Quick-Start

Because who really wants to read the manual!

This Quick-Start Guide gets you running with your first season database and your first competition event. We cover only the essentials here. For deeper topics such as PAX Indexes and how to keep them current, see the related sections later in this help system.

Initial Setup

Product Registration

If you have not already registered, Finish-Time prompts for your Club Name and License Key each time it starts. If you are still evaluating the software, click Demo. Otherwise enter your club’s name and license key, then click Register. You can copy the license key from the account used to purchase it at finish-time.com.

Timer Configuration

Timer settings are in the Preferences / Options window.

Windows:: Select Edit > Options.
Mac OSX:: Choose Finish-Time > Preferences.

Click the Timer item on the left side of the Options window.

Finish-Time supports the JACircuits, RaceAmerica AC4, RaceAmerica T-Link, and Chronomix CC737 timers.

Your timer communicates through an RS-232 interface. Finish-Time must open that channel by accessing one of the computer’s serial ports.

Select the serial port the timer is Connected To and the Timer Model you are using. Test the configuration by turning on the timer and pressing its Start and Stop buttons. If the port is active, the time appears in the Finish panel.

See No Response from Timer if you need to troubleshoot serial-port issues.

Create a Season Event Database

All competition events and points for a season live in a single database. This lets Finish-Time calculate both competition points and any optional club points (for example, points for chairing an event) even while a timed run is in progress. If your club schedules 12 autocross events for the season, all 12 are stored in the database you create next.

Click File > New Database.

The New Season Database wizard appears. You have two choices: import properties from a previous Finish-Time database (for example, last year’s file) or use the default properties.

Whichever option you choose, you can still update classes and PAX indexes. For this example select Use Default Properties, then click Next.

Select Check on-line for updated PAX/RTP Indexes if you want Finish-Time to retrieve the latest indexes from our website. Click Next.

Choose a location to save the database.

The import process runs and updates the PAX indexes as needed.

You now have your first season database. Next: create your first competition event.

Start a New Event

Select Tools > Event Manager.

Make sure the Home panel is selected on the left side of the Event Manager window, then click the button.

Enter the event Location, Chair, and Name. Run Count is the number of timed runs each driver is expected to take. Split Times defaults to none; with additional timing units you can capture up to two split times between Start and Finish.

Points defaults to Yes. Choosing No excludes the event from the final points tally.

Click OK to confirm.

Register Drivers/Members

Select View > Registration.
The driver may already be in the database. Search for the name in the Search field at the top of the Registration panel.
If the driver is not found, click the New toolbar button.
Enter the driver’s CarID (number and class). The yellow caution icon next to the CarID field changes to green when the CarID is valid. Press Return. If the icon stays yellow or turns red, see CarID Conflicts.
The Class drop-down defaults to the class entered in CarID. It also lists any PAX-indexed classes your club has defined. Choose the class the driver declared.
Enter the driver’s Name, Car Make, Model, and any other details.
Click the Registered / Not-Registered switch to register the driver.

Print Results

To print event results, click the Print toolbar button and select Results.

Results look best in landscape orientation. To set this up, choose View > Report, then click the Event Results button on the Report Setup menu bar.

When the preview appears, click the Page Setup toolbar button and select Landscape. On Windows you can also adjust all four margins for the best fit.

Post LIVE Results On-Line

Confirm that you have configured Finish-Time LIVE.
Select Tools > Finish-Time LIVE.

Choose the upload interval in minutes.
Enter the Event Site Zip Code and the Weather Widget Units for your region. This adds current weather conditions for the event site.
Click the Start button.