NAT4WIN.EXE is a program developed by John Hansen and written by Nigel Dutton. It is used in conjunction with the NATIONAL.TXT, NATIONAL.CLB and ALTERNAT.TXT files and is intended to serve as a utility program for ABF masterpoint secretaries and other persons interested in creating masterpoint report files, or viewing player masterpoint details.
The program is part of the NATIONAL.EXE archive file, and is freely available from the ABF Masterpoint Centre's web site at www.masterpoints.org.au.
The following files are contained within NATIONAL.EXE archive file:
In addition, the archive file contains the following 4 files for use with the DOS version of the program (NAT4DOS.EXE) only:
(Note: some of the following features may not be available in the DOS version)
a. View a Player
Look up details and masterpoints for any single registered player, searching by ABF number or surname.
b. Extract Selected Players
Create a report for a group of players.
c. Create ABF Data for Email Transmission .
Use this function to register, activate, transfer, delete, add or remove players or change their details. A small "player.txt" file is automatically created, ready to be attached to an email message and forwarded to the Centre. See Appendix C for a more detailed summary.
Masterpoint files normally have extensions starting with .MP followed by a digit between 1 and 5 which determines the type (colour) of points within the file. However, because of the use elsewhere of .MP as a suffix for music files, this program converts the .MP extensions to the more descriptive .GLD (gold), .RED (red), .GRN (green), .GAR (gold and red) and .RAG (red and green) extensions. These extensions are all acceptable to the Masterpoint Centre.
a. View Master Point Information in a MP File
Select and view the details and total credits in an existing masterpoint file
b. Edit Master Point Information in a MP File
Select and edit an existing masterpoint file
c. Merge Master Point Files
Select and merge two or more masterpoint files of the same type (colour)
d. Create Cover Page for Awards (State MP-Secs only)
Create an "awards.txt" file to accompany state or congress masterpoint files. This function is only to be used by State masterpoint secretaries
e. Create ABF Award Adjustment Application for Email Transmission
Use this function to make adjustments to a masterpoint file that was previously submitted to the ABF Masterpoint Centre. Your work will then be recorded as an "adjust.txt" file that can be subsequently be attached to an email message to the Centre.
Please note that these forms can only be used for the purpose of transferring points from one player to another, or deleting credits that have been incorrectly applied.
Additional club points should be included with your set of club credits.
Missing points from congresses or state can only be added by the person who scored the event, or the State Masterpoint Secretary.
Missing credits from National events can only be submitted by the scorer, or the Gold Point Coordinator
a. View Club MP Secretaries
Enter a keyword to get the contact details of a club masterpoint secretary.
b. Home Club Membership Nos.
Select a state (or all states) and view the number of home club members for each club.
a. Enter Club Members MP Manually
Used to enter masterpoint credits for your home and alt members. You should first of all select your club to create a screen that shows all the players (home club and alt) of that club. Then enter the players’ masterpoints next to their ABF numbers, in much the same manner as you would have entered the player credits onto the CPAR forms.
b. Enter Visitors MP Manually
Used to enter ABF number and masterpoints for all players who are not included in function 4a.
c. Annual Membership Cancellations
Use this function for the Annual Membership Declaration, which must reach the Masterpoint Centre by the advertised deadline, usually the last working day in March. Select your club and then use the <spacebar> to change the "yes" to a "no" for all those players whose memberships are not to be renewed. The resulting "xxxxcncl.txt" file should be attached to an email and forwarded to the Masterpoint Centre.
This function is only available if the additional files included in awards.exe, or nat_all.exe have been downloaded (see page 48). Otherwise this option does not appear.
a. Single player
Provides a unique way of showing not only a player’s points, but also where they were earned. Select a player by entering the player’s ABF number.
b. All Club Members
Gives the same result as 5a, but for two or more players. Select a club number and, if required, limit the number of players by choosing a range of surnames.
a. Printer Setup
Set up your printer
b. Show Program Hints
Holding the cursor over some of the edit boxes produces "program hints". This facility can be turned on or off.
Shows Author and Version Number
Quits the Program