the AutoDrive marker that belongs to the building's trigger by
itself. Only the farm's own buildings are listed. Fixed map facilities tied to the land, such as a
biogas plant, count as the farm's once the land under them is bought.

**Marker.** An AutoDrive destination. Each building needs a marker within 40 m of its loading or
unloading trigger. The mod also uses markers with special names for parking, hitching and fields (see
[chapter 3](#3-prepare-the-map-autodrive-markers)).

**Wait point.** A marker in an AutoDrive folder with the word **Wait** in its name. Tractors that are
waiting for room, a good price or a need hold here.

**Need.** How much of a good a barn or factory lacks. For factories it is calculated as *time to
empty*: the good that runs out first is fetched first.

**Reserve.** What the farm's own barns and factories will use in the next day. The reserve is never sold.

**Set.** A tractor with an implement or trailer attached, or a self-propelled machine. An implement or
trailer is **bound** and never lent out when it belongs to a flow (the flow's tractors and trailers, also
while the flow is stopped), or when it has no Connect marker (a **fixed set**, e.g. a vineyard tractor with
its vineyard implement).

**Machine pool.** Detached implements and trailers with a parking spot and a Connect marker, plus free
tractors without an implement. The mod pairs them up when needed.

---

## 3. Prepare the map: AutoDrive markers

### Markers at the buildings

Place an AutoDrive marker where the **tractor's nose** stops when the trailer is in the trigger.
The marker must be at most **40 m** from the building's trigger.

- **Silos in tight rows:** the mod picks the silo whose trigger lies *behind* the tractor's nose in the
  driving direction. This stops the neighbouring silo from getting the load.
- **Barns with several loading points:** give each point its own marker, e.g. *Cow 1 Milk* and
  *Cow 1 Slurry*. The mod shows them all next to the barn.
- **Object storages (pallet sheds):** place the marker so the trailer's autoload zone covers the
  storage's output area, exactly as when you load by hand.
- **Separate drop and pickup:** if a factory has both a pickup and a drop marker, drop is used for
  unloading, even when pickup is closer to the unloading trigger. The drop marker must be within 25 m of
  the trigger. Silos and pallet sheds always use their own nearest marker.
- **Marker names at buildings** are free. The menu shows the building's name and the marker's name.

### Wait points

1. Create an AutoDrive folder with **Wait** in its name, e.g. *Cow Wait* or *Wait*.
2. Put as many markers in the folder as you have room for. One per tractor is plenty.
3. Connect each Wait point to the road network **in both directions**, from the buildings and back.

It is the **folder's** name that counts. A marker called *F91 Wait* inside a field folder is not a Wait
point. Wait markers are never used as a source or target. A Wait point counts as occupied when it is
reserved, or when another vehicle stands within 6 m of it.

### Parking: "P <name>"

The mod uses AutoDrive's own **park destination** on each vehicle and implement (set in AutoDrive).
Finished machines drive there, and trailers and implements are dropped there. The convention is to name
the parking marker `P <name>`, e.g. `P Cow Food vogn 1`. The console command `spuNameFleet` uses the
same convention (see [chapter 13](#13-names-of-buildings-and-machines)).

### Hitching: "Connect <parking name>"

A **Connect marker** is where the tractor stops to hitch an implement or trailer.

- The name is `Connect ` followed by **exactly** the name of the implement's parking marker (upper and
  lower case do not matter). For a trailer parked at `P Cow Food vogn 1`, the marker is called
  `Connect P Cow Food vogn 1`. `Kobl <name>` also works.
- Place the marker right at the trailer's drawbar, so the tractor can reverse up to it.
- When the tractor has arrived, it hitches within about **3 m**. If the trailer's drawbar is **3–8 m**
  behind the tractor and almost in line, the tractor slowly reverses the last bit by itself.
- If you drive a tractor with AutoDrive's "Drive to" to a Connect marker yourself, the mod hitches too.
- If you rename a parking spot, rename the Connect marker as well.

An implement or trailer **without** a Connect marker is a fixed set and is never lent out. The same goes
for a flow's trailers, even when they have a Connect marker (see [Flow trailers](#flow-trailers)).

### Detaching: "Afkobl"

A marker called `Afkobl` (or starting with `Afkobl `, `Kobl af`, `Detach` or `Disconnect`) detaches the
implements **behind** the tractor when it drives there with AutoDrive. Front weights and front loaders
stay on. A plough and similar tools are unfolded first if the game requires it. If you drive a tractor
with "Drive to" to a pool implement's own parking spot, the implement is dropped there as well.

### Fields: "F<number>"

Every field the mod should work needs a marker at the field edge named `F` + the field number, e.g.
`F109`, at most 400 m from the field. See [chapter 10](#10-field-work).

### Tight silos and AutoDrive's trigger distance

AutoDrive tips at the first unloading trigger within its global **"Max trigger distance"**, which is
25 m by default. If silos are closer together, the neighbouring silo may get the load. In that case set
the option to **10 m**. The mod writes a warning to the log the first time it sees a storage target with
a neighbouring trigger.

---

## 4. The Smart Pickup menu

Press **ESC**. The **Smart Pickup** menu sits just above the game's **Settings**. It has nine tabs:

| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| **Overview** | Table of all flows, the Wait pools, and the buttons that start and stop everything |
| **Flows** | Colour-coded list of flows with Start/Stop per row and an edit window |
| **Fields** | Colour-coded list of fields with Start/Stop per field, the "Set up field" guide and the field fleet |
| **Month** | Field work in progress and whether anything must finish before the month ends |
| **Field silos** | Automatic hauling home from field silos |
| **Factories** | Stock and statistics for the farm's factories |
| **Silos** | Stock and statistics for the farm's silos |
| **Barns** | Stock and statistics for the farm's barns |
| **Pallet sheds** | Stock and statistics for the farm's object storages |

### Overview

At the top it says **Click a flow to edit it**. The table has the columns **Flow**, **Goods**, **From**,
**To**, **Running** and **Status**, split into **· Into building ·** and **· Out of building ·** and sorted
by name. Click a flow to select it and switch to the **Flows** tab.

- **Goods** shows *by need* when the flow chooses the goods itself, otherwise the chosen goods.
- **From** shows *all silos* for supply. A `!` after a building name means the building has no marker.
- **Running** shows tractors at work out of the flow's tractors, e.g. `2/3`.
- **Status** shows a warning (`!!`), the reason the tractors are holding, or the flow's rule, e.g.
  `by need — lowest first`, `price >= 90 %, storage > 80 %`, or just `storage > 80 %` for a pure storage
  flow.

Below the table is **Wait pools**: each Wait folder with its number of points, how many are occupied, and
by whom. The status line at the bottom shows e.g. `Running: 3 of 5 tractors · 2 of 4 flows active`.

**Buttons on Overview**

| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| **Start all flows** | Lifts a pause from "Stop all and park" and starts every flow that has tractors. The tractors start **one at a time, every 10 seconds**. Flows already running are left alone |
| **Stop all flows** | Stops all flows. The trailers are emptied and parked, and the tractors drive home |
| **Stop all and park** | Stops everything and pauses, even after reloading (see below) |
| **New flow** | Opens the "Set up flow" guide for a new flow |

Afterwards the status line shows what happened, e.g. `Start all: 6 tractors start one at a time (every
10 seconds), 1 flows already running, 1 skipped`, and up to three reasons for skipped tractors. While
the queue runs it shows `Starting tractors: 2 of 6 …`.

### Stop all and park

**Stop all and park** is for when you want the farm to go quiet, e.g. before you save and take a break:

- All flows are stopped. Flow tractors empty their trailer, drop it at its parking spot and drive home.
- All field work is stopped. Implements are switched off, raised and **folded for transport**. Pool
  implements are dropped at their parking spot and the tractor drives home. Field progress is kept.
- Field silo loans are stopped.
- Other vehicles drive to their AutoDrive parking spot.
- Harvesters you have to drive to the field yourself (too wide) are not moved. They are listed as
  `fetch yourself (too wide): …`. Vehicles without a parking spot are listed as `no park destination: …`.
- The mod **pauses**. The pause is saved in the savegame, so no field work or field silo loan starts by
  itself after reloading. The status line shows `Paused — press Start all to continue`, and the
  **Fields** tab shows a line about the pause at the top.

**Start all flows** lifts the pause and starts the flows again, one tractor at a time. A single field can
be resumed with **[Start]** on its row without lifting the pause for the others.

### Flows

The **Flows** tab is a colour-coded list with one row per flow:

```
● Cow Food · by need · 2/2 · by need — lowest first                 [Stop]
● Milk Sale · Milk · 1/1 · MILK 78 % af top (kræver 90)                    [Stop]
● Egg Store · Eggs · 0/1                                            [Start]
```

Each row shows a coloured dot, the name, the goods, tractors running/total, the status and **[Start]** or
**[Stop]** on the far right. The list is split into *Into building* and *Out of building*.

| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Green** | The flow is running without problems |
| **Yellow** | The flow is started but waiting, e.g. at a Wait point, for a trailer or for a price |
| **Red** | Problem: a warning (`!!`), or the last start rejected every tractor |
| **Grey** | Stopped or never started |

*By need* means that each trip fetches the good the target is lowest on.

- Click **[Start]/[Stop]** on the far right to start or stop the flow directly. If tractors are skipped,
  the reason is also shown as a message on the right of the screen (red if none started).
- Click anywhere else on the row to open the **edit window**.
- The **New flow** button at the bottom opens the guide. The status line shows `Flows running: 2 of 4`.

### The edit window

The window **Edit flow: <name>** opens on top of the list. Under the title is the flow's status in the
same colour as in the list. Below that is the flow's **summary**, one line per step with **[Edit]** at the
end, e.g. *Direction: Into building [Edit]*:

- Click a line to change just that step. **Save** saves without starting the flow.
- Click **Name** to rename the flow.
- The line **Set up flow** opens the whole guide inside the window.

| Button | Function |
|---|---|
| **Close** (also ESC) | Closes the window. If a step or the guide is open, the first press closes it and the second press closes the window |
| **Start flow / Stop flow** | Starts or stops the flow |
| **Delete flow** | Deletes the flow after confirmation. Running tractors are stopped. Cannot be undone |

If you switch tab or close the menu, unsaved changes are discarded.

### The "Set up flow" guide

The guide asks one question at a time: *Step 3 of 8 — Goods*. Steps that do not apply are skipped, so a
flow has up to 9 steps. The buttons are **Next**, **Back** and **Cancel**. Nothing is created until you
press **Start flow** or **Save without starting** on the last step.

| Step | Shown when | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| **Name** | new flow | *Change name …* opens the text field. Tractors are named after the flow |
| **Direction** | always | *Into building* (supply) or *Out of building* (outbound) |
| **To** / **From** | always | The buildings (see *The building list* below) |
| **Goods** | always | Supply: *Automatic (what the building needs)* or *Choose myself*. Outbound: per good *Off*, *Store*, *Sell* or *Sell, else store* |
| **Storage** | outbound with a good on Store | *Automatic (nearest with room)* or *Choose myself* among the storages |
| **Rules** | always | Supply: loops and *Return from Wait below*. Outbound: *Sell from*, *Drive to storage above*, *Always sell when source is above* and *Collect in one trip*, but only the rules the goods' policies use (see [chapter 6](#outbound-rules)) |
| **Wait at** | always | *All (nearest free)* or a specific Wait folder |
| **Tractors** | always | See below |
| **Summary** | always | The summary. Click a line to change it. **Start flow** or **Save without starting** |

**The Tractors step**

- The list shows the flow's own tractors first and then the free ones, with capacity and what the
  trailer can carry: *JCB 1 — 32,000 l — can carry: … — OK*.
- **Solo tractors** (no trailer attached) can be chosen when there is a **free trailer**. The row reads
  *<tractor> — no trailer attached: fetches a free trailer*. A free trailer is detached, has an
  AutoDrive parking spot with a Connect marker, does not belong to another flow, and can carry the
  flow's goods.
- When you choose a solo tractor, the **guide suggests a trailer**. First trailers whose parking name
  contains the flow's name, then trailers whose parking name contains *Disponibel* (Danish for
  "available"; only this word is recognised), then the rest alphabetically.
- Below the tractor is the line **↳ Trailer**, where you can switch to another free trailer. If there is
  none, it reads *↳ no free trailer (detached, with a Connect marker, able to carry the goods)*.
- The flow **remembers the pair** tractor → trailer when you save. The trailer's parking spot therefore
  does not need to be named after the flow.
- Tractors in other flows are hidden: *N tractors run in other flows and are hidden*.
- Tractors whose trailer does not fit are folded into the line *N tractors cannot be used here (trailer
  does not fit) — click to see why*. Click to see the name and reason for each.

The mod never asks about the marker at the building, route checks, best feed first, load swap, source
choice, distribution across several targets, resting empty sources, or tractor names.

### The building list

Each building is shown on one line with its markers and their distance to the trigger:

```
Kostald 1 — Cow 1 Milk 6 m · Cow 1 Slurry 4 m
Silo 7 — NO MARKER within 40 m — place an AD marker at the trigger
```

Set **Yes** for the buildings the flow should use. Buildings without a marker are hidden until you turn
on **Show all buildings**. The list is sorted by name, so *Silo 9* comes before *Silo 10*. A building you
have sold appears as *Removed building (no longer exists) — set NO*.

### Status window

Press **left Alt + S** to toggle a small status window in the top right corner of the screen, just below
the game's info box. The key works both on foot and in a vehicle and can be changed under *Settings →
Controls* (*AD Smart Pickup: status window*). The window refreshes every second and only shows sections
that have something in them:

- **Flows** — one line per tractor in a running flow: *tractor · action · fill %* (e.g. *Milk Collect 1 ·
  fetching Milk at Cow Barn · 45 %*). Green = running, yellow = waiting (Wait, trailer), red = the flow has
  a warning, grey = stopped.
- **Fields** — one line per field with field work in progress: *F92 Harvesting · Beet harvester · 45 %*
  (colours as in the Fields tab).
- **Chains** — only chains with a missing link: *Bread is missing a link: Flour*.
- **Warnings** — factories the farm depends on that are switched off (*Switched off but needed: Fermenting
  silo 3*, see [Warning when a needed factory is switched off](#warning-when-a-needed-factory-is-switched-off)),
  vehicles that have stood still for more than 2 minutes (without Smart Pickup holding them at Wait/outbound) and pending chain suggestions (*Chain: 2 suggestions*).

At most 18 lines; the rest is summed up as *+k more*. The window is hidden while a menu or dialog is open,
when the HUD is hidden and while you sleep. Whether it is on is saved per user in
`Documents/My Games/FarmingSimulator2025/modSettings/FS25_ADSmartPickup/status.xml` (not in the savegame);
it is off by default.

---

## 5. Supply: keep barns and factories filled

A supply flow keeps one or more buildings filled with everything they use.

### Setup

1. **New flow**, and choose Direction **Into building**.
2. Under **To**: set Yes for the barns and factories that should be filled. The list also shows silos
   that can only be filled and not emptied, e.g. drive-on bunkers feeding a biogas fermenter. For those,
   **Choose myself** with the goods the fermenter needs works best.
3. Under **Goods**: choose **Automatic** or **Choose myself**.
   - **Automatic** fetches everything the building accepts. For factories that is the inputs of the
     productions that are switched on.
   - **Choose myself** lets you tick specific goods.
4. Set **Loops** and **Return from Wait below** under Rules, and pick a Wait folder under **Wait at**.
5. Choose the tractors and press **Start flow**.

**From** always reads *all silos*. The tractor fetches from any silo on the map.

### How each trip is chosen

Before each loading, the mod looks at the targets and chooses:

1. **Neediest good.** For factories it is the good that runs out first. For barns it is the lowest fill
   level relative to capacity.
2. **Full load first.** Goods where a whole load can be unloaded go before goods where only part fits.
3. **The target that needs it most.** If the flow has several targets, the neediest gets the trip.
   Targets with the fewest other trailers on the way go first.
4. **Which silo.** Own silos are used before borrowing from neighbours. Among silos with plenty of the
   good (at least 5,000 l or a quarter of a load), the least filled one is emptied first, so leftovers
   are cleared. If no silo has plenty, the fullest is used. Milk, slurry and digestate are always fetched
   from the *fullest* source, so production does not stop.

A factory's own **inputs** are never fetched from the factory itself. Straw in a TMR factory stays where
it is. A barn's loading points are only used for the barn's own production: milk, slurry, manure, eggs
and wool.

**Factories follow their productions.** If you switch on TMR in a factory, the tractor starts fetching
silage, hay, straw and mineral feed by itself. Switch it off and the tractor stops. Productions the map
has switched off because of missing input count as wanted.

### Wrong load on the trailer

If a tractor has a good on its trailer that is not one of the flow's goods, it is first taken to a silo
that accepts it. It is not delivered to the flow's target. With **Choose myself** only the ticked goods
count. With **Automatic** everything the target accepts counts.

### Best feed first

Feed in a barn trough shares space. If better feed such as **TMR** is on the list, lower feed such as
silage and hay is only fetched when the trough is **at least 75 % empty**.

Animals that eat from several feed groups **at the same time**, such as chickens with grain and beet
pulp, do not follow that rule. Each group gets its share of the trough according to how much the animals
eat from it. Both groups must be ticked under **Choose myself** for the chickens to reach 100 %.

### Several tractors for the same barn

The mod remembers what is already **on the way** to each barn. If you have four trailers on the same
barn, they spread across goods and barns instead of fetching the same thing.

### Leftover loads and Wait

If the target cannot take the whole load:

1. The tractor unloads what fits.
2. If the flow has several targets, the rest goes to the other target with the most room for the good
   (at least 1,000 l free).
3. If none of the targets has room, the rest is taken to the **nearest free Wait point**, so the trigger
   is not blocked.
4. It drives back when the target can take **the whole rest**, or has dropped below **Return from Wait
   below**.

A leftover of less than 100 l that the target cannot take counts as empty.

### Load swap

If a tractor is waiting with a good the target is full of, while the target lacks another good on the
list, it swaps loads: the rest is unloaded in an ordinary storage silo with room, and the tractor fetches
the good the target lacks. This only happens when the target lacks at least a quarter of its capacity of
the other good, and there is a road to the silo and on to the target. If no suitable silo exists, the
tractor stays at Wait.

### Supply rules

| Rule | Meaning | Values |
|---|---|---|
| **Loops** | Trips per tractor, after which it parks | 0 = endless, otherwise 1–99 |
| **Return from Wait below** | A waiting tractor drives back when the target is below this fill level | 10–90 %, default 50 % |
| **Wait at** | Which Wait folder the tractors wait in | *All (nearest free)* or a folder |

---

## 6. Outbound: empty, store and sell

An outbound flow takes goods out of buildings and hauls them to storage or to a selling point.

### Sources

Under **From** you can choose:

| Source | What is fetched |
|---|---|
| **Factory** | The factory's outputs, both bulk and pallets from the pallet spawner |
| **Silo** | The silo's contents |
| **Barn** | Milk, slurry and manure from the barn's loading points, including attached extension tanks. Eggs and wool are fetched as pallets at the barn's pallet spawner. Place a marker at the spawner |
| **Object storage** | Pallets and bales. They are taken out one at a time |
| **Storage** | Other buildings with a loading station, e.g. a separator hall with digestate |

**Sources with shared storage:** some storages share their stock with their neighbours, e.g. milk tanks
in a row. The mod detects this and treats them as one stop. Choosing one tank as the source is enough.

### Policy per good

Each good the sources hold is shown with its amount and current price. Choose a policy:

| Policy | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Off** | The good is left alone |
| **Store** | Taken to a silo, a pallet shed or one of the farm's own factories that uses the good, when there is a full load or the source is getting full |
| **Sell** | Sold when the price is close enough to the yearly top |
| **Sell, else store** | Sold at a good price. Otherwise taken to storage when the source is getting full |

Bulk goods need a tipper or tank. Pallet goods need a trailer with Universal Autoload. Liquids (slurry,
digestate, milk, water and more) are never tipped into a factory's intake automatically, only into silos
and tanks, unless you choose the factory yourself under **Storage**.

### Outbound rules

| Rule | Meaning | Values |
|---|---|---|
| **Sell from** | Sell when the price is at least this share of the good's top price of the year | 50–100 %, default 90 % |
| **Drive to storage above** | Store goods are hauled away when the source is filled above this share | 50–95 %, default 80 % |
| **Always sell when source is above** | Sells regardless of price when the fullest source is above this share. The reserve is still not touched | *Off* or 50–100 %, default *Off* |
| **Collect in one trip** | Collection round, see below | Yes/No |

The rules are only shown when a good uses them. **Sell from** and **Always sell when source is above** are
shown when at least one good is set to *Sell* or *Sell, else store*. **Drive to storage above** is shown
when at least one good is set to *Store* or *Sell, else store*. If no good has Store or Sell yet, all rules
are shown. The same applies to the summary and the status in Overview: a pure storage flow shows e.g.
just `storage > 80 %`.

### Storage: forced unloading place

The **Storage** step only shows the silos, own factories and pallet sheds that can take at least one of
the flow's store goods. If you choose *Automatic (nearest with room)*, the mod finds the nearest silo or
own factory that uses the good. If you choose one or more storages yourself, storage trips only go
there. The first in the list that accepts the good, has room and can be reached gets the load. If none
of the chosen ones can take the load, the tractor waits at Wait, and the status says why.

With a storage chosen, the flow counts as **feeding**: the tractor leaves as soon as the source has at
least 10,000 l of the good, without waiting for a full load. That way a plant such as a biogas fermenter
does not run dry.

### How each trip is chosen

Before each loading, and every five seconds while the tractor is holding, the mod evaluates:

1. **Sell.** If a Sell good's best *reachable* selling point pays at least the threshold, the tractor
   goes to sell **regardless of amount**. The highest price % goes first.
2. **Store.** If a Store good has a full load, or a source is above the threshold, it is taken to the
   nearest silo with room for the whole load. The fullest source goes first.
3. **No trip.** The tractor holds at a Wait point and tries again. With *Wait at: All* the free Wait point
   nearest the flow's sources is chosen. The status shows why, e.g.
   `SUGAR 78 % af top (kræver 90), lager 41 %` (SUGAR at 78 % of top, 90 required, source 41 % full).
   These reason texts are currently shown in Danish only.

### The price

Selling points are the map's real selling points and factories the farm does not own, such as the map's
dairy. Deliveries to the farm's own factories and barns do not count as sales. Price % is the good's
current price compared to the highest of the year according to the game's seasonal curve (the same as in
the price graph). Goods with a flat curve count as 100 %. The selling point with the best price wins, as
long as the road network reaches it.

### Reserve: never sell what the farm needs itself

Before selling, the mod subtracts what the farm's own factories and barns will use in the next day. It
only sells when a whole load can be taken without touching the reserve. The status shows e.g.
`SUGARBEET: 196.0k reserveret til TMR-fabrik` (reserved for the TMR factory; shown in Danish only). The Store policy does not touch the reserve.

### Collection round

With **Collect in one trip** switched on:

- **Tipper:** the same good is collected from several sources until the trailer is full. The next source
  is only visited if at least 10 % of space is left.
- **Autoload trailer:** several pallet goods with the same destination are taken in one trip.

### Pallets and Universal Autoload

- The mod switches on AutoDrive's **AL unload** on the trailer when the flow starts.
- **Straps** are tightened after loading and released **25 m before** the unloading target.
- A full load of pallets is at least four pallets.
- Pallets for storage go to the nearest pallet shed that accepts the good and has room.
- From an object storage, **one pallet at a time** is taken out. If the storage gets stuck, loading ends
  after 30 seconds with what has been loaded.
- A tipper with **AutoLoad switched on** is rejected in a supply flow, because AutoDrive then treats it as
  a pallet/bale trailer only. Switch AutoLoad off on the trailer.

### Warnings on screen

If a selling point cannot be reached, or there is no silo with room, the mod shows a red AutoDrive
message, e.g. `'MT635' kan ikke nå salgssted 'Grain Elevator' for SUGAR – tjek vejnettet` ('MT635'
cannot reach selling point 'Grain Elevator' for SUGAR – check the road network; shown in Danish only).
The message also appears in AutoDrive's message history, in `log.txt` and in the flow's status. The
tractor waits at Wait and continues by itself once the road is connected.

---

## 7. Tractors, trailers and the machine pool

### Tractors in a flow

- A vehicle can only be in one flow. If you choose it in another flow, it is moved.
- If you remove a running tractor from a flow, it is stopped.
- **Names:** the tractors get an AutoDrive driver name after their flow, e.g. *Milk Collect 1* and
  *Milk Collect 2*. If the tractor is alone in the flow, it is named just like the flow. When it leaves
  the flow, it gets its model name back. Names you have given yourself are not touched when the tractor
  leaves the flow.
- **Sold tractors:** about two minutes after loading, tractors that no longer exist are removed from
  their flow. A message appears on screen: *Flow 'Cow Food': 1 tractor(s) no longer exist and were
  removed (1 left)*. If the flow is left without tractors, the message is red: *Flow 'Cow Food' has no
  tractors left and won't run — assign one in Flows*.

If a tractor cannot start, the reason is shown in the list and in the status line:

| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no trailer (attach one, or name the trailer's parking after the flow) | The tractor has no trailer, and the flow knows of no trailer for it |
| trailer cannot carry the run's goods | The trailer accepts none of the flow's goods |
| pallet goods need Universal Autoload on the trailer | The flow has pallets, but the trailer has no UAL |
| AutoLoad is on for this trailer … | Tipper with AutoLoad switched on. Switch it off on the trailer |
| too far from the road network | The tractor is too far from AutoDrive's road network |
| no target / no recognised source | The flow has no buildings |
| no good selected | Outbound with no good set to Store or Sell |
| no Wait point in the pool | Outbound needs at least one Wait point |
| the load on the trailer has no destination … | The trailer carries a load that can neither be sold nor stored right now. Empty the trailer |

### Flow trailers

A flow **remembers which trailer each tractor uses**. It does so when you choose a trailer in the guide,
and while the flow is running.

- **On start**, a solo tractor fetches its trailer itself. It drives to `Connect <trailer's parking>`,
  hitches and carries on with the flow. If the trailer is lent out, the tractor waits and tries again.
- If the flow knows of no trailer, the mod looks for a detached trailer whose parking name contains the
  flow's name, preferably with the same number as the tractor (the tractor *Cow Food 3* gets the trailer
  at *P Cow Food vogn 3*).
- **On stop**, the trailer is emptied first: at the flow's target, and if the target cannot take the rest
  (the load does not drop for 45 seconds), at a silo or own factory that accepts the good. Field silos are
  never used. The mod tries up to 3 silos. If that fails, it parks with the load. Then the trailer is
  dropped at **its own parking spot**, and the tractor drives to its own.
- If the flow is started again during emptying or the trip home, the tractor simply carries on with the
  trailer.
- If you drive the tractor to the Connect marker yourself and hitch the trailer, the tractor starts if
  the flow is running.
- A flow's trailers are never lent out for other work, not even when the flow is stopped. A stopped
  flow's tractors, on the other hand, can be borrowed as solo tractors by the machine pool.
- **After reloading:** an implement attached to a tractor with no job (e.g. fetched just before you
  saved) is taken back to its parking spot after a few minutes, and the tractor drives home. A tractor
  standing within 30 m of its own parking spot is left alone.

### The machine pool

The machine pool is used by field work and field silos when no ready-made set is free.

- **Pool implement/trailer:** detached, owned by the farm, with an AutoDrive parking spot and a Connect
  marker for that parking spot, and not bound to a flow. Implements without a Connect marker are fixed sets
  and are never lent.
- **Pool tractor:** an ordinary tractor with nothing attached at the rear, with its own AutoDrive parking
  spot, on AutoDrive's road network and not driven by you. Field implements are only hitched behind
  tractors. Unloading trailers can also be pulled by other vehicles.
- **Best fit:** the mod chooses the **smallest tractor with enough hp** for the implement. Tractors with
  more than 2.5 times the required power are only used if nothing else fits.
- **Sequence:** the tractor drives to the Connect marker, hitches, folds the implement for the road,
  goes to work, afterwards drops the implement at its parking spot and drives home to its own.
- If hitching fails, the machine at fault is skipped for 10 minutes.

The field fleet view in the **Fields** tab shows pool tractors and pool implements with their status (see
[chapter 10](#10-field-work)).

---

### Production chains

> **Important:** Every production you switch on in a factory counts as something you want produced. The mod
> then tries to supply it: fields marked free switch to the crops that are short, other fields get
> suggestions, intermediate productions are switched on, and flows are created with tractors from the
> machine pool. So **only** switch on productions you actually want running. To stop a chain, switch the
> production off or press **[Pause]** in the Chains tab.

#### What is a chain?

A **chain** keeps a production running all the way back to the field. You switch on a product in a
factory. The mod then works backwards: what the production needs, which of your own factories and barns
make it, and which crops are needed. The factory you switched on is the **root production**.

- The mod looks 12 months ahead. It acts only when a crop is short by more than 10 % and more than 0.5 ha.
- Fields you marked **Free for chains** change crop by themselves (at most 2 changes a minute).
- Other fields get a **suggestion** that you approve or reject.
- A crop you chose on a field is never changed automatically.
- The chain does nothing during the first 2 minutes after loading. If the mod cannot read all data,
  nothing is switched off or stopped.
- Fields are changed and suggested only once the field scan has seen all your fields. With many fields this
  can take a few minutes; meanwhile the tab says *Fields still being scanned* at the bottom.
- The mod uses your own running productions as a source first. It switches on a new one only if they are
  not enough.

#### The Chains tab

The **Chains** tab shows one tree per root production: the root at the top, and below it each link with
the columns **Goods**, **Source**, **l/mo**, **Status** and **Stock**. With no chains it says *No chains:
enable a product in a factory*.

- The root's status is *covered*, *short*, *waiting* or *paused*. The number of suggestions follows the name.
- A coloured dot shows the status: **green** running, **yellow** waiting, **red** error, **grey** stopped.
  The status text gets the same colour.
- Rows fold out and in. Fold out to see the links, sources and fields.
- Warnings in the rows: *bottleneck: -X/mo*, *must buy: X/mo*, *loop*, *short X ha*, *stock < 3 mo* and
  *no field*.
- **[Pause]** stops the chain's new actions for that root production. What it uses is not switched off.
  Other chains carry on. **[Resume]** continues it.
- At the bottom: *Automatic switches since load*.

#### Missing links (red messages)

If a link in a chain is missing, the mod explains why and what you can do. The text appears in three places:

- **In the Chains tab**: fold the chain out; the reason is shown in red below the red goods row.
- **In Needs attention**: one red line per chain, for example *Bread is missing a link: Flour*. At most 2 chains
  are shown; the rest are in the Chains tab. Clicking opens the Chains tab with that chain folded out.
- **As an on-screen message**: the first time a new link goes missing, with the chain's name in front (for example *Bread: …*). The same message only returns after the
  problem has gone away and come back. No messages during the first 2 minutes after loading or while fields are
  being scanned.

The messages:

- *None of your factories makes Flour — build one or buy it*: no factory, barn or field supplies the goods.
- *Barns make too little Milk — buy the rest or more animals*: the barn makes the goods, but too little.
- *Mill can only make 800 of 1.0k/mo*: the factory cannot keep up (bottleneck).
- *Mill (Flour) was turned off by you — turn it on or pause the chain*: you switched the production off yourself.
- *Loop around Flour — the chain cannot be calculated*: the goods are needed to make themselves.

#### Warning when a needed factory is switched off

If you switch off a production the farm depends on, the mod warns you — also when no chain is running. A
production is needed when one of its goods is used by the farm:

- a running supply flow carries the goods (chosen as goods, or the flow's target takes the goods in auto),
- a barn is eating the goods right now, or
- an active chain has the goods as input.

Example: you switch off the fermenting silos, but the flows *Cow Food*, *Goat Food* and *Biogas Silage* fetch
silage. You then get the message *Warning: you switched off Fermenting silo 3 (Silage) — Cow Food, Goat Food
+1 uses it. Stock lasts about 12 days.* (days from the farm's stock and consumption; left out when unknown).
The message comes once per switch-off, at most a minute later.

As long as the production is off and still needed, **Needs attention** shows a red line: *Switched off but
needed: Fermenting silo 3* (at most 2; also in the status window under Warnings). Clicking opens the storage
tab **Factories** — or **Chains** if only a chain uses the goods.

No warning when:

- another running production makes the goods with enough capacity,
- the farm has stock for more than 60 days,
- the chain switched the production off itself, or
- the production was already off when the game was loaded (then only the Needs attention line is shown).

Productions that no flow, barn or chain uses (for example a bakery without a flow) never give a warning.

#### Mark a field free for chains

Open the field in the field guide and switch on **Free for chains (mod may change the crop)**. Only such a
field changes crop automatically. The tab lists them under **Fields free for the chain**.

Permanent crops (vine, olive, poplar) and grass fields are never changed, even when marked.

#### Suggestions: Approve and Reject

If the chain lacks area on a field that is not free, the chain tree shows a suggestion: **Suggest
[Approve]** and **[Reject]**. At most 3 suggestions are shown per crop. **Needs attention** shows one
combined entry, for example *Chain: 3 suggestions*; clicking it opens the Chains tab.

- **[Approve]** changes the field's crop.
- **[Reject]** removes the suggestion. It returns if the crop's shortage changes by more than 25 %.
- An outdated suggestion says *The suggestion no longer applies*.
- Fields the mod changed on its own are marked *switched (free field)*.

#### Intermediate goods

If a chain needs an intermediate good (for example flour for bread), the mod switches on the production
that makes it.

- The mod switches a production off again only if the chain switched it on.
- If you switch off a production a chain uses (even one you switched on yourself), the chain leaves it off
  and does not count it as a source. Only when you switch on a new production in a factory may the chain
  use it again.
- If you switch off the root production, the chain's flows are stopped (see below), unless another chain
  still uses them.

#### Chain flows

For each link the mod creates a flow named **Chain: <goods> → <building>** (at most 2 new per minute).

- The flow gets a free pool tractor and a tipping trailer. The mod never takes a tractor that belongs to
  another flow.
- If none is available, the flow is created stopped and the chain shows *no tractor/trailer*.
- Flows with pallets are always created stopped and the chain shows *pallet: UAL trailer*: choose a UAL
  trailer yourself.
- When the chain is switched off, its flows are **stopped** and released by the chain. They are not
  deleted. If you start one again, the chain lets it run.
- Status in the chain: *flow running*, *flow stopped*, *no tractor/trailer*, *pallet: UAL trailer* or
  *no flow*.

#### Limitations

- The mod tries to supply every production you switch on in a factory. Only switch on what you want produced.
- The mod does **not buy** goods and does **not buy animals**. What must be bought shows as *must buy*.
- Permanent crops (vine, olive, poplar) and grass fields are never changed.
- The plan uses the base yield without fertiliser bonus, so it errs on too many hectares rather than too few.
- The chain uses only your own factories and barns.

## 8. Start, stop and saving

**Start flow** does the following for each approved tractor:

- Fetches the trailer if the tractor is solo (see [Flow trailers](#flow-trailers)).
- Sets AutoDrive to **Pickup & Deliver** with the flow's goods and loops.
- Switches on **Use folders** globally and sets rotation to **pickup only**.
- Sets the flow's markers. They are chosen anew for each trip.

This **overwrites** the tractor's own AutoDrive settings. Tractors outside flows run as before.

A flow starts even if one of the chosen buildings has no marker. The status then names the building. If
**all** buildings lack a marker, the start is refused with `'<building>' has no AD marker at its trigger`.

**Stop flow** stops the flow's tractors, folds the implements, empties and parks the trailers and drives
the tractors home. The tractors stay in the flow, so it can be started again.

**Saving.** The mod saves to the savegame folder when the game is saved:

| File | Contents |
|---|---|
| `ADSmartPickup_runs.xml` | Flows, whether they are stopped, and the remembered trailers |
| `ADSmartPickup_names.xml` | Building names |
| `ADSmartPickup_fields.xml` | Field setup, the field fleet, the pause from "Stop all" and Courseplay courses |
| `ADSmartPickup_fieldsilos.xml` | Field silo setup |
| `ADSmartPickup_cpresume.xml` | Machines Courseplay was running, to be restarted |

**After loading**, AutoDrive itself restarts the tractors that were running, and the mod takes them over
again. A flow you have not stopped and that has running tractors is shown as running. Tractors that were
waiting at a Wait point resume waiting. If a flow is stopped, press **[Start]**.

Flows from older versions are loaded automatically.

---

## 9. The storage tabs: stock and "Needs attention"

The **Factories**, **Silos**, **Barns** and **Pallet sheds** tabs each show one building type and work the
same way. At the top you choose **Show: Goods | Buildings**. The tab remembers the choice. Figures update
every second.

### The Goods view

**Key figures** for the tab's goods:

| Key figure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Stock value now** | The stock's value at the best price right now |
| **Extra at top price** | How much more it is worth at the year's highest price |
| **Running out soon** | Number of goods that last less than 3 days |
| **Almost full** | Number of produced goods that are at least 85 % full |

**— Needs attention —** shows up to four lines, most important first:

| Line | When |
|---|---|
| *Wheat runs out in … — farm has …, uses …/day* | The farm uses more than it produces, and the good lasts less than 3 days (red below 1 day) |
| *Milk is 92 % full — full in …* | A produced good is at least 85 % full (red from 95 %) |
| *Sell Canola now: price is 94 % of the yearly top — …* | The price is at least 90 % of the yearly top, the stock is worth at least 10,000, and the farm does not use it up |
| *Switched off but needed: Fermenting silo 3* | You switched off a production that a flow, a barn or a chain uses (see [Warning when a needed factory is switched off](#warning-when-a-needed-factory-is-switched-off)); clicking opens the Factories tab |

**Click a line** to act on it:

- **Runs out:**
  - If a supply flow already brings the good to one of the buildings that use it, it opens
    (*→ click: open flow '…'*).
  - If the farm has enough of the good elsewhere, a supply flow is created (*→ click: create flow*).
    The guide opens on the summary with the name *<good> to <building>*, the buildings that use the good
    as targets and the good selected. Check the tractors and press **Start flow** or **Save without
    starting**.
  - If a flow will not help because the farm has too little in total, it says *→ produce/buy*. Clicking
    shows *A flow won't help — the farm only has … in total. Produce or buy more.*
- **Sell now:** opens an existing sell flow, or creates a new one (*→ click: create sell flow*) named
  *Sell <good>*, with direction Out of building, the tab's buildings holding the good as sources and the
  good set to Sell.
- **Almost full:** for information only.

Below that is the **goods list** with the columns **Item**, **Stock**, **Value now** and **Farm net ·
lasts**, plus a fill bar. Click a good to expand it into the buildings that hold it, with each building's
share (*62 % of the good*). Bar colours: red/yellow for problems, green when the good is used or
produced, blue for plain storage.

The goods list shows the tab's buildings, but consumption, production and "lasts" are always calculated
for the whole farm.

### The Buildings view

Choose a building in **Show building**. The table has one row per good:

| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **In building** | Amount and capacity in the building plus fill level. Pallet sheds show pallets out of free slots |
| **Value now** | The value at the best price right now |
| **At top price** | The value if you sell at the year's highest price |
| **Farm** | The farm's total stock of the good in all buildings |
| **Lasts** | How many days the farm's stock lasts at consumption minus production. *rising* means the farm produces at least as much as it uses |
| **Use/prod. per day** | Consumption per day with minus and production per day with plus |

At the bottom is **Building total**, and below that a grid of all the tab's buildings and their contents.
Factory outputs are marked with `*`.

The **Rename building** button (only in the Buildings view) gives the selected building a new name. An
empty name brings back the shop name.

**What is counted**

- **Factories:** consumption and production of the productions running right now.
- **Barns, consumption:** feed, straw and water. Water is not counted when the barn has automatic water.
- **Barns, production:** each animal's production by age times the number of animals: milk, manure,
  slurry, eggs, wool and more. Young animals below production age do not count.

---

## 10. Field work

The **Fields** tab runs the farm's fields: mowing crops (grass, clover, alfalfa), harvest crops (grain,
canola, maize, beets, potatoes …), preparation and sowing after harvest, and crop care while the crop
grows. AutoDrive drives the machines by road to the field, Courseplay works the field, and Smart Pickup
decides which field, which step and which machines. Requires **Courseplay** in addition to AutoDrive.

| Field type | Chain |
|---|---|
| **Mowing crop, Silage** | Mowed → (Raked) → Collected → fermenting silo/silo |
| **Mowing crop, Hay** | Mowed → Tedded → (Raked) → Collected → silo |
| **Harvest crop** | Harvested (+ unloading trailers) → (straw chopped, collected or baled) → After harvest |
| **After harvest / bare field** | (Mulching) → (Liming) → Plowing or Cultivating → (Sowing) → (Rolling) |
| **Care while the crop grows** | Fertilizing · Weeding · Liming — when the field needs it |

Vines and olives are never mowing crops. They are harvested, and sprayers and spreaders drive in the
aisles between the rows.

### Preparation

1. **One marker per field.** Create an AutoDrive marker at the field edge named `F` + the field number,
   e.g. `F109`, at most 400 m from the field. The machines drive there by road before Courseplay takes
   over. If it is missing, the field shows `!` in red, and nothing is sent out.
2. **Machines.** Use fixed sets (the implement stays on the tractor, or the machine is self-propelled)
   and/or the machine pool (detached implements with a parking spot and a Connect marker, see
   [chapter 7](#7-tractors-trailers-and-the-machine-pool)).
3. **Parking.** Give every set, pool implement and pool tractor an AutoDrive parking spot. Finished
   machines drive there.
4. **Refilling.** Seeders, sprayers and spreaders are refilled by AutoDrive at a place that has the
   product and an AutoDrive marker (the farm's own storage before a buying station).

### The field list

The tab is a colour-coded list with one row per owned field, sorted by number:

| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| **Field** | `F22`, or `! F22` when the marker is missing |
| **Crop** | *Wheat*, *bare soil* or *stubble (Wheat)* |
| **Plan** | *-> Wheat* (target crop), *Silage + rake*, *Harvest + sow*, *Preparation* |
| **Mode** | *Auto* or *Manual* |
| **Status** | The step and a short reason, e.g. *Ready 93 %*, *Harvesting*, *Fertilizing: waiting for machine* |
| **Running** | The machines on the field |

**[Start]** or **[Stop]** is on the far right. The colours mean the same as in Flows:

| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Green** | The field is being worked |
| **Yellow** | The field is waiting, e.g. for a machine, for dry weather, or for you to move a harvester |
| **Red** | Problem: the marker is missing, the machine is too wide/narrow, the width is unknown, no machine can do the job, or no crop to sow is chosen |
| **Grey** | Stopped or paused |

- **[Start]** starts the field now (requires the marker). If the field is growing, crop care starts if
  it is needed. The status line shows *F22 starts when a machine is free*.
- **[Stop]** stops the machines. Implements are folded for transport, and pool implements are parked.
- Click anywhere else on the row to open the field's **edit window**.
- If field work is **paused** after "Stop all and park", the top reads: *! Field work is paused since
  "Stop all" (saved with the savegame) — press Start all in Overview, or [Start] on a single field.* The
  fields are grey with *(paused)*, and **[Start]** resumes only that one field.
- If the field fleet is set to "only ticked" with no machine ticked, a warning is shown at the top,
  because nothing can be sent out.

At the bottom are the **Field fleet** button and the status line *Fields in progress: 3 of 24*.

### The field's edit window

The window **Field F22** shows the field's summary, one line per topic with **[Edit]**:

| Line | Example |
|---|---|
| **Crop** | *Keep what grows* / *-> Wheat* |
| **Crop options** | *Silage, rake* / *straw chopped* |
| **Preparation** | *Automatic* / *Plow, lime* |
| **Crop care** | *Automatic* / *fertilizer, weeds* |
| **Machines** | *2 dedicated* / *free machines*, *1 at a time*, *1 unloaders* |
| **Storage** | *Field silo* / *Automatic* / *2 chosen silos* |

Click a line to change just that step, and press **Save**. Below the summary are the full status text and
the marker (*Marker F22, 35 m from the field*). The line **Set up field** opens the whole guide. The
buttons are **Close** (also ESC) and **Start now** / **Stop field**. A field cannot be deleted.

### The "Set up field" guide

The guide asks one question at a time (*Step 3 of 7 — Preparation*). Steps that do not apply to the field
are skipped. The buttons are **Next**, **Back** and **Cancel**.

| Step | Shown when | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| **Field** | the guide is opened with no field selected | The field, e.g. *F22 — Wheat — Waiting* |
| **Crop** | always | *Keep what grows* or a crop to sow (target crop). With *Keep* on a harvest field: *Sow the same crop again after harvest* |
| **Crop options** | mowing crop or crop with straw | Mowing crop: *Silage* or *Hay* and *Rake the swaths before collecting*. Straw: *Chopped (spread on the field)*, *Collected to a silo* or *Baled and collected* |
| **Preparation** | not for a mowing field that keeps its crop | *Automatic (recommended)*: plows when the soil needs it, otherwise cultivates, and limes at low pH. *Choose myself*: soil work (Auto/Cultivate/Plow/None), lime, mulching, rolling after sowing |
| **Crop care** | a crop grows, or is going to grow | *Automatic (recommended)*: fertilizer up to max, weeds, and lime at low pH. *Choose myself*: fertilizer, weeds (not on mowing crops), and lime when there is no preparation step |
| **Machines** | always | *Machines at a time (multi-tool)* 1–5, *Unloading trailers during harvest* 1–3, *Dedicated machines for this field?* + the list |
| **Storage** | not on a bare field | *Use the field silo?* when there is one, otherwise *Automatic* (nearest silo with room, silage to a fermenting silo) or *Choose myself* among the 8 nearest |
| **Summary** | always | The summary. **Run automatically** (Auto) or **Save without starting** (Manual) |

Nothing is saved until **Run automatically** / **Save without starting** (or **Save** when you change a
single line). If the menu is closed or you switch tab, the guide is discarded. If the marker is missing,
the field can still be set up, but work waits for the marker.

**Dedicated machines:** a dedicated machine is only used on this field, and the field would rather wait
for its own than borrow another. Machines dedicated to other fields are not shown: *N machines are
dedicated to other fields (F22) and not shown here*.

**Crop care** only happens when the field needs it: fertilizer up to max, weeds only on harvest crops and
only when there are enough weeds, and at most twice of each kind per growing season. A weeder only
handles small weeds.

### Pick and forget: a crop on the field

Choose a crop (e.g. *Wheat*) in the **Crop** step, and the mod takes care of the rest; the field runs
automatically:

- **If something else is growing now**, it is left to finish growing and is harvested or mowed. Then the
  field is prepared and sown with your crop.
- **If your crop is already there** (grass → grass), it is mowed and collected every time it is ready.
- **A bare field** is prepared right away, whatever the season. Only sowing waits for sowing time
  (*waiting for sowing time for …*).
- After that the cycle runs by itself: growth → care → harvest → preparation → sowing → …

Choose *Keep what grows* to run the field yourself with **Run automatically** or **Save without starting**.

### Field fleet and machine pool

The **Field fleet** button shows the shared field fleet (**Back to fields** returns):

- **Use all free machines (No = only ticked ones)**. With Yes (default) the mod finds the machines
  itself. With No, only ticked machines are used.
- One row per machine with role and width, e.g. *Læssevogn 2 — loading wagon, 40.8 m*, and possibly
  *seeds ok*, *!! out of seeds*, *!! over 50 m*, *!! width unknown — set in Courseplay*, *dedicated to
  F22* or *working on F108*.
- For harvesters: **<name> drives itself on the road (No = too wide, you drive it to the field)**. See
  *Wide harvesters* below.
- **Machine pool — tractors** with hp and status: *free*, *needs its own AD park destination*, *player is
  driving*, *job F22*, *AutoDrive/Courseplay active*, *not in field fleet (tick)*, *off the AutoDrive
  network*, *has an implement attached (detach it to use the pool)* or *dropping implement and driving
  home*.
- **Machine pool — implements (park "X" + marker "Connect X")** with status: *parked at …*, *on …*,
  *reserved — a tractor is on its way*, *belongs to flow '…'*, *could not attach — retry in … min*,
  *not in pool — needs an AD park destination* or *not in pool — needs marker "Connect …"*.

Vehicles in a running flow, vehicles AutoDrive or Courseplay is already driving, and vehicles you are
driving yourself are never used. A sprayer or spreader gets its role from what it can take.

**When no ready-made set is free**, the mod sends a free pool tractor to fetch a pool implement with the
right role (best fit, see [The machine pool](#the-machine-pool)). The status shows *fetching implement*.
The tractor hitches, folds the implement for the road, works the field, drops the implement at its
parking spot and drives home. This also applies to **unloading trailers at harvest**: a free tractor
fetches a pool trailer that can carry the crop, follows the harvester until the harvest is done, and
parks the trailer.

Fields waiting for a machine are served in turn, longest-waiting first. At most one machine is sent out
every 10 seconds, and nothing is sent out during the first 2 minutes after loading.

### Width

- Courseplay can work at most **50 m** wide. The mod uses Courseplay's own width.
- Machines with a working width below 1.5 m are not sent out (*width unknown — set in Courseplay*).
- **Tedders, rakes, soil work, sowing, care and harvesting** work the field at their own width.
- The **loading wagon** must hit the swaths:
  - **without Rake** it drives the mower's course and must be at least as wide as the mowing width.
  - **with Rake** it drives the rake's course, and its width does not matter. The mod measures where the
    rake drops the swath and offsets the loading wagon to match.
- If you only have narrow standard wagons, switch **Rake** on.

### Wide harvesters

If you set a harvester to **No** under *drives itself on the road*, the mod does not drive it by road.
When the field is due for harvest, the mod asks you to drive the harvester to the field, mount the header
and get out (with a reminder every 5 minutes). When the harvester is on the field with a suitable header
and you have got out, the mod takes over. **Start now** takes over immediately if the header fits.
Afterwards the mod asks you to unmount the header and drive the harvester home. These messages are
currently shown in Danish only.

### Courseplay courses and reloading

- The mod **reuses Courseplay courses**. If the machine's own course fits the field and the width, it is
  used. Otherwise a matching course is copied from another machine, and only then is a new one
  calculated. Large fields can take up to 5 minutes to calculate. If the field changes, its courses are
  forgotten.
- **Restart after loading:** the game stops all helpers when it saves. The mod remembers on every save
  which machines Courseplay was running, and restarts exactly those from the nearest waypoint after
  loading (after 2 minutes, and not while paused from "Stop all"). If the machine stands on a field whose
  step matches its role, it is signed back onto the field.

### Weather, refilling and messages

- **Rain:** harvesting, mowing, tedding, raking, hay collecting, straw collecting and baling are not sent
  out while it rains (*waiting for dry weather*). Machines already working carry on. Soil work, sowing,
  care and silage collecting run in the rain.
- **Refilling:** when a seeder, sprayer or spreader is empty, AutoDrive drives it to the nearest place
  with the product and an AutoDrive marker, refills and drives back, and Courseplay continues. A sprayer
  with a wrong leftover is emptied first.
- **Sowing period:** a crop that cannot be sown in the current period waits with the reason *… cannot be
  sown in this period*.
- **Messages:** *Smart Pickup: F22 is done* when a field is finished, a red message on errors.
- **Harvest done:** the harvest is done when less than 5 % of the field is standing. If the harvester
  still has grain in its tank, an unloading trailer is sent out before the field moves on.
- **Preparation done:** cultivating and plowing are measured on the ground. When at least 95 % is
  prepared, the field moves on, also after reloading.
- **Field silo:** a silo within 150 m of the field can be used as storage (see
  [chapter 12](#12-field-silos)).

### Status and reasons

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Waiting / Ready** | Growing / ready (Manual waits for [Start]). With *— needs …* when crop care is needed |
| **Mowing, Tedding, Raking, Collecting, Harvesting, Cultivating, Plowing, Sowing, Rolling, Fertilizing …** | The step is in progress |
| **Done** | The chain is finished. The field becomes *Ready* again once it has grown |
| *waiting for machine* / *waiting for a free …* | All sets with the role are busy |
| *waiting for tractor* | A pool implement is free, but no pool tractor |
| *fetching implement* | A pool tractor is on its way to fetch the implement |
| *too few free* | Too few free sets for *Machines at a time* |
| *none can do it* | No machine can do the job, e.g. wrong header or a seeder that cannot sow the crop |
| *too wide* / *too narrow* / *width unknown* | See *Width* above |
| *choose crop* | The field is to be sown, but no crop is chosen |
| *not sowing time* | The crop cannot be sown in this period |
| *waiting for regrowth* | The grass must grow back to full height after an interrupted mowing |
| *waiting for dry weather* | Rain |

The full explanation is in the field's edit window. Log lines in `log.txt` start with
`ADSmartPickup: F109 …`.

---

## 11. The Month tab

The **Month** tab answers the question: *can I safely sleep to next month?*

- The top shows the period, the day and the time, e.g. *<period> (Aug) · day 2 of 3 · 14:30*.
- Below that is the verdict: *Nothing urgent — safe to sleep to next month*, or *NOTE: 2 fields must
  finish before the month ends*.
- The table only shows fields with work in progress (otherwise *No fields have work in progress*):

| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Field** | The field number |
| **Work** | The step in progress |
| **Crop** | The crop, or the one to be sown |
| **Done** | Progress in percent. Harvesting and mowing are measured over the whole field area |
| **Next** | The next step, or – |
| **Window** | *ok*, *NOTE: withers soon* (the crop withers at the next period change) or *NOTE: last sow month* (the sowing window closes after this month) |

Rows with a NOTE come first. Below the table is **Can be sown now, not started:** with bare fields whose
target crop can be sown now, e.g. *F14: Wheat — NOTE: last sowing month* or *F9: Canola — can also be
sown next month*.

---

## 12. Field silos

The **Field silos** tab hauls goods from field silos home to the farm with free unloading trailers. A
**field silo** is a silo within 150 m of one of the farm's fields. Silos used in a flow, silos chosen as
farm storage and silos close to a farm storage (the same cluster) are not field silos.

**Settings**

| Setting | Meaning | Values |
|---|---|---|
| **Bring field silos home automatically** | Switches the feature on | Yes/No, default No |
| **Max. vehicles out** | At most this many trailers on a trip at once | 1–10, default 2 |
| **Minimum amount per product** | A good is only fetched when the silo has at least this much | 5,000–50,000 l, default 10,000 l |
| **Send surplus to production (barn feed first)** | Once the farm has enough feed, the surplus goes to the farm's factories | Yes/No, default No |
| **Feed reserve: barn consumption for** | This many days of barn consumption stay on the farm before anything goes to a factory | 3, 7, 14 or 30 days, default 7 |
| **Farm storages (where products are brought home to)** | Yes for the silos that should receive the goods | Choose at least one |

If you choose no farm storage, it says *Select at least one farm storage below — otherwise nothing is
brought home*.

**Status and table**

The status line shows e.g. *1/2 vehicles out · 3 silos waiting*. The table **Field silos with products**
has the columns **Silo**, **Crop**, **Liters**, **En route** and **Status**:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| *ok* | Ready to be fetched |
| *missing marker* | The field silo has no AutoDrive marker |
| *no farm storage takes …* | No chosen farm storage accepts the good |
| *paused (did not get going)* | A trip got stuck. The silo and good are skipped for 10 minutes |
| *→ factory* | The trip goes to production |

**Trailers**

- The mod borrows free unloading trailers from the field fleet every minute. They must have an
  AutoDrive parking spot. Trailers in flows are never borrowed. If none is free, the status line explains
  why, e.g. *No free unloading trailer: 1 without AD park destination, 2 busy, 0 with a player in it,
  0 not in the fleet*.
- The mod also uses the machine pool: a free solo tractor fetches a pool trailer at its Connect marker,
  makes the trip and parks the trailer again.
- **Harvest first:** as many unloading trailers as working harvesters need are held back (*1 unloading
  trailer(s) held back for working harvesters*).
- The largest stock is fetched first with the nearest trailer that can carry the good. The trip is driven
  with AutoDrive's *Pickup and Deliver*, after which the trailer parks.
- If the field silo is empty before the trailer is full, the rest is driven on. If the farm storage is
  full, the trailer drives on to another storage.
- Nothing is planned while field work is paused after "Stop all and park".

---

## 13. Names of buildings and machines

FS25 cannot rename buildings itself, so the mod keeps its own names. They are saved in
`ADSmartPickup_names.xml` in the savegame and used everywhere in the menu.

- **New buildings are named automatically** (in Danish): barns by animal type (*Kostald 1*,
  *Svinestald 2*, *Hønsehus 1* …), farm silos (*Gårdsilo 1*), field silos after the nearest F marker
  (*F118 marksilo*), other silos (*Silo 3*), pallet sheds (*Palleskur 1*) and factories by their shop name.
  Numbers continue from the highest that exists. Names already given are never changed.
- **Rename building** in the storage tabs gives a building your own name. Empty name = the shop name.
- **Field machines** that still have their model name are named after their role (in Danish):
  *Læssevogn 5*, *Såmaskine 2*, *Mejetærsker 1*, *Roeoptager 2* etc. Names you have given yourself are
  not touched.
- **Flow tractors** are named after the flow (see
  [chapter 7](#7-tractors-trailers-and-the-machine-pool)).

### Console commands

Open the game's console to use them:

| Command | Function |
|---|---|
| `spuNameFleet` | Gives all tractors and trucks outside flows their shop name (*Fendt 942 1*, *Fendt 942 2* …) and renames their own parking spot to `P <name>` if nobody else shares it. Overwrites custom names on those vehicles. Save the game afterwards. Note: an existing `Connect <old name>` marker no longer matches |
| `spuConnect` | Hitches the nearest implement (within about 3 m) to the machine you are sitting in |
| `spuDetach` | Detaches the implements behind the machine you are sitting in |
| `spuTrip A > B > C` | Drives a trip over several markers: Connect markers hitch, Afkobl or the implement's own parking detach, and at other markers it stops for 10 seconds. Mostly for testing |

---

## 14. Recipes

### Keep a cow barn fed

1. Wait folder *Cow Wait* with 2–4 markers close to the barn.
2. **New flow**, **Into building**, To = the barn, Goods = **Automatic**.
3. Loops = 0, Wait at = *Cow Wait*.
4. Two tractors with tippers, **Start flow**.

The tractors spread feed, straw and water by need and prefer TMR to silage.

### Solo tractor with its own trailer

1. Park the trailer and give it an AutoDrive parking spot, e.g. `P Cow Food vogn 1`.
2. Create the marker `Connect P Cow Food vogn 1` right at the trailer's drawbar.
3. Set up the flow and choose the tractor without a trailer under **Tractors**. Check that **↳ Trailer**
   shows the right trailer, and save.
4. **Start flow**: the tractor fetches the trailer. On **Stop flow** the trailer is emptied and parked
   again.

### TMR factory feeding several barns

1. Flow A: **Into building**, To = the TMR factory, Goods = Automatic.
2. Flow B: **Out of building**, From = the TMR factory, TMR = **Store**.
3. Flow C: **Into building**, To = all cow barns. The neediest barn gets the trip.

### Sell milk at a high price

1. **New flow**, **Out of building**, From = barn(s) or milk tanks.
2. Milk = **Sell, else store**, Sell from = 90 %, Drive to storage above = 80 %.
3. One tanker, **Start flow**.

The tanker waits at Wait until the price is high. If the tank fills up first, it takes the milk to storage.

### Empty a pallet shed for sale

1. **New flow**, **Out of building**, From = the object storage.
2. The goods = **Sell**, **Collect in one trip** = Yes.
3. One UAL truck, **Start flow**.

### A good is running out

1. Open the storage tab, e.g. **Barns**, view **Goods**.
2. Click the line *… runs out in …* under **Needs attention**.
3. The guide opens with a ready-made suggestion. Choose tractors and press **Start flow**.

---

## 15. Troubleshooting

The mod writes all its decisions to `log.txt` with the prefix `ADSmartPickup:`. The log is in
`Documents/My Games/FarmingSimulator2025/`.

| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| The building shows *NO MARKER* | Place an AutoDrive marker within 40 m of the trigger. Wait markers do not count |
| A barn's slurry or milk point is missing | Give each loading point its own marker |
| The tractor cannot be chosen in the guide | Click the line *N tractors cannot be used here* to see the reason |
| The solo tractor cannot be chosen | There must be a free trailer: detached, with an AutoDrive parking spot and a `Connect <parking name>` marker, and able to carry the flow's goods |
| The tractor does not fetch the trailer | Check that the Connect marker is named exactly `Connect ` + the parking's name, and that it sits at the drawbar with room to reverse |
| The tractor just holds at Wait | Read the status. It is usually waiting for a price, room or a need |
| The neighbouring silo gets the load | Set AutoDrive's *Max trigger distance* to 10 m |
| *cannot reach selling point* | Connect the selling point to the road network in both directions |
| The pallet shed does not hand out pallets | Move the marker so the trailer's autoload zone covers the output area |
| The tractor does not fill at the silo | After 30 seconds without filling, the mod lets go and AutoDrive drives on |
| No field work starts | Is there a pause from "Stop all"? Press **Start all flows** in Overview, or **[Start]** on the field |
| The field shows `!` | The field is missing its `F<no>` marker |
| A flow does not run after loading | Press **[Start]** on the flow |
| All tractors fetch the same thing | Only tractors in the same flow spread out |

**Useful log lines** (the log text is in Danish)

```
ADSmartPickup: 'JCB 1' bytter læs: 2400 l STRAW tilbage i Silo 3, målet mangler FORAGE
ADSmartPickup: 'Virtus' holder ved Wait 3: MILK 82 % af top (kræver 90), lager 41 %
ADSmartPickup: F109 …
```

---

## 16. Testing and feedback

The mod is being tested continuously, and bug reports are very welcome.

1. Tell the developer — or open an issue in the repository if you have an account: <https://git.powerdata.dk/masterdraco/fs25-adsmartpickup/issues>
2. Describe what you did, what you expected, and what happened. Mention the version (shown in `log.txt`
   and in the mod list).
3. Attach `log.txt` from `Documents/My Games/FarmingSimulator2025/log.txt`. If the file is too big,
   attach at least the lines starting with `ADSmartPickup`.
4. A screenshot of the Smart Pickup menu often helps.

---

## 17. Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **AD** | AutoDrive |
| **CP** | Courseplay |
| **Flow / run** | A named recipe with buildings, goods, rules and tractors |
| **Marker** | AutoDrive destination |
| **Trigger** | The area at a building where loading or unloading happens |
| **Wait point** | Marker in a folder with *Wait* in its name, where tractors wait |
| **Parking spot** | AutoDrive's park destination for a vehicle or implement, e.g. `P Cow Food vogn 1` |
| **Connect marker** | The marker `Connect <parking name>`, where a tractor hitches an implement |
| **Afkobl marker** | Marker where implements behind the tractor are detached |
| **Solo tractor** | Tractor with no trailer or implement attached at the rear |
| **Fixed set** | Implement without a Connect marker. It stays attached and is never lent out. A flow's trailers are never lent out either |
| **Machine pool** | Detached implements/trailers and free tractors that the mod pairs up as needed |
| **Field fleet** | The machines field work is allowed to use |
| **UAL** | Universal Autoload, a mod that loads pallets automatically |
| **Object storage** | Pallet and bale storage |
| **Top price** | The good's highest price during the year according to the game's seasonal curve |
| **Reserve** | What the farm's own barns and factories use in the next day |
| **Time to empty** | How long a factory's stock of a good lasts at the current consumption |
| **Field silo** | A silo near a field used as intermediate storage |
| **Chain** | The whole path from a production back through factories and barns to the crops in the fields |
| **Root production** | The production you switch on yourself, which the chain keeps running |
| **Switched off but needed** | A switched-off production whose goods a flow, a barn or a chain uses — the mod warns once and shows a red line in Needs attention |
| **Free for chains** | A field marking that lets the mod change the crop automatically |