Purple Pen Help needed

[Barny]

I am controlling an event that is using Purple Pen

I am stuck on two things that I normally do very quickly on CONDES

I want to break the control descriptions for the long courses into two columns instead of having one very long column - it this possible?

Also I want to change the wording on the word control description for a junior course so that 'special feature' becomes 'weather station' - is this possible?

Any ideas?

Thanks for any advice/help anyone can give me

[Homer]

I'm not familiar with Purple Pen so I can't answer your question.

I did however get caught out last year controlling an event where the planner used Purple Pen. It's possible to move a control on the 'All controls' map without the software moving that control on all the courses which visit it.
On the day I checked the control using the 'All controls' map and everything was fine.

Beware. I suggest you cross check each course against the all controls map manually.

[MIE]

I want to break the control descriptions for the long courses into two columns instead of having one very long column - it this possible?

When you select the area for control descriptions (assuming you are using the latest version) if you drag the area to be wider than one control description width it will generate 2 (or more) columns

Also I want to change the wording on the word control description for a junior course so that 'special feature' becomes 'weather station' - is this possible?

Click on "Event" then "Customise description text.."
Select the Special item required (X or O) and then select change text
and "bingo".

Note: that this will be the same for all text descriptions for the event

[MIE]

I'm not familiar with Purple Pen so I can't answer your question.

I did however get caught out last year controlling an event where the planner used Purple Pen. It's possible to move a control on the 'All controls' map without the software moving that control on all the courses which visit it.
On the day I checked the control using the 'All controls' map and everything was fine.

Beware. I suggest you cross check each course against the all controls map manually.

Not a problem that I have encountered, and I "relocate" controls all the time using
both PurplePen and OCAD CS

There have been 2 releases in the past year, I currently have
version 2.0.1 whilst 2.1.0 is the latest available.

[NeilC]

We are encouraging our novice planners to use Purple Pen, and to that end I wrote a simple tutorial

http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/Ne ... ePenV1.pdf

It needs updating for recent releases and may not answer the above question but some people might find it useful.

[pete.owens]

If you are controlling, shouldn't you be recommending that the planner makes any changes rather than muck about with the course files yourself. You are there to check his work - who is checking yours?

[MJG]

I'm not familiar with Purple Pen so I can't answer your question.

I did however get caught out last year controlling an event where the planner used Purple Pen. It's possible to move a control on the 'All controls' map without the software moving that control on all the courses which visit it.
On the day I checked the control using the 'All controls' map and everything was fine.

Beware. I suggest you cross check each course against the all controls map manually.

That suggests to me that there were actually 2 controls at the same point with different codes. You moved one (why as controller?) but the courses used the other. PP has a very useful Audit facility which would have spotted that problem.
Otherwise it is program error that should have been reported.

[Homer]

That suggests to me that there were actually 2 controls at the same point with different codes. You moved one (why as controller?) but the courses used the other. PP has a very useful Audit facility which would have spotted that problem.
Otherwise it is program error that should have been reported.

As Controller I didn't move anything. Late in the process the Planner moved a control on one course to an identical nearby feature. The control didn't automatically move on the 'all controls' map which I used to check on the day. I'm familiar with CONDES and this couldn't have happened had the Planner been using that software.
I agree that, if the Planner was using Purple Pen correctly, this is a flaw in the program.

[MIE]

That suggests to me that there were actually 2 controls at the same point with different codes. You moved one (why as controller?) but the courses used the other. PP has a very useful Audit facility which would have spotted that problem.
Otherwise it is program error that should have been reported.

The audit facility (under the Reports tab) will tell you, amongst other things, all
controls less than 100m apart (with distance) down to 0m apart.
I have created 2 controls at the same place by adding a control to "all controls" when
I thought I was creating a course (selected wrong tab after an interuption).
The audit facility will also remind the planner/controller of a number of little control
description "errors" that can be inadverantly introduced.

The Audit facility is, perhaps the most relevant thing that a Controller should be
using prior to making recommendations to the planner.

[Big Jon]

Get your club to buy a Condes licence (not that expensive), and you can work with a top of the range course planning tool that has had, over the past many years, had the rough edges smoothed off.
Purple Pen might work, but why use it when Condes is so cheap. As for OCAD - well, now that Condes 9 can switch off different features in an OCAD map to make contour only etc I don't see any point in going for OCAD - given the cost and individual licencing.

[JK]

Note the following use of the free-to-use Condes Lite:

"Then there is the case with the controller belonging to a different club (which I suppose is the norm), where it is not practical to reveal the licence code to the controller. You suggest a free viewer. Actually, there is a free viewer, or - more precisely - a "light version". The light version can open and browse any event file. It can also modify any event file, which has less than 25 controls and 2 courses. I think this option is used widely for this case."

[words above from Finn Arildsen when I asked him about what we should do when a Planner's club has Condes, but the Controller doesn't]

cheers

JK

[Barny]

Thanks for all the help

Very useful

Ps it is not me that is changing as controller - I want the planner to do that but needed to find out how so that I can explain to him what to do

[Derek A]

On Purple Pen; I can't seem to be able to split the control description lists into 'uneven columns', can anyone tell me how to insert a break into the control description list rather than have two equal 'rowed' columns? thanks in anticipation!

[Roomungous]

On Purple Pen; I can't seem to be able to split the control description lists into 'uneven columns', can anyone tell me how to insert a break into the control description list rather than have two equal 'rowed' columns? thanks in anticipation!

You might be ask on the Yahoo Discussion Group for Purple Pen. Details via http://purple-pen.org/support.htm.

[SteveE]

On Purple Pen; I can't seem to be able to split the control description lists into 'uneven columns', can anyone tell me how to insert a break into the control description list rather than have two equal 'rowed' columns? thanks in anticipation!

I dont think you can. I only managed to do this by exporting the courses as OCAD files and edit that file by moving the block of CDs you wish, to create unequal length lists.