PsL Monthly 1994 January

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LEAGUE PLAY! USER'S MANUAL Software for developing sports league schedules Unpublished work. Copyright 1990,1991,1992 Millikin Software Systems. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER is supplied as is. The author, disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse-quential, which may result from the use of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER." LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user- supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER and continue to use LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $75.00(US) to J. L. Millikin. The $75.00(US) registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software i may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER must register and pay for their copies of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting J. L. Millikin. Anyone distributing LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER for any kind of remuneration must first contact J. L. Millikin at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER immediately (However J. L. Millikin must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER system. ii INTRODUCTION The League Scheduler software was developed to make your efforts in scheduling league-type competitions much easier while not sacrificing accuracy. TECHNICAL SUPPORT If you need technical support, discover what appears to be a programming bug, or have a constructive suggestion, you can contact the author, Lee Millikin, at the address given below: LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER 13164 Memorial Drive Ste 247 Houston, TX 77079 MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS PC, XT, AT or compatible MS-DOS 3.3 or higher one floppy or hard disk drive 640K RAM 80-column printer iii LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER FEATURES * SIMPLE TO OPERATE: Just type in the name of the organization, any season-related information, and the names of the contestants (Individual names for one-on-one competition, Team names for team sports). You can also retrieve lists that you have prepared previously and update them as needed. The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER will do the rest of the job! * FAST! Within minutes rather than hours, the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER will develop and print a schedule for up to 32 contestants, individuals or teams. * ACCURATE the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER will certify that all teams are scheduled in true round-robin fashion; no two contestants will be scheduled for a second match until all other pairings have been made. * VERSATILE You tell the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER how many rounds of competition you want included on the schedules. It will print from one round (if you want tournament assignments) up to a maximum of thirty-one rounds. * AUTOMATIC SHUFFLING OF CONTESTANTS The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER will rearrange the order of the schedule assignments - you won't be criticized for favoring any one contestant with the best schedule. * BALANCED HOME/VISITOR DESIGNATION The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER will automatically balance the home/visitor designations for all matches, so that each will be the host for half of their schedule. * INEXPENSIVE You'll wonder at how you ever made schedules before The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER came into your life! The first schedule will save you hours of frustration. * LINE EDITOR Make minor modifications in a schedule, such as having one game begin at 8:15 p.m. instead of at 8:00. * Permits you to SWITCH GAMES WITHIN A ROUND of play! Now you can make adjustments to the schedule that eliminate any time conflicts. * PROVIDES FOR POSTPONED/RESCHEDULED GAMES! It takes only a few keystrokes to reschedule a game. * Many other features! The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER software has been field tested by a variety of users: softball, basketball, soccer, and baseball administrators have all found it easy to learn and to use. iv INSTALLATION Making a Working Copy of Your Software Whenever you purchase software that is not copy protected, you should make a duplicate copy of the program disks prior to using them. There are several reasons for doing this, but the primary one is that should the working copy be damaged, you will be able to make another set of working copies from the original disks. This means that you will not have to contact the publisher, wait for a replacement set to arrive in the mail, nor will you have to pay for the replacement set! In a nutshell, that's why we make working copies. FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO MAKE A COPY OF THE SCHEDULING SOFTWARE: Floppy Disk Systems: 1. Format a new, blank diskette. Put your DOS diskette in drive A:, and the new diskette in Drive B:. At the A> prompt, type format b: Floppy Drives +--------------+ |-----|A:|-----| <---- DOS diskette |==============| |-----|B:|-----| <---- diskette to be formatted +--------------+ A>format b: Insert new diskette for drive B and strike ENTER when ready. <--- press the ENTER or RETURN key Head: 1 Cylinder: 39 A>format b: Insert new diskette for drive B and strike ENTER when ready. <--- press the ENTER or RETURN key Head: 1 Cylinder: 39 v Format Complete 362496 bytes total disk space 362496 bytes available on disk Format another (Y/N)?n <--- press the ENTER or RETURN key after typing the "n" Floppy Drives +--------------+ |-----|A:|-----| <---- LP! Master diskette |==============| |-----|B:|-----| <---- newly formatted diskette +--------------+ A>copy a:*.* b:/v {this will copy all files from A: to B:} 3. Prepare a label for your new working copy and affix it to the disk. vi LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER TABLE OF CONTENTS Definition of Shareware................... i Disclaimer - Agreement.................... i ASP Ombudsman Program..................... ii Introduction..............................iii Technical Support.........................iii Hardware Requirements.....................iii Features.................................. iv Installation.............................. v Overview of Sports Scheduling............. 1 Making a Schedule......................... 2 Enter/Update Contestant Information..... 3 Saving a Schedule..................... 7 List Current Contestants................ 8 Enter/Update Days/Times/Locations....... 9 List Location Information............... 12 Generate Schedule Pairings.............. 13 View/Adjust/Print Schedule.............. 14 SWITCH Feature........................ 14 POSTPONE Feature...................... 17 LINE EDITOR Feature................... 18 Utilities............................... 20 Recalling/Modifying a Schedule.......... 22 Quiting the Scheduling session.......... 22 vii LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 1 ================================================================= OVERVIEW OF SPORTS SCHEDULING A typical schedule for a sports league is a round robin competition, where every contestant plays each of the other contestants before playing any other contestant a second time. Sometimes a full round robin schedule isn't possible, for instance, when you have ten contentants, each playing one match each week for 5 weeks. Other times, you may have a need to exceed a full round robin competition, e.g., six contestants each need to play in ten matches. The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER is designed to help in all of these instances. There are several classic steps in the process of constructing an effective schedule for a sports league: 1) Identify the contestants 2) Establish the playing locations, dates and times 3) Determine any Date/Time/Location situations that will have to be avoided (for example, major holidays) 4) Put these components together to produce the schedule 5) Reproduce and distribute the schedule 6) Adjust the schedule as items 1), 2), and 3) change (This typically occurs immediately after item 5)!! The menu of the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER is modeled after this approach to preparing a schedule: 1) Enter/Update Contestant Information 2) List Current Contestants 3) Enter/Update Days/Times/Locations 4) List Location Information 5) Generate Schedule 6) Print Schedules 7) Utilities 8) Quit There are several important differences between the traditional hand-made sports league schedule and the schedule produced by the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER: 1) The amount of time required to prepare the schedule is drastically reduced 2) Confidence in the accuracy and impartiality of the schedule are greatly enhanced. 3) Modifications to the schedule are VERY simple to accomplish with the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER 4) Consequently, the frustration level of the person responsible for producing the schedule is greatly reduced (making it more likely that they will be willing to do the schedules again) LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 2 ================================================================= MAKING A SCHEDULE A straightforward way to help you get oriented to this piece of software is to work through an example. It won't take very long, and will enable you to see all of the features of the program. Let's assume that you have to schedule eight (8) teams in a children's soccer league (6-7 years old) that will play on Saturdays in March/April, 1990. Your community has reserved 3 time slots on two fields for this level of competition during that time period. League Name: Anytown Youth Soccer Association Schedule Description: Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) Contestants (Teams): 8 Astros Dodgers Royals White Sox Cardinals Orioles Twins Yankees Playing locations (soccer fields): 2 different locations, 3 time slots Amers Field #1 SAT 8:00 AM Joyce Field #7 SAT 9:30 AM Joyce Field #7 SAT 11:00 AM Your job is to prepare a round robin schedule of matches for the eight teams. The term, "round robin", means that every team plays each of the other teams once. You must then assign these matches to the playing location/time slots, making certain that every team is assigned home team status as close to one-half of the time as possible. Once all of this is done, you will have to type a master schedule and schedules for each of the teams. Fortunately, that is just what this scheduling software is designed to help you accomplish! Now that you know the precise names of the teams and the exact playing locations and times, you are ready to begin using the program. BOOT (start) the computer. Once you have reached the command line prompt, put the scheduler disk in drive A:. Type LP and press the ENTER/RETURN/<CR> key to activate the command. Press the ENTER/RETURN/<CR> key again to accept the terms of the copyright notice. At this time, the main menu will appear (see Figure 1). LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 3 ================================================================= +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) Scheduling System | | ____(Name of League goes on this line)__ | | ____(Description of Season goes here)___ | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Main Menu | | | | 1) Enter/Update Contestant Information | | 2) List Current Contestants | | | | 3) Enter/Update Days/Times/Locations | | 4) List Location Information | | | | 5) Generate Schedule | | 6) Print Schedules | | 7) Utilities | | | | 8) Quit | | | | Enter Selection | | | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 1. The main menu LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 4 ================================================================= ENTER/UPDATE CONTESTANT INFORMATION Select 1) Enter/Update Contestant Information To select this option, just press the 1 key (above the Q key). This part of the program will present a sub-menu like this... +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | 1. Create new list of contestants | | | | 2. Modify existing list | | | | 3. Retrieve stored list | | | | | | Choose 1, 2, or 3 (press ESC to return to Main Menu): | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 2. Edit/Update Contestant sub-menu Since you are going to type the names of the teams for the first time, you should select the first option. Press 1 to select "Create new list of contestants." +--------- League Name ---------+--- Description of Schedule ---+ | | | | _____________________________ | _____________________________ | |-------------------------------+-------------------------------| | Type Contestant Names Here... | | >_____________< _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | +----------------+ | | | ______________ | | |-------+---------+----+-----+----------+--+----------+---------| |F2:Edit|LUDR:Move|<CR>:Store|Esc:Exit/Save| Home:1st | End:Last| +-------+---------+----------+-------------+----------+---------+ Figure 3. The Contestant data entry screen As you press the 1 key, the screen display changes to display the Contestant Data Entry Screen, as displayed in Figure 3. Take a moment to identify the "landmarks" for this display. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 5 ================================================================= First, notice the HELP BAR (see also Figure 4: [5]) at the bottom of the display. This portion of the screen will refresh your memory about the types of activities that are possible at this point in the process. The various parts of the HELP BAR are: F2: Edit press F2 to engage the edit function to modify the contents on the blank where the cursor is located LUDR: Move Use the arrow keys on the numeric key pad to move from blank to blank <CR>: Store press the Enter/Return key to move to the next entry location Esc: Exit/Save press the ESCape key to exit this entry screen & return to the menu Home: 1st press the Home key to relocate the cursor at the first field End: Last press the Home key to relocate the cursor at the first field Second, notice that there are three data entry zones (Figure 4: [1],[2],[3]); two at the very top that each contain one data entry location. The third data entry zone contains 32 data entry locations. The first zone is where you will type the name of the organization or league. The second data entry zone is where you can type a description of the schedule's purpose. The third zone is where the names of the contestants (teams) will be typed. There is a small box in the center of the line just above the HELP BAR (Fig. 4:[4]). This box is to help you orient on the current data entry location. +------------------------+------------------------+ |[1] LEAGUE NAME |[2] SCHEDULE DESCRIPTION| |------------------------+------------------------| | | | | | [3] Contestant NAME ZONE | | | | +-[4] EDIT BOX--+ | |----------------+---------------+----------------| | [5] HELP BAR | +-------------------------------------------------+ Figure 5. Data Entry Display Zones You are now ready to type the information about the League, the schedule description, and the names of the teams. Before you begin, notice that there is a pair of triangles, one on each side of the upper left data blank in the middle zone (zone [3] of Figure 4). These triangles will move from blank to blank as you LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 6 ================================================================= press the arrow keys. Press the UP ARROW key. Notice the triangles are now on the large blank under the "League Name" heading. Type the league name "Anytown Youth Soccer Association" (as in Figure 6.). Press the RIGHT ARROW key. The triangles move to the data entry zone to for the schedule description. Type the schedule description, "Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds)". The display should look just like Figure 6. The text you are typing is simultaneously displayed in the Edit Box as will at the location indicated by the triangles. +--------- League Name ---------+--- Description of Schedule ---+ | | | | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn____ |>Spring 1990 (6-7 year-olds)__<| |-------------------------------+-------------------------------| | Type Contestant Names Here... | | _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ | +--------------------------------------+ | | | Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds)_________ | | |-------+----+----+----------+--------------+-------+-+---------| |F2:Edit|LUDR:Move|<CR>:Store| Esc:Exit/Save| Home:1st| End:Last| +-------+---------+----------+--------------+---------+---------+ Figure 6. The Contestant data entry screen Now press the Enter key (<CR>). The triangles relocate to the first location where the contestant names are to be typed. Recall that we have eight teams, Astros Dodgers Royals White Sox Cardinals Orioles Twins Yankees Type these names in separate blanks in the middle section of the display. When you finish, the display should look like Figure 7. Review the names, making sure they are spelled correctly. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 7 ================================================================= +--------- League Name ---------+--- Description of Schedule ---+ | | | | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn____ | Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds)__ | |-------------------------------+-------------------------------| | Type Contestant Names Here... | | Astros_______ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | Cardinals____ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | Dodgers______ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | Orioles______ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | Royals_______ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | Twins________ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | White Sox____ _____________ _____________ _____________ | | | | >Yankees______< _____________ _____________ _____________ | | +----------------+ | | | ______________ | | |-------+----------+----+------+---------+----+--------+--------| |F2:Edit| LUDR:Move| <CR>:Store| Esc:Exit/Save|Home:1st|End:Last| +-------+----------+-----------+--------------+--------+--------+ Figure 7. Completed data entry display When you are satisfied that all of the information is correct, press the ESC key. The data entry display will disappear and be replaced by the question, +------------------------------------------------------- -------+ |Do you want to save this list of contestants on disk (Y/N)? _ | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Since you DO want to save this data, press the Y key. When saving a file, you may type the file name or select the name of an existing file from the list at the bottom of the screen. To select an existing name, use the arrow keys to move the highlight over the name you want, then press the ENTER key. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 8 ================================================================= DISPLAY CURRENT CONTESTANTS Now that you have typed the list of teams, you may review the list easily, either on the screen or on paper, by selecting menu option 2, "Display Current Contestants". Select option 2 now, by pressing the 2 key. Then press the S key to display the list on the screen. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Association | | Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | List of Contestants | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Astros | | Cardinals | | Dodgers | | Orioles | | Royals | | Twins | | White Sox | | Yankees | ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ | Press any key to continue... | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 8. Main Menu Option 2 screen/printer display LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 9 ================================================================= ENTER/UPDATE LOCATIONS/DATES/TIMES Once you have typed the names of the contestants (teams), you are ready to proceed to the next phase of the process, typing in information about the playing facilities. Press 3 to select the third menu option, "Enter/Update Locations/Dates/Times". The screen will clear, then present the data entry display shown in Figure 9. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | ______________________________ ____________________________ | | | | PLAYING DAY/TIME/LOCATION | |+----+---------+--------------+ | ||DAY | TIME | LOCATION | | |+----+---------+--------------+ Enter Beginning Date | ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ | (MM/DD/YYYY): __/__/____ | ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ | | ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ | | ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ |+---------+---------+----------+| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ || DATE | TIME | LOCATION || ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ |+---------+--------+-----------+| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| ||___ |__:__ _M |_____________ ||__/__/__ |__:__ _M|___________|| |+----+--+------+--+-------+---++---+-----+--------+--+--------|| ||F2:Edit| F3:Blank| F4:Dup| F6:Jump|HOME/END:1st/Last|ESC:Exit|| |+-------+---------+-------+--------+-----------------+--------+| +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 9. Data Entry display for Playing Time/Location As with the Contestant Data Entry Display, there are several data entry zones on this display. They are described in Figure 10. +-------------------------------+ |+------------+ | || | [2] | [1] Day/Time/Location || | | || [1] |+---------------+| [2] Beginning Date || || [3] || || || || [3] Exceptions |+------------++---------------+| |-------------------------------| [4] Help Bar | [4] HELP BAR | +-------------------------------+ Figure 10. Data Entry Display Zones LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 10 ================================================================= [1] Day/Time/Location: In this zone you are to type information about the available facilities; namely, the day of the week, time of day and a description of the particular location. In the example situation, there are three playing times available, Amers Field #1 SAT 8:00 AM Joyce Field #7 SAT 9:30 AM Joyce Field #7 SAT 11:00 AM 1. To type the first playing time/location entry, type SAT, press the space bar, type <space> 8, press the space bar, type 00, press the space bar, type A, press the space bar, type Amers Field #1, press the Enter/Return/<CR> key. The display should look like Figure 11. Type the other date/time/location entries. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn____ Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds)__| | | | PLAYING DAY/TIME/LOCATION | |+-----+--------+---------------+ | || DAY | TIME | LOCATION | | |+-----+--------+---------------+ Enter Beginning Date | || SAT | 8:00 AM| AMERS FIELD 1 | (MM/DD/YYYY): __/__/____ | || ___ |__:__ _M| _____________ | | || ___ |__:__ _M| _____________ | | || ___ |__:__ _M| _____________ |+-----+--------+--------------+| +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 11. Date/Time/Location data entry display after 1st entry Now, you need to indicate the very first date when the contestants will play. Referring to the summary information at the beginning of this lesson, the teams will play on Saturdays in March/April of 1990. The first Saturday in March, 1990, is on March 3, 1990. To type this date in the correct space, you must first press the F6 (Jump) key. This will relocate the cursor in the Beginning Date entry position. +------------------------------+ | Enter Beginning Date | | (MM/DD/YYYY): __/__/____ | +----|--|---|------------------+ | | | MM: Month (01 - 12)<-+ | +---------->YYYY: Year (eg, 1990) | DD: Day of Month (1 - 31) 2. Type the beginning date, 03/03/1990. The first "03" represents the month of March; the second "03", the third day. You must include the "/"'s as you type the date. 3. If there are dates that you know in advance will be excluded from the schedule, you should type those into the LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 11 ================================================================= Exceptions location (Figure 10:[3]). There are three classes of exceptions that you may enter, described below: A. If you wish to skip a specific date, only type in the date (leave the time and location blank). For example (using the SAMPLE dates), if you wanted to avoid playing any games on Saturday, March 10, 1990, simply use the F6 key to move the cursor to the Exceptions area and type that date, 03/10/90. B. If you want to avoid scheduling games for a specific time on a specific date, type in the date and time, but leave the location field blank. C. Finally, if you want to specify a particular date- time-location combination, fill in all three fields. This is a good time to mention the HELP BAR. Notice that it is at the bottom of the display, just as with the Contestant Data Entry Display. The various available keystrokes are: LUDR: Move Use the arrow keys on the numeric key pad to move from blank to blank <CR>: Store Press the Enter/Return key to move to the next entry location F2:Edit Press F2 to engage the edit function to modify the contents on the blank where the cursor is located F6: Jump Move from Playing Day/Time/Location to Beginning Date; Press F6 a 2nd time to move to Exceptions box; again to return to the Day/Time/Location box. HOME/END:1st/Last Press the Home key to relocate the cursor at the first field; End key, last field ESC: Exit/Save Press the ESCape key to exit this entry screen & return to the menu 4. Finally, check over the display. If all of the data is correct (as in Figure 13.), press the ESC key to exit & return to the main menu. 1) The names of the contestants have been typed. 2) The date/time/location information has been typed. 3) Now you are ready to generate the schedule LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 12 ================================================================= LIST LOCATION INFORMATION Now that you have typed the playing date, time and location information, as well as any exceptions, you may review the list easily, either on the screen or on paper, by selecting menu option 4, "List Location Information". Select option 4 now, by pressing the 4 key. Then press the S key to display the list on the screen. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Association | | Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | DAY/TIME/LOCATION INFORMATION | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 | | SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 | | SAT 11:00 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 | | | | | | | |Beginning Date: 03/03/1990 | | | | | ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ | Press any key to continue... | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 8. Main Menu Option 2 screen/printer display LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 13 ================================================================= GENERATE SCHEDULE Press the 5 key to select option, 5) Generate Schedule. As you press the key, the display will clear and be replaced by the following message... +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | You have created a roster of 8 contestants. | | | | How many games do you want each team to play (1-31):_ | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ In this example, we want all seven rounds, so type 7, then press Enter/Return. The LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER program will now develop the rounds of matches. Once it completes that phase, it then equalizes the Home/Away assignments, for however many rounds of play you requested. When it is complete, the main menu will reappear. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 14 ================================================================= PRINT SCHEDULES Press the 6 key to select option, 6) Print Schedules. The scheduler can print master schedules as well as schedules for each contestant. The master schedule will be displayed on the screen, one round at a time as illustrated in Figure 12. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 years old)| | | | Round 1 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY TEAM HOME TEAM | | ---------- --- -------- -------------- ---------- ---------- | | 03/03/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Astros Royals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Yankees White Sox | | 03/10/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------+---------+----------+------------+------------+--------| |F2:Edit|F4:Toggle|F10:Switch|PgUp:PrevRnd|PgDn:NextRnd|Esc:Exit| +-------+---------+----------+--BROWSE----+------------+--------+ Figure 12. The master schedule as displayed on the screen. There are several features of this menu option that you will want to master; they are indicated by the HELP bar... F2 : Line Editor Alter the contents of a line of the schedule. F4 : Toggle (Mark/Unmark) Postponed matches F10: Switch Two matches within the same round can trade date/time/location assignments These features are explained in detail in the following paragraphs. SWITCH Feature The Switch feature is designed to allow the user to alter the match assignments in a round of assignments. It prompts the user for the first pairing involved, then as the user designates the second pairing, the two pairings are "switched", exchanging positions. For instance, if, in the sample round below, you want to move the Astros-Royals match to the Wednesday time slot (and also move the Yankees-White Sox pairing to the Monday slot)... LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 15 ================================================================= +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY | | ---------- --- -------- -------------- ---------- ---------- | | 03/03/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Astros Royals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Yankees White Sox | | 03/10/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |--------+--------+----------+------------+------------+--------| |F2:Edit|F4:Toggle|F10:Switch|PgUp:PrevRnd|PgDn:NextRnd|Esc:Exit| +--------+--------+----------+-BROWSE-----+------------+--------+ 1) Press the F10 key to initiate the Switch feature. A set of triangles will point to the first pairing. The Help Line changes to reflect the available actions. Notice the instruction at the bottom of the display. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY HOME | | ---------- --- -------- -------------- ---------- ---------- | | 03/03/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 >Astros Royals <| | 03/03/1989 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Yankees White Sox | | 03/10/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | . . . . | | | | | Use the arrow keys to position pointers (><) at FIRST match. | |-------+---------+----------+------------+------------+--------| |F2:Edit|F4:Toggle|F10:Switch|PgUp:PrevRnd|PgDn:NextRnd|Esc:Exit| +-------+---------+----------+--SWITCH----+------------+--------+ 2) Once you have positioned the triangles at the correct match, press the ENTER (<CR>) key. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 16 ================================================================= 3) Now position the triangles at the second match involved in the switch. Press the ENTER (<CR>) key again. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY HOME | | ---------- --- -------- -------------- ---------- ---------- | | 03/03/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Astros Royals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 >Yankees White Sox | | 03/10/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Position the pointers (><) at the SECOND match. | |-------+---------+----------+------------+------------+--------| |F2:Edit|F4:Toggle|F10:Switch|PgUp:PrevRnd|PgDn:NextRnd|Esc:Exit| +-------+---------+----------+--SWITCH----+------------+--------+ 4) As you pressed the ENTER key, the two matches change lines. If there are other "switches" to make in the current round, do so now. When you are finished with the "switches" in the current round, press the Esc key to return to Browse mode. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY HOME | | ---------- --- -------- -------------- ---------- ---------- | | 03/03/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Yankees White Sox | | 03/03/1989 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03/1989 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Astros Royals | | 03/10/1989 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | : : : : | | | | | | |-------+---------+----------+------------+------------+--------| |F2:Edit|F4:Toggle|F10:Switch|PgUp:PrevRnd|PgDn:NextRnd|Esc:Exit| +-------+---------+----------+-BROWSE-----+------------+--------+ LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 17 ================================================================= POSTPONEMENTS In almost every schedule there are matches that, for one reason or another, cannot be played at the scheduled time. In order to accommodate this, the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER has a feature called POSTPN that enables you to mark a match as being postponed. When a match is marked in this manner, several things will happen: 1) When you view the match via Main Menu Option #6, an asterisk will be displayed to the left on the match. 2) When the schedule is printed, three (3) asterisks will print to the left of the postponed match(es). 3) Finally, an additional page of Postponed Matches will be printed as part of the Master Schedule output. ACTIVATING THE POSTPONE MARKER FOR A MATCH The Postpone marker, the asterisk, can be turned on and off for any specific game in the following manner: 1. Once you are viewing the schedule on the screen, use the PgUp/PgDn keys to locate the round of matches containing the one you need to postpone. 2. Press the F4 key to select the POSTPN function. Pointers (a pair of triangles) will appear to the LEFT of the date of the first match in the displayed round. 3. Use the UP ARROW (U) and/or DOWN ARROW (D) to position the pointers on the line of the match you wish to mark as postponed. 4. When the pointers are on the correct line, press the ENTER (<CR>) key. DE-ACTIVATING THE POSTPONE MARKER You may remove the postpone marker by repeating the same process as you used to mark the match. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 18 ================================================================= +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY HOME | | -------- --- -------- -------------- ----------- --------- | | 03/03/89 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Astros Royals | | 03/03/89 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | |>*<03/03/89 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Yankees White Sox | | 03/10/89 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |--------------+--------------+--------------------+------------| | U:Prev Match | D:Next Match | <CR>: Postponement | Esc:Abort | +--------------+-----------POSTPONE----------------+------------+ LINE EDITOR Occasionally, it becomes necessary to make minor changes in the information about a scheduled match. For instance, while matches in an adult volleyball league are usually scheduled for 8:00 pm, there may be a specific circumstance that requires that one match be scheduled at 8:15 pm. To make changes of this sort, use the Line Editor feature: 1. Once you are viewing the schedule, use the PgUp/PgDn keys to locate the specific match. 2. Press the F2 key to engage the Line Editor feature. As you press the key, a pair of pointers will appear on the line of top match. 3. Use the UP ARROW (U) and/or DOWN ARROW (D) to position the pointers on the line of the match you wish to edit. 4. Press the F2 key again. A large cursor (blinking square) will appear at the beginning of the date value. 5. Use the TAB key to move the cursor to the value along the line that you want to edit. 6. Type the new value that you want. 7. Press the ENTER (<CR>) key when you have finished. LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 19 ================================================================= 8. If there are other lines you wish to edit, repeat steps 3-7. 9. Press the Esc key to exit the Line Editor feature. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | Anytown Youth Soccer Assn Spring 1990 (6-7 year olds) | | | | Round 3 | | | | DATE DAY TIME LOCATION AWAY HOME | | ----- --- -------- -------------- ----------- ---------- | |> 03/03 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Astros Royals <| | 03/03 SAT 9:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Dodgers Cardinals | | 03/03 SAT 11:30 AM JOYCE FIELD #7 Yankees White Sox | | 03/10 SAT 8:00 AM AMERS FIELD #1 Twins Orioles | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+----------| |LR:MOVE|Del:DELETE|<CR>:STORE|^End:DelEOL|U/Home:1st|D/End:LAST| +-------+----------+----------LINE EDITOR-+----------+----------+ After pressing the ESC key above, you are given an opportunity to print the Master Schedule. When the prompt, "Do you want to print the Schedule (Y/N): _", appears, you may indicate (if you have a printer connected) that you want to print the schedule by pressing the Y key. If you do have a printer connected and turned on-line, press the Y key. You will be instructed to check that the printer is ready to print by the following message... +---------------------------------------------------------+ | Align printer to top of form. Press ENTER to | | continue, ESC to abort... | +---------------------------------------------------------+ The phrase "Align printer to top of form" means that you should check the printer, making certain that the beginning of the schedule will print at the top of the next sheet of paper. If you have to adjust the printer, do so. Once you are satisfied, press the ENTER/RETURN key. You will next be asked, +------------------------------------------------------------+ | Number of copies of the Master Schedule: | | Press ESC to Return to the Main Menu) | +------------------------------------------------------------+ LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 20 ================================================================= Type one (1), then press the ENTER (<CR>) key to indicate that you want to print one copy of the master schedule. If you didn't want to print the schedule at this time, you could press the ESC key to return to the Main Menu. Once the Master Schedule is printed, you will have an opportunity to print one or more copies of the schedules for each contestant. Do so if you wish. UTILITIES Main Menu Option 7, Utilities, offers three procedures to ... 1) The data path; 2) The optional comment line; and 3) Screen viewing colors. MODIFYING THE PATH STATEMENT In MS-DOS, the "path" is the location where your program or data file will be stored. In systems with 2 floppy disk drives, the program path is typically "A:" and the data path is "B:". However, when a fixed drive in involved, frequently both "paths" will specify storage locations on the same drive. If you have placed the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER on you fixed drive, you probably want to store your data files either in another directory or on a floppy disk. If this is the case, simply select the Utilities option on the main menu, then the Path option on the submenu. Type in the full pathname foryour data file locations (eg, C:\LP25\DATA), then press ENTER. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Enter/Edit Path: | | | | ________________________________________________________ | |------+-------+---------+--------+-------+-----------+---------| |az:TXT|LR:MOVE|<CR>:SAVE|Home:1ST|End:END|^End:DelEOL|Esc:ABORT| +------+-------+---------+--------PATH----+-----------+---------+ LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 21 ================================================================= It is often useful to place a reminder message on each page of the schedule, so the League Scheduler has the capability to do that. This comment or FOOTER, as it is called in word processing, will be displayed at the bottom of the schedule. 1. To create, edit or delete a comment, select Main Menu Option 7, Utilities. 2. At the sub menu, select Option 2: Comment Line. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Enter/Edit Comment: | | | | __________________________________________________________ | |-------+----------+----------------------+-----------+---------| |LR:MOVE|<CR>:STORE|Home/End:Beginning/End|^End:DelEOL|Esc:Abort| +-------+----------+-----------COMMENT----+-----------+---------+ If you have a color monitor and want to alter the screen colors, select the Utilities option on the LEAGUE PLAY! (tm) SCHEDULER main menu. Pressing the "F" key will rotate through the available foreground colors; pressing "B", the background colors. When you have set the colors you want to use, press ESC. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | Foreground: 7 Background: 1 | | | | | | Press the F key to change Foreground; B to change Background | | ESC to Exit | | | | | | | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ LEAGUE PLAY (tm) SCHEDULER PAGE 22 ================================================================= To prepare another schedule, simply repeat the process. SCHEDULE MODIFICATIONS (Recalling a schedule that you previously stored.) Occasionally, you will have to scrap a schedule you have prepared. One situation would be when the number of contestants changes. If you saved the information: the list of contestants and the schedule, all you have to do to prepare a new schedule is to amend that information. To recall the information, select option 1) Enter/Update List of Contestants. Then, select 3) Retrieve stored list. The display clears, and at the bottom of the screen, you see... +---------------------------------------------------------------+ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ | | | Enter file name: SR6-7S90 | | | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | A-Z:Type Name LUDR:MOVE <CR>/Esc:SELECT Home:1st End:LAST | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Figure 13. Retrieve File Display The initial file listed will be the one that you last used. If this is your first use, then the name SAMPLE will be displayed. If the listed file name is the one you want, press either the ENTER/RETURN key or the ESC key. If the displayed file is not the one you want and you know there are several more, press one of the arrow keys to see the names of the other files. If you see the file you want, move the highlight to that name by pressing the arrow keys. Once the name is highlighted, press the ENTER/RETURN key or the ESC key. A second method of retrieving the file is to just type the file name, then press ENTER/RETURN. If the file is on the data disk it will be retrieved. When you see the contestant names, make any changes, then continue with the process as you did before. WHEN YOU ARE READY TO QUIT To end your working session, select main menu option 8) Quit. The DOS command line prompt will reappear. Your session is over.