[Dx4win] IMPORTANT information regarding custom awards database

Wed Jun 17 15:40:23 EDT 2009

Jim i agree that it is very useful to sort by reference number
But...
Dx4win has already this feature!!!
Choose a custom award. Jump on the next field to write the reference. Press 
F1 and you have all the values sorted alphabetically as are on the right. If 
you press F2, Dx4win will sort them by the name in left side of the 
equiation!!!
So it is better to leave the right side with the name first.
By the way tnx agn for the great work with the awards as with the country 
files, etc. etc.
73 Kostas SV1DPI

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Reisert AD1C" <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu>
To: "DX4WIN Reflector" <dx4win at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:55 PM
Subject: [Dx4win] IMPORTANT information regarding custom awards database

> Hi Folks,
>
> In cleaning up the custom awards database, I ran across some
> inconsistency.  If you don't use or care about Custom awards, you can
> ignore this message.
>
> Just to give you some background information, there are 160 custom
> awards in the database:
>
>    http://dx4win.ad1c.us/awards/awards.htm
>
> Most awards have a pre-defined set of "counters".  Each counter is
> represented by a "reference number" and a name or description; DX4WIN
> refers to the name as the "Custom Award Value".  Here is an example
> (from the dx4win.awd file) for the RDA (Russian Districts) award:
>
>    MO-10=MO-10 DUBNA
>
> Here is annother example. for the US Islands award:
>
>    CA010=Santa Barbara (CA010S)
>
> Here is another example, for the Portuguese Provinces award:
>
>    AV=Aveiro
>
> The item to the right-hand side of the '=' in the examples above is
> the Custom Award Value.  This is what you see when you choose a custom
> award in the QSO (logging) window.  It's also what you see when you do
> a custom award listing or submission.
>
> The item to the left-hand side of the '=' is the reference number.
> Reference numbers are used internally within DX4WIN, and are stored
> with the QSO when a custom award value is selected.
>
> HERE IS THE PROBLEM:
>
> For awards with a small number of values, it's easy to scroll through
> the list to select the one you want.  For awards with a LARGE number
> of values (ARLHS has over 15,000 counters!), it can be very difficult
> to select the one you want.  DX4WIN allows you type the first letter
> of the award value (as listed in the dx4win.awd file).  For example,
> in the Custom Award Value field for the US Islands award, typing 'S'
> gets you to Sabal (FL211S), and from there you can either use the
> down-arrow key or click on the arrow next to the drop down box and
> scroll down until you get to Santa Barbara (CA010S).  Note that some
> of the foreign awards do not use a standard ASCII character set for
> the award values.  Thus a value that begins with "�ilovac"
> ("Sailovac") isn't listed with the S's, but instead after the Z's.
>
> In some cases, the operator on the air only gives out the reference
> number, not the name.  For example, there, there has been a lot of
> activity lately from national parks for the World Flora Fauna award.
> Here are some recent DX spots:
>
>    14044.0  UE1RFF/6    17-Jun-2009 1142Z  RFF-103
>    14244.0  LZ01WFF     17-Jun-2009 0852Z  Andre in KN22MR, LZFF-001
>
> The WFF award values are listed by name in the awards database, not by
> FF number, for example:
>
>    RFF-103=Alaniya (RFF-103)
>    LZFF-001=Central Balkan (LZFF-001)
>
> This means that in order to find RFF-103 in the list, you would have
> to know the name (because they're listed alphabetically), or you'd
> have to scroll through ALL 3800+ entries to find the one with the
> matching reference number.
>
> As you can see from the three examples above, some award values are
> listed by name, some by reference number.
>
> I would like to propose that ALL custom DX4WIN awards be listed by
> reference number, like the Russian District (RDA) award above.  So the
> US Islands database would change to something like:
>
>    CA010=CA010S Santa Barbara
>
> And the WFF database would change to:
>
>    RFF-103=RFF-103 Alaniya
>    LZFF-001=LZFF-001 Central Balkan
>
> Your existing awards will NOT be negatively impacted.  Only the way
> the Custom Award Value is displayed in the logbook and in the listings
> will change.
>
> Is this change acceptable to everyone?  You can send comments to me
> directly or the reflector.
>
> 73 - Jim AD1C
>
> -- 
> Jim Reisert AD1C/Ø, <jjreisert at alum.mit.edu>, http://www.ad1c.us
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