<< Syndicate 3 >> by Mike Panchaud These notes describe version 3.11 of Syndicate 3 and supersedes all lower version numbers. For an index press the diamond key now, select subject and press diamond again. Upgraders read this New directory syndic3 holds xample.opd and oldnum.win, ensure your syndic file and oldnum.win are moved into it. Description The program is designed to check multiple entries in the UK lottery on the Psion 3a/c, as the novelty of manually checking a list of numbers soon wears off! It is quite fast as it can check about 20 entries (or 'boards' as Camelot calls them), per second. The only limit to the number of boards is the amount of memory available to store the file. 40 boards occupy about 1kB, I have tested the program with up to 2,000 computer generated boards! Latest improvements Files specific to this program now have their own directory i.e \SYNDIC3. Existing users will have to move their files of boards (with .ODB extension) to this directory. This has been done to avoid cluttering up the OPD directory, which is used as a general purpose directory by other programs, this can cause odd files to appear under the Syndic icon!. There are many improvements in this version including, multiple files, faster operation, storage of previous draws, log of each weeks results into a word file etc. etc.. It is now possible to print or list to a Word file all previous drawn numbers together with how much was won each week. 'Find again' has been added. 21/04/98 V3.09 Analyse past draws can be from the last entered draw back for any number of draws, so you can just look at the number distribution for just the last ten draws, say. Installation The file 'Synd311.zip' should contain: Syn311.opa Main application for S3a Xample.odb Example file of boards Oldnum.win Previous winning numbers Syndic3.wrd this file in Psion WORD format Syndic3.TXT this file in plain text format, so it can be easily read on a PC etc.. 1. Copy the file Syn311.opa, to an APP directory and use Psion-I as normal to install it, an icon should appear on the system screen. 2. Copy Xample.odb and Oldnum.win to the \SYNDIC3 directory. This can be created manually in the Internal root directory if you are a new user, or it will be created automatically when Syndicate3 is run the first time. The Example file can be deleted when you have entered your own files. Oldnum.win will be updated each time you enter winning numbers, if you do not install it a new one will be created, when you check for win. This version has a comment facility and may not be compatible with older versions, so delete your copy of oldnum.win, if you can't recall old numbers. 3. Copy Syndic3.wrd to the WRD directory (this file!). A plain text version is also included. Uninstall Go to system screen, select syndic icon, press Psion / to remove icon. Delete SYN311.OPA from the \APP directory. Delete \SYNDIC3 directory and it's contents. How to Use If you have copied the example file it should appear under the Syndic3 icon, if you are a user of the original Syndic program a file called 'syndic' will also appear, which will contain your boards. The program is now a type 3 application so files can be created, renamed or deleted like other Psion applications, from the system screen. If you are a new user type Psion N from the system screen to create a file, give a suitable name and this will lead you to the 'Add new board' dialog. Now enter all the lottery numbers in the syndicate together with a name for each board to identify the winning numbers. The numbers can be entered in any order i.e. they don't have to be in ascending order, they will be ordered automatically. The boards appear one at a time at the bottom of the screen in large type, pressing up and down arrows causes the next or previous board to be displayed. Users of previous versions will see this is much faster than the dialog method used before. See also find and jump in the search menu. A new feature is automatic ordering of numbers when adding or updating boards and when checking for a win. If your existing database has boards with non sequential numbers, then simply 'update' each board in turn without changing anything, you will see the numbers jump into the correct order. This is not strictly necessary as the accuracy of checking for wins is not affected by the order of the numbers, but will make printouts easier for other members of the syndicate to check manually. File menu To edit the displayed board select 'Update' and edit the name or numbers. Note that due to the way OPL works the updated board will now be at the end of the list, but see SORT later. Select 'Delete one' (Psion D) to delete the board shown at the bottom of the screen. 'Delete ALL boards' deletes the current file and exits the program. Delete LAST STORED will allow you to delete the last winning numbers you stored to allow the correction of mistakes etc. Search menu To find a particular person's board use 'Find name' (or just use the up and down arrows). You can specify where the search starts from, either from the beginning of the file or from the current position. To find the next occurrence of a previously entered name select 'Find again'. 'Jump' will allow you to jump to a specified board number. Check for Win Having entered all your boards the fun starts! Select 'Check for win' in the play menu (or just press C), you will be asked if you are entering new or previously stored numbers. Normally, select 'new' and enter the weeks winning numbers using down arrow to move to the next field. To recall previously stored numbers select 'stored' and choose the correct numbers using the left/right arrow keys until the correct draw date is shown. This is useful to check old tickets or another syndicate file you have stored, etc. The program will then inform you if you have three or more matches for each board. If you have five matches it will show if the bonus number also matches. i.e. ALL winning combinations are catered for. You can of course test the program by entering appropriate test numbers to confirm it really does work. If you are just entering test numbers choose NO when asked if you want to store the numbers. Note: the numbers can be entered in any order, as they will be ordered for you. (It does this quicker than the BBC!). When showing the results, a window appears at the top showing the weeks numbers you entered and the filename you are using, so you can double check you haven't made a mistake and you really are a millionaire! The statistics window at the bottom is for interest only, showing the number of boards with zero, one and two matching numbers, that is losing boards, as well as the winners. When esc is pressed to return to the main screen you are asked if you wish to store the numbers you have just entered. If you select YES, you may then edit the draw date, useful if you are late in entering the numbers. You may also add a comment, such as how much you have won that week. These numbers are stored in a separate file 'oldnum.win' so that other groups of boards can be checked. (Select Stored numbers). If you make a mistake use 'Delete last stored' so you can re- enter the correct winning numbers. At this point a file called 'Syn_Draw' is automatically created and will appear as a normal Word file under the Word icon. It contains all the details of names etc. of wins or losses for that draw. If you wish to keep these details then either rename the file or 'bring' it in to another file that you add to each week. Details of how much was won each week can thus be kept. See Printing for how to print all previous draws and winnings. In WORD the text layout looks best when viewed in a monospaced font. (Psion shift F, top line "Pica", bottom line "All using this style") Pick Selecting PICK will allow the S3a/c to pick numbers for you, based on a lucky number or name etc. Having picked the numbers you may then add them to the database, the default name used is your lucky name or number followed by an incrementing number. This name can be edited if desired. Analyse This will display a histogram of the frequency of ALL the numbers (1-49) in ALL the entered boards, to check the distribution of your choices, so you can check which are the most and least popular numbers in your syndicate. The vertical scale will automatically adjust to suit the number of boards you have. It looks pretty too. The top of the screen shows the probability of winning 'something' depending on the number of boards, based on Camelot's figure of 1 in 54. There is now also the option of viewing all the previously entered winning numbers, when 'analyse ' is selected. Sort Use this option to sort the list of boards into name order before printing out or after entering new names. There is also the option to sort in order of the first number. The original order the boards were entered in is lost when sorted, but you may switch between name and number order by resorting. Note that this can take some time depending on the number of boards and how ordered they are to start with. About 77 seconds for 30 boards, 19 minutes for a hundred boards! The S3a will not switch off while sorting, so if you have many boards I suggest you use an external power supply or good batteries. Better sorting. If you have entries consisting of the same name followed by a number, use a leading space for the single digits (ensure units are directly under units and tens are under tens etc.) to ensure correct sorting e.g. Name 1 Name 2 Name 3 Name 10 Name 11 assuming less than 99 entries! not like this, Name 1 Name 2 Name 3 Name 10 Name 11 Multiple Files Syndic3 is a type 3 application so multiple files are possible just like other Psion applications. Printing 'Print boards' will print to a parallel printer or to a WORD file (SYN_LIST) in the S3a, a list of all names and numbers you have stored, you can add a line of text to be printed at the top as a title, there is also the option of numbering the lines, and enabling screen scroll pause on the Psion. 'Print winning numbers' will print to a parallel printer or to a WORD file (SYN_WINS) all the previously stored winning numbers together with the comments made at the time of each draw. If going to a printer ignore the file name edit box at the bottom. After printing to a file it can be viewed in Word or copied to a PC for editing and printing from there, useful if you don't have a parallel link and printer attached to your S3a. In WORD the text layout looks best when viewed in a monospaced font. (Psion shift F, top line "Pica", bottom line "All using this style"), then Psion Z to zoom to small text. I do not have a parallel link, so have not tested printing direct to a printer, please let me know if there are any problems or improvements needed. Tips To change to a different file, go to System screen and select file as normal. This allows you to have many different syndicates. To see a status window - press Psion and MENU together. To see a list view of all boards use PRINT option (Psion Shift P) and select "file and screen" this will display on the screen and create a word file called file_list.wrd and will appear under the WORD icon. To see all previous winnings select 'Print winning numbers' this will create a Word file called SYN_WINS. Use "SORT" to arrange boards into name order. If a persons number is updated use SORT again so correct order is restored. Anyone running or participating in a lottery syndicate should contact Camelot for their group playing info pack, to resolve any legal problems in the event of a big win. Contact Syndicate 3 is freeware. I have decided not to disable the program in any way or charge any 'registration' fee but would be grateful for any feedback from satisfied (or dissatisfied??) users. Any other comments such as how you use the program (how many boards do you have to check, how often do you have to change them etc.) or suggestions for improvements would be very welcome. Just drop me a letter, post card or email. Questionaire It would be very interesting if you could fill in the answers to these questions about syndicate, when replying. 1. What is the version number, shown on main screen 2. Where did you get it from 3. How many boards do you check 4. Is the help information OK? Is it too waffly or confusing? Thanks to all of you that have contacted me with suggestions. Mike Panchaud 28 Lingwell Road London S.W.17 7NJ or email only to mpanchaud@channel4.co.uk Disclaimer of responsibility. ============================= Users of Syndicate must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Syndicate is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Syndicate or any of its accompanying files". So there.