Players / Import

Go back one page

How  to Import Natstats

 

Players\Import

Click on the ‘Import’ icon. This is where files containing player information can be imported into your database. Two types of information can be imported: player profiles, and player statistics (stats).


Player Profiles

Player profile information can be imported from someone else that exported player profiles from HSMaster, or can be imported from the ENAUD format. This is the MS-DOS application that some are using to maintain player information.

When imported from the ENAUD program, it is a one-time load. All records are loaded assuming they are not duplicates. No effort is made to maintain differences in the players demographic information, for records that are duplicates.

A more common import use, is to import Player profile information that someone else has exported from HSMaster. In our state, the state secretary/treasurer maintains the master HSMaster player profile list. He is considered the ‘publisher’. Everyone else in the state is considered a ‘subscriber’. The publisher is the one that is aware of changes in address, new cards being purchased etc. Once a month he will export a file, attach it to an email, and send to anyone else within the state that is running HSMaster. The file could also be placed on a floppy and sent. When the file is exported, it is by default named HSProfileDDMMMYYYY.txt, where DDMMMYYYY represent the date that the file was exported.

When the publisher exports the player profiles, every player in the database table is sent. There is no concept of just sending changes based on timestamps. The way it is being done is less efficient, but much easier to administer.

When you choose to ‘Import’, that does not mean that your entire player table will be overwritten with the one that you are importing. Each record in your database table is compared with the import file, to check for changes, and new players that you might be missing. These changes and new records can then be optionally applied to your database. If you have players in your database that the publisher does not have, they will be left intact.

In our state, I am the publisher. However I may want to import from one of the other HSMaster subscribers, to see if he has some out of state players in his database that I would like to have on mailing lists etc. When you import, you have an option to take ‘New Players Only’ or ‘New Players and Changes’. Because I am really the publisher (my database is the official one), I choose to take ‘New Players Only’, leaving the rest of my database intact.

Click on Find File button to locate the file that you wish to import. The standard Microsoft file dialogue will appear. Locate the HSProfile file that was sent to you. Click Open to select the file. Select either ‘New Players Only’ or ‘New Players and Changes’ using the radio button.

I recommend that you click on Trial, to view the changes that are going to be applied to your database. This may take a few seconds. An hourglass will appear while the data is being compared. If everything looks OK, then select Commit to accept the data. Again this may take several seconds.

Player Statistics

Player stats information can only be imported from two sources. If someone exports you stats from HSMaster, or if you receive a file in the Paradox format that is accepted by NatStats. If you use the Paradox format then you will have to provide some support information in the provided text boxes.

In our state, the state statistician is considered the owner of the stats. He has the official statistics. However, I run quite a few tournaments. I need to get that information to him, so he can import it and forward it on to NatStats. If he runs a tournament, he can send it to me, and I can import it, so that I too have all of the same tournaments on file. If I have all of the tournaments on file, then I have the same player entry averages on file as the NatStats. Remember this only works for instate players. For out of state players, I still have to visit the NHPA website to get player averages.

Also, be aware that you may not be able to accept an import of player statistics, if you are missing some of the players. Example: Suppose Gene Ewing runs a tournament West River that includes some Wyoming players that I do not have profile information for. When I try to import it, I will do a ‘Trial’ and I will be warned that some of the stats cannot be added. At that point, I have several options. 1). I can go into ‘Player\Profiles’ and add the players. 2). I can ask Gene to do a Player Profile export of his database to get all of the players that he has that I am missing. 3). I can just ignore the Wyoming players that are going to fall out, because I really don’t care about their stats anyway. I normally would choose the third option, assuming it was an out of state player.

When a file is exported, it is by default named HSStatsDDMMMYYYY.txt, where DDMMMYYYY represent the date that the file was exported. An edit check is in place to make sure that a tournament cannot be imported if it is already on file. This edit is performed based on the sanction number of the tournament. If you receive an export that has more than one tournament, the ones that are already on file will be omitted, and the ones that are not on file will be accepted.


I have occasionally asked the state statistician to export all of his stats to me, just to see if I am in sync. In that case if I am in sync as the import rolls thru each tournament it will say “Omitting tournament xx-xx-xxx”.

Click on Find File button to locate the file that you wish to import. The standard Microsoft file dialogue will appear. Locate the file that was sent to you. Click ‘
Open’ to select the file.

Next you will need to identify the format of the file. If it was sent to you via a HSMaster export, then be sure that the radio button HSMaster is selected. That is the default selection. If you are receiving the file that is in the NatStats Paradox format select the Parodox radio button. The HSMaster program does not detect the format on its own, although it probably could in the future. I don’t see much value for the Paradox format, except for possibly converting old data into the system. Although that is the format, which the NatsStats imports in, I am not sure that they can export to you in the same format.

If you are importing HSMaster format, then you will need to select ‘Entire Load’ or ‘One Tournament’. If you only want to import one tournament, then you will need to know the sanction number of the tournament. You do not normally need to be concerned with this, since whoever exported the tournament to you, probably only exported one tournament. In that case just select ‘Entire Load’.

If you are importing Paradox format, then there is some additional information that is not part of that format that is required by the HSMaster program. You will be asked to provide: ‘Tournament Name’, ‘Director’, ‘City’ and ‘State’. Director is optional.

I recommend that you click on ‘Trial’, to view the stats that are going to be applied to your database. This may take a few seconds. An hourglass will appear while the data is being read. If everything looks OK, then click ‘Commit’ to accept the data. Again, this may take several seconds.

Once the data has been imported, you would be able to go to ‘Players\Statistics’, select a player that was in the tournament, and see those stats.

NatStats Web Page





A new tab has been added to the Import option called NatStats Web Page. This will allow you to get stats from the various states pages and import into HSMaster.

Go to the NatStats State for which you want to pull down either players, or averages. When you open up the page, right click, and choose ‘Select All’. The entire file should be highlighted in blue. Now right click again, and choose ‘Copy’. Now you have the entire dataset in your Window clipboard.

Now come back to HSMaster, go the the screen as displayed above, and click on the Paste button. This will paste the clipboard into HSMaster.

Now you can click ‘Select All’ if you want to import all of the players into HSMaster. Clicking ‘Select All’ will not pull in any players that are already in the database. All players, that are selected and not in the database will be imported. Some fields will be left blank. City is put in as ‘SomeTown’, since it is not part of the web page. That should help you identify which ones were imported. Zip code is also missing. If you have some out of state players, bring that state in, and then just check (“Select’ column) the players you want, and import them as well. The players that are loaded will change to a red color.

After you have loaded the players, then you can load Averages. Actually when you load players for the first time, their averages will be loaded. But you will want to click ‘Load Averages’ to load averages for players that were already in your database. Also in the future when you want to get your database up to sync with NatStats, you will just come here and do 'Load Averages’. The players whose averages are loaded will change to a blue color.

Use the clear button to empty out the window.