BBO Extractor


BBOtoXML Web App

This app converts a csv file, produced by BBO Extractor Chrome extension, to an xml file, optionally translating the BBO user names to their real names. After you have run the BBO Extractor start the webapp from here (or the buttons on the front page of this website):

When you start it for the first time make a bookmark in your browser and start it from there next time.


How to use the Main Screen

  1. Enter values in the fields where required. The Club name, Club ID Number, Contact Name, UMS Charge Rate, scoring method, Bridge Union and master points scale are stored by the browser and are displayed when the app is restarted. Therefore you don't have to enter them every time you start the app.

    • Club Name - this is any name you like

    • Club ID Number - if your club is affiliated to a bridge union, enter the union club ID

    • Contact Name - optional, enter contact name and optionally any contact details. This will be displayed on Bridgewebs as Scorer.

    • UMS Charge Rate - This is specific to EBU.
      • 10 normal code for clubs (20 for county)
      • 11 teaching / supervised play, no MP
      • 12 MPs but no NGS

    • Scoring method
      • Scoring matches BBO - the percentages and rankings will be exactly as on BBO
      • Enhanced scoring (Neuberg) - higher precision calculation. Neuberg formula used when calculating results.

  2. Select the bridge union and the master point scale. By default it will be set to 'Club' or 'manual', if the scales are not available yet.

  3. If 'manual' set master points boxes, North/South for one winner, North/South and East/West for two winner.

    • blank (or 0) = no master points will be calculated

    • Free format strings of master points can be used as in these examples
      • enter these manually perhaps for CBAI master points, EW equal fourth.
      • where you don't want to allocate any master points to NS1. Note the leading comma.
      • an example of ACBL masterpoints.
        NS display on Bridgewebs will be

  4. Click on 'Load Names' button, if you wish to convert BBO usernames to real names and optionally include NBO numbers. The names file will be loaded and used during the conversion to xml. The names file has to be in a prescribed format. See BBO User Names File.

  5. Click on the appropriate button to convert the csv file to an XML file.
    • 'Create XML file' - the top button creates a standard XML file for upload to EBU/UMS, EBUscore, and results websites other than Bridgewebs. The file name is appended with 'UMS'.

    • 'Create XML for Bridgewebs' - this button produces an XML file in a format specifically suitable for Bridgewebs. A non standard tag is used to pass the BBO hand replay data to Bridgewebs.
  6. When conversion has completed, two more display-only fields are shown:
    • Event Date - the tournament date from the csv file is displayed after the conversion.

    • BBO Event Link is the link to your tournament results page. You might wish to put it on your club website result page as a link back to BBO where members can see the original BBO results. Use CTRL+C to copy it and then later CTRL+V to paste it into the link. See Upload to Bridgewebs.


Review / Edit / Merge CSV


This screen offers several features which are accessed via the "Review/Edit/Merge CSV" button at the left hand side of a menu bar at the top of the display:

  1. Contract/Score editing, which means it is not necessary to import the XML file produced by BBOtoXML into a scoring program, if the only reason for doing so is to correct scores.

  2. You can generate a list of "missing names", i.e. bbonames who played in the event, but for which no match was found in the names file.

  3. You can generate a list of "missing NBO IDs", i.e. bbonames who played in the event, and had a matching player name, but had no NBO Player ID in the names file.

  4. A list of identified substitutions is shown. Almost all cases where substitutions occur are now detected and resolved automatically by BBO Extractor. BBOtoXML can show a "substitutions table" which lists, for each pair number where substitution occurred, all the pair names identified as corresponding to that pair number.

  5. A facility to merge pairs or teams tournaments.

The "Review/Edit/Merge CSV" button will prompt the user to browse and select a CSV file. If a names file is being used it should be loaded via the "Load Names" button on the main screen prior to clicking "Review/Edit/Merge CSV".

The screenshot below shows the summary page that would then be displayed for an event where no substitutions occurred, but where a few bbonames were missing from the names file. If the user clicks on the link showing the number of missing names, the list will be placed in the browser's Downloads folder with the filename "MissingNames.txt".



The next screenshot below illustrates the substitutions list, in this case for an event where a names file was not available. For each pair number, the first pair of names in the list is the pair from the ranking list. BBO appears to use the names from the last traveller played in a session for the ranking list, irrespective of how may boards were played by that pair. For example, the pair "JCSOM+whatbidnow", who played as pair 118, played 10 boards out of 12 but are not on the ranking list. By clicking on "JCSOM+whatbidnow" in the substitutions list it is possible to replace the pair on the ranking list with these names. If changes are made in this manner then a "Save CSV" button will appear in the menu bar. Clicking on this button will save the modified CSV file in the browser's Downloads folder.



The screenshots above also show an "Edit Scores" button in the menu bar. Clicking on this will bring up a score editing screen, like the one shown below. Navigation buttons allow the user to move to the next or previous traveller, or to select a traveller number from a dropdown list. The "Editor Help" button on the menu bar displays help describing the syntax for entering contracts, scores, and Averages. If any changes are made a "Save CSV" button will appear on the menu bar. Click on this button after all required changes have been made, in order to write the changes to a new copy of the CSV file, which will be placed in the Downloads folder.




How to Deal with Substitutes


In the very unlikely event that you get the message:

"Some pairs numbers could not be assigned automatically and
are prefixed with 'Sub', columns 'nsPair' and 'ewPair' in the traveller
line section. Therefore the csv file has to be manually edited to
change these to the appropriate pair numbers from the ranking list."

you have to act on it and edit the csv file directly.
BBO Extractor assigns pair numbers to pairs that appear in the ranking list. If a substitute plays some boards then he/she will get assigned the same pair number as his partner providing the partner appears in the the ranking list.

BBO Extractor usually resolves this sort of problems automatically - you can see the report on the Review/Edit/Merge CSV screen. If it cannot determine what pair number to assign it invents a special pair number prefixed with "Sub". It's then up to the director/scorer to decide which real pair number should have been assigned to the substitute pair and edit the CSV accordingly before running BBOtoXML. BBOtoXML does generate a warning alert when you attempt to convert a CSV with "Sub" pair numbers but it's easy to ignore that and it goes ahead with the conversion to XML anyway.