Gems User Manual

User Manual
GEMS
Competition Entries Management System

Gems User Manual

Contents

Overview  …………………………………………………………………………………………………….           2

Before we Start  ……………………………………………………………………………………….           3

Getting Started  ………………………………………………………………………………………..           4

  • Understanding the Files  …………………………………………………………………..           4
  • BackingUp the Files   ………………………………………………………………………..           4
  • Setting Up the Printers  …………………………………………………………………..           5

Creating a New Database for a Competition   ………………………………………..           6

  • Setting up a New Competition  …………………………………………………………………           7
  • Setting up Sections   ………………………………………………………………………….           7
  • And Setting up Trophies  ………………………………………………………………………….           8
  • How to ConfigureTrophies………………………………………………………………           9
  • Creating Code for New Trophies   ……………………………………………………         12

Running a “GEMS‟ Competition    …………………………………………………………………         13

  • The Movement of Entries  ………………………………………………………………..         14
  • Entering the Entrants Details   ………………………………………………………..         15
  • Entering the Details for each Entry  ……………………………………………..         16
  • Getting Ready forJudging  ………………………………………………………………         18
  • Processing the Results  ……………………………………………………………………..         18
  • Entering the Places   ………………………………………………………………………….         19
  • Prepare the Entries for Display   …………………………………………………….         20
  • What to do with the Judging Sheets  ……………………………………………         20
  • Who Wins what Trophy   …………………………………………………………………..         21
  • Entering the Trophy Winners   …………………………………………………………         22
  • Getting Ready for the Show   …………………………………………………………..         23
  • Displaying the Entries  ……………………………………………………………………..         24
  • Reporting the Results  ………………………………………………………………………         25
  • During the Show   ……………………………………………………………………………….         25
  • Getting Ready to Return the Entries  …………………………………………….         26
  • Sorting Entries into Entrant Bags  ………………………………………………….         26
  • A Final Note about “GEMS‟  ……………………………………………………………………….         27

Gems User Manual – Overview

The “GEMS‟ Database is created only for use with Lapidary Competitions. And, it is designed to manage Competition Entries throughout the whole Competition. Therefore, from the initial receiving of each entry, right through to publishing the final results for the Competitions is covered.  The Victorian Facetors’ Group has successfully used Gems for a number of their competitions, and this is done by simply by following the Gems User Manual.

“GEMS‟ is universal, and can easily be adapted to other Lapidary Competitions by setting up theSections and Trophies as required.  Trophy criteria may also be updated, and will be covered in detail in the Manual, under “Setting up Trophies‟.

“GEMS‟ is configured to operate with a Dymo Label  Printer “Label Writer   400‟ or “Label Writer 400 Turbo‟, so it uses 99017 Labels for Entry Numbers, and  11355 Labels for Display Labels.

There are two main parts to “GEMS

  1. Front End, this does all of the work. And, is therefore used for all  the  operations in the management of the Competition.
  2. Back End, this holds all of the data from the Competition, and also for back up purposes. There is so much more explained about this in the Gems User Manual.

MAIN FEATURES

This Gems Manual describes all of these features.

Entering Data for Entrants and Entries

Editing Data for Entrants and Entries

Section Processing

Administrative Lists

Judging Lists

Entry Labels

Entering Results and Places

Display Labels

Displaying

Display Setup Lists

Showcase Section Labels

Engravers Information

Trophies

View Results of all Trophy Winners

Enter Trophy Winner Data

Reporting

Financial Report

Places Listing by Section

Final Results – Section

Final Results – Trophies

Admin. Features

More about the Gems User Manual

 

Before We Start

ACCESS 2007

Before you are able  to use  “GEMS‟ or any other Database with  Macro’s /Code in Access 2007, you must adjust the Security Settings within Access.  This is not a problem with “GEMS‟, but an issue with the Security Features of Office 2007.

To set the security settings in Access 2007, click the “OfficeButton” in the top left hand corner, and select “Access Options”.   Click “TrustCentre”and then “TrustCentreSettings” and finally “Trusted Locations”. Tick the box for allowingTrusted Locations, and then add a “New  Location”.    The  New Location must be  the Folder where you  store “GEMS‟ on  your computer, otherwise “GEMS‟ will not open up correctly.

Once the Security Settings for Access are set, “GEMS‟ will open and operate as it should. And therefore it will be more than happy to manage all of the Competition Entries that you are able to throw at it.  However, this publication uses images from a previous version of Access, and will therefore look slightly different to the ones on the screen. All of the procedures will remain exactly the same, and if you are at all familiar with the new version Access, then this won’t be an issue.

PHOTOGRAPHS

In the event of a dispute, Entries are often the only form of identification that will distinguish which Entry belongs to a particular Entry Number.  So, for identification purposes, take Digital Photos of each and every Entry. So, for piece of mind, it is highly recommended to take photos.

Until this process is fully integrated into “GEMS‟, it is suggested to take photos of the Entries as they are processed into “GEMS‟ and store them in a separate Folder.    It is advisable to use the Entry Number as the name for each photo.

GettingStarted

UNDERSTANDING THE FILES

The “GEMS‟ Database consists of three files, and all of them must be stored in the same directory or folder as “Gems”.

The  file “Gems_(VersionNo.)‟ is the Front End of the database, or the program that does all the manipulation of the data and finally generates all the reports for the Competition.  This file is the interface that is used to operate the database, and produces all the Forms (Windows) that you will be working with. The “Main Menu‟ looks like this:

 

 

 

The “data‟ file is the Back End of  the database and it contains all of the Tables that store all of the relevant data for the Competition, and also, these Tables are Linked to the “Gems‟ Front End file.   The only occasion when the “data‟ file will need to be opened, is when you want to create an empty database for a new Competition. And this will be covered in detail, later.

Never change the name of the Back End file.  Except in the case of backing up the “data‟ file.

The “AFLACA Winners‟ file is also linked to the “Gems‟ Front End file, and  is used to check the eligibility of the Entries and Entrants.  Always make sure you have the latest version of this file, as it is updated on a regular basis.   Be sure to rename any new version to “AFLACA Winners‟ otherwise it will not be recognised.

BACKING UP THE FILES

It is recommended to first back up all the files to a safe location, then however it is only necessary to back up the “data‟ file on a regular basis. The other files will always stay the same.

To make a back up of the “data‟ file, all you need to do is copy it to the location where you are keeping your backups, and then give it a new name such  as “data8-6-0901.30”.  Also, it is wise to include the date and time when you re-name your back up files. Keep reading the Gems User Manual to find out about setting up your printers, so that you become an expert.