Race Wizard FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

P. J. Chernis

2000/July 31

Last Updated: 2001/June 1

Q1. I installed Race Wizard, then copied the files to my F drive, but when I try to open directly from my F Drive we get the get the message "This program requires the run time version".

A1. You must run Race Wizard using the shortcut created by the installation program, however, you can copy the shortcut from the start menu and change it's properties so that it points to the copy on the F drive. To do this, right click on the Windows Start button then choose "Explore" from the flyout menu. Windows Explorer will open to the folder containing your start menu options. Browse to the folder containing the shortcuts to Race Wizard, and copy the shortcut to your desktop. Right click on the shortcut you just made on the desktop and choose Properties. Click the Shortcut tab on the Properties dialog and change the drive letter and folder in the Target text box from ' "D:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "c:\Racewizard\racewizard.mde" /runtime' to ' "F:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "F:\racewizard\racewizard.mde" /runtime'

Q2. Can you tell me where I place the shirt size for the competitors?

A2. The merchandise you are selling is displayed/editied by pressing the "Merchandise List" button on the main menu. After you get the merchandise entered, open the Event Details form and press the "Fees and Sales" button. A form will open listing the people who have the Waiver signed field checked in the racers register. When you have the form displayed, press the F1 key and you will get the help file for that form.

Q3. I don't understand the categories. I have set up the female age groups, male and relay. How does the system allocate these?
A3. The categories are assigned based on the persons age which is determined from the reference date on the Event Details form and their birth date. While you are in the Categories form, press the F1 key for help.

A Category can have up to 5 characters, but must have the following format so that it can be automatically assigned to each racer based on their age and gender:

First Character: M or F (for Male/Female)

Last two characters: The top age in the category (e.g. 09 for 9 years of age, 49 for 49 years - you must use 2 digits)

You can use the middle 2 characters to indicate sub-categories within an age category, i.e. FS25 to stand for "Females, sport, under 25" .

Q4. How to I input the teams in my Triathlon?
A4. If you are running a tri with teams, the easiest way to do this is to enter the team names in the reacers register, enter the individual team member's names in the Office notes. For example, a team of 3 racers called "Triple Threat" would be registered with first name "Triple" and last Name "Threat". Each team member would have the same bib number.

Q5. My event is a triathlon. Where do I place the swim/bike run info? I saw on the example, Panamwomen, that you had 5 legs but we only need 3, don't care to track the transition times. I set up the main event field as mass/wave and the field allowed for legs but when I changed to triathlon that field "blued" out.
A5. Set the Event type to "Triathlon". This will set the laps to 3 with default names of "Swim", "Bike", and "Run". If you want to change the names of the laps, the lap names are set by pressing a button on the categories form. Press the Category button on the Event Details form, then press the "Lap Headings" button. The headings for the report group of the category you were in when you pressed the Lap Headings button will be displayed. Press the F1 key for help on the form.

Report groups (on the category form) allow you to control the order of your results on the printouts. If all categories are in the same report group (default 1) they are printed alphabetically. If you want all olympic distance categories to appear first, followed by the sprints , then the relays, give each event a group number. E.G. assign all categories in the olympic distance event to category 1, all sprints in category 2, all relays in category 3. If you don't mind alphabetic ordering of categories, just leave them all in the default group (1).

Q6. Regarding timing/scoring, I do not want to use the widget to track the timing. How can I record the results w/o activiating the clock?

A6. You can type in the bib numbers and times using the edit times form. Press the Timing & Results button on the event details form, then press the Edit Times button on the Timing and Results menu. To insert a time press [alt]ti (or select time/insert from the menu bar).

The times you will enter are the cumulated times at each leg. E.G. After the swim the time entered will be for the swim leg, after the bike, the times entered will be the time it took to do the swim and the bike. When you calculate the results the times for each leg will be calculated.

Q7. Is the price that you list in Canadian dollars?

A7. Yes.

Q8. What kind of payment do you accept?  Check, credit card, etc.?  
A8. You can purchase Race Wizard by cheque, money order/bank draft, or by PayPal (www.Paypal.com).

Q9. Do you provide updates for the software?

A9. Updates are free via eMail. Replacement CDs are $15. .

Q10. How do you supply the software?  CDROM, download, etc.

A10. Race Wizard is supplied on CDROM. If you wish I can eMail you a self-extracting file that will update the evaluation version of race Wizard to the full version, after payment is received, then send you the CDROM.

Q11. I Have tried to download the evaluation version of the software, but when i click the link i get asked for authentication. Any Ideas?

A11. I have been told by the web hosting service that this may be caused if you are using using software to speed up downloads such as GetRight.  Try downloading without the software.