Manual Changes Module
Overview
The JCapper Manual Changes Module provides the
user with a quick and easy interface for entering scratches and races taken off
the turf manually. Players who take their notebook computers to the track or
off track betting facility where connection to the internet is not possible
will find that the Manual Changes Module lets them manually enter today's
changes in a quick and organized format.
The Manual Changes Module can be launched using
the Export Functions Menu. The above screenshot shows the top of the Manual
Changes Module as it appears when it first opens.
Loaded Race Card Selection Elements
The Manual Changes Module has three visible
elements that allow the user to select Loaded Race Cards. Each allow the user
to navigate freely between race cards. Each will be covered separately.
They are:
1. The Loaded Race Card Drop Down
2. The Next Loaded Race Card Button
3. The Previous Loaded Race Card Button
The Loaded Race Card Drop Down
All of the currently loaded race cards will
appear in the Loaded Race Card Drop Down. To select a race card, open up the
drop down by clicking on the downward pointing arrow on the right hand edge of
the drop down. Then position the mouse cursor over the desired race card and
click.
Screenshot: Top of the Manual Changes Module
just before a race card has been selected by the user. The Loaded Race Card
Drop Down is open and displays the currently loaded race cards.
After a race card has been selected, the
Available Races Drop Down, Next Race Button, and Previous Race Button will
appear.
Screenshot: Top of the Manual Changes Module
just after user has selected a loaded race card, in this case Del Mar.
The Next Loaded Race Card Button
Users may also use the Next Loaded Race Card
Button to select a loaded race card. Each time this button is clicked, the
loaded race appearing just below the current race card in the Loaded Race Card
Drop Down gets selected and becomes the new current race card for the module.
Screenshot: The user has just clicked the Next
Loaded Race Card Button to advance the current race card from DMR to SAR. If
you look closely you'll notice that the button is still highlighted.
The Previous Loaded Race Card Button
Users may also use the Previous Loaded Race Card
Button to select a loaded race card. Each time this button is clicked, the
loaded race appearing just above the current race card in the Loaded Race Card
Drop Down gets selected and becomes the new current race card for the module.
Screenshot: The user has just clicked the
Previous Loaded Race Card Button to change the current race card from SAR back
to DMR. If you look closely you'll notice that the button is still highlighted.
Race Selection Elements
The Manual Changes Module has three visible
elements that allow the user to select races for the currently selected race
card. Each allow the user to navigate freely between races. Each will be
covered separately.
They are:
1. The Select Race Drop Down
2. The Next Race Button
3. The Previous Race Button
The Select Race Drop Down
All of today's races for the currently selected
race card will appear in the Select Race Drop Down. To select a race, open up
the drop down by clicking on the downward pointing arrow on the right hand edge
of the drop down. Then position the mouse cursor over the desired race and
click.
Screenshot: The Select Race Drop Down
Each time a race is selected, the selected race
becomes the current race. Information about the current race is then displayed
by the module.
Screenshot: DMR Race 1 was just selected as the
current race. Information about DMR Race 1 is now displayed by the Module.
The Next Race Button
Users may also use the Next Race Button to
select races. Each time this button is clicked, the race appearing just below
the current race in the Select Race Drop Down gets selected and becomes the new
current race for the module.
Screenshot: DMR Race 2 was just selected as the
current race using the Next Race Button. (Look closely; the button is
highlighted.) Information about DMR Race 2 is now displayed by the Module.
The Previous Race Button
Users may also use the Previous Race Button to
select races. Each time this button is clicked, the race appearing just above
the current race in the Select Race Drop Down gets selected and becomes the new
current race for the module.
Screenshot: DMR Race 1 was just selected as the
current race using the Previous Race Button. (Look closely; the button is
highlighted.) Information about DMR Race 1 is now displayed by the Module.
ADDING AND REMOVING SCRATCHES
The interface for adding and removing scratches
in the JCapper Manual Changes Module is an easy one. First, navigate to the
desired current race. Then, to scratch a
horse, simply click the Scratch Checkbox that appears just to the left of
the desired horse's post position and name. The post position and name of the
scratched horse will now appear in strikeThru red. Unscratched horses will
remain displayed in blue. To un-scratch
a horse, simply click a previously checked Scratch Checkbox next to the
post position and name of an already scratched horse.
Screenshot: The user has just scratched #1
Smuggler's Run from Race 1 at DMR. The post position and name of the scratched
horse now appear in strikeThru red. Notice that the SAVE button is now
displayed and the visible elements for track and race navigation are now
disabled.
The SAVE Button
Any time the user makes changes to current race
information in the Manual Changes Module the SAVE Button is displayed. User
changes to current race information made with the Manual Changes Module are not
persisted to the database (scratches and raceheaders files) until the SAVE
Button has been clicked by the user.
As a safety precaution, in an attempt to prevent
users from mistakenly scratching a wrong horse (or failing to click all the
scratches for a race,) navigation
between races and tracks is disabled while unsaved changes information exists. Clicking the SAVE
Button will persist all unsaved changes information to the database. Once the
SAVE Button has been clicked, navigation between races and tracks becomes
enabled again. It is recommended that users get in the habit of verifying
current race changes information carefully before clicking the SAVE Button.
Auto Save Navigation
There will always be those users who prefer to
make their manual changes on the fly and flip freely between tracks and races
without having to stop, check their work for each race, and click the SAVE
Button. If you feel confident in your ability to make accurate race changes
very quickly and then move on to the next race without having to stop and click
the SAVE Button, you can override the SAVE Button by enabling Auto Save
Navigation.
Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox
The Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is
located at the very top of the Manual Changes Module Screen. Its default
setting is unchecked. When the Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is in its
unchecked state, the Manual Changes Module disables race and track navigation
while unsaved race changes information exists until the SAVE Button is clicked.
When the Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is
checked, the Manual Changes Module will still display the SAVE Button whenever
unsaved changes information exists, but race and track navigation is allowed.
When the user navigates to a new race when the Enable Auto Save Navigation
Checkbox is checked, any unsaved changes information is automatically saved to
the database.
Screenshot: The Enable Auto Save Navigation
Checkbox is checked. Current race changes information exists. The SAVE Button
is displayed, and race and track navigation are enabled.
The Clear Scratches Button
Clicking the Clear Scratches Button has the
following effects:
1. All scratches are cleared from the scratches
file.
2. All scratches are cleared from memory in the
Current Changes Module.
3. Current race information is re-displayed.
After clicking the Clear Scratches Button, Clear
All Scratches Confirmation Dialog Box is presented to the user. The Clear All
Scratches Confirmation Dialog Box offers the user a chance to Cancel the Clear
Scratches operation. This is done to prevent accidental loss of scrathces
information that could arise from a user who unintentionally clicks the Clear
Scratches Button.
Screenshot: The Clear All Scratches Confirmation
Dialog Box.
Clicking Yes on the Clear All Scratches
Confirmation Dialog Box will result in all scratches being cleared. After the
scratches file has been cleared, the following message box is presented to the
user:
Screenshot: Message box confirming that
scratches have been cleared.
Clicking No or Cancel on the Clear All Scratches
Confirmation Dialog Box will result in the clear scratches operation being
cancelled. Whenever the Clear Scratches Operation is aborted by the user, the
following message box is presented:
Screenshot: Message box confirmation that Clear
Scratches Operation has been aborted by the user.
It is recommended
that users clear the previous day's
scratches at the start of each new race day. A good time to do this is
either just after Clearing the Export File or before using any of the JCapper
modules capable of handling scratches (Manual Changes Module, Scratch Parser,
or Scratch Bot) to create fresh scratches for the new race day.
Scratches information remains in the scratches
file until cleared by the user clicking the Clear Scratches Button. Failing to
clear scratches will cause each new day's scratches to be added to the
scratches file. Conceivably, after perhaps containing scratches for several
hundred race cards, the scratches file could
eventually grow large enough to impact system performance.
SURFACE AND DISTANCE CHANGES
Occasionally track management will take one or
more races Off The Turf and move
them to the Dirt. More rare, but I have seen it happen (at Turf Paradise in the
mid 1980's) races can even be taken Off
the Dirt and switched to the Turf Course.
The JCapper Manual Changes Module provides the
user with a quick and easy interface for dealing with this problem. There are
two visual elements involved. To change the running surface of the current
race, use the Running Surface Drop Down. To change the distance of the current
race, use the Race Distance Drop Down.
Making a Surface Change (Taking a Race Off the Turf)
Let's walk through the process of taking a race
off the turf. We will use a real life example. On Saturday 08-14-2004,
Saratoga's Race 4 was taken off the turf and moved to the main track.
The Running Surface Drop Down
The Running Surface Drop Down is located along
the left hand edge of the screen just below the Loaded Race Card Drop Down and
just above the label displaying the track and race number for the current race.
To select a different running surface, simply position the mouse cursor on the
running surface drop down and click the mouse. This will cause the drop down to
display available options for the new running surface. Then, position the mouse
cursor over the new running surface and click the mouse.
Screenshot: The user is in the process of using
the Running Surface Drop Down to take SAR Race 4 off the turf and move it to
the main track.
After selecting a new running surface, the SAVE
Button will be displayed and both race and track navigation will be disabled.
Screenshot: The user has just used the Running
Surface Drop Down to take SAR Race 4 off the turf and move it to the main
track. Note that the SAVE Button is now displayed and that both track and race
navigation have now been disabled.
Making a Distance Change
Let's walk through the process of making a
distance change. We will use a real life example. On Saturday 08-14-2004,
Saratoga's Race 4 was taken off the turf and moved to the main track. The
distance was changed from 1 1/16 Miles to 1 1/8 Miles.
The Race Distance Drop Down
The Race Distance Drop Down is located just to
the right of the Running Surface Drop Down. To select a different race
distance, simply position the mouse cursor on the race distance drop down and
click the mouse. This will cause the drop down to display available options for
the new race distance. Then, position the mouse cursor over the new race
distance and click the mouse.
Screenshot: The user is in the process of using
the Race Distance Drop Down to change the race distance of SAR Race 4 from 8.50
furlongs to 9.00 furlongs.
After selecting the new race distance, the SAVE
Button will be displayed and both race and track navigation will be disabled.
Screenshot: The user has just used the Race
Distance Drop Down to change the distance of SAR Race 4 from 8.50 furlongs to
9.00 furlongs. Note that the SAVE Button is now displayed and that both track
and race navigation have now been disabled.
The SAVE Button
Any time the user makes changes to current race
information in the Manual Changes Module the SAVE Button is displayed. User
changes to current race information made with the Manual Changes Module are not
persisted to the database (scratches and raceheaders files) until the SAVE
Button has been clicked by the user.
As a safety precaution, in an attempt to prevent
users from mistakenly changing a racing surface, navigation between races and
tracks is disabled while unsaved changes
information exists. Clicking the SAVE Button will persist all unsaved changes
information to the database. Once the SAVE Button has been clicked, navigation
between races and tracks becomes enabled again. It is recommended that users
get in the habit of verifying current race changes information carefully before
clicking the SAVE Button.
Auto Save Navigation
There will always be those users who prefer to
make their manual changes on the fly and flip freely between tracks and races
without having to stop, check their work for each race, and click the SAVE
Button. If you feel confident in your ability to make accurate race changes
very quickly and then move on to the next race without having to stop and click
the SAVE Button, you can override the SAVE Button by enabling Auto Save
Navigation.
Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox
The Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is
located at the very top of the Manual Changes Module Screen. Its default
setting is unchecked. When the Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is in its
unchecked state, the Manual Changes Module disables race and track navigation
while unsaved race changes information exists until the SAVE Button is clicked.
When the Enable Auto Save Navigation Checkbox is
checked, the Manual Changes Module will still display the SAVE Button whenever
unsaved changes information exists, but race and track navigation is allowed.
When the user navigates to a new race when the Enable Auto Save Navigation
Checkbox is checked, any unsaved changes information is automatically saved to
the database.
Screenshot: The user has just used the Running
Surface Drop Down to take SAR Race 4 off the turf and move it to the main track
and the Race Distance Drop Down to change the race distance from 8.50 furlongs
to 9.00 furlongs. Note that the Enable Auto Save Navigation Button is checked,
the SAVE Button is displayed, and both race and track navigation are still
enabled.
Aborting Surface and Distance Changes
If you do not wish to persist surface or
distance changes that you have made you can abort these changes by using any of
three methods, each of which is described below.
1. Closing the Manual Changes Module
Close the Manual Changes Module by simply
clicking the red X found in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Whenever
the user attempts to close the module while unsaved changes exist the user is
presented with a message box offering one last chance to save the changes. To
save changes from this message box click Yes. To exit the module without saving
changes from this message box click No.
2. Using the Manual Changes Module to Change Surface and Distance
Back
In the event of a mistake you can always use the
Manual Changes Module's Running Surface and Race Distance drop downs to change
the surface and/or distance for the current race back the previous values.
3. Clear Export File followed by Build Export File
You can reset ALL surface distance changes back
to the original values found in the Bris Data File by running both the Clear
Export File and Build Export File menu options found on the Export Functions
menu. Doing this will reset surface and distance for all races back to original
values, but it will not affect the scratches file.
Hint: To clear all scratches from the scratches
file, simply click the Clear Scratches Button.
The Refresh Button
This section is intended for those users who
leave the Manual Changes Module open while they concurrently run other JCapper
modules capable of picking up scratches- either Scratch Parser or Scratch Bot.
If you do not plan on running Scratch Bot or Scratch Parser while the Manual
Changes Module is open and running you can skip this section.
Clicking the Refresh Button causes the Manual
Changes Module to take the following actions:
1. All Unsaved Scratches Information in memory
is written to the database without overwriting saved changes information
already residing in the database. Scratches are appended to the scratches file.
2. Unsaved Surface and Distance changes in
memory are purged from memory and are NOT written to the database.
3. Scratches Information is then read from the
database and are placed in memeory.
4. Surface and Distance changes are then read
from memory and are placed in menory.
5. Information for the Current Race is then
re-displayed.
Purpose of the Refresh Button
There are other modules in JCapper capable of
updating the database with fresh scratches and surface/distance changes. The
Scratch Parser parses the Bris web pages as directed by the user and writes
fresh scratches to the database. Scratch Bot, once started, runs in the
background continually scanning the Bris web pages for fresh scratches and
surface changes, and updates the database as new changes are discovered.
Naturally, JCapper has to be able to handle the
case of a user who runs combinations of the Manual Changes Module, Scratch
Parser, and Scratch Bot concurrently. The logic behind the Refresh Button found
in the Manual Changes Module allows this to happen.
Let's illustrate using the example of a user who
launches the Manual Changes Module while Scratch Bot is running in the
background. When it first loads, the Manual Changes Module gets all of its
start up information by reading the database. It then displays this information
as each new current race is navigated to by the user and as changes are saved
back to the database by the user.
At the same time, Scratch Bot is also writing
its own information back to the database. When Scratch Bot finds a fresh
scratch or a race taken off the turf, it writes the changes to the database and
then generates a horse scratched or race taken off the turf message alerting
the user to the presence of the change. (For a complete discussion of how
Scratch Bot works read the section in the User's Guide dedicated to Scratch
Bot.)
The Manual Changes Module needs a mechanism for
getting updated changes information from the database when this case happens.
The Refresh Button is that mechanism. A user running Scratch Bot in the
background concurrently with the Manual Changes Module can see the horse
scratched or race taken off the turf message generated by Scratch Bot and then
can immediately bring the Scratch Bot generated changes into the open instance
of the Manual Changes Module simply by clicking the Refresh Button.
To summarize, there are two cases where the user
should click the Refresh Button in the Manual Changes Module:
1. Scratch Bot and the Manual Changes Module are
being run comcurrently. The user should click the Manual Changes Module Refresh
Button before doing anything else in the Manual Changes Module after seeing a
Scratch Bot generated scratch or surface change message.
2. Scratch Parser and the Manual Changes Module
are being run concurrently. The user should click the Refresh Button in the
Manual Changes Module before doing anything else in the Manual Changes Module
after clicking the Parse Scratches Button in the Scratch Parser.
There is no need ever to click the Manual
Changes Module Refresh Button unless either Scratch Parser or Scratch Bot is
being run at the same time as the Manual Changes Module. Users who adopt the
practice of closing the Manual Changes Module before launching either the
Scratch Parser or Scratch Bot and who close both the Scratch Parser and stop
Scratch Bot before launching the Manual Changes Module do not need to worry
about clicking the Manual Changes Module Refresh Button. Of course, there is
never any harm in clicking the Refresh Button; if no new changes from another
module exist in the database, current race information in the Manual Changes
Module is merely re-displayed.
After clicking the Refresh Button, a message box
confirming that a refresh has taken place is displayed.
Screenshot: The refresh confirmation message
box.
Screenshots: The user has just clicked the
Refresh Button. If you look closely, you'll notice that the button is
highlighted.