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LaneMaster has two screen modes ("Views"):

Data View is used to input all necessary information, such as racer's names, lane colors and other configuration information. Program features, such as timing, type of rotation, and the actual running of a race or event are all accessed from Data View. It is also used to make corrections if they are necessary during a race.

Output View displays current results during racing, qualifying, or practice in large type for easy viewing from a distance. These results are color-coded by lane and are updated from 1 to 4 times per second (depending on your computer speed and the timer setting in the "Hardware" window). While a heat is running, racer's results are constantly updated, and shown in descending order by total race (NOT heat) laps. During Qualifying, Output view is used to display the latest and the three best results for the current Qualifier.

Output View, during a heat (left) and Qualifying (right).

LaneMaster has five action modes ("Modes"):

In Practice Mode, Output view shows lanes in order by lane number, and displays current times and best times for practicing racers. Switching to Practice mode from any other mode 'clears' LaneMaster, and requires you to re-enter any event information.

In Race Mode, racer names are manually entered, and MoveUps are not tracked, but automatic lane rotation and all other aspects of an "Event" race (see below) are the same. Race mode allows you to enter warm-up mode, which is identical to Practice mode, except that it does not clear racer names or ladder information when warm up time expires and the race is ready to begin.

Qualify Mode is used to create a class or to add entrants to an existing class. A class consists of all racers running the same type of cars, for example, "Stock" or "Modified". During Qualify mode, each entrant runs on the track for an amount of time that you specify and their best times are stored. When they finish, their results are compared to other entrants to determine how well they did within the class. When all racers in the class have finished qualifying, you choose the ladder (bracket) options for the class, and then create the Event file for the class. An Event file contains instructions which tell LaneMaster to run either a series of elimination races or a single Round-Robin race for the class. You can also create an Event file for a class - without having to qualify some or all of the entrants - by selecting "AutoQualifyAll", which will place all remaining not�yet�qualified entrants at the bottom of the qualified list in random order. Please note that you cannot create an event file for less qualifiers than you have lanes. In other words, you cannot create a 5 racer Event on an 8 lane track. You would need at least 9 racers! If you have less racers than lanes, you must use Race Mode and manually select lanes and input names after printing out their qualifying results.

Round Robin Mode is used to create an Event file specifically for one Round Robin race (without relying on automatic setup from Qualifying results). If you mix Round Robin races with other races in order to speed up events, you can Qualify all racers together, then enter them into standard manual races and/or manual Round Robin races as desired. (NOTE: You must run Round Robin Events you have created from Event mode, NOT Race Mode!)

Event Mode allows you to run the Event files you have created in Qualify or Round Robin mode. You cannot enter Event Mode until you have created at least one Event file. Based on the type of file that was created, Event mode is used either to run elimination races (automatically updating the event ladder after each race and handling MoveUps) or to run one Round-Robin race. Event mode will display results for each race, allow you to print them, and save all results for the class in a final summary file, which you can view later using Race Reporter.

Next: Running LaneMaster