SQBS Help Thread

[AKKOLADE]

Inspired by seeing a few threads regarding questions about how to use this software, and since there isn't already a thread for it, I thought that a thread dedicated to handling questions about how to use SQBS would be useful. Hopefully, people well versed in the software would be willing to help out and answer questions.

A few starting points:

• SQBS home site - you can download it here, for free!
• SQBS guide by Donald Taylor and Dwight Wynne - written for PACE. While Dwight's "retired," Donald's still active on the board and would likely be willing to answer any questions you might have.

I'll also try to help where I can.

[stickied - staff]

[AKKOLADE]

This post reserved for FAQs/guides/walkthroughs.

[Important Bird Area]

NAQT's guide to using SQBS is here.

[dtaylor4]

SQBS guide by Donald Taylor and Dwight Wynne - written for PACE. While Dwight's "retired," Donald's still active on the board and would likely be willing to answer any questions you might have.

Fred speaks truth. I'll be more than glad to answer questions posed here or sent to me privately.

[AKKOLADE]

Post the good ones, though!

[dtaylor4]

Post the good ones, though!

Of course, keeping names anonymous.

[Eddie]

I have a question - how does one get the "Round Report" page to show up? I've seen some stat reports with it and some without it. Whenever I do stats ends up showing up so I'm not sure if there's anything special I'm doing.

[Important Bird Area]

From the "Settings" menu, select "Reports" and check off the "include round reports" box.

[dtaylor4]

From the "Settings" menu, select "Reports" and check off the "include round reports" box.

I'll add that you will have to do this for every tournament, no matter how many tournaments you've done with the program.

[silverscreentest]

A few starting points:

• SQBS home site - you can download it here, for free!

Site doesn't seem to working. Is it located elsewhere?

[Unicolored Jay]

A few starting points:

• SQBS home site - you can download it here, for free!

Site doesn't seem to working. Is it located elsewhere?

It seems to be working fine for me.

[silverscreentest]

Works for me now. Must not have been working the day I posted. Thank you.

[Eddie]

This is a question not so much about SQBS but about the HSQB interface itself - is there a way to determine around how many tossups were converted in a given round using the Round Report page of a tournament's stats if the tournament set uses powers? For a set without powers it's easy because I can simply multiply the TUpts/TUH by 20 and subtract from 200, but I'm not sure if there's a way to determine this for a set with powers.

[dtaylor4]

This is a question not so much about SQBS but about the HSQB interface itself - is there a way to determine around how many tossups were converted in a given round using the Round Report page of a tournament's stats if the tournament set uses powers? For a set without powers it's easy because I can simply multiply the TUpts/TUH by 20 and subtract from 200, but I'm not sure if there's a way to determine this for a set with powers.

Offhand, no. I *think* negs would also impact this.

[Mewto55555]

If rounds are being entered, then you can always just go to scoreboard page and do it manually -- unless your tournament is massive it will probably be not too much work.

[Eddie]

I'm talking about situations where you're just looking at a stat report for any given tournament on the tournament database, not when I'm the person entering stats.

[Mewto55555]

Oh I meant if round numbers are entered by the person who enters the stats (which they should have been, if the round report page is making sense), then on the Scoreboard page it's very easy to see what happened in each round, e.g. this -- and then just look at the bonus rows (the bottom of each game summary) to quickly see how many tossups got converted.

[Excelsior (smack)]

To make your life easier, consider this bookmarklet:

Code: Select all

javascript:(function(){x=document.getElementsByTagName('font');o=%22%22;tu=g=0;for(i=0;i%20%3C%20x.length;i++){if(x[i].color==%22red%22){o+=x[i].innerHTML;}if(x[i].size==%22-1%22){g+=1;q0=x[i].innerHTML;q1=q0.split('\n');q2=q1[3];q3=q2.replace('Bonuses:%20','').replace('%3Cbr%3E','');q4=q3.split(',%20');for(j=0;j%20%3C%20q4.length;j++){q5=q4[j].split('%20');q6=q5[q5.length-3];tu+=parseInt(q6);}}if(i==x.length-1%20||%20x[i+1].color==%22red%22){o+=%22%20-%3E%20%22+tu.toString()+%22%20TUs%20in%20%22+g.toString()+%22%20games\n%22;tu=g=0;}}alert(o);})();

Copy this code into a bookmark, and then click it when you're on the scoreboard page of an SQBS report. I have only tested it on two reports on the DB, so no guarantees that it works, but it might make your life easier.

Sample output for http://www.hsquizbowl.org/db/tournament ... ats/games/:

Round 1 -> 50 TUs in 3 games
Round 2 -> 45 TUs in 3 games
Round 3 -> 50 TUs in 3 games
Round 4 -> 53 TUs in 3 games
Round 5 -> 54 TUs in 3 games
Round 6 -> 48 TUs in 3 games
Round 7 -> 51 TUs in 3 games
Round 8 -> 50 TUs in 3 games
Round 9 -> 49 TUs in 3 games
Round 10 -> 49 TUs in 3 games

The difficulty of doing this makes clear the need for a better method of representing quizbowl statistics, which is something I have thoughts about and will probably post about eventually.

[Eddie]

I apologize for my lack of computer skills, but how do I bookmark a chunk of Javascript code on Google Chrome?

[Urech hydantoin synthesis]

Enter the code into the space for the URL (in the popup for making a bookmark), and that should do the trick.

[AKKOLADE]

Is there any way to output rosters to a text file (or equivalent)?

[jonah]

Is there any way to output rosters to a text file (or equivalent)?

I don't know of a "proper" way to do it, but if you open up a copy of the SQBS data file in Notepad (or whatever), I think you'll be able to trim it down to the relevant parts without too much difficulty.

[AlecKamas]

I'm attempting to use SQBS on a Mac and it won't let generate reports for only certain rounds. The system generates a report that includes different numbers of games for each team. I have selected the option to only include certain rounds, but the program seems to ignore it. Any workarounds?

[AKKOLADE]

Is there anyway to add divisions to a tournament after it's created?

Edit: I just found out you can fix it easily by making a new tournament, hitting the divisions check box, and then merging with the old tournament.

[Important Bird Area]

Under Settings --> General, there is a checkbox for "use divisions?"

[Joshua Rutsky]

Is there any way to output rosters to a text file (or equivalent)?

I don't know of a "proper" way to do it, but if you open up a copy of the SQBS data file in Notepad (or whatever), I think you'll be able to trim it down to the relevant parts without too much difficulty.

If anyone develops this into a function in the software itself, they will become my personal hero.

[zman147]

Is it possible to create a file with information about a quiz bowl tournament, without using SQBS, and then import or load that file into SQBS and have all of the data appear?

[Urech hydantoin synthesis]

Is it possible to create a file with information about a quiz bowl tournament, without using SQBS, and then import or load that file into SQBS and have all of the data appear?

As far as I know, the only thing of this sort is uploadable text file rosters, details of which are under "Entering Rosters from a File" in the Concise Manual for SQBS.

[Captain Sinico]

NAQT's registration system does that automatically, to some extent.

[jonah]

Is it possible to create a file with information about a quiz bowl tournament, without using SQBS, and then import or load that file into SQBS and have all of the data appear?

It depends what you mean. Is it conceptually possible? Sure. Is there a tool out there that lets you do it? As Mike said, NAQT's registration system will output a loadable SQBS file with team names and rosters (and some ancillary information like whether teams are undergrad-title-eligible); the file won't include existing game data, and as far as I know no one has done that yet.

What is the specific problem you're trying to solve? Where are you starting from?

[tintinnabulation]

We're having trouble saving the tournament. Nothing comes up in the "Save as type" box when we hit "Save" or "Save As" and the file seems empty when we open it. Are we missing something?

Edit: mostly solved

[jonah]

We're having trouble saving the tournament. Nothing comes up in the "Save as type" box when we hit "Save" or "Save As" and the file seems empty when we open it. Are we missing something?

Edit: mostly solved

You can just leave that blank. I use the extension ".sqbs" for the data file, but it doesn't really matter.

I had forgotten this thread existed and now see my previous post, which reminds me to mention that

Is it possible to create a file with information about a quiz bowl tournament, without using SQBS, and then import or load that file into SQBS and have all of the data appear?

It depends what you mean. Is it conceptually possible? Sure. Is there a tool out there that lets you do it? As Mike said, NAQT's registration system will output a loadable SQBS file with team names and rosters (and some ancillary information like whether teams are undergrad-title-eligible); the file won't include existing game data, and as far as I know no one has done that yet.

NAQT's registration system can now output game data that's already been loaded into NAQT's system (assuming it doesn't exceed SQBS's limitation of eight players for any one team in any one game), though applications are pretty limited because only Chad and I (more or less) can load stats to begin with.

[sgoebel]

I'm attempting to use SQBS on a Mac and it won't let generate reports for only certain rounds. The system generates a report that includes different numbers of games for each team. I have selected the option to only include certain rounds, but the program seems to ignore it. Any workarounds?

This issue seems to still exist in the Mac version of SQBS. Have any Mac users found workarounds for this?

[dtaylor4]

I'm attempting to use SQBS on a Mac and it won't let generate reports for only certain rounds. The system generates a report that includes different numbers of games for each team. I have selected the option to only include certain rounds, but the program seems to ignore it. Any workarounds?

This issue seems to still exist in the Mac version of SQBS. Have any Mac users found workarounds for this?

In my extensive experience, I have had enough issues with the Mac version of SQBS that I do everything I can to not use it if I don't have to.

[sgoebel]

I'm attempting to use SQBS on a Mac and it won't let generate reports for only certain rounds. The system generates a report that includes different numbers of games for each team. I have selected the option to only include certain rounds, but the program seems to ignore it. Any workarounds?

This issue seems to still exist in the Mac version of SQBS. Have any Mac users found workarounds for this?

In my extensive experience, I have had enough issues with the Mac version of SQBS that I do everything I can to not use it if I don't have to.

I was able to get the windows version of SQBS to run on a Mac using WINE without any real problems. Trying to print quick reports locked up the program, but everything else worked just fine.

[Ciorwrong]

What version of SQBS should I download for Linux (Xfce Unbuntu)? I would like to avoid using a Windows OS if possible.

[sgoebel]

What version of SQBS should I download for Linux (Xfce Unbuntu)? I would like to avoid using a Windows OS if possible.

If you use Wine (https://www.winehq.org) - I was only able to get the "executable" version to work.

[Ciorwrong]

What version of SQBS should I download for Linux (Xfce Unbuntu)? I would like to avoid using a Windows OS if possible.

If you use Wine (https://www.winehq.org) - I was only able to get the "executable" version to work.

I was afraid you'd say Wine because it was kind of a pain to install due to an error it made in my package manager. I however, was able to use the executable version successfully.

Thanks!

[Jack]

Can two people working on the same tournament/division on different devices merge their files into one?

[jonah]

Can two people working on the same tournament/division on different devices merge their files into one?

In principle, yes, but it's somewhat error-prone. It's better to divide tournaments and scoresheets such that there will be no need to merge except perhaps at a rebracket.

If you have to merge, here's how to do it:
1. Make backup copies of everything.
2. Open the file you want to merge into.
3. Go to File, then Merge Files.
4. Choose the file you want to merge from.
5. Go through the games and clean up whatever got messed up.

[TylerV]

Can two people working on the same tournament/division on different devices merge their files into one?

In principle, yes, but it's somewhat error-prone. It's better to divide tournaments and scoresheets such that there will be no need to merge except perhaps at a rebracket.

If you have to merge, here's how to do it:
1. Make backup copies of everything.
2. Open the file you want to merge into.
3. Go to File, then Merge Files.
4. Choose the file you want to merge from.
5. Go through the games and clean up whatever got messed up.

To reinforce on this advice, it's really important that all teams/players are entered in exactly the same. For this purpose, John Doe with a space after the e is different than John Doe with no space. If these don't match it will insert both into the merged file and treat them as different people.

[Jack]

Okay thanks! Are there any tricks with the round/games, too? I assume no overlap on that.

[dtaylor4]

Okay thanks! Are there any tricks with the round/games, too? I assume no overlap on that.

To ensure no overlap, I would have one person stick with the traditional numbering of games (starting at 0), and the other start at a higher number, i.e. 400, so that each game still has its' own individual ID (assuming the entry people do the smart thing and write the ID # on the scoresheet once the game is entered).

[1.82]

Okay thanks! Are there any tricks with the round/games, too? I assume no overlap on that.

To ensure no overlap, I would have one person stick with the traditional numbering of games (starting at 0), and the other start at a higher number, i.e. 400, so that each game still has its' own individual ID (assuming the entry people do the smart thing and write the ID # on the scoresheet once the game is entered).

Alternately, a good trick that I learned from Cody Voight is based on the fact that game numbers don't actually have to be numbers. Consequently, you can enter the game played in room 117 in round 1 as 117-1, the game played in room 119 in round 2 as 119-2, and so on. This gives every game an unambiguous and unique ID that can be easily found without having to worry about writing IDs on scoresheets, and it's useful for rebracketing even if you don't have to deal with stats input from multiple sources.

[MichaelFalk]

This issue seems to still exist in the Mac version of SQBS. Have any Mac users found workarounds for this?

Unfortunately, I had the same problem, and also noted problems with duplicate ID numbers being allowed, negative amounts of tossups/negs being allowed, and no warnings for games played >4.0 or for bonus points being scored by a team with no tossups answered.

The workaround for me, unfortunately, was to go back to a Windows PC to fix the errors and generate the stats reports from there.

[sgoebel]

I found SCOP's SQBS walkthrough (http://scop-qb.org/stat/) to be really helpful with things like efficiently dealing with cross-over games and merging files.

[Snoopy]

Is there a way to manually set final rankings outside of editing the HTML report? I had an eleventh round for the top six teams and the real-life fifth-place team is listed as third on the report.

[jonah]

Is there a way to manually set final rankings outside of editing the HTML report? I had an eleventh round for the top six teams and the real-life fifth-place team is listed as third on the report.

Unfortunately, no.

I've seen some tournaments create "divisions" (SQBS's term for what most tournaments call "pools" or "brackets") that have names like "First place". It's clever, but also annoying to implement, takes up a lot of space, and obscures the actual structure of the tournament.

[Ndg]

Is there a way to manually set final rankings outside of editing the HTML report? I had an eleventh round for the top six teams and the real-life fifth-place team is listed as third on the report.

Unfortunately, no.

I've seen some tournaments create "divisions" (SQBS's term for what most tournaments call "pools" or "brackets") that have names like "First place". It's clever, but also annoying to implement, takes up a lot of space, and obscures the actual structure of the tournament.

Obviously doesn't help now, but the next version of YellowFruit (sometime in the next few weeks, probably) will have the ability to manually override final rankings.