Scopos is pleased to announce, for the first time in its 16 year history, the Orion Scoring System will allow manual entry of scores. With its latest release, users are now able to type in scores by hand, and have those scores included in any competition or result list.

This change is designed to make Orion more useful in disciplines that do not have a scannable paper target (Orion’s traditional method of inputting scores), such as shotgun, bullseye pistol, highpower, or silhouette. However, users may manually enter scores for any discipline, including air rifle or air pistol.

How to Enter Scores Manually

Orion uses an Excel file as a conduit to enter scores manually. Excel files offer a few advantages. They are well known, intuitive, and are programmable (see below). When users type in scores into their Excel file, Orion automatically reads the scores, inputs them, and makes the scores available in its Result List System.

Process

1. Create a Match in Orion, or open an existing one.
2. Open Match Properties and check the, “Allow Manual Entry of Scores” checkbox. Click Save.
3. Click the new Generate Excel Input File button in the menu bar. With this button, Orion will create a template file based on your match’s course of fire.
4. In the pop up form, answer two questions about how you would like to enter scores.
   - Enter scores on which layer of the course of fire; generally selecting Series or String is best. 
   - Enter scores based on which type of score format.
5. Enter scores on which layer of the course of fire; generally selecting Series or String is best.
6. Enter scores based on which type of score format.
7. Orion will create the file and save it in your Match Directory, then open it using your Window’s default application for Excel files.
8. Type your manual scores into the Excel file. Rows correspond to marksmen, columns correspond to Events.
9. Hit save. Each time you save, Orion will re-read the scores and input them into its Result List system. They will automatically update the scores on the Match Results tab and your scores online.

For a complete list of how-to steps, visit our support website.

Important Rules to Know

• Manual input of scores do not override scores scanned in on paper targets, scanned in on scorecards, or inputted into Orion from an Electronic Scoring Target system.
• Orion does not validate the input of scores. It is your responsibility to type in meaningful scores. If you type in bad data, Orion will output bad results.
• All scores read from the Excel Import File are considered manually modified. This is regardless of what originally generated the score.
• Users are responsible for having their own program to read and write Excel files. As an example, LIbre Office is a well-known free office suite that can do so.

Backdoor Programming Interface

Excel files were chosen for a few reasons as the method to input manual scores into Orion. One of the biggest reasons is that it is so well known. Not only are there multiple user applications that write to Excel files, but there are many programming libraries that do the same.

Astute programmers could write their own applications to receive and write scores in Orion’s Excel file format. This would allow Orion match management and result list system to be used with:

• Any Electronic Scoring Target system.
• Applications that scan and read scorecards.
• Online apps that accept scores from user input.

Conclusion

With manual entry of scores, Orion is now more accessible to disciplines such as shotgun, bullseye pistol, highpower, or silhouette. These disciplines may now enjoy the many benefits of Orion, such as its match management capabilities, best-in-class result list system, and score history.

This update, version 2.22, is available for free for all existing Orion for Clubs users.