Prepare the device for the venue

Before the competition, every laptop or tablet that will work at the venue must be set up with the published rotation and its music, or with its scores if it is the notes desk. The Prepare wizard takes these steps in order. When all the steps for its role are done, the Open venue mode button becomes active.

Before you start

• The Venue entry in the competition menu appears when the competition is scheduled or finished. It takes you to that competition’s wizard.
• Preparing requires a network and an organiser session. Afterwards, opening venue mode needs neither.
• In this first version, the organising club has to be in Spain.
• Publish the rotation first. Without a version issued for the device, the Rotation and participants step stays blocked. See Publish the rotation and notify the clubs.
• The preparation expires on the same day the competition’s music is deleted. That date appears on the Version card. See Review the competition’s music.

Step by step

1. Choose the device’s role

Open the competition and select Venue in the menu. The wizard opens on the Prepare tab. If the device does not have a name yet, the wizard asks for the Name, the Role and, if you wish, the Mat.

• Music desk is the device that plays the music.
• Backup does the same and is there to take over if the main desk fails.
• Notes desk records the scores for the competition. There can be only one per competition; the other devices only view the scores. See Record the scores at the venue with the notes desk.

The music desk and the backup both open venue mode with the same rotation. The notes desk opens the Scores mode. The Mat is optional.

2. Install the app

The first step, Install the app, depends on the device:

• On a laptop, installing is optional. Tick the box I understand that without installing the app it may not work offline and select Continue without installing.
• On a tablet or a phone, you must install the app before downloading anything. Select Install the app. If the browser does not offer the button, use its menu to install it.
• On an iPad with Safari, select Share, choose Add to Home Screen and open the app from its icon. The download starts there.

3. Reserve the space

The Space step compares what is still to download with the free space on the device. It shows how much it needs and how much is free. If space is short, it says Missing followed by the amount, and the step does not move on.

If the browser cannot guarantee that it will not delete the music, the step warns that The browser could delete the music if storage runs short. Tick I understand to continue. The device is marked Not persistent on the Devices card.

4. Download the music

The Download music step is carried out by the music desk and the backup. It downloads each track, checks its content and shows how much is left. You can Pause the download and Resume whenever you like. If a track fails, Failed appears with Try again beside it. Without a network, the step waits with the notice Waiting for the network….

If any exercise has no music, the step says so and asks you to tick I understand those exercises will run without music before going on. Check the missing music first in Review the competition’s music.

5. Check the rotation and the participants

The Rotation and participants step installs the pending version of the rotation. The installation is atomic: either all the tracks and the rotation are installed, or nothing changes. Its subtitle shows the version, for example Version v1.

The Version card shows the number in large type and, below it, Signed · valid until with the date on which the preparation expires. If the pending version has expired or a more recent one is already installed, the step says so. Select Try again to request the version once more.

6. Download the current scores (notes desk only)

This step appears only on the notes desk. Select Download the current scores: the step saves on the device the scores already on the server, so you can keep scoring without a connection. When it finishes, it shows the summary “N exercises · M scored”. If the download fails, The scores could not be downloaded. Try again with a connection. appears and you can repeat it. The notes desk does not ask for music or run the sound check.

7. Simulate offline

Select Simulate offline. The page reloads with the simulation on and checks each track. The step is done when all of them pass the check. The guide Simulate offline and run the sound check explains what it checks and what to do if a track fails.

8. Run the sound check

Select Play the test. If you can hear the music, select Sounds good. If you cannot, select Can’t hear it and follow the tips that appear. You can run it again with Repeat the test.

Backup, updates, PIN and revocation

Prepare a backup device

Repeat the steps with a second device and the Backup role. Each device has its own order and its own log: the backup does not know what the main desk is doing. When taking over, select Start here on the row where the competition has got to. The guide Run the music during the competition explains this.

On the Devices card you see the state of each one: Preparing, Ready, Has v1 if it has a version older than the published one, Expired or Not persistent.

Move the notes desk to this device

There can be only one notes desk per competition. If another device already has it, the Name and role of this device dialogue says so as soon as you choose the Notes desk role. This happens both when you prepare a new device and when you select Change role from Device actions on a registered one. Move the notes desk to this device then appears; selecting it explains that the other device stops being the notes desk and is revoked. Before you confirm with Hand over the desk, the notice says: Scores that “name of the other device” has not uploaded will reach the panel as a conflict. The move happens on the server, so you need a connection and an organiser session. Without the move, the device cannot be saved with the Notes desk role.

Update when you publish a new rotation

When you publish a new rotation and the device has a network and an organiser session, venue mode shows Update pending with the Update button. No device installs the new rotation by itself: you install it with Update. That button opens the wizard in its short version, which only downloads the missing music and installs the rotation in one go.

Protect the device with a PIN

In the wizard, the Venue mode access card asks for a PIN when the mode is opened. Turn on Ask for a PIN when opening venue mode, type 4 to 6 digits in PIN (4 to 6 digits) and select Save. Show PIN displays the current one only when you ask for it.

The PIN is a barrier against casual use of the device. It does not protect against someone who can read its storage. It is better to use 6 digits.

If the device already has a preparation with a PIN, the PIN is also asked for when you open its preparation assistant, not only the mode. The PIN does not protect the organiser session that stays saved on the device. With that session open, anyone with the device can get into the full organiser panel (registrations, documents, payments and settings), even with the PIN set. If the device stays at the table, when you finish preparing it, select Sign out on this device, on the Venue home screen or under Settings in the mode. Sign in again only when you need to upload the log.

If you lose a device or it is stolen, select Revoke on the Devices card and, from another device, select Sign out in the sidebar of the organiser panel. That sign-out is global: it ends all the account’s sessions, including the one on the lost device, which stops renewing.

A PIN change does not arrive by itself: devices that are already prepared keep the previous one and show PIN not updated until they are updated with Update.

Revoke a device

On the Devices card, open the device’s actions and select Revoke. The device stops receiving the rotation. When it has a network and an organiser session, it will receive the notice, delete its rotation and its music, and keep the log it has not yet uploaded. Without a network, it keeps working until its preparation expires.

A revoked device is not registered again on its own. If someone opens its assistant, they see the notice This device has been revoked for this competition. To use it again, select Register this device again and confirm. It is an explicit action: it is recorded in the activity log under your user.

If something goes wrong

• “No version has been issued for this device yet.”: publish the rotation and then select Try again.
• “This browser cannot prepare venue mode”: the browser lacks a feature. The screen lists the one that is missing. See Compatible devices for the venue.
• “The Service Worker does not control this page yet. Reload the tab.”: reload the tab. If nothing changes, close the app and open it again from its icon.
• “Some app files are missing for offline use.”: select Try again while you are online.
• “This device has been revoked for this competition.”: the organiser revoked it. Register it again with Register this device again only if the organiser has decided so.
• “Another device is already the notes desk for this competition. You can hand the desk over to this one.”: select Move the notes desk to this device and confirm, with a connection.

Next step

• Simulate offline and run the sound check: the check without a network and the sound check.
• Run the music during the competition: how the session is run in venue mode.
• Compatible devices for the venue: which devices and browsers work.
• Review the competition’s music: which music is missing and how to notify the clubs.
• Record the scores at the venue with the notes desk: how the notes desk works on competition day.