Day of trial¶
Warning
Draft. The shape of this comes from a working trial secretary’s own notes. The screens named here are right, but the details of each one still need checking against the program, and the printer instructions need rewriting for current hardware. Do not rely on this yet.
Trial day divides into three: getting set up before the first dog runs, scoring through the day, and packing up afterwards.
Starting the day¶
Set up the hardware¶
Power, mouse, and the printer connected by USB.
Choose the printer¶
Make sure the printer you just connected is the system default, not whatever was default last time. Start → Devices and Printers, right-click the printer, Set as Default Printer. The default is marked with a green check.
If you are falling back to a backup printer, set that one instead.
Note
Several reports were once pinned to a specific printer by name, which made them prompt for a printer on every open when that printer was gone. They now follow the system default, so setting the default here is what controls them.
Start the program¶
Start Total Trial Management, then choose the event from the Events menu so the title bar shows the trial you are running.
Scoring through the day¶
Scoring → Computer Scoring is where runs are recorded as they come off the course.
Warning
This section still needs writing. It should cover: finding a dog by armband, entering time and faults, what the program calculates, correcting a run already scored, and handling absent dogs.
Finishing the day¶
Produce the reports for the judge¶
Scoring → Daily Results. Set Report Destination to Printer, then take
each of these in turn:
Button |
Produces |
|---|---|
Certification Page |
the page the judge signs |
Catalog Pages |
the scored catalog for the day |
Table Stats |
the table statistics |
To produce PDFs rather than paper, make a PDF printer the system default first,
in the same way as above. Save each with a name that identifies the trial and
the year, so a stack of them stays sorted — for example
stonecity-cert-2026, stonecity-catalog-2026, stonecity-stats-2026.
Print the certification page on paper as well, for the judge to sign. Printing double-sided saves the judge shuffling paper.
Hand the files to the judge¶
The judge brings a thumb drive. Copy the three files onto it, verify they are readable, then eject the drive before unplugging it.
AKC fees¶
If any dog withdrew — bitch in season, most commonly — the fees owed to the AKC change, so produce a fresh fee report rather than using the pre-printed one.
Payments¶
Two cheques normally leave with the paperwork: one to the trial secretary, and one to the AKC for the amount on the fee report. Both go in the envelope with the trial cheques and the treasurer’s reports.
Note
The amounts and payees differ by club. Check the club’s own arrangements rather than assuming.