NFL Stats Tracker Help

Getting Started

Welcome to the NFL Stats Tracker!

The Stats Tracker Database

New Season Assistance

Weekly Tasks Assistance

The Desktop

Menu Commands

Toolbar Buttons

The Status Bar

Topics of Interest

About the NFL Stats Tracker

Active vs. Inactive Players

The Flow of Statistics

Printing Reports


NFL Stats Tracker: Getting Started

Welcome to the NFL Stats Tracker!

The Stats Tracker Database

New Season Assistance

Weekly Tasks Assistance


Welcome to the NFL Stats Tracker!

Hello, and welcome to the NFL Stats Tracker. This shareware is an independently developed product that allows you to create and maintain a Fantasy Football League. If you have ever tried to run a fantasy league, you know what a hassle it can be. It's not only time consuming, the team owners tend to get a bit surly when you make a mistake. The goal of this program is to make the managing of a league as easy as possible. We here at WinWare are proud of this product, and hope that it supplies you with a service you find indispensable.

Some of the features that will make managing your league easier include:

Some of the Features

Maintain a database of player statistics.

Create, and maintain, a group of team owners.

Define a point system to meet your league needs.

You can draft a player as a team-wide category.

NFL players can be on more than one roster at a time.

This program employs a clean graphical interface. Some have even said that it's fun to use!

Easiest to use, most unrestricted, Fantasy Football program available.

Here's the best part:

The Stats Tracker is able to merge NFL statistics into your database in no time. That means no more data entry until the wee hours of the morning, no more team owners complaining that their scores are incorrect, and no more news paper ink on the fingers.

Related Topics

The Stats Tracker Database

Defining FFL Statistics

The Flow of Statistics


The Database
The Stats Tracker Database

The NFL Stats Tracker uses a database technology to maintain statistics. It contains information on the current season, data on each owner, and statistics on each NFL player. Access to all information is available after opening a season. Here is a breakdown of what types of statistics are tracked:

Category	Description	            # Stats

Player TD	Passing (by yards)	5

Rushing (by yards)	5

Receiving TD (by yards)	5

Field Goal (by yards)	4

Extra Points	1

Player Yardage	Yards Passed	1

Yards Rushed	1

Yards Received	1

Miscellaneous	Optional (predefined)	5

User Defined	Optional (user defined)	4

Bonus Points	Optional	1

Total Points	Calculated	1

Each of the above statistics is tracked on a weekly basis.

Related Topics

Defining FFL Statistics

The Flow of Statistics


Menu Commands

This is a breakdown of the NFL Stats Tracker menu tree. Items that open up sub menus contain a back slash plus the sub menu item (i.e. Season / Open).

Season Menu

Open

Close

Modify

Defining FFL Statistics

Generate Schedule

View Schedule

Print Report

Print Desktop Report

Remove Report

Transactions Menu

Draft NFL Players

Change NFL Roster

Enter Player Stats

Merge Weekly NFL Stats

Close Week

NFL Player / Add

NFL Player / Modify

NFL Player / Delete

NFL Player / View Stats

FFL Owner / Add

FFL Owner / Modify

FFL Owner / Delete

FFL Owner / View Stats

Assistance Menu

New Season Assistance

Weekly Tasks Assistance


Toolbar Buttons

Just below the menu bar is a band of gray that contains a set of buttons. These buttons give quick mouse access to the most commonly used features of the NFL Stats Tracker.

Button	Action

Opening a Season

Closing a Season

Viewing a Schedule

Merging Statistics

Enter Player Statistics

Close a Week of Play

Printing Reports

Viewing NFL Player Statistics

View FFL Owner Statistics

Drafting Players

Changing a Roster

Remove Report from Desktop

Echo Report to Printer


The Status Bar

Displayed at the bottom of the application window. The status bar shows messages that help you to use the NFL Stats Tracker. Information that is displayed in the status bar includes:

Example	Description

1994	The year of the current season.

Week 17	The current week of play.

Owners: 32	The number of owners in the database.

Players: 475	The number of players in the database.

A meter bar that shows the percentage of a task completed.

The meter bar is displayed on the screen only when a time-consuming task is being performed.


Active -vs- Inactive Players
Active vs. Inactive Players

After a player has been drafted onto a team, the owner must decide whether he will be active or inactive. Typically, the active players will vary from week to week. It's up to each owner to manipulate his roster on a week to week basis.

Once an owner has made a player active, the owner will score any time the player does. An owner ONLY scores points when an active player scores points.

Related Topics

Drafting Players

Changing a Roster

The Flow of Statistics


The Flow of Statistics

The Stats Tracker maintains a fairly complicated database model. Thirty four different categories of NFL statistics (over a seventeen week period), and a large amount roster information on each owner. Managing the flow of data from NFL Player to FFL Owner is tricky, and will need your assistance. The graphic below should give you a good idea of the how the data is translated from its raw form into owner points on a week-by-week basis.

There are essentially two steps to the flow diagram depicted above: Entering Statistics, and Closing a Week of Play.

The entry of statistics can be accomplished either manually, or automatically (the automated feature is only available to registered users). Automated data entry is highly recommended as it saves time, and is less prone to error. When all the statistics have been entered into the database, you will need to close the week. This will update all owner rosters with the current score for each drafted player.

You should find this weekly process easy to manage and maintain. Controlling the flow of statistics can be an involved process, but it's far less involved than running your pool on paper.

Related Topics

Entering Player Statistics

Merging Statistics

Closing a Week of Play


Opening a Season

When you open a season, the NFL Stats Tracker database is read into memory, and all data is made available to you. A season can be opened from any drive or directory, but only one season may be opened at a time.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Open

A toolbar button at the top of the screen

Found in the New Season Assistance, and the Weekly Tasks Assistance.

Related Topics

Closing a Season

Modifying a Season


Closing a Season

Closing a season will flush all database changes to disk. The NFL Stats Tracker flushes data periodically, but some may prefer to close (and re-open), the database every once and a while. The season must be re-opened before the data is made available again.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Close

A toolbar button at the top of the screen

Related Topics

Opening a Season

Modifying a Season


Modifying a Season

This dialog allows you to change season data. There is a separate dialog for the definition of season statistics.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Modify

Related Topics

Opening a Season

Closing a Season

Defining FFL Statistics


Defining FFL Statistics

Defining your league statistics is a simple process that involves choosing how the NFL players in your pool score points. The NFL Stats Tracker point system is based on how NFL players, or teams, perform on a given week.

Points are scored when a touchdown, field goal, or defensive activity, occurs. You are required to enter a range of yards for the touchdown (or field goal), and the number of points scored for the range. Typically, as the base distance increases, the point value increases (due to an increase in difficulty). Make sure that none of the ranges overlap, and that all five ranges are used. All statistics must be defined before you are allowed to save your definitions (don't worry, the program should let you know when you have made a mistake or left an item undefined).

WARNING !

The definition of statistics should be done BEFORE any statistical data is entered into the program (it's recommended that you do this when you start a new season). Should you decide that the statistical definition needs to be changed during the course of the season, be aware that all statistics entered will be cleared from the database. You will be required to RE-ENTER all previously entered statistics!

EXAMPLE: Here's an example of valid, and invalid, ranges for rushing touchdowns:

Valid Stats: Rushing TD

From Yard        To Yard	          Points

        1	5	4

        6	15	6

        16	30	8

        31	50	10

        51	99	15

Invalid Stats: Rushing TD

From Yard        To Yard	          Points

        1	5	4

        3	15	6	The starting yardage overlaps another statistic.

        16	30	8

        31	50	0	The point value has been left out.

        0	0	0	This category has not been defined.

Related Topics

The Stats Tracker Database

The Flow of Statistics


Generating a Schedule

You may wish to use the Stats Tracker to generate your Fantasy Football schedule. All owners must be added to the database prior to the generating the match ups. The formula used to determine the schedule is such that a specific number of owners must be in the database. The number of owners required is: 3, 4, 7, 8, 15, 16, 31, or 32.

Only owners in the database at the time of the schedule generation will be part of the schedule.

WARNING !

You may regenerate a schedule at any time. Doing so, though, will wipe out the win/loss records of all owners in the season. If a schedule is regenerated, it will be necessary for you to close all weeks played (see related topics).

Related Topics

Closing a Week of Play

The Flow of Statistics


Viewing a Schedule

If a schedule has been generated, it can be viewed at any time. Only owners that are part of the generated schedule will be included. The dialog displays the number of points scored by each owner for that week. Scanning through the weeks of the season is as easy as pressing the [image] or [image] buttons.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / View Schedule

A toolbar button at the top of the screen


Printing Reports

The "Print Report" dialog gives you access to all NFL Stats Tracker output. It lets you control your reports by selecting the type of report, the weeks of the season to report on, and the report destination.

If the report selection listbox is empty (below the destination radio buttons), then there are no reports available for the report category chosen.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Print Report

A toolbar button at the top of the screen

Found in the Weekly Tasks Assistance dialog.

Related Topics

Types of Reports

Weeks to Report On

Report Destination


Types of Reports

Here's a breakdown of all the report categories:

NFL Player Reports: These reports will output a set of statistics for NFL players.

NFL Defense Reports: All defensive statistics are reported by this category. Since defensive statistics are tracked team-wide, no statistics are available for specific players in this category.

FFL Owner Reports: These reports will output statistics for Fantasy Football League Owners. This is the only group of reports that outputs how drafted NFL players fared.

Related Topics

Printing Reports


Weeks to Report On

Current Week: Only the current week will be included when calculating statistics. You can find out what the current week is by checking out the the status bar.

All Weeks: The statistics in the reports will reflect totals for the season (weeks 1 through 17). If only three weeks of statistics have been entered into the database, then only three weeks of statistics will be part of the sum total. Post season play is not included as part of the total season.

Related Topics

Printing Reports


Report Destination

Here's a breakdown of all the report destinations available (don't worry, the NFL Stats Tracker will prompt you before overwriting any previously created files):

ASCII File: A text file. This gives you a copy of the report on your hard drive, or floppy. Blank spaces, not tabs, are used to fill in empty space. If you try to edit one of these reports while in Windows, you may notice that none of the data lines up. This is because Windows uses non-proportional fonts, and the Stats Tracker assumes proportional fonts when it outputs ASCII files. Select a "Courier" font when you wish to view the report with proportional fonts.

Paradox Table: This report uses a Paradox 4.0 file format. This format is usable by Borland's Paradox 4.0 (a DOS product), or Paradox for Windows. Access to these products will make the table statistics invaluable. You can sort the statistics as you please, or extract desired statistics via a table query.

To Printer: This will output the report directly to the default Windows printer.

To Desktop: This will output the report to an edit box on the desktop. A NFL Stats Tracker feature allows you to edit the report as you see fit. If you choose to output from the desktop, all changes you have made to the report will be included as part of the report. A report must be cleared from the desktop before you continue with the Stats Tracker.

Related Topics

Printing Reports


Remove Report from Desktop

When you print a report to the desktop, an edit box is created that contains the report results. This option will clear the desktop of the report, and return you to the state the program was in prior to the report creation. The report is destroyed when it is cleared.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Remove Report

A toolbar button at the top of the screen

Related Topics

Printing Reports

Echo Report to Printer


Echo Report to Printer

When you print a report to the desktop, an edit box is created that contains the report results. A feature in the NFL Stats Tracker allows you to edit the report in any way you see fit (i.e. change statistics, add notes to the report). After making any changes to the report, you can print the report AS IS to the printer. Simply select this option, and whatever is in the report edit box is printed out.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Echo Report to Printer

A toolbar button at the top of the screen

Related Topics

Printing Reports

Removing Report from Desktop


Drafting Players

A player has been drafted when an owner drafts him onto a team (since the player is inactive by default, he will need to be activated). Drafting a player is as simple as clicking on him, and transferring the player to the roster. To remove a player, transfer him from the roster into the "undrafted" list. Both list boxes in the dialog allow for the selection of more then one player at a time.

Pressing the "Dup. Roster" button will copy the roster for the current week over all future weeks. All roster information (drafted players, active players, and points scored), will be duplicated.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Open

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.

Found in the New Season Assistance, and the Weekly Tasks Assistance.

Related Topics

Changing a Roster

Active vs. Inactive Players


Changing a Roster

On all teams there's those who play and those who hit the bench. Activating a player is as simple as clicking on him, and transferring him to the active list of players. To bench a player, transfer him from the active roster to the inactive roster. Both list boxes in the dialog allow for the selection of more then one player at a time.

Pressing the "Dup. Roster" button will copy the roster for the current week over all future weeks. All roster information (drafted players, active players, and points scored), will be duplicated.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Season / Open

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.

Found in the New Season Assistance, and the Weekly Tasks Assistance.

Related Topics

Drafting Players

Active vs. Inactive Players


Entering Player Stats
Entering Player Statistics

This dialog is used to enter statistics for a player. The description of the category should reflect the definition of the statistic. If you have defined a passing touchdown from 1-25 yards, then a statistic category of "Pass TD 1-25:" will show up on the screen.

When entering the statistic, note that you are entering the number of times that it has occurred, not the number of expected points for the statistic. If a quarterback threw two touchdown passes for 20 yards, you would enter a "2" into the correct category.

When you have finished entering all the statistics, press the "OK" button.

WARNING !

Pressing the "Cancel" button will dispose of all of the entered statistics.

Related Topics

Merging Statistics

Closing a Week of Play


Merging Weekly Stats
!!! Registered Users Only !!!

Merging Statistics

As a registered user, you will have access to weekly statistics on the WinWare BBS. These statistical files contain a complete breakdown of the NFL statistics for the week. To automate your data entry:

1) Download the file from the WinWare BBS.

2) Select the file you wish to merge (usually the file for the current week of play).

3) Wait for the data to be merged.

Statistics can be merged into your database no matter how you have set up your point system. It is recommended that you save the file you downloaded from the WinWare BBS in case you need to re-enter your data in the future (i.e. you change your point system).

Option	Location

Menu Item	Transactions / Merge Weekly NFL Stats

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.

Found in the Weekly Tasks Assistance dialog.

Related Topics

Entering Player Statistics

Closing a Week of Play


Closing a Week
Closing a Week of Play

After all player statistics have been entered for a given week, it is required that you "close out" that week. When a week is closed, a number of things will occur:

* Owner statistics are updated.

* Owner point totals are calculated (based on active players).

* Win/Loss records for fantasy teams are calculated.

* The status bar will be updated to reflect the current week.

WARNING !

If at any time player statistics, roster information, or the season schedule, change, it is required that you re-close all weeks that have been affected.

EXAMPLE:

After closing week 5 of the fantasy season, you remember that you forgot to update the roster for one of the owners in your pool. After updating the roster, you need to re-close week 5. If you choose not to, owner statistics for the changed roster will not be up to date.

Option	Location

Menu Item	Transactions / Close Week

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.

Found in the Weekly Tasks Assistance dialog.

Related Topics

The Flow of Statistics


Adding, Modifying, or Deleting, a NFL Player

A NFL player is defined by his name (last name first), his NFL team, and his position. The player's NFL team, and position, can be changed at any time during the season without penalty.

Once a player name is established, though, it cannot be changed. If you have mistyped a player name, you'll need to delete the player, then add the player again.

Related Topics

Drafting Players

Changing a Roster

Active vs. Inactive Players


View Player Stats
Viewing NFL Player Statistics

This dialog gives you access to all the player statistics in the database. A player can be selected by first choosing the NFL team for the player, them selecting the particular player. Scanning through the weeks of the season is accomplished by pressing the [image] or [image] buttons (the week of play is reflected in between the buttons). Player statistics are grouped according these categories:

Pass Points: Acquired by passing for a touchdown.

Rush Points: Acquired by rushing for a touchdown.

Receiving Points: Acquired by receiving a touchdown.

Kicking Points: Acquired by kicking a field goal, or an extra point.

Other Points: Points scored other than the above categories.

Defensive Points: A QB sack, defensive touchdown, interception, fumble recovery, or safety.

You can get a more detailed breakdown of the statistics with a double-click on the player in question!

Option	Location

Menu Item	Transactions / Player / View Stats

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.


Adding, Modifying, or Deleting, a FFL Owner

Owner information includes a Fantasy Football team name, the owner's name, and various information (i.e. address, phone number). All information can be changed at any time with the exception of the team name. Once a team name is established, though, it cannot be changed. If you have mistyped a team name, you'll need to delete the owner, then add the owner again.


View Owner Stats
Viewing FFL Owner Statistics

This dialog gives you access to all the owner statistics in the database. The active, or inactive, players can be seen in the list box on the right side of the dialog (the point totals for the selected player to the left).

It is important to note that the points shown in this dialog are the points that the Fantasy Football team has scored. Unless the week selected has been closed, the points for the NFL player will not be seen (see related topics below). Player statistics are grouped according these categories:

Pass Points: Acquired by passing for a touchdown.

Rush Points: Acquired by rushing for a touchdown.

Receiving Points: Acquired by receiving a touchdown.

Kicking Points: Acquired by kicking a field goal, or an extra point.

Other Points: Points scored other then the above categories.

Defensive Points: A QB sack, defensive touchdown, interception, fumble recovery, or safety.

You can get a more detailed breakdown of the statistics with a double-click on the player in question!

Option	Location

Menu Item	Transactions / Owner / View Stats

A toolbar button at the top of the screen.

Related Topics

Closing a Week of Play

The Flow of Statistics

The Stats Tracker Database


Draft Night Companion
New Season Assistance

The is a special dialog box that contains a series of buttons. Each button gives you access to areas of the program commonly used when starting a new season. This dialog has proven especially helpful to new users. Some tasks in the dialog are available as toolbar buttons.

The dialog buttons can be used in any order. It's not necessary, for example, to add owners to the database prior to adding players to the database.

Related Topics (button description)

Opening a Season

Defining FFL Statistics

Add an Owner

Add a Player

Drafting Players

Changing a Roster


Weekly Tasks Companion
Weekly Tasks Assistance

The weekly tasks companion is a special dialog box that contains a series of buttons. Each button gives you access to areas of the program most used on a daily basis. All features accessed through the companion dialog can also be accessed via menu commands. This dialog can save time by saving you the hassle of hunting through the menu tree for a specific command.

All tasks in the weekly tasks companion are available as toolbar buttons, and can be used in any order. It's not necessary, for example, for you to change a team roster prior to printing reports.

Related Topics (button description)

Opening a Season

Drafting Players

Changing a Roster

Merging Statistics

Close a Week of Play

Printing Reports


Fantasy Football Owner

An owner is a member of a Fantasy Football League. An owner maintains a player roster, and competes against other fantasy teams. Owner points include:

* The number of games won, lost, or tied.

* The points scored by each player on the owner's roster.

* The weekly total (points scored by active players).


FFL Definition

"Fantasy Football League"


NFL Player

A NFL player is an athlete that is drafted onto a Fantasy Football team. The NFL Stats Tracker also provides for the special Team Player.

The Team Player allows an owner to draft an entire position with the selection of a single player. If, for example, you wished to draft all running backs for the Kansas City Chiefs, you would draft "Kansas City RB." This would then allow you to score when any Kansas City running back scored.

Team players are available in offensive or defensive categories.


Owner Roster

The owner roster tracks which players are active, and inactive, on a fantasy team. The points scored by a fantasy team is the total of all points scored by active players.


!!! WinWare Software (Read Me) !!!

WinWare Software

WinWare Software is a small group of programmers that are dedicated to the creation, and distribution of quality shareware (including the NFL Stats Tracker).at next to nothing prices. We hope that you enjoy this product, and would like to hear your praise, or criticism.

Please use the following means to contact us:

Name:	Rich Scannell

Address:	505 Lincoln Street

City, ST  ZIP:	Santa Cruz, CA 95060

CompuServe:	70031,2673

WinWare BBS:	(408) 427-2542

The WinWare BBS is a single line system that can handle up to 2400 baud. It uses Wildcat! software, and is available 24 hours a day.

>>>  Registration  <<<

Registered users of the NFL Stats Tracker receive the latest release of the program, a greater selection of reports, direct output to the printer, and full access to the WinWare BBS.

Each week a complete listing of NFL statistics is posted on the WinWare BBS. Registered users are able to download these statistics, and merge them into the Fantasy Football Database. This means no more data entry until the wee hours of the morning, no more team owners complaining that their scores are incorrect, and no more news paper ink on the fingers.

To register, simply fill out the form included with the product, and send it in.

Life just keeps getting better & better...

JUST DO IT!