Gilligan's score.Regatta Help

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Regatta Scoring Basics
• Menu Buttons
• Data Entry, General
• Data Entry, Details
• Instructions
• Registration
• Starts
• Times
• Results
• Portsmouth
• Mods
• Boat DB
• Sailor DB
• Set Parameters
• Technical Information
• Comma Separated Value vs TAB Separated Value

Bold links are Pop Up Definitions. (These require JavaScript to be enabled in your browser)

Overview

• score.Regatta is designed to calculate results for a large number of boats, classes, and starting sequences on a single race course, using US sailing or NAHCA scoring rules. (As of 2001, both of these correspond to the ISAF 2001-2004 Racing Rules of Sailing, Appendix A)
• score.Regatta is written in Java. It is based on my Regatta Scoring Spreadsheet and has a similar structure.
• The major enhancements score.Regatta offers over my Regatta Scoring Spreadsheet are:

• A backup data file as automatically saved after every few data fields are changed. This prevents much data loss if you computer has some problem, or you forget to save the data file. The next time you start score.Regatta, you are prompted to load the auto saved file.
• The Regatta results are saved as an .html file, for easy posting to a web site.
• Improved bad data handling. Data fields with bad data are hi-lighted in yellow. The warning message for each particular error is only displayed the first time it is encountered. Clicking the right mouse button on a yellow field will redisplay the warning message.
• Clicking the "Next Step" button will automatically compute all of the remaining steps and score the regatta (assuming there are no data entry errors).
• The data on most pages can sorted in several ways, to easily locate particular boats or sailors.
• Mirocosoft Excel is not required. Runs on any operating system that supports Java and Java is free. It was developed on the Linux operating system, and has been tested on Windows, as well. It should also work on Apple's OSX, but it hasn't been tested there.
• Much smaller file size. The install zip file is about 375K, the excel spreadsheet file is over 4M, even compressed, the excel spreadsheet is over 700K.
• Java Runs considerably FASTER than Mirocosoft Excel spreadsheet.
• The sailors can Register On-Line in the weeks before the regatta. This registration information can then be imported directly into scoreRegatta. This minimizes transcription errors and saves scoring committee time at the regatta.
• A sailor data base was added. This saves the address, phone number, email etc. for each sailor.
• The various Data Bases can be Imported or Exported in several formats that are supported by other spreadsheet, data base, and EMail programs.
• You can change the number of races or add boats anytime without loosing any previously entered data, though, you may have to repeat some calculation steps.
• Auto-Magically assigns boats to classes, five of a type is a class, others are Open. The Open class is split if there is a large number of boats. This can be overridden if score.Regatta didn't guess right.
• Two way ties are handled, but not ties of three or more boats.
• A "Data Entry Form" makes selecting boat Type codes and Modification codes very easy.
• A "Data Base" of boats from previous regattas is maintained. These can be retrieved with a few keystrokes, and entered for a new regatta.
• The Portsmouth Numbers and Modifications were updated from the US Sailing Web site on 2002-May-15.
• Warnings are issued for missing or incorrect data. If data is changed, the user is guided to a previous calculation step as required. This prevents incorrect results from being inadvertently computed.

Regatta Scoring Basics

Sail boat Regattas use terminology that may not clear to the uninitiated. This is a brief description of the terminology used in this scoring program.

A Regatta is a boat race. All of the boats in a regatta, don't necessarily compete against each other. Quite often, the boats are separated into different Classes. The boats in each class compete against each other, but share the same race course with boats in other classes. Some very large regattas will have multiple race courses. This program will handle different race courses as different regatta files. For the rest of this discussion, a regatta will be considered as a single race course.

The boats are separated into classes based on their similarity. Five boats of the same type will usually be assigned to a separate class. Boat types that have fewer than five are usually placed in the same class called the Open class. To make it fair for slower boats competing against faster boats, a correction factor is used. This program has built in table of Portsmouth correction factors for a large number of Multihull sail boats.

If there is a large number of boats in the open class, it is often split in to several open classes. Boats of similar Portsmouth numbers are grouped together. Often, boats with Spinnakers are separated from boats without.

This program automatically creates these Assigned Classes, including the open class. A large Open class is also split in two.

Most of the small multihulls have one Skipper and one Crew on the boat during a regatta. A few have only a skipper and a few have several crew. This program allows listing the skipper and one crew.

A class of boats of the exact same type and configuration is called a One Design class. These boats sail against each other with no correction factor. Some sailors customize their boats and they are no longer One Design. There are separate Modifications to the Portsmouth correction factors for changes such as: larger sails, smaller sails, more sails, fewer sails etc. There are also weight modifications for light and heavy crew for some boats.

Often several small classes will start together and sail together even though they are not directly competing against each other. This is called an Assigned Start. Boats of similar performance may start together. Faster boats usually start before slower boats.

All of the boats on the race course are timed with a single stop watch, which is usually set to zero at the first flag for each race. Each individual assigned start is offset by a different amount from the first flag. This offset is subtracted by the program before ranking the boats.

There are several different flag sequences in use. Some have a fixed time between each assigned start, for others this time is variable. This program will compute the offsets for the fixed flag sequences, for the others you will have to record the actual offset for each assigned start.

Sometimes a boat may not start a race, may not finish a race, or may be penalized for various reasons. A number of three letter codes can be put in the seconds column for these conditions.

Menu Buttons

1. The buttons at the top and bottom are available on all pages.
2. The top buttons are typical menu operations.
3. The bottom buttons will take you to each of the pages.
4. There is a status line / progress bar at the bottom.
5. ALT + Underlined letter, will activate that menu button.

• File v The particular type of file opened or saved depends on which page is currently being displaced. If you try to open the wrong type of file, you will get an error message.

  • "Registration", "Starts", and "Times" pages handle Regatta and On-Line Registration data files. By default, these are stored in the "score/MyRegattas/", subdirectory.
  • "Portsmouth", and "Mods" pages handle Portsmouth Corrections files. These are always stored in the "score/database/", subdirectory. If you open from elsewhere, a copy will be stored here. The most recently Opened or Saved data base file will be opened automatically the next time score.Regatta is started. Many users won't need these commands for data base files.
  • "Boat DB", and "Sailor DB" pages handle boat/sailor Data Base files. These are always stored in the "score/database/", subdirectory. If you open from elsewhere, a copy will be stored here. The most recently Opened or Saved data base file will be opened automatically the next time score.Regatta is started. Many users won't need these commands for data base files.

• Open... - Open a file.
• Save - Save the data to the current file.
• Save As... - Save the data to a new file.
• Import
• Comma Sep Value - Import a Comma Separated Value file
• TAB Sep Value - Import a TAB Separated Value file
• Export
• Comma Sep Value - Export a Comma Separated Value file
• TAB Sep Value - Export a TAB Separated Value file

The following are only available for the "Registration" and "Sailor DB" pages.

• LDIF (Netscape or Outlook) - Export sailor contact info to a Netscape LDIF file.
  The City, State and Zip fields are exported as both Home and Business, as some older programs ignore the Home values.
  The LDIF format also puts all of the names in a group called "Sailors".
• vCard (Outlook and others) - Export sailor contact info to a vCard file.
• EMail: LDIF (Netscape or Outlook) Only sailors with EMail addresses are exported to an LDIF file.
• EMail: vCard (Outlook and others) Only sailors with EMail addresses are exported to a vCarf file.
• Set Parameters - Change some configuration Parameters of score.Regatta.
• Clear Page - Clears all of the information on the current page.
• Clear All - Clears all of the regatta related pages. Does NOT clear the "Portsmouth", "Mods", "Boat DB", or "Sailor DB" pages.
• Help - Opens a new browser window with this help file. The browser is positioned at the section for the current page.
• About - A brief description of this program. Also, access to Set Parameters.
• Next Step - There are several calculation "Steps" that need to be performed before certain data can be entered. The "Next Step" button always displays the next step that needs to be performed. There are simple instructions on each page to indicate what data needs to be entered before each calculation step. Each calculation step checks for data entry errors and will not allow the next step to be executed until the errors are corrected. If you go back and change data after a step has been completed, the "Next Step" is backed up and has to be done again. Clicking the "Next Step" button will compute the next step and if there are no errors, will automatically proceed to the step after that. If there are no errors, all calculation steps will be completed up through scoring the regatta.
• Results - Opens a new browser window with the Regatta Results.

Data Entry, General

• Fields that can't be edited have

  Blue letters on Gray background

• Editable Fields have

  Black letters on Light Blue background

• Editable Fields that have the keyboard focus have

  Black letters on White background

• Fields with Warnings for bad data or calculation errors have a

  Blue or Black letters on Yellow background

  Clicking the right mouse button will display the warning message.
• Fields with Warnings for bad data or calculation errors have a

  Black letters on Pale Yellow background

  Clicking the right mouse button will display the warning message.
• Buttons or non-editable fields that have the focus have a

  Bold Black or Blue letters on Light Gray background

• Navigation keys:
  • TAB key - completes data entry and moves to the next button or editable field, Left to Right, Top to Bottom.
  • SHIFT + TAB or SHIFT + ENTER keys - moves to the previous button or editable field, Right to Left, Bottom to Top.
  • UP or DOWN arrow keys - moves to the next button or editable field, directly above or below the current one. Will not exit tables.
  • SPACE key - activates the focused button - same as clicking with the mouse
  • NOTE: The next three keys ONLY work within this PROGRAM! Though, on some operating systems, these may work between programs too.
  • CTRL + C key - Copy selected data to the Chipboard
  • CTRL + V key - Paste Chipboard data at the cursor
• Additional keys for Table Navigation:
  • PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys - move by the number visible rows in the table, less two.
  • ENTER key - Same as TAB key.
• Special keys for Buttons:
  • ENTER key - Same as Clicking with the mouse.
• Special keys for ComboBox Navigation on Windows:
  • ALT + DOWN arrow - Opens the list box.
  • SHIFT + UP or SHIFT + DOWN arrow - Select list item.
  • SPACE or ENTER - Activates the Selected item and closes the list box.
• Special keys for ComboBox Navigation on Linux or Unix:
  • SPACE - Opens the list box.
  • UP or DOWN arrow - Select list item.
  • SPACE or ENTER - Activates the Selected item and closes the list box.
• Special Navigation keys for Match Fields:
  • SHIFT + DOWN arrow key - selects the first matching item and copies the data to the edit line. Additional DOWN or UP arrow keys select the next or previous item. A final TAB or ENTER key moves to the data entry field.
  • ENTER key - moves to the first data entry field.
  • MOUSE Click copies the data to the edit line.

Data Entry, Details

• The data entry is similar for all of the pages. There are some minor differences and not all controls are available on all pages or in all modes.
• Select a mode:
  • Add (from DB)       (only for Registration)
  • Edit Data Base
  • View Data Base     (all except Registration)
• Match text box:
  • Data typed in the large text box in the top center of the page will be matched to items in the data base. Letters will be matched to the skipper's "Last Name", numbers will be matched to the "Sail #". The matching items will be displayed main table. As each letter is typed, only the remaining matches are displayed. When only one matching item remains, it is copied to the edit line.
  • Uses the special Navigation keys for Match Fields.

• Other Match Fields:
  • Data entered in the "Boat" "Mod 1", "Mod 2" and "Last Name" text boxes will be matched with allowable values. One of the matching values can be selected from the table below. The same Special Navigation keys from the Match text box, apply here
  • These use the special Navigation keys for Match Fields.
• Add (from DB):     (only for Registration)
  • This mode will retrieve, from the "Boat DB", all boats that match the first few characters of a skipper's last name or sail number. Then select one of the matches and edit it if it is not quite correct. The "Enter" button adds the boat the the registration page.
• Edit Data Base:
  • In this mode, you can select one of the items in the data base and edit any mistakes or add modifications. The "Enter" button updates the boat the data base.
• View Data Base:     (all except Registration)
  • In this mode, you can view all of the items in the data base, but you can't change it. When you enter this mode, another drop down box appears. You can select from several sort orders to view the data base.
• Buttons:
  • Enter - Adds the data on the edit line to the Data Base
  • Back to PageX - Closes the Entry Form and returns to the previous page. Any data on the edit line is lost.
  • The following buttons are only available in the "Edit Data Base" modes.
  • Add Registered - boats to the "Boat DB" (Boat DB only)
    Note: After adding the boats, several Data Base clean up functions are called:
    (these run even if there are no boats on the Registration page)
  • Remove Identical entries. (case is ignored)
  • Merge Similar entries. (case is ignored)
  • The "Last Name" must match exactly.
  • An initial only "First Name" matches any name that starts with that letter.
  • Any blank field is set to the other entry.
  • Delete No Boat - deletes Sailors not in the "Boat DB" (Sailor DB only)
    When deleting a boat from the "Boat Data Base", the corresponding sailors will NOT be removed the from the "Sailor Data Base"! This this button finds all of the sailors not on a boat and removes them.
  • Mark All - Mark all of the matching boats/codes for deletion from the Data Base
  • UnMark All - UnMark all of the matching boats/codes for deletion from the Data Base
  • Delete Marked - boats/codes from the Data Base
  • Clear Data Base - remove all of the boats/codes from the Data Base

• Quantity Labels: - the label names vary in different modes
  • Items in DB - The number of items in the Data Base
  • Matching Items - The number of items matching the typed text
  • Boats Registered - The number of boats on the Registration page. (Registration and Boat DB only)

Instructions

1. Start on the "Registration" page. Enter the boats.
2. NEXT: Go To the "Starts" page and fill it out.
3. NEXT: Go To "Times" Page. All finish times are entered there.
4. Final Results: Click the "Results" button, at the top, to view or print the final results..
5. For the second day of a regatta, on the "Registration" page: change: "Num Races" and the number of "Throw Outs", and Click "Setup" on "Starts" page. Enter new times on "Times" page, and re-score.

Registration

• Special Button:

  • Sort You may sort the entered boats several different ways. This makes it easier to find a particular boat or sailor.

1. Enter the "Num Races" and the number of "Throw Outs" (max of 2).
   Change the "Regatta Name"
2. Click the "Add / Edit Boats" button to enter the data for the "Skipper" -- "Mod 2" columns.
   • NOTE: All Sail #'s must be UNIQUE!
   • After the first calculation step on the "Starts" page, duplicate Sail #'s are HIGHLIGHTED Yellow!
   • NOTE: If you started with an On-Line Registration file, there is an asterix "*" in the "Mod 2" column of each boat. This helps you to keep track of which pre-registered boats actually show up. When you edit these boats, to add a unknown crew, for instance, the "*" will be removed automatically. If there are no corrections, just select the boat and hit the "Enter" button. Delete any sailors who do not actually show up.
   • See Data Entry, Details for the detailed instructions.
   The "Boat" column is a value from the "Code" column on the "Portsmouth" page. If you need to enter a boat that is not shown, you will have to go to the Portsmouth page and add it.
   The "Mod 1" and "Mod 2" columns are values from the "Code" column on the "Mods" page.
   • Note: Clicking on "Adj" column for any boat will show the calculation details for that boat on the top line of the table.
3. NEXT: Go To the "Starts" page and fill it out.

• NOTE: sail numbers that are not entered on the "Times" page are HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW on this page. Select the particular race at the top of this page.
• For the second and later days of a regatta, change: "Num Races" and "Throw Outs", and Click "Setup" on "Starts" page. Enter the times for the new races on "Times" page, and re-score.

• Data Export: The "Registration" page can be exported in the same formats as Boat data base.
  
  Also, the sailor contact information can be exported in the same formats as Sailor data base, as well as LDIF or vCard formats, which can be imported by many EMail programs.

Starts

1. Click "Starts Init" button, which copies all unique boat types from "Registration" page to the top table. If you are doing this a second time, for a late registered boat, for instance, the current data is remembered and is restored after the new boat(s) are copied from the registration page. To clear the remembered data and start over, hit the "Clear Page" button.
2. If a boat has unique "Modifications", such as a spinnaker, and is sailing in a different "Assigned Class" and "Assig Start" than the other boats of the same type, add a new line and enter its sail # in the "Opt Sail #" field. Leave other "Opt Sail #" fields blank. (This is a special case that is not needed very often.)

   This can also be used if you break up single boat type in to two different "Assigned Classes", such as beginner and experienced. For example, to create Hobie 16 A and Hobie 16 B classes, each of the boats in one of the classes will have to be listed individually with the "Opt Sail #" field filled in.

   Another way to separate a class would be to edit the "Portsmouth" page, and create two separate classes for the same boat type, and use these on the "Registration" page.

3. "Starts Init" guesses the "Assigned Class" field. If it is not suitable, enter a unique identifier string for each class. Then Click "Sort" button. If you don't like how the open classes are defined, change the "Assigned Class" field as needed.
• NOTE: The Copy and Paste keys (CTRL + C, CTRL + V) make it easy to avoid typos, which would make additional classes you don't intend.
4. Select a scoring method:
   Corrected Time: Portsmouth correction factors are used.
   Elapsed Time: No correction factors are used. Only use this if there are NO OPEN classes in your regatta.
   US Sailing Points: United States Sailing Points. (ISAF 2001-2004 rules Appendix A)
   NAHCA Points: North American Hobie Cat Association Points. (As of 2001, these are the same as US Sailing)
   Total Time: The times for the individual races are added together and scored as a single race.
5. Enter the start sequence number 1, 2, 3, - 8, for each class in the "Assig Start" column in the bottom table.
If the starting sequence changes on the second day, i.e., some classes that started together on day one, start separately or with different classes on day two, enter "Day 2 First race:", above the top table. Then, enter the new starting sequence in "Day 2 Start" in the bottom table. (This is a special case that is not needed very often.)
If the starting sequence changes more than once during the regatta, then, give each class whos start changed more than once, a unique "Assig Start". In the "Sequence" table on the "Times" page, give the classes that actually started together, the same offset. (This can be confusing to the sailors as well as the scoring individuals. It's best not to do this.)
If you have Strict One Design classes mixed with Open classes, put "YES" in the "One Design" column. "NO" or blank is OK for the Open Classes. You will not need to take times for these boats, only record the finish order.
NOTE: Weight corrections and other "Modifications" are not allowed for Strict One Design Classes. Any entered on the "Registration" page will be ignored.
6. Click "Setup".
7. Go To "Times" page.
8. Use "Clear Page" to start all over.

Times

• Special Buttons:

  • Before entering data for a new regatta, it is a good idea to click the "Clear Page" button. Don't do this for the second day of a regatta or you will loose the times for the first day!
  • Time Entry Form: This is a data entry form to be printed and used on the committee boat to enter the finish times as the boats cross the line. One of the most difficult parts of scoring a regatta is interpreting the "notes" from the committee boat. This form should make this task a bit easier.
  • Sort: You may sort the entered times several different ways. This makes it easier to find a particular boat or sail number.

1. Enter the Start "Sequence" in Minutes, typically, "3" or "5", or "C" for Class Flags start sequence.

• NOTE: The times on the Start table are subtracted from the times for each boat on the larger table. Typically, the times for all boats are relative to a single white flag for all classes.
• NOTE: If you enter a number for the "Sequence" the offsets for each class are computed for you. General recalls shift all later starts back one cycle.
2. Select the "Race #"to be entered (at the top of the page).
3. Replace "D-PN" with the appropriate Beaufort # (1-9)
4. In the top table, for Class Flags starts, enter the actual start time for each class. For other starts. enter the number of general Recalls for each start that had one.

• NOTE: If you haven't clicked "Setup" the starts page, you may not be able to enter data on this table.
5. Enter the "Sail #" and Finish Time in the first four columns for each Race.

• Special Codes are entered in the "Sec" column. These are the only codes supported.
• DNS: Did Not Start.
• OCS: On the Course Side of the starting line at the flag.
• DNF: Did Not Finish
• DSQ: DiSQualified
• DNE: Disqualified Not Excludable as a throw out.
• RDG: ReDress Given: enter the redress finish place in the "Min" column. You may enter fractional places, but, only after you have entered the "RDG" code in the "Sec" column.
• NOTE: For Strict One Design Classes, only the "Sail #'s" are required to be entered in the order the boats crossed the finish line. The "Sec" column is pre-initialized to a sequential count, leave it unchanged. The "Hour" and "Min" columns are forced to blank. The "Wt" and "Mod x" columns on the "Registration" page will be ignored.
6. Click "Corrected Times" button.

• Error Checking: The following checks are only performed after you have clicked the "Corrected Times" button.

• If the "Sail #" entered is not on the Registration page, it will be HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW, and the "Boat Type" column will be an error code "#N/A".
• Sail #'s of boats not entered on this page, are HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW on the "Registration" page. These boats are scored as "DNF".
• Sail #'s that are entered more than once, are HIGHLIGHTED YELLOW on the "Times" page.
7. Click "Score Regatta" button, then click "Results" button to see who won.

Results

• The "Results" page is displayed in a new browser window and shows results for each class. There are two tables for each class, one only shows the finish position for each race, the other one also shows the corrected times and D-PN for each boat. This page is html and can be printed or posted to a web page. When you save the regatta file, these results are saved as .html files in the MyRegattas directory.

Portsmouth

• The "Portsmouth" page allows adding or editing the Portsmouth data base. See Data Entry, Details for the detailed instructions.
• Data Import: The "Portsmouth" and "Mods" data bases are stored in the SAME file, as some modifications are applicable to only some classes of boats. You should make sure you maintain a consistent data base. This function will import ONLY Portsmouth data. See the next section to import Mods data.
• After a successful import, the data base will be saved to a file named: "NewPortModsDB.tsv" It's best to use the "Save As ..." command, to change the file name. This file will be read automatically, the next time you start score.Regatta, whether you change the name or not.
• If there are errors in the import data, the data base will be saved to a file named: "BadPortModsDB.tsv", so, a good data base will not be corrupted.
• Data Import/Export Format: The Portsmouth data file uses a simple TAB separated value format. (Comma Separated Value also supported) While it is probably not directly compatible with any other available Portsmouth data, it is fairly close to some known data formats. This program includes some built-in logic to help convert some close formats.
• Count Line (optional):
  \t26
• Head Line:
  Boat Type\tCode\tD-PN\tBN 0-1\tBN 2-3\tBN 4\tBN 5-9
• Data Line:
  Hobie 16\tH16\t76.1\t81.9\t78.7\t74\t71.6
• "\t" is a TAB character
• The count is the number of Data Lines following the Head Line. The Head Line is not counted! The Count Line may be omitted.
• The Head Line must be Exactly as shown!
• The Data Lines may vary slightly:
• The individual values may be in parentheses "(81.9)" or square brackets "[76.1]", or be negative "-78.7". These characters will be removed.
  US Sailing uses these notations to indicate values derived from fewer sample data points than is usually desired. If you do not wish to use these values, blank them out. (see below)
• Some of the values in the "BN X" columns may be blank. These blanks will be replaced with the value from the "D-PN" column.
• The "D-PN" column may be blank, ONLY IF another data line exists with the exact same "Code" value, and has a valid "D-PN" value! All of the values from the valid "Code" line are copied to the line with the blank "D-PN" column.
• Files that don't comply with the above rules, will be reported as errors.

This format is easily generated by most spreadsheets and data base programs. Use the program's "Save As" command and select the TAB separated value text format.

• Data Import Example: To import data from the US Sailing web site:
1. Find the web page with the data you want and use your browser's "Save As" command to copy the web page to your computer. Sometimes the data is available as a spreadsheet file. If so, download that instead.
2. Open the saved web page file in a powerful word processor. (some spreadsheet programs can also open html files)
3. Open a blank spreadsheet.
4. In the word processor, select the data you are interested in.
5. In the spreadsheet, paste the data.
6. If there are any miscellaneous comment lines in the data, remove them.
7. Verify that the columns are in the correct order, if not, move them.
8. Verify that the Head Line is correct.
9. Bill Gates can't really write psychic software, though he tries. In particular, any data pasted into an Excel spreadsheet, that looks like a date, is converted to a date. Stuff like: "4-9" is converted to "04/09/2003", and "MAR17" is converted to "03/17/2003". (your results may vary, depending on what your date format is set as.) You must change the format of the data cells to text, after you have pasted the information, and then correct it.
10. Use the spreadsheet's "Save As" command to save a TAB separated file. This is your import file.
11. Start scoreRegatta and verify that the Portsmouth data has been imported correctly.
• Data Export: The "Portsmouth" data base can be exported in the format above. The Count Line is omitted.

Mods

• The "Mods" page allows adding or editing the Modifications data base. See Data Entry, Details for the detailed instructions.
• Data Import: The "Portsmouth" and "Mods" data bases are stored in the SAME file, as some modifications are applicable to only some classes of boats. You should make sure you maintain a consistent data base. This function will import ONLY Mods data. See the previous section to import Portsmouth data.
• After a successful import, the data base will be saved to a file named: "NewPortModsDB.tsv" It's best to use the "Save As ..." command, to change the file name. This file will be read automatically, the next time you start score.Regatta, whether you change the name or not.
• If there are errors in the import data, the data base will be saved to a file named: "BadPortModsDB.tsv", so, a good data base will not be corrupted.
• Data Import/Export Format: The Mods data file is very similar to the Portsmouth data file. (Comma Separated Value also supported)
• Count Line (optional):
  \tCode\t26
• Head Line:
  Modification\tCode\tD-PN\tBN 0-1\tBN 2-3\tBN 4\tBN 5-9
• Data Line:
  For wider than standard beam\tBM\t0.995\t1.005\t1\t0.99\t0.984

• "\t" is a TAB character
• The count is the number of Data Lines following the Head Line. The Head Line is not counted! The Count Line may be omitted.
• The Head Line must be Exactly as shown!
• The Data Lines MUST be as shown! No Blanks, no weird characters in the number fields, no negative numbers.
• Files that don't comply with the above rules, will be reported as errors.
• Data Import Example: To import data from the US Sailing web site:
• Use the same steps as with Portsmouth, with the following exceptions:
• Verify that the Data Lines have no strange characters, these will not be removed, but they will reported as errors!
• Data Export: The "Mods" data base can be exported in the format above. The Count Line is omitted.

Boat DB

• The "Boat DB" page allows adding or editing the Boat data base. See Data Entry, Details for the detailed instructions.
• This page is primarily for data base maintenance. i.e., correcting typos, deleting boats that were sold, changing sailor addresses when they move etc. Adding new entries is primarily done by the "Add Registered" button. although, you can type them here, if you like.
• Note: deleting a boat here, will NOT remove the corresponding sailors from the Sailor Data Base! Some sailors sail on multiple boats and with various crews.
• Data Import: The "Boat" and "Sailors" data bases are stored in the SAME file. The Boat DB has pointers to the Sailor DB. You should make sure you maintain a consistent data base. This function will import ONLY Boat data. See the next section to import Sailor data.
• After a successful import, the data base will be saved to a file named: "NewBoatSailorDB.tsv" It's best to use the "Save As ..." command, to change the file name. This file will be read automatically, the next time you start score.Regatta, whether you change the name or not.
• If there are errors in the import data, the data base will be saved to a file named: "BadBoatSailorDB.tsv", so, a good data base will not be corrupted.
• Data Import/Export Format: The Boat data file is uses a simple TAB separated value format. (Comma Separated Value also supported)
• Count Line (optional):
  \t\t\t\t26
• Head Line:
  Skipper\tCrew\tSail #\tBoat\tWT\tMod 1\tMod 2
• Data Line:
  SkLast, SkFirst\tCrLast, CrFirst\tH20\tMT\tJS

• "\t" is a TAB character
• The count is the number of Data Lines following the Head Line. The Head Line is not counted! The Count Line may be omitted.
• The Head Line must be Exactly as shown!
• The Data Lines accept any ASCII characters though the values are not checked, but the Skipper, Sail #, and Boat fields must not be blank. Invalid entries in the Boat and Mod fields will be checked if the entry is selected for use in a regatta.
• The pointers are regenerated. These may not match the LastFirstKeys in the Sailor DB, so, it's best to import the Sailor DB at the same time.
• Files that don't comply with the above rules, will be reported as errors.
• Data Export: The "Boat" data base can be exported in the format above. The Count Line is omitted.

Sailor DB

• The "Sailor DB" page allows adding or editing the Sailor data base. See Data Entry, Details for the detailed instructions.
• This page is primarily for data base maintenance. i.e., correcting typos, deleting sailors that no longer sail, changing sailor addresses when they move etc. Adding new entries is primarily done by the "Add Registered" button. although, you can type them here, if you like.
• This data base will support multiple sailors with the exact same name, like John Smith. Just type the name and address on the top line and it will be added.
  • NOTE: if you select an existing sailor and just change the address information, you will NOT get a new entry, you will just change the existing entry!
• Note: If you have two entries for the same sailor, that are slightly different, such as a small typo or "Rd." vs "Road", etc., merely deleting the wrong one is NOT a good idea! This may leave dangling pointers in the "Boat Data Base", and you won't have address information for that sailor. It's MUCH BETTER to correct the wrong entry, making them the same and then go to the "Boat Data Base" page and click the "Add Registered" button. This will run the data base clean up functions and remove the duplicate entries. It's a VERY GOOD IDEA to goto the "Registration" page and clear it first. (Be sure to save the file, if you need it!)
• Note: deleting a sailor here, will NOT remove the corresponding boats from the Boat Data Base! And, you may leave dangling pointers in the "Boat Data Base". It's BETTER to remove boats from the "Boat Data Base" first, then come back here and click the "Delete No Boat" button, which deletes all sailors that are not in the "Boat Data Base".

• Data Import: The "Boat" and "Sailors" data bases are stored in the SAME file. The Boat DB has pointers to the Sailor DB. You should make sure you maintain a consistent data base. This function will import ONLY Sailor data. See the previous section to import Boat data.
• After a successful import, the data base will be saved to a file named: "NewBoatSailorDB.tsv" It's best to use the "Save As ..." command, to change the file name. This file will be read automatically, the next time you start score.Regatta, whether you change the name or not.
• If there are errors in the import data, the data base will be saved to a file named: "BadBoatSailorDB.tsv", so, a good data base will not be corrupted.
• Data Import/Export Format: The Sailor data file is uses a simple TAB separated value format. (Comma Separated Value also supported)
• Count Line (optional):
  \t\t\t\t26
• Head Line:
  Last Name\tFirst Name\tAddress\tCity\tST\tZip\tPhone\tEmail\tLastFirstKey
• Data Line:
  Smith, John\t123 Long St.\tDaytona Beach\tFL\t32100\t987-654-3210\tJohnSmith@aol.com\tSmith~John01

• "\t" is a TAB character
• The count is the number of Data Lines following the Head Line. The Head Line is not counted! The Count Line may be omitted.
• There are NO Line Breaks in the head line or data lines! If there appears to be some in the above, it's just a consequence of the formating of this help file.
• The Head Line must be Exactly as shown!
• The Data Lines accept any ASCII characters though the values are not checked, but the Last Name field must not be blank.
• The LastFirstKeys are regenerated, and may be blank. These may not match the pointers in the Boat DB, so, it's best to import the Boat DB at the same time.
• Files that don't comply with the above rules, will be reported as errors.
• Data Export: The "Sailor" data base can be exported in the format above. The Count Line is omitted.
  
  Also, the sailor contact information can be exported in LDIF or vCard formats, which can be imported by many EMail programs.

Set Parameters

score.Regatta has a number of internal parameters than can be changed. The majority of these will only take effect the next time you start score.Regatta. To change the parameters, Click the "About" button then change "Parameters" to "Set Parameters".

If you have already entered some information for a regatta, save your regatta file, change the parameters, restart score.Regatta, and then reload your regatta file.

• screen_800x600 - Can be set to: "Screen size: 800x600" or "Screen size: >= 1024x768".
• editable_color_rg - The Red and Green color components of the Light Blue color of Editable text boxes.
• font_size - The size of the font. The larger font sizes do not work well with the small screen size above.
• max_races - The Maximum number of races in the regatta. (Registration page)
• max_boats - The Maximum number of boats that can be registered for a regatta. All of these boats are on a single race course and are scored with a single stop watch. Regattas with multiple race courses will need to open a new file for each race course. (Registration page)
• max_classes - The Maximum number of classes on the race course. (Starts page)
• max_assigned_classes - The Maximum number of assigned classes on the race course. (Starts page)
• max_portsmouth_codes - The Maximum number of Portsmouth codes, i.e, boat types, in the Portsmouth data base. (Portsmouth page)
• max_modification_codes - The Maximum number of modification codes in the adjustments data base. (Mods page)
• max_database_boats - The Maximum number of boats in the boat data base. (Boat DB page)
• max_database_sailors - The Maximum number of sailors in the sailor data base. (Sailor DB page)
• max_entry_table - The Maximum number of rows in the data entry table. This is maximum number of items that can be viewed at one time, in the view mode for any of the data bases. (View mode several pages)
• score_root - The root path where score.Regatta is installed. score.Regatta can usually figure this out by itself.

The following parameters take effect immidiately! The previous ones only when you start score.Regatta again.

• enable_java_script - Some browsers don't support JavaScript. This is only used to change some attributes of the Help and Results pop up windows. If you browser starts, but the Help and Resuts do not display, try turning this off.
• save_java_policy - set to true only if you want to run score.Regatta as an applet in a browser. No Longer Applicable
• browser_path - The full path to where your favorite browser executable is located. If there are any embeded SPACES in the path, put double quotes around the path. Example: quotes are required for:
  "C:\Program Files\netscape.exe"
  
  This is used to display Help and the final results of the scored Regatta. The URL will appended to this. Some browsers require arguments before the URL. Put any required arguments after the path, separated by SPACES. Note: If you path requires quotes, put the arguments after the last quote. Example:
  "C:\Program Files\netscape.exe" Arg1 Arg2
  
  Defaults: These work for many systems, but not all.
  Linux/Unix: "/usr/bin/netscape"
  Windows: "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE"
  
  How do I find the browser path? This varies for different operating systems. If you have an icon or shortcut you click to start the browser, you can usually find it in the properties menu. Right click on the icon and select properties. For some versions of Windows, the path may be indicated only as "Explorer" or "Iexplore", which is insufficient. Go to your file manager, (often Windows Explorer) and use the file find command and search for above indicated path with .exe on the end, such as "Explorer.exe" or "Iexplore.exe".
  
  
• boat_sailor_file - The file name of the boat/sailor data base. these are always stored in "score/database/"
• port_adj_file - The file name of the Portsmouth Correction Factors data base. these are always stored in "score/database/"

Technical Information

Directories/Files

• score/ The directory score.Regatta is installed in. All files score.Regatta accesses are under here.
• score/Regatta.jar The java executable. The first time this is run, it initializes the parameters, other times it runs score.Regatta.
• score/RegattaStart.html This pops up a separate browser window for score.Regatta to run in. No Longer Applicable
• score/RegattaPopUpPI.html Stores the user adjustable Parameters. Also, starts score.Regatta as an applet in a browser. The applet use is No Longer Applicable
• score/Simple.html A very simple applet to help install Java and verify that Java is installed correctly.
• score/Parameters.html Starts the applet to change the parameters. No Longer Applicable
• score/autosave/ The directory score.Regatta stores all the data bases and backup files and current working files in.
• score/autosave/adjustments.tsv Auto save file for the "Mods" page.
• score/autosave/boatdatabase.tsv Auto save file for the "Boat DB" page.
• score/autosave/portsmouth.tsv Auto save file for the "Portsmouth" page.
• score/autosave/sailordatabase.tsv Auto save file for the "Sailor DB" page.
• score/autosave/registration.tsv Auto save file for the "Registration" page.
• score/autosave/regsailor.tsv Auto save file for the "Sailor DB" on the registration page.
• score/autosave/starts.tsv Auto save file for the "Starts" page.
• score/autosave/times.tsv Auto save file for the "Times" page.
• scoreautosave/resultsInit.html This pops up a separate browser window for the results file.
• score/autosave/results-N.html The results for each class. The "N" is replaced with a different integer for each class.
• score/autosave/results-CN.html The results for each class with "Corrected times". The "N" is replaced with a different integer for each class.
• score/autosave/results.html The results for all classes in one file.
• score/autosave/results-C.html The results for all classes in with "Corrected times" in one file.
• score/autosave/!template! These are used when changing the parameters. The actual parameters are substituted for their names in these files and then the files are written to the appropriate location.

• score/database/boatSailorDB.tsv The Boat/Sailor data base file.
• score/database/MultiHull03DB.tsv The Portsmouth Corrections data base file for multihulls 2003.
• score/help/ The directory the help files are in.
• score/help/InstallLinux.html Installation instructions for Linux operating systems.
• score/help/InstallWin.html Installation instructions for Windows operating systems.
• score/help/RegattaHelpInit.html This pops up a separate browser window for the help file.
• score/help/RegattaHelp.html This file.
• score/help/timeEntry*.html The time entry forms to be printed and used on the committee boat.
• score/help/*.gif A number of images used in the help file.
• score/MyRegattas/ The regattas you save, including the results are stored here.
• score/MyRegattas/windyregatta.tsv An example regatta file. When you save your files, "windyregatta" is replaced by the name you save your file as.
• score/MyRegattas/windyregatta-reg.tsv An example pre-registration file for a regatta.
• score/MyRegattas/windyregatta-N.html The results for each class for the example regatta.
• score/MyRegattas/windyregatta-CN.html The results for each class, with "Corrected times", for the example regatta.
• score/autosave/windyregatta.html The results for all classes in one file, for the example regatta.
• score/autosave/windyregatta-C.html The results for all classes in with "Corrected times" in one file, for the example regatta.

Comma Separated Value vs TAB Separated Value

These are common text file formats used by spreadsheets, data bases, and other programs to share data. TAB Separated Value is preferred as it is simpler and therefore harder to screw up! Some of commercial programs are known to implement Comma Separated Value incorrectly!

To convert the above described TAB Separated Value formats to Comma Separated Value formats:

• Data values that contain double quotes: " must have them repeated: ""
• Data values that contain double quotes: " or commas: , must be double quoted.
  Example: Some, "quoted" stuff
  becomes: "Some, ""quoted"" stuff"
• Replace all TABs \t with commas ,
• This program will also read files that use the single quote: ' as the quote character.