In 2016, we can't think of timing an event in a manual way. So we have to make our favorite hardware talk to Wiclax. This is possible in a very simple way. Wiclax can interface with many systems on the market and the list is not closed.
Below is a quick video to show you how it can be done. It does not show all the possibilities as your timing configuration can be much more complex, with multiple readers/decoders or loops that can be either local or distant, and with multiple passings on some of them, etc... But it does make a short introduction.
You may have such a specific need because you want your results to go into an independent publishing process. Or maybe a governing body of your preferred discipline asks them in a specific format.
He're what Wiclax can do for you:
Custom export formats
Looking at the ribbon > Print - Export panel, you can see listed the standard formats - Excel, HTML,... - and then the last button saying Other formats.
The dropdown menu shows a short list of items and the last one is called My custom export. Clicking it will ask you where to save an exported file, and will create this file according to some specific formatting rules.
Now, how about my own format? Let's take a tour at folder Wiclax_install_folder\export: here you can see a file whose name is identical to the menu item label.
Create a copy of the file in the same folder, and name it as you wish. Let's name it My CSV export for our example. Then edit it with any text editor of your choice.
The file describes all the data you can export, in the form of variable "tags" - i.e. a numeric id identifying a variable like for example a bib number or a time. It also lists a few available options to change the global behaviour of the export, like some possible values for a header and a footer. This list is not definitive, so please feel free to contact us if you're missing something there to get the perfect export matching your case.
The part to modify is the content between the <Export> tags. We can define a CSV export, for example. A basic export row with the main result data will look like that:
Finish your format definition and then open again the Other formats menu in the ribbon. Your new format is now available:
FTP
In addition to the ability to output the file corresponding to your new format, you can also decide that the FTP export will follow this format instead of exporting the event file itself.
On the roadmap
As said, the list of options is intended to grow as new requirements come out. Another natural enhancement will be to make possible the setup of multiple FTP exports for an event. You may need to send your results to 2 different places (servers), or to send them both with the Wiclax format and your custom one.
Begining of the summer here and hence of the most active season, a good time to give you the latest flavour of the product.
This round we worked on some hot topics for some of you, as well as on a wide range of improvements that will benefit to all. Including but not limited to:
G-Live module
A few minor improvements, and a bigger one: the ability to embed some finish line (or wherever) photos of runners. The photos get displayed directly into the results summary, all that done in the simplest way.
UCI cycling races management goes more powerful
the stage summary report comes with a new "classic" display, and you can now chose which subreport to embed or not
the combined classification makes its coming out, computed after the mountain classification and the sprint classification
some new options make the following vehicle list more powerful, with a possibility to drag and drop teams and build a custom order following your needs
On the RFID devices front
connection done with the software from MyLaps, so you can enjoy live passings in Wiclax
Race|Result devices connectivity now works perfectly in all cases - active or passive transponders. USB readers plugin is also ready, but waiting for the Race result team to finalize a communication protocol
Printout
You eventually chose Wiclax for its first class printout system, and we like to keep going even forward there.
new options for the printout templates, allowing for example to hide the original page frame
new ability to provide multi-line column headers, whether it's for translation or for customization purposes
new ability to move the grid columns directly from the print preview, when working with a printout template
Introduced not long ago, you've probably seen this new feature in the print preview:
Still under "experiment" to see if runners take it easy - or not - when looking at their results on the paperboard and thus if some further tuning may be interesting, this new way of printing was born with multiple purposes in mind:
Modernize the old boring table display - and give you another distinctive mark that everyone can see.
Get more runners on a single page, especially when the number of information pieces is not wide. Makes it possible to have some 100 items on the first page with the default header. And the result is more visually appealing than the multi-column mode. You can save paper in situations when for example you have to distribute a participant list with a few basic information.
Introduce opportunities for design variations - align, font-size and weight, multi-line data,...
Result
Hoping you'll enjoy it! and why not make it your default printing way for the future.
On the roadmap
The feature is already available with a panel of pre-defined thumbnail templates. Choosing the number of columns and the flow direction (top to bottom or left to right) is also OK.
Next step will be finding out a possible design for triathlons, including the segment rankings. And open a thumbnail designer so that you can customize your own templates. Will be interesting to make it work with custom data of your own.
Gives you more ideas for new displays? Don't hesitate to share them.
