A config file (short for "configuration file") is a text file in a specific format. It contains information used by RealBridge about a session. Some of this is information that is available via the RealBridge application; some of it can only be viewed via the config file.
The main purpose is to allow you to run events over multiple sessions. However, the same config-file mechanism can also be used to create more sophisticated or custom configurations that can't be achieved using the RealBridge front-end directly, or to obtain additional information about the format of the event.
In a multi-session event, a config file is used by RealBridge to carry forward data from one session to the next session:
If you are simply using a config file as part of a multi-session event, for the transition from one session to the next, you do not need to understand the details of the config file. You can just use the config file, and it will work. For details, see:
https://realbridge.online/how-to-run-multi-session-teams.html
https://realbridge.online/how-to-run-multi-session-pairs.html
For single-session events (or the first session of a multi-session event), you can use the config file to:
This approach is useful for developers who wish to integrate RealBridge with their own front-end.
If you are creating config files manually, RealBridge recommends that you use this method only when necessary. Creating the config file manually is time-consuming, and it is easy to make a mistake in the configuration
In a Round Robin teams, if you want to know what the future assignments will be, you can generate a config file and view the assignments for the entire event.
Config files are loaded and exported from the Advanced menu.
If you are loading a config file, you should do this before you open the session for the players.
In a multi-session event, at the end of each session you must export the config file, before the session is destroyed. At the beginning of the next session you load the config file. For more details, see:
https://realbridge.online/how-to-run-multi-session-teams.html
https://realbridge.online/how-to-run-multi-session-pairs.html
Before the start of a round robin, you can export a config file so as to find out what the assignments will be.
If you have loaded a config file, or if you have saved the config file before the start of a Round Robin, do not subsequently change the number of tables. If you do this by mistake, reboot the session and then reload the config file.
The config file is in JSON format. The following examples demonstrate the use the file. A full list of allowed attributes and values is given later in this document. All components of the config file are case-sensitive.
The file will be ready to download in the chat box in the lobby:
{ "num_tables":5, "scoring_method":17, "vp_scale":2, "team_names":["Barcelona","Madrid","Valencia","Seville","Malaga"], "use_screens":true, "self_alert":true, "time_per_round":7800, "time_display":0, "boards_per_round":16, "match_assignments":[ [ 2, 1, 5, 4, 3], [ 3, 4, 1, 2, 5], [ 5, 2, 4, 3, 1], [ 1, 3, 2, 5, 4], [ 4, 5, 3, 1, 2] ] }
Most of the elements are self-explanatory.
scoring_method:17 means round-robin IMP teams.
team_names lists the teams in order of table number, so Barcelona is at Table 1, Madrid is at Table 2, etc.
The match_assignments element works like this:
Hence this should be read as:
For an explanation of the other elements in the config file, see later in this document.
This config file can be used in two ways:
If you save the config from Example 1 at the end of Round 1, you will see several differences:
The assignments element will have been split:
"match_assignments":[ [ 3, 4, 1, 2, 5], [ 5, 2, 4, 3, 1], [ 1, 3, 2, 5, 4], [ 4, 5, 3, 1, 2] ] "previous_match_assignments":[ [ 2, 1, 5, 4, 3] ]
previous_match_assignments shows the round that has already been played.
match_assignments shows the rounds that have not yet been played.
After the second round, the next row from match_assignments would be moved into previous_match_assignments.
The pairs that have played for each team will be listed:
"co_lineups":[ {"pairs":[["Alan Adams","Brian Birt","0"],["Caren Charles","Danni Downs","1"]}, {"pairs":[["Ed Evans","Frank Fullerton","2"],["George Good","Harriet Howe","3"]} {"pairs":[["Ive Ince","James Jones","4"],["Karen Knight","Lisa Lowe","5"]} {"pairs":[["Mike Mill","Norman Nott","6"],["Ophelia Ord","Peter Piper","7"]} {"pairs":[["Quentin Quick","Richard Rice","8"],["Sara Smith","Tonya Town","9"]}, ],
The first array lists the players in Team 1, the second array lists the players in team 2, etc. If a team has had more than two pairs, all the pairs in the team will be listed.
If you plan to use the config file in a subsequent session:
Score information will have been added, in elements called co_pair, co_pair_den, co_total. Do not edit or delete this information.
To play a double-round robin, we simply add more assignments:
{
"num_tables":5,
"scoring_method":17,
"vp_scale":2,
"team_names":["Barcelona","Madrid","Valencia","Seville","Malaga"],
"use_screens":true,
"self_alert":true,
"time_per_round":7800,
"time_display":0,
"boards_per_round":16,
"match_assignments":[
[ 2, 1, 5, 4, 3],
[ 3, 4, 1, 2, 5],
[ 5, 2, 4, 3, 1],
[ 1, 3, 2, 5, 4],
[ 4, 5, 3, 1, 2],
[ 1, 4, 5, 2, 3],
[ 4, 5, 3, 1, 2],
[ 5, 3, 2, 4, 1],
[ 2, 1, 4, 3, 5],
[ 3, 2, 1, 5, 4]
]
}
Note that the second round-robin does not have to be the same as the first round robin.
Starting with the config file from a teams of four event, you can edit the matchups in the config file so that fours from the same eight never play against each other. You can then load this file and start the session. At the end, add the scores from the two fours of each team to get the teams-of-eight results.
If you specify match assignments then you should do so for (at least) all the rounds that you plan to play in this session. (If you don’t, when you get to the end of the predefined assignments, RealBridge will do a random draw, which may involve rematches.) It’s simplest to include assignments for all the matches that you plan to play in the event.
For each round, you must ensure that the assignments match. For example, if you specify that 1 plays 4, you must also specify that 4 plays 1.
For Swiss events, you can specify match assignments for any number of rounds. In particular, you can specify a fixed draw for the first round instead of using the default random draw. Once all specified rounds have been played, RealBridge will create a Swiss draw for each round based on the current scores.
{ "num_tables":20, "scoring_method":33, "vp_scale":2, "team_names":["Barcelona","Madrid","Valencia","Seville","Malaga", ... ], "use_screens":true, "self_alert":true, "time_per_round":7800, "time_display":0, "boards_per_round":16, "match_assignments":[ [ 4, 17, 9, 1, ... ] ] }
The configuration looks exactly the same, except that the scoring method is 33 (which means Swiss Teams), and you only specify assignments for one round (or you could preassign more than one round if you wanted to).
Another customisation possible with the config file is to "reserve seats" by name. When a player logs in with a name that matches a seat reservation, they will automatically be taken to the correct table and seat. (It can be helpful to combine this option with customised links per player, so that their name is encoded in the link parameters - this ensures that the names match.)
Seating assignments are used automatically in multi-session pairs events, to ensure the pairs start in the correct place to continue the movement. They can also be used for a single-session event (or the first session of a multi-session event), using a config file created outside RealBridge.
{ "num_tables":2, "seat_assignments":[ {"n":"Alice","s":"Bob","e":"Clare","w":"Doris","table":1}, {"n":"Ed","s":"Fiona","e":"Geoff","w":"Henrietta","table":2} ] }
This simple example assigns players to seats assignments for two tables.
In a teams event, you can either use the same "table":n method, or use "team":"team name". If you do this, you must also use a team_names element to define the team-names:
{ "num_tables":5, "scoring_method":17, "vp_scale":2, "team_names":["Barcelona","Madrid","Valencia","Seville","Malaga"], "seat_assignments":[ {"n":"Alice","s":"Bob","e":"Clare","w":"Doris","team":"Valencia"}, {"n":"Ed","s":"Fiona","e":"Geoff","w":"Henrietta","team":"Madrid"} ] }
Seat assignments are not automatically created in multi-session teams events. This is because a team may want to change its lineup or switch directions.
If you have your own mechanism for teams to submit line-ups for a session, you can create a config file to ensure that players sit in their allotted seats.
You are not obliged to assign players for every seat, or for every table. For example, this assigns the NS pair at table 2 but leaves EW open:
{"n":"Ed","s":"Fiona","table":2}
This can be used when you have a sitout, or when you only know about some of the players.
Even if some seats have been preassigned, you can still add tables as normal.
Clicking the "Minus" button will remove missing pairs, even if a pair is preassigned to the seats. This may result in changes to the initial positions of other pairs, as they are moved to fill in the gaps.
If a player logs in with a name that is not assigned to a seat, by default they will arrive in the lobby as normal. They will not be able to sit in a seat that has been pre-assigned. If they should have been preassigned, ask them to log in again, using exactly the same form as the preassigned name. Note that player-names are case-sensitive.
You can prevent unassigned players from logging in by setting the parameter prevent_unreserved_login to true. Note that this only works if there are no seats that have not been assigned a player. If you have a mixture of unassigned and assigned seats, a player will still be able to log in. This is so that, if a player is having trouble logging in with the name you used in the config file, you can remove the assigned name and allow the player to log in.
From the lobby, a pre-assigned seat will initially be shown as occupied, but in pale green to indicate that the player has not yet arrived. When the player logs in, the seat will appear as occupied in the normal colour.
If you want to open a pre-assigned seat to somebody else, use the "kick player to lobby" mechanism to remove the preassignment. Then another player can take that seat from the lobby. In the "kick player to lobby" drop-down, a seat which is reserved but currently empty will appear as "RESERVED", followed by the player’s name.
If a player at a preassigned seat clicks "Leave", he goes to the lobby and the seat becomes vacant.
You can, if you like, create a config file entirely outside RealBridge.
However, for round-robin events it is often easier to do some of the work in the RealBridge front-end. The suggested procedure is:
When editing the config file, it is OK to add spaces and line-endings between the elements, to make the file easier to read and edit.
For both loading and exporting, it is always best to start with a clean environment. Therefore:
Key name | Type | Description/comments |
---|---|---|
num_tables |
Integer | Number of tables. In a multisession event, this must be the same for every session. You should always include num_tables in the config file. |
boards_per_round |
Integer | Boards per round. Usually this will be the same in every session, but it can change if required. |
num_rounds |
Integer | The number of rounds that will be played in this session (not the total rounds in the event). |
first_board |
Integer | The board number to start from. Defaults to 1 for every session. Avoid having board numbers that go above 99. |
scoring_method |
Integer | See below. You should always include scoring_method in the config file. |
scoring_break |
Boolean | In round robin matches, whether there is a break at half-time. This is equivalent to selecting the "Round robin 2X½" movement. |
name |
String | The session name, which appears in the yellow band at the top of the lobby window. |
match_assignments |
Array of integer arrays | In a round-robin or Swiss teams event, the assignments for upcoming rounds. |
previous_match_assignments |
Array of integer arrays | In a round-robin, Swiss teams or Swiss pairs event, the assignments for rounds that have already been played. |
team_names |
Array of strings | In a teams event, the names of the teams, in order (so the first name is team 1, the second name is team 2, etc. |
club_name |
String | Club name (Advanced screen). |
club_id_number |
String | Club id (Advanced screen). |
ebu_charge_code |
Integer | EBU charge code (Advanced screen). |
ebu_masterpoint_scale |
Integer | EBU masterpoint scale (Advanced screen). 0 = None. 1 = Club scale. |
time_per_round |
Integer | Time per round in seconds. |
time_display |
Integer | How to show the remaining time. 0 = minutes only. 1 = MM:SS. |
vp_scale |
Integer | VP scale for round-robin and Swiss events. 0 = none. 1 = 20-0 discrete. 2 = 20.00-0.00 continuous. |
self_alert |
Boolean | If set to true, use self-alerts and written explanations. |
use_screens |
Boolean | If set to true, use screens mode. |
co_lineups |
Array of objects | See example 1a above. |
prevent_unreserved_login |
Boolean | If set to true, prevents logins by usernames without a seat. |
seat_assignments |
Array of objects |
See examples 4 and 5 above. |
trick_one_delays |
Array of 3 integers | Imposing delays for 1: opening lead, 2: dummy, and 3: third hand. The maximum value is 30 seconds. |
The scoring_method key specifies both the movement and the scoring method. The list of values is:
0 | Practice tables (or RealBridge Lounge) |
1 | Head-to-head IMP teams |
2 | Matchpoint Mitchell |
3 | IMP pair Mitchell |
4 | Matchpoint switched Mitchell |
5 | IMP pair switched Mitchell |
6 | Matchpoint Howell |
7 | IMP pair Howell |
14 | Head-to-head BAM |
17 | Round-robin IMP teams |
30 | Round-robin BAM |
33 | Swiss IMP teams |
34 | Matchpoint Swiss pairs |
35 | IMP Swiss pairs |
46 | Swiss BAM |
Config files that you exported from RealBridge may contain other keys. Do not edit or remove these.