DXKeeper: QSLing

DXKeeper Online Help Contents

 

DXKeeper supports three independent kinds of QSLing: paper QSL cards and labels, electronic QSLs via the eQSL.cc service, and electronic QSLs via the ARRL's Logbook of the World (LotW). You can choose to confirm a QSO by any one of these QSL kinds, any two, or all three. 

Traditionally, the need to load your printer with index stock or labels has made QSLing a batch operation, rather than an activity accomplished at the time you log a QSO. After accumulating some number of QSOs for which confirmation is desired, you identify the QSOs, load the printer with index stock or blank QSL labels, print QSL cards or labels for each designated QSO, reload the printer with envelopes or blank address labels, print addresses for each QSL, and finally update the original QSOs to indicate that  QSLs have been sent and, if appropriate, that return QSLs have been requested.  

The eQSL.cc service provides a new mode of operation; by depressing the Ctrl key while logging a QSO via the Main or Capture windows, DXKeeper will immediately upload the QSO to eQSL.cc; if you check the Upload an eQSL... box, simply logging a QSO via the Capture window will perform the immediately upload without your having to depress the Ctrl key. Real-time uploads are attractive if you are always connected to the internet, but those using dialup connections will prefer to connect to the internet, upload a batch of QSLs to eQSL.cc and then disconnect. Because LotW QSOs must be digitally encrypted before transmission to the ARRL, its it is more efficient wait until a batch of QSLs are needed before uploading them. Batches of outgoing QSLs are collected in DXKeeper's QSL Queue. From here, they can be printed or uploaded, and then used to update your log to indicate the operation's success. The QSL Queue is stored in each log file; if you switch log files, you will also switch QSL Queues.

DXKeeper does provide a set of immediate QSLing operations. If the QSL Queue is empty, right-clicking on a QSO in the Log Page Display will produce a popup menu containing the following options:

Left-clicking on one of these options will immediately perform the action; before selecting Print QSL card or Print Envelope, load your printer with the appropriate media. Note that Print QSL card will uncheck the Print Preview option.

The workflows for batch QSLing via cards, labels, eQSL.cc, and LotW are similar:

  1. choose the QSL kind (cards, labels, eQSL.cc, and LotW)

  2. identify the QSOs for which QSLs should be sent and load them into the QSL Queue

  3. print or upload the QSLs, or place the QSL information in a file for printing by another application

  4. print addresses on envelopes or labels (only if QSLing via cards or labels)

  5. remove each entry from the QSL queue, and update its associated QSO to indicate that QSLs have been sent and, if appropriate, that return QSLs have been requested (this step is automatic when uploading to eQSL.cc or LotW)

If you intend to upload a large number of QSOs to eQSL.cc, the following workflow will be faster than identifying individual QSOs and loading them into the QSL Queue:

  1. Filter the Log Page Display so that all QSOs to be uploaded are visible

  2. Use the Main window's Export to eQSL.cc function to generate an ADIF file that can be uploaded to eQSL.cc

The exact threshold depends on your CPU and hard drive speed, as well as the bandwidth of your internet connection, but more than a few hundred QSOs is a good guideline for using the Export functions rather than the Upload functions.

You will also wish to update your log to reflect incoming confirmations, whether in the form of QSL cards received via postal mail or electronically via eQSL.cc or LotW; the process of updating your log to reflect confirmations received from eQSL.cc and LotW is automated, and is referred to as synchronization.

Choosing the QSL kind: cards/labels, eQSL.cc, LotW, ADIF files, or tab-delimited files

You choose the QSL kind by making a selection in the QSL Via panel on the Main window's QSL tab:

 

Selection

Meaning

Cards

print QSL cards, 4 per page

2-column labels

print QSL labels, typically 20 per page

3-column labels print QSL labels, typically 30 per page
eQSL.cc upload QSOs to eQSL.cc
LotW upload QSOs to LotW
ADIF save QSO information in a specified file using ADIF format (for QSL generation by another application)
tab-delimited file save QSO information in a specified file using tab-delimited format (for QSL generation by another application using mail merge techniques)

Cards, labels, ADIF files, and tab-delimited files are all used to produce hardcopy QSL cards that are physically conveyed to the station you worked; these four kinds are therefore collectively referred to as QSL Cards.

Identifying QSOs for which QSLs should be sent and loading them into the QSL Queue

You can individually place a 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. You can also direct DXKeeper to populate the QSL Queue with multiple QSOs in order to

Responding to requests for confirmation and soliciting confirmation require status information to be recorded with each QSO. DXKeeper separately tracks the confirmation of each QSO by QSL Card, eQSL.cc, and LotW. For each of these three kinds of QSLing, there are four fields stored with each QSO:

  QSL Card eQSL.cc LotW Meaning
outgoing status QSL sent eQSL sent LotW sent
  • R - an outgoing QSL should be printed or uploaded

  • U - the outgoing QSL has been uploaded but acceptance is unknown (LotW only)

  • Y - the outgoing QSL has been printed or uploaded and accepted

outgoing date QSL date sent eQSL date sent LotW date sent date on which the outgoing QSL was printed or uploaded and accepted
confirmation status QSL rcvd eQSL rcvd LotW rcvd
  • R - the outgoing QSL should (or did) include a request for a confirming QSL

  • Y - confirmation has been received

  • S - confirmation has been submitted to the ARRL for verification (cards & LotW only)

  • V - confirmation has been verified by the ARRL (cards & LotW only)

  • I - this QSO is invalid for award purposes

  • X - this QSO can't be confirmed

confirmation date QSL date rcvd eQSL date rcvd Lotw date rcvd date on which the incoming QSL was received

 

To designate a QSO for which an outgoing QSL should be printed or uploaded, set the outgoing status to R; if you'd like the QSO confirmed, also set the appropriate confirmation status to R; in the case of cards and 2-column labels, this will result in the a "please!" being printed in the QSL? column. The Main window's QSL and Online QSL panels provide full access to the outgoing status fields for QSL Card, eQSL.cc, and LotW. These panels also provide RR buttons for each kind of QSL; clicking an RR button simultaneously sets the outgoing status to R and the confirmation status to R. Having to click all these buttons for each logged QSO would clearly be inconvenient. While we may only send a QSL card if asked or if needed to solicit a confirmation,  there is good reason to upload every logged QSO to eQSL.cc and LotW, assuming you have accounts with each; by doing so, you provide confirmation of your QSO to those in need. Thus DXKeeper provides an Initialize eQSL sent to 'R'  box that when checked will automatically set the eQSL.cc outgoing status to R whenever you log a QSO, and an Initialize LotW sent to 'R'  box that when checked will automatically set the LotW outgoing status to R whenever you log a QSO. Even if you have no immediate plans to use eQSL.cc or LotW, leaving these boxes in their default checked setting is a good idea; if you eventually change your mind, your QSOs will already be flagged for uploading.

With DXKeeper configured to always designate QSOs for upload to eQSL.cc and LotW, the only decision you must make is whether to send a paper QSL Card. If you are logging QSOs from the Capture window and decide that you'd like a QSL card -- or are asked for a card by your QSO partner -- check the Capture window's QSL Requested box; if you log the QSO with this box checked, both the QSL Card outgoing status and confirmation status will be recorded as R. If you are logging QSO's via the Main window, clicking the QSL panel's RR will have the same effect.

The Add Requested function on the Main window's QSL tab respond  to requests for confirmation from QSO partner; it

LotW requires that only QSOs made with the same operator callsign be uploaded together. You can enforce this by placing an operator callsign in the Limit Add and Sync operations to this callsign setting, which if the QSL kind is LotW causes the Add Requested function to ignore Log Page Display QSOs made with any other operator callsign.

If the Add Requested no dup band-modes option is enabled, the Add Requested function will not create a QSL Queue entry unless doing so would give the receiving station a new band or mode, or unless the QSL Via panel is set to LotW or eQSL.cc .

Besides memorializing memorable QSOs, we send QSL Cards to solicit QSO confirmations we need to achieve our DXing objectives. DXKeeper automates this process for the ARRL DX Century Club award (DXCC), the ARRL DX Century Club Challenge award , and the Top List award. by providing the Add Needed function on the Main window's QSL tab, which 

On the assumption that all QSOs will be uploaded to LotW and/or eQSL.cc, the Add Needed function is only available when the QSL kind is QSL cards, QSL labels, ADIF files, or tab-delimited files. 

When Add Needed finds a QSO whose confirmation is required, it locates all other unconfirmed QSOs with the same station and adds these to the QSL Queue. If you'd prefer to only request confirmation for the QSOs you need, un-check the Add Needed requests all with same call box. If a QSO whose confirmation is required has a QSL manager, Add Needed will locate all other unconfirmed QSOs with having the same QSL manager and add these to the QSL Queue if you check the Add Needed requests all with same mgr box.

The Add Needed function determines which QSL Card confirmations are required by consulting the Configuration window's DXCC/TOP Bands & Modes panel, which you should set to indicate the bands and modes that you are pursuing. 

The Add All function creates an entry in the QSL Queue for each QSO in the Log Page Display - independent of whether its needed and/or requested. By filtering the Log Page Display before invoking Add All, you can choose only those QSOs within a date range, or with a particular DXCC entity, or on a specified band. If the QSL kind is LotW, placing an operator callsign in the Limit Add and Sync operations to this callsign setting causes the Add All function to ignore Log Page Display QSOs made with any other operator callsign. If you are just starting with LotW, Add All is an efficient way to select all of a log's QSOs for uploading; because eQSL.cc uploading is optimized for interactivity, it will be faster to upload a large number of QSOs by using Export to eQSL.cc.

For other awards -- VUCC, ARRL Worked All States, ARRL Worked All Continents, Islands On The Air, CQ Worked All Zones, or CQ Worked All Prefixes, you must designate needed confirmations by clicking  the RR button on the Main window's QSL panel, and then click Add Requested; reports generated from the Main window's Check Progress tab do indicate which confirmations are required for these awards.

Once one or more entries have been added to the QSL Queue with Add Requested or Add Needed, you can no longer change the selected QSL kind until you either complete this batch of QSLs -- either by printing or by uploading --  and update your log accordingly, or until you abort this batch by clicking the QSL tab's Clear button.

Because eQSL.cc confirmations currently do not "count" for ARRL DXing awards, the Add Needed function is disabled when the selected QSL kind is eQSL.cc. While LotW confirmations do "count" for ARRL DXing awards, it is assumed that operators with an LotW account will upload every QSO (in batches); thus the Add Needed function is also superfluous when the selected QSL kind is LotW

The LotW implementation of digital encryption requires that all QSLs in an uploaded batch share the same operator callsign and the same operator QTH.  If all QSOs in your log meet this requirement, then you can freely use Add Requested. If not, you must filter the Log Page Display to meet this requirement prior to executing Add Requested.

Note that each entry in the QSL Queue contains a QSL box. By default, each entry's box is checked, which enables the entry for later QSL operations. A QSL Queue entry whose QSL box is not checked will be ignored by all operations except clearing the QSL Queue. You can use the EnableAll and DisableAll function to quickly enable or disable all QSL Queue entries. Disabling a QSL Queue entry is useful when you're not yet ready to send a QSL card or label, perhaps because you expect to make additional QSOs with the station and want to print them all on a single card or label.

You can sort the QSL Queue in ascending or descending order of any of its columns. Double-clicking on a column's caption sort's the QSL Queue in ascending order of that column; double-clicking on the same column's caption again sorts the QSL Queue in descending order of that column.

QSL Queue entries shown in red font are missing an address; to specify or modify the address of a station in the QSL queue, double-click its entry to display DXKeeper's Address Editor window and direct Pathfinder (if running) to perform a QSL route lookup. When you click the Address Editor's Save button, any changes you've made will update both the QSL Queue entry and the logged QSO. 

Double-clicking a QSL Queue entry while depressing the Alt key will direct DXView (if running) to display information about the entry's callsign, including DXCC progress by band and mode.

Double-clicking a QSL Queue entry while depressing the Ctrl key will locate the log entry from which the QSL Queue entry was created, and display it in the Main window's Log QSOs tab.

QSLing with Paper: Printing QSL cards, QSL labels, Envelopes, and Address Labels from the QSL Queue

QSL cards can be printed either one card per page, or four cards per page, with dimensions you specify; a printer capable of handling card stock is recommended. Information to be printed on each card can be specified on the configuration window's QSL Cards tab. When printed four cards per page, each page can be thought of as having four quadrants, with quadrant 0 in the upper left, quadrant 1 in the upper right, quadrant 2 in the lower left, and quadrant 3 in the lower right. DXKeeper places QSL cards into quadrants in a specific order that, if maintained, avoids the need to sort the final deck by DXCC prefix after the cards are separated with a paper cutter. To achieve this order, start with the cards in quadrant 1, then append the cards in quadrant 2, then quadrant 3, and finally those in quadrant 4. If the QSL Via item contains a valid callsign, its DXCC prefix will be used for sorting purposes.

Most printers cannot print right to an edge; each printer imposes a set of margins. If the QSL card  dimensions you specify will not fit within these margins or would produce a card that is too small to contain the minimum information, DXKeeper will so inform you. Your printer's margins are depicted in the Print Preview window as shaded areas.

Both two-column and three-column labels can be printed with QSL information and with addresses; Dimensions of each can be specified on the configuration window's QSL Labels tab and Address Labels tab. On installation, DXKeeper is pre-configured to support 1" x 2.625" (Avery 8160 for inkjet printers, Avery 5960 for laser printers) 3-column labels, and 1" x 4" (Avery 8161 for inkjet printers, Avery 5961 for laser printers) 2-column labels. You can specify QSL label dimensions in either inches or millimeters. Note that setting a column offset to 0 reduces the number of label columns per page; this can be used to print single column labels on dedicated label printers, for example. QSL labels are also sorted in DXCC prefix order, starting with the top row of labels and proceeding down the page. As with QSL cards, If the QSL Via item contains a valid callsign, its DXCC prefix will be used for sorting purposes.

When QSLing via cards or labels, DXKeeper will by default confirm multiple QSOs with the same station on the same card or label if

If desired, you can restrict QSL cards or labels to confirm exactly one QSO -- uncheck the Confirm Multiple QSOs per QSL box

If you want outgoing cards or labels to bear the word "thanks!" if the QSO is already confirmed in LotW, then check the Set outgoing QSL? to "thanks!"... box.

If you want QSL cards to include the QSL manager (from the QSO's Via item if this contains a valid callsign)  in the confirmation line, then check the Include QSL Mgr in confirmation box. An example of a confirmation line including a QSL manager is

confirming a 2X QSO with YV1DIG via FJ/AA6YQ

If you want 2-column labels to include the QSL manager (from the QSO's Via item if this contains a valid callsign)  in the confirmation line, then check the Include QSL Mgr in confirmation box. An example of a confirmation line including a QSL manager is

7O1NU confirms 2X QSO with AA6YQ via F6FNU

If you want 3-column labels to display the QSL manager (from the QSO's Via item if this contains a valid callsign) and the words 'pse QSL!' (unless every QSO on the card is confirmed, in which case the words 'tnx QSL!') along each label's bottom edge, then check the Include QSL Mgr & pse/tnx QSL box.

If you are printing QSL cards, then 

If you are printing QSL labels, then 

If the previewed cards or labels are unsatisfactory, you can make corrections to settings on the QSL Configuration window's QSL Cards tab or QSL Labels tab and then repeat the Print QSL Cards or Print QSL Labels operation. If incorrect logged data other than callsign or begin time has been printed on any cards or labels, correct the erroneous logged data by double-clicking on a QSL Queue entry to display the associated QSO in the Main window, where you can correct the error and click the Log button. If a QSO has been logged with the wrong callsign or begin time, 

If you intend to print envelopes or address labels, you should verify that an address is available for each entry in the QSL Queue. Entries shown in red font are missing an address; to specify or modify the address of a station in the QSL queue, double-click its entry to display DXKeeper's Address Editor window. When you click the Address Editor's Save button, any changes you've made will update both the QSL Queue entry and the logged QSO. 

Click the Create Address File button on the Main window's QSL tab to generate a report showing the address for each station that will receive a QSL. This report can be used to double-check the addresses, and later to ensure that the correct card is placed in the correct envelope.

If you are printing addresses on envelopes, then

If you are printing addresses on  labels, then

When you have completed the printing of all QSL cards, QSL labels, envelopes, and/or address labels, click the Update Log button on the Main window's QSL tab. This will 

When you receive a QSL card, you can use the Call filter to quickly locate the logged QSO; if the QSO parameters match, click the QSO panel's CFM button; this will set the logged QSO's QSL card QSL rcvd to Y and, if Optimize for Realtime QSO Entry is checked, set its QSL card QSL date rcvd to the current UTC date.

While reviewing your ARRL DXCC status report, you can also use the Call filter to quickly locate newly-verified QSOs, and then click the QSO panel's VFY button to set the QSL rcvd to V.

 

QSLing via eQSL.cc: uploading QSLs from the QSL Queue, and synchronizing confirmed QSLs

If you need to convey more than a few hundred QSOs to eQSL.cc, using Export to eQSL.cc will likely be faster.

To upload the contents of the QSL Queue to eQSL.cc

DXKeeper transmits the following information to eQSL.cc for each entry in the QSL Queue:

If you have multiple operator callsigns and multiple eQSL.cc  accounts, you can prevent the upload of QSOs whose operator callsigns don't match the currently specified eQSL.cc username by checking the Don't upload QSOs whose operator callsign isn't the specified Username box. 

Any uploaded QSO rejected by eQSL.cc as a duplicate is treated as if it had been uploaded successfully.

After this operation completes, DXKeeper will display an eQSL.cc Upload Report in a browser window; any QSLs rejected by eQSL.cc will be noted in this window. The current UTC date and time will appear under the Upload to eQSL.cc button to remind you when you last invoked this function; this information is stored in the current log. You can now disconnect from the Internet.

For each successfully uploaded QSL Queue entry, DXKeeper will perform the following for each enabled entry in the QSL Queue

QSLs that were disabled or not successfully uploaded will remain in the QSL Queue after the Upload to eQSL.cc operation. If incorrect logged data other than callsign or begin time is at fault, double-clicking on the  QSL Queue entry to display its associated QSO in the Main window, where you can correct the error and click the Log button. If an incorrect callsign or begin time was logged,

To synchronize your log with eQSL.cc by downloading QSLs and matching them with logged QSOs,

The current UTC date and time will appear under the Sync eQSL.cc button to remind you when you last invoked this function; this information is stored in the current log. You can now disconnect from the Internet.

Under certain circumstances, you may wish to manually download an eQSL.cc Inbox and direct Sync eQSL.cc to process its contents; to do so, check the Prompt the user to specify a file containing the already-downloaded contents of an eQSL.cc Inbox box before invoking Sync eQSL.cc. To manually download an eQSL.cc Inbox, log in to eQSL.cc and then navigate to http://www.eqsl.cc/qslcard/DownloadInbox.cfm .

A logged QSO will be confirmed if it matches a downloaded QSL:

For each confirmed QSL,  DXKeeper will set the logged QSO's  eQSL rcvd to Y and its  eQSL date rcvd to the current UTC date. Any errors encountered while inspecting the downloaded QSLs -- including QSLs that match no QSO in the current log  -- will be displayed in an error report.

QSLing via LotW: uploading QSLs from the QSL Queue, verifying uploads, and synchronizing confirmed QSLs

To upload the contents of the QSL Queue to LotW

The current UTC date and time will appear under the Upload to LotW button to remind you when you last invoked this function; this information is stored in the current log.

After a successful upload to LotW, DXKeeper will perform the following for each enabled entry in the QSL Queue

QSLs that were disabled or not successfully uploaded will remain in the QSL Queue after the Upload to LotW operation. 

LotW generally processes successfully uploaded QSLs quickly; after waiting a few minutes, verify that the uploaded QSLs were accepted by connecting to the Internet and clicking the Sync LotW QSOs button. This will download all uploaded QSLs (LotW refers to these as QSOs). Logged QSOs whose LotW sent is set to U will have that status update to Y, reflecting acceptance by LotW. The UTC date and time that the last uploaded QSO was verified will appear under the Sync LotW QSOs button to remind you when you last invoked this function; this information is stored in the current log. 

QSOs not accepted by LotW will remain in the log with their  LotW sent set to U; you can filter the Log Page Display to show such QSOs by clicking the LotW button in the Main window's Filter panel. 

If you find such QSOs, check your LotW account to determine whether they've simply not yet been processed, or been processed and generated errors. After correcting any erroneous QSOs

To synchronize your log with LotW  by downloading QSLs and matching them with logged QSOs,

The date and time when the last QSL was downloaded will appear under the Sync LotW QSLs button to remind you when you last invoked this function; this information is stored in the current log. 

A logged QSO will be confirmed if it matches a downloaded QSL:

For each confirmed QSL, DXKeeper will set the logged QSO's  LotW rcvd to Y and its  Lotw date rcvd to the current UTC date. Any errors encountered while inspecting the downloaded QSLs will be displayed in a results report. QSLs that match no QSO in the current log are reported as errors if the Report unmatched QSLs as errors box is checked; this setting defaults to unchecked, and is maintained independently for each log. 

QSLs downloaded from LotW include additional information provided by the QSLing station:

Each QSL is compared with its matching logged QSO. Information downloaded from LotW that is not present in the logged QSO will be automatically added unless it is inconsistent with the callsign; for example, a logged QSO missing a Iota tag will be updated with the Iota tag contained in its matching QSL, but a QSO with AA6YQ missing a CQ zone will not updated with a CQ zone of 6. The comparison process compensates for syntactic differences; eu1 and EU-001 are considered identical, for example. If the a logged 4-character gridsquare matches the first 4 characters of the matching QSL's 6-character gridsquare, then the logged QSO will be updated with the 6-character gridsquare. When information logged with QSO is inconsistent with the information contained in the QSO's matching QSL, however, the conflict is resolved as specified in the Handling of LotW detail inconsistencies setting, which provides three choices

When the Sync LotW QSLs function completes, DXKeeper displays a report showing

The Sync LotW QSOs and Sync LotW QSLs functions remember the last QSO and QSL respectively that they process; these times are shown beneath their buttons. When activated, these functions direct  LotW to supply only newly-arrived QSOs or QSLs, thereby minimizing the amount of information to be downloaded and inspected. You can, however, force all QSOs or QSLs to be downloaded and inspected by depressing the CTRL key while clicking the buttons that activate these functions.

If DXKeeper is unable to download uploaded QSOs or QSLs, verify that the ARRL's LotW web site is operational; also verify that ARRL personnel have not changed your username and/or password.

If your PC is not connected to the Internet but you have access to an Internet connection from another PC, check the PC has no internet connection box. When you click the Prep LotW Update button, DXKeeper will invoke TQSL as described above to generate a signed (.tq8) file, and then display the name of this file so you can move it to an internet-connected PC and manually upload it to LotW. After this upload is accomplished, click the Update Log button; DXKeeper will then perform the following for each enabled entry in the QSL Queue

With the PC has no internet connection box checked, invoking the Sync LotW QSO or Sync LotW QSL functions will result in DXKeeper prompting you to manually query LotW from an internet-connected PC and then move the file containing the query results to a specified file on your PC. When you click the OK button, DXKeeper will process the query results as if they had been directly downloaded from LotW.

If all of your QSOs are logged with the same operator callsigns from the same location in a single log file, then the above facilities are all that are required to successfully maintain synchronization between your log and LotW; If you have logged QSOs with multiple callsigns, from multiple QTHs, and/or in multiple log files, then the following facilities can be used to accelerate processing. 

By default, LotW will download all of your accounts QSOs or QSLs when you click Sync LotW QSOs and Sync LotW QSLs respectively. If your current log contains only QSOs made from a single operator callsign, however, you can reduce both the download and inspection times by specifying that callsign in the Limit Add and Sync operations to this callsign setting. This setting is maintained independently for each log; loading a new log will automatically restore the setting value you established when that log was loaded. When the setting contains no callsign, all QSOs and QSLs in your LotW will be downloaded by Sync LotW QSOs and Sync LotW QSLs respectively. Here's an example:

  AA6YQ.mdb FJ-AA6YQ.mdb KP2-AA6YQ.mdb
Operator callsigns contained in log's QSOs KC6IGZ, N6YBG, AA6YQ FJ/AA6YQ KP2/AA6YQ
Limit QSO and QSL downloads to this callsign   FJ/AA6YQ KP2/AA6YQ
Report unmatched QSLs as errors no yes yes

Enabling Report unmatched QSLs as errors is only practical when downloading is limited to a single operator callsign -- either because the LotW account contains only QSOs and QSLs made with that operator callsign, or because Limit QSO and QSL downloads to this callsign is set to a specific callsign, as in the FJ-AA6YQ.mdb and KP2-AA6YQ.mdb logs in the example above.

In circumstances where you are uncertain as to the operator callsign used in one or more QSOs -- for example, AA6YQ vs. AA6YQ/1 -- one approach you can take is to 

Incoming QSLs will match one or the other, depending upon the operator callsign logged by the QSLing station. By checking the Exclude operator callsigns when matching QSOs to QSLs box, your QSOs will be properly confirmed when you run the Sync LotW QSLs function.

Note: Upload to LotW sends the following information for each QSL Queue entry:

QSLing via ADIF or tab-delimited files: Generating QSL cards via an external application by way of the QSL Queue

While DXKeeper can generate QSL cards, their design is utilitarian, optimized for soliciting a confirmation at the lowest cost. There are applications -- BV for example -- that allow you to design more attractive QSL cards and print them with QSL information extracted from a file of QSO data in ADIF format; setting the QSL kind to ADIF file allows you to generate QSL cards using such applications. You can also use mail merge techniques with applications like Microsoft Word to produce QSO cards; setting the QSL kind to tab-delimited file allows you to generate QSL cards using such applications.

To generate a file containing ADIF data for each entry in the QSL Queue

 DXKeeper stores the following ADIF information for each QSL Queue entry:

To generate a file containing tab-delimited data for each entry in the QSL Queue,

 DXKeeper stores the following tab-delimited information in the following order for each QSL Queue entry:

After you have printed all of your QSL cards, click the Update Log button on the Main window's QSL tab. This will 

When you receive a QSL card, you can use the Call filter to quickly locate the logged QSO; if the QSO parameters match, click the QSO panel's CFM button; this will set the logged QSO's QSL card QSL rcvd to Y and, if Optimize for Realtime QSO Entry is checked, its QSL card QSL date rcvd to the current UTC date.

While reviewing your ARRL DXCC status report, you can also use the Call filter to quickly locate newly-verified QSOs, and then click the QSO panel's VFY button to set the QSL rcvd to V.