Plus V 1.3 README Instructions Dennis W. Allen, The Missing Link If you have internet email access, we encourage you to sign up for our automatic email newsletter, to receive the most up-to-date information regarding Plus V and related programs. To do so, merely send a request to the email address that appears on your program and include your full name and postal address. If you have Web or ftp access, you can also download FREE programs not included with Plus V. (Scroll down for more, or hit F1...) Release Notes (Most recent release appears first.) 1.3.01 (revised) While the program is still at 1.3.01, this file (and only this file) has changed since the original 1.3.01 pre-release. If you are upgrading from a previous version, do not run the P5INSTAL program from the same directory as you wish to install to (i.e. do not run it from the \PLUS5 directory -- always run it from a temp directory.) There is a bug in the commercial Install software used to build P5INSTAL. If you run it from the Plus5 directory, it may make your prefernc.usr file zero bytes long, and you will need to copy this file from your BRIS-supplied diskette back into your \PLUS5 directory. After installing 1.3.01, you may need to delete MLCARD.DB5 and MLDRFCND.DB5, before parsing a new download. Failing to do so may result in your computer locking up, or generating an error message while parsing. Similarly, attempting to read a file archived by a previous version (i.e., *.CRD files) may exhibit the same symptoms. 1.3.01 Addresses the Year 2000 problem. All date entry should now be in the form 01/30/1999 instead of the former "short date" format: 01/30/99. This applies to "Delete Races", Robot, the ML-BDEL utility, and elsewhere. Advanced Tools users should e-mail Missing Link for availability of updates. 1.2.01 Incorporated the new BRIS Prime Power figure. Prime Power replaces the redundant Turf Class figure. It now appears in the setup editor, , in the database, and on the Handicapper's Report instead of Turf Class. It also appears in MlSpread's Miscellaneous spreadsheet, and is accessible via the "@PrP" macro. As a bonus in this release, all "Trial" restrictions in the spreadsheet have been removed. MlSpread is now fully functional for all users. Included in this release is a simple program called PPUpdate.exe, that prepares databases for use of Prime Power by zeroing out any old Turf Class figures (so the Robot won't see a mixture of the two figures. Run this once on each track database. For instructions, merely run the program without a command line. Advanced Tools users can run their existing Tools against databases that were saved with this version without the need to upgrade. It is a good idea to jot down the date you began using this version so you will know which races in your databases contain Prime Power figures. Fixed problem in 'Fix Mount' that occurred when a horse is entered in two or more races on a card. Note: Do not use Maintenance's 'Late Scratch' in this case, if the horse remains entered on the card, as 'Late Scratch' scratches him from the card. In this case, use the handicapping routine's Scratch. Horses who DNF last race sometimes caused problems in AR & IVU. Export exported 'about' distances as negative numbers. Advanced Tools users will not be affected by these changes. 1.1.02 Some reports were not printing correctly in condensed mode on certain printers under Windows 95. Pedigree report was not picking up races on Saratoga's inner track. Manual Correction: Paceline Formulas in MLSPREAD The pace macros "@2F1", "@4F1", etc., mean different things in Plus V and MLSPREAD. In Plus V, these macros ending in "1" have always meant "use the most recent paceline". In MLSPREAD, however, these mean "use the SELECTED paceline". Manual Correction: Hotkeys ALT-J for "Trainer/Jockey" report does nothing in PLUS5.EXE. This was written before the report was moved to P5MAIN. 1.1.01 Dutch Report would only print once per session, if print options were other than "Disk Only." Also, the Dutch Report prints the PP #'s as they are displayed in the Handicapper's Report. (In the case of late scratches, they were printing sequentially.) If a setup named "AUTOLOAD" exists, it is loaded automatically when Plus V is started. This feature allows you to create your own "default" setup. Plus V now occasionally creates a batch file called "$.BAT". You should not use this filename in Plus V's subdirectory. Corrected ML-BDEL. 1.1.00 Pacegraph and Condensed PG reports now print Class, Speed and Pace pars, near the end of the report. The format of the MLCARD.DB5 and STARTER.DB5 files are changed with this release. If you are upgrading, this means that you cannot load a CRD file saved by a previous version; you should delete all CRD files before installing this upgrade. Attempting to load a prior version CRD will produce an error 84. Since CRD files are not intended for long-term storage, this should be just a minor inconvenience. After installing this patch, you must also delete MLCARD.DB5 before running either program, or you will receive the 84 error. Delete it, and re-translate any card to get back up and running. If you have downloaded the FREE P5PACE program from our Web site, you will need to download the update. Prior versions were incorrectly seeing 'Fillies/Mares' races as 'Open' races. Unless you are an Advanced Tools user, the only effect was that "Sex:" would be displayed incorrectly in the Review/Edit screen. However, if you own any of the Plus V Advanced Tools, you may wish to update your database. You can do this MANUALLY by deleting all F/M races from your database, then re-saving them with this version, or, you can do this AUTOMATICALLY by obtaining the P5DBFIX utility. You can download this utility from our Web or ftp site. If your card includes a simulcast race, you now have the option of saving the race to a Track Database for the host track. Answering "Y" to "Save to Simo Track?" will save the race to its own Track database, under the proper race number. It is recommended to answer "Y"... Robot was yielding different results under some circumstances, when using the new 'Auto' factors. If you are BETA testing any new *.OVR programs, this release will likely render your BETAs incompatible. Please contact us for an update. 1.0.05 Robot was handicapping incorrectly in certain races. 1.0.04 Fixed Review/Edit display problem that appeared in some cards after the new year. Added PATCH.EXE, which was missing from certain earlier releases. 1.0.03 Fixed bug affecting use of the @BCT and @BST macros. 1.0.02 Corrected minor cosmetic issues in DRF & Condensed BRIS reports. Added additional error information, below. MlSpread was adversely affecting setups that used the Auto Runstyle factor. Initial Release 1.0.00 While you can run Plus V in a DOS Box under Windows, attempting to run more than 1 Plus V window will probably corrupt your program and/or database. Plus V is NOT a multi-user program, nor have its predecessors been multi-user. ERROR NUMBER INFO: Frequent ERROR Message meanings: Error 7 or error 14 means you are low on main memory. Error 53 means "file not found." Error 24, 25 or 27 means you tried to print something and your printer was not on, or was out of paper. Error 57 indicates either a printer error or a hard disk error. Error 52 means an illegal file name was attempted. If you cannot diagnose the cause of the error on your own, you should send in a "Trouble Report", from the Plus V Main Menu, along with a description of what you were doing. If, when P5MAIN or PLUS5 is started, you get an immediate error message(error 84 or 88) , it could mean that the MLCARD.DB5 file is corrupted. This may occur if you had earlier rebooted your computer while in the program. If you delete the file MLCARD.DB5, you should be able to re-start and re-translate. If the program locks up while translating a card, it is probably due to low available main memory. Try increasing main memory by running DOS's MEMMAKER program (or equivalent if you use a 3rd party memory expander.) You can also reduce the memory requirement by manually unzipping a ZIPped download file, and then translating the unzipped PL5 file.