"BowlsNet" - The Bowling League Data System
(Version 17.G, March 2017)
ADMINISTRATOR USER MANUAL
Chapter 1 - DATABASE CONTROL

Author: Steve Blaymire BSc
32 Billington Avenue, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, Lancs BB4 8UW.
E-mail: steve@bowlsnet.uk


Once you are logged in as an administrator you control your league databases via the ADMIN menu.

To modify a season, archive a season, or create a new season, simply go to the DataBase Control page from the ADMIN menu.

This page allows full control over the LIVE database.

1.1 Database Status

The main Database Status radio buttons control the access allowed by users:

Once the database is switched OFFLINE, the buttons are enabled to allow updating of your database.
Note that whilst it is offline, during your editing, no other user will be able to see the database.

The most common use of this feature is at the start of a new season:

Note: You can close the Database Control page and have private access to database, allowing you to test it, add registrations etc. Once the changes are complete, switch the database to ONLINE and the database becomes available for users.

1.2 User Counts

The User Counts panel shows how many sessions are currently open of each type.
Click the Refresh Counts button to update the counts.
If you are planning to take the database offline, it is a good idea to:

1.3 Status Messages

The ADMIN MESSAGE is a one line message that replace the page footer, and is shown on every page (optionally including guests) until cleared (or "BowlsNet" is restarted).
It is for important messages only (database unavailability etc) and is displayed on a red background. As it replaces the copyright information, this must not be used for things such as advertising and notice of events (this type of notice should be displayed on your league home page)

The LOGIN MESSAGE is a multiple line message that is displayed to captains and administrators as they log-in and can be used to remind them of league procedures, upcoming meetings etc. It is set when OK is pressed and is shown on all subsequent log-ins until cleared or replaced.

Note that keeping the message short will be more effective, especially if no scrolling is required.

1.4 Match Definition

This page identifies the match format and points scoring system for the league.
This page can be quite daunting but it defines your league, so care should be taken to get it right.

Match Aggregate.

You need to specify if, and how many, points are awarded for winning/drawing the aggregate in home, away or neutral matches.

Most Game Wins.

You need to specify if, and how many, points are awarded for achieving most wins/drawing number of wins in home, away or neutral matches.

Game Score/Points (SINGLES, PAIRS, TRIPLES, FOURSOMES).

For each type of game, you must provide the score required to win and the points awarded for a home, away (and neutral) win.
For leagues that have a fixed number of ends (no set winning score), set the format as {free}
(note that in this case you must also specify the points awarded for a drawn game).

The Copy Home columns button is a shortcut to copy the Home settings to Away and Neutral/KO.




It is possible to base the points awarded for a game on the actual score and also award points to a losing player.

If your league requires this type of scoring them select COMPLEX from the bottom of the Points list.

In the example shown the winning player gets 2 point for winning 21-10 or better, 1 point for a normal win and 0.5 points for losing 21-19.
You select how many rules are required and them enter them in descending order. Hard to explain but easier to do!

Note: A similar complex setting is aso available from the Aggregate settings.



Matches are reported as a Win,Loss or Draw depending on fields below

The Match Decided On field chooses how a match is identified as a Win, Loss or Draw. The Followed By field can be optionally set, to be used in the event of the first selection being tied.

The following result lines are included whenever a Match Card is displayed:

These three fields specify what match details are provided with a full match result (display or printouts).

The following fields are displayed in single line match results, the 2nd being shown in brackets :

These two fields specify what match summary details are provided in a single line match result (fixtures/results lists).

1.5 League Tables

This page allows the selection of which fields to display in League Tables, plus it allows the selection of the field(s) to use to decide the order of League Tables.

League Table Order

The League Table Order fields select the primary field to sort on, with optional 2nd and 3rd fields for use in the event of a tie. The available fields, in listed order, are:

a) Matches Won. Order based on most matches won (as determined by the Match Result page - see below).
b) Matches Lost - reversed. Order based on least matches lost.
c) Matches Drawn. Order based on most matches drawn (normally a secondary condition to Matches Won).
d) Aggregate For. Order based on the total game points scored.
e) Aggregate Against - reversed. Order based on least game points scored against.
f) Aggregate Difference. Order based on 'aggregate for' minus 'aggregate against'.
g) Games Played. Not normally used, provided for completeness.
h) Games Won. Order based on most individual games won.
i) Games Lost - reversed. Order based on least games lost.
j) Points For. Order based on match points scored, as determined by the Match Result rules.
k) Points Against - reversed. Order based on least match points scored against.
l) Avg Aggr. For. Order based on average match aggregate for.
m) Avg Aggr. Against - reversed. Order based on average match aggregate against.
n) Avg Aggr. Diff. Order based on average aggregate difference.

Items (a),(b),(c),(h) and (j) are repeated for Home, Away and Neutral matches. These are usually used in secondary conditions
(e.g. the team with the best away record wins in the event of a tie).

Selected Columns

The list gives the order and choice of columns to display.
The Insert After, Delete, Edit, Up and Down buttons allow you to change the columns displayed.
Inserting a --Section Break-- allows selection of any Section Header Text. It also puts a toggles between the primary and alternate colour bands to identify different sections.
The Clear button clears all fields, allowing a fresh start.
The Restore Defaults button reverts the selection to the initial defaults built into "All But!". If you get into trouble with your selection, or are unhappy with changes you have made, simply click this button and start again.

The dialogue box displayed when you insert or update a column allows the selection of the field, the title, it's width and justification.
The Preview Window at the bottom of the page shows an example of the output in all case (in BowlsNet, in a Web-Page, in a formatted report, in a fixed width report).

NOTE: The primary League Table Order field must be displayed in a column. If it is not, it will be automatically added.

1.6 League Averages

This page allows the selection of which fields to display in Divisional and Team Averages, plus it allows the selection of the field(s) to use to decide the order of Divisional and Team Averages Lists. You switch between Divisional and Team Averages settings using the radio buttons.

The column selection is exactly the same as for League Tables above.
The Averages/Seeding Ordering identified how your league averages are ordered. The 2nd and 3rd selections are used in the case of a tie. The choices are:

a) Games Played. Not normally used, provided for completeness.
b) Games Won. Order based on most individual games won.
c) Games Lost - reversed. Order based on least games lost.
d) Games Drawn. Order based on most draws (not usually primary).
e) Aggregate For. Order based on the total chalks scored.
f) Aggregate Against - reversed. Order based on least chalks scored against.
g) Aggregate Difference. Order based on 'aggregate for' minus 'aggregate against'.
h) Aggregate Ratio. Order based on 'aggregate for' divided by 'aggregate against'.
i) Points For. Order based on match points scored, as determined by the Match Result rules.
j) Points Against - reversed. Order based on least match points scored against.
k) Average. Order based on player average - i.e. ('Aggregate For' - 'Aggregate Against') / 'Games Played'.
l) Index (Wins + Average). Order based on the combination of 'Games Won' plus 'Average' (which I believe is the fairest of all systems).
m) Average (For). Order based on 'For' average - i.e. 'Aggregate For' / 'Games Played'.
n) Average (Against). Order based on 'Against' average - i.e. 'Aggregate Against' / 'Games Played'.

Items (a) to (d) are repeated for Home, Away and Neutral matches. These are usually used in secondary conditions (e.g. the player with the most away wins in the event of a tie).

The Percentage of games to be played to qualify for Averages gives the percentage of possible games any player must have played to be considered for the divisional or team averages. Players who have played less than this %age of games are shown at the bottom of any averages list.

The Percentage of games to be played before above rule is applied gives the percentage of games before which the above rule is ignored. This is so that early in the season the averages are just ordered as selected, only as the season progresses does the actual number of games played matter.

Score/Points awarded for Average Purposes

The Game Points button settings specify how many points are awarded for home/away(/neutral) wins when calculating averages. This is only relevant if your average calculations is 'points based' rather than 'chalks based'. Normally this is set to Match to reflect the points awarded for match games.
The Walk-Over Scores and Walk-Over Points sections sets what points/score is to be awarded to players in the event of a walkover when calculating averages. There are separate settings for home, away and neutral matches and singles/pairs/triples/foursomes games (where appropriate).
Note that the score in the match will still be 21-0.

1.7 Team Summary

This page allows the selection of which columns to display in Team History listings.
The column selection is exactly the same as for League Tables above, with an additional selection of the fields to display in the summary line at the bottom of the list.


1.8 Player Summary

This page allows the selection of which columns to display in Player History listings.
The column selection is exactly the same as for League Tables above, with an additional selection of the fields to display in the summary line at the bottom of the list.




1.9 Season Settings

This page is where you specify the basic details of a season. The page has 5 main sections:-

1) League Season.

The year in which the season is to be played (For winter leagues, this is year in which the season starts).
The Start Month and End Month define the maximum range of your league's season, limiting the fixture generation to the specified range.
Note: When the end month is less than the start month, this indicates a winter league and the seasons displayed will be of the form 2017/18 rather than 2017 etc.

2) Greens

This section contains a list of all greens used in the league. The Add button can be used to allow the addition of a new green. The Delete button will remove the selected green. The Update button allows a green's details to be modified.

3) Clubs

This section contains a list of all clubs in the league. The Add button can be used to allow the addition of a new club. The Delete button will remove the selected club. The Update button allows a club's details to be modified.

4) Divisions

This section contains a list of the divisions in the league (up to 16 divisions can be handled). Divisions are Added, Updated or Deleted via the buttons at the side of the list.
When a division is selected the Teams list is updated.


5) Teams

This section contains a list of the teams in the currently selected division. Within the selected division, the Promote / Relegate buttons will move the selected team up/down respectively. The Add button can be used to allow the addition of a new team to the current division, by default using the highlighted club and green, but these are selectable in the dialogue box.

The Delete (or Withdraw) button will remove the selected (highlighted) team, whilst the Update button allows the team details to be changed.
Any points to be added or deducted, or team handicaps to required can be set here



1.10 League Fixtures

The Fixtures Manager allows any set of fixtures to be input, including home/away/neutral matches, with teams playing each other any number of times. Most fixtures can be generated automatically. The dialogue box is split into 4 main areas:

1) Fixture Dates

This area lists all the match days currently entered. This can have been set-up automatically via the Generate Fixtures button, or can be set manually. The Add / Delete / Update buttons are used to adjust the list, with the Count showing the current number of dates in the list. Selecting a date causes the Fixtures on Selected Date list box to update with the fixtures on that date for the current division.

2) Division.

This area lists the divisions in the league. Selected a different entry changes the Fixtures On Selected Date and Available Fixtures lists to show matches for that division.

3) Fixtures On Selected Date.

This area lists the matches currently allocated for the selected division and date. Clicking on one of these matches causes it be removed from the list and moved to the Available Fixtures list (not if match already played).

4) Available Fixtures for Selection.

The match selection can be Home/Away, Neutral or Free Selection.

The Clear Fixtures of Selected Division button cause all the fixtures to be cleared, allowing entry of the fixtures from scratch.

The RETURN button causes the Fixtures Manager display box to be closed.

The Generate Fixtures button starts the Automatic Fixture Generation Wizard and is the most powerful and complex admin. feature in "BowlsNet". Note that it will attempt to create a set of fixtures even if a first set has already been created (e.g. allowing a 3rd/4th game to be generated on unused fixture dates). If you want to create a single set, press Clear All first to remove all fixture dates.

The Automatic Fixture Generation Wizard is to be described here. *************************************

1.11 League Team KOs

This button displays the Team KO Manager page.

It displays any defined competitions and allows the adding, updating and deleting of a competition.
Add Team Knockout allows the definition of a competition.
Delete Team Knockout allows the complete delection of a competition, including all rounds and matches.
Knockout Teams and Settings allowing changes to be made to the format of the competition and the entered teams. Each competition can be restricted to a selected set of teams and can have a different format than the league (e.g. a team pairs competition).
Clear Teams and Fixtures allows the deletion all the rounds but keep the match format and scoring information.

When a competition has been defined there are two ways to set up the rounds and matches.
If you have a simple competition structure (a single tree) then use the Simple Fixture Editor (tree).
If you have a complex competitition (redraws at each round, a supplementary competition or a full prelimary round), where the draw cannot be displayed in a single tree format then you must use the Advanced Fixture Editor (list).





Important: Some settings can't be changed once you have defined the competition. For example, using Knockout Teams and Settings doesn't allow changing the entered teams once rounds exist.
For this reason, be very careful when you add a competition to make sure you set it up correctly:





Simple Fixture Editor (tree)

When you create a new competition and start the graphical editor you will see a tree to support the number of teams entered. If required, the drop-down list allows selection of a different size tree.
The header line shows how many team slots are REQuired, and how many are currently set.
You disable matches by simply clicking on them (and enable them by clicking again). If you remove a match after the first round, then the branch of the tree above it is also removed automatically.
If you click on the Round Header then a dialog box allows you to enable or disable all matches in that round.
You can click on matches until the tree is acceptable and you have the required number of team slots.

If you check the Include Byes box to show teams with a bye, then clicking on a match is slightly more complicated. Instead of simply toggling on/off, it steps though: On, Off, Bye (top), Bye (bottom) - just try it, it's easier than it sounds.

Once you have defined the tree, the Ready button allows you to move on to defining the rounds and doing the draw.
If you check the Do Random Draw box before pressing Ready, the draw will be done automatically.


Once you have defined the tree the display allows you to set the rounds and matches.
To set the date, time and title of a round click on the round header.
To set or update a match fixture, click on the match itself. The dialog box allows you to select the teams, any handicap, the venue of the match. If necessary you can also override the time set for this round.





Advanced Fixture Editor (list)

Complex competitions can be defined and maintained in the Editor.
You can add a round manually using Add Round to add the date, time and name of a round.
You can update the information by selecting a round and pressing Update Round. Pressing Delete Round will remove a round (only allowed if empty).
Pressing Clear Rounds will remove all rounds (only allowed if empty).



The GENERATE button is a powerful feature, allowing the automatic generation of a competition (and optional plate competition).
It creates the required rounds and can even do a random draw.

When a round has been defined you can use Add Fixture to add the teams, green and handicaps for a match.
You can update the fixture by selecting a round and pressing Update Fixture or Delete Fixture to remove it (if unplayed and unused in another round).

You can set the team by name or as the winner or loser of a previous round match.



1.12 League Competitions

This button displays the Competitions Manager page.

It displays any defined competitions (singes/pairs etc) and allows the adding, updating and deleting of a competition.
Add Competition allows the definition of a competition.
Delete Competition allows the complete delection of a competition, including all rounds and matches.
Update Competition allows changing of the name and information details for the competition.



When a competition has been defined the draw is set up using the Competion Entries (tree).
The first thing you need to do is define the competition sheet layout (as a tree).
Select the number of rounds needed and then click individual games to toggle them on/off until you have the required number of games (the number of entries the sheet copes with is displayed in the Button Bar).
You can also select to include Byes on the sheet if required.

Click Sheet Ready when the sheet layout is complete (you cannot go back once you set the sheet design without restarting from scratch).


You can now set the initial draw by clicking on the green games (first round) and entering the player names plus any addition info (e.g. start time).


Alternatively you can perform a Random Draw.
You need to provide of list of all the entries (one line for each one).
You can either type them in or paste them from an external list.
If the Count matches the spaces on the tree, then clicking OK will generate the full draw randomly.

1.13 League Events

League Events (meetings, competitions etc) can be added to the fixture list / league calendar. Clicking ADD allows the setting of a new event. Once created the EDIT and DELETE buttons allow updating or deleting of an individual event.




Each event has two lines available for description with an optional link.
If a web-link is provided that it must be the full web address (it can refer to an external web-page if required).
Competitions can be linked directly to an internally defined Individual Competition.








1.14 Download xxx Database to computers

This button allows the saving of the current private database to your personal computer.
It can be imported back to the server in the case of an emergency or after a failed update (new season).
This function is not supported on computers without a file system (e.g. phones, iPads and certain tablets)

Notes on Back-Up Files:

1.15 Upload xxx Database from computers

This button allows the importing of a saved "BowlsNet" database from your personal computer.
The main use of this button will be to restore a previously backed-up database to the server.
It can also be used to import an old "All But!" file into BowlsNet for the first time (but older files will need to sent to me first, to be upgraded to the latest version).
Note that this function is not supported on computers without a file system (e.g. phones, iPads and certain tablets).

1.16 Archive Season

The Archive Season button is a shortcut to save the current database to the relevant season archive (perform before starting a new season).
The button is only available if the latest season archive is empty.
Alternatively you can manually download a copy of the database to your computer and then upload it to the relevant archive.

1.16 New Season

The New Season button prepares for a new season, based on the previous season's database.
The following changes are applied:

1.16 New League

The New League button start a new database from the default settings.
At the start of your first ever season, it is of course necessary to input all the league data from scratch.
In subsequent years the New Season function can be used to correct the league set up for new greens and clubs, plus relegations and promotions etc.