NEW YEAR

[Halfthumb]

Rick, what happens on Jan 1, 2012 when I download my tracks?
Are the Jan 1, 2011 files deleted or do I have to manually delete them?

Paul B

[Rick]

They are not automatically deleted. The races with the same name as last year are overwritten but when there were more races at that track last year than this year it will show all the races under last years date instead of this years date. And if there are no races this year for a track that ran on this date, they will stay there. That is not good in Robot2.

If you use the HTR File Rat and check the Archive Files option, the files that are a year old will be copied to an archive directory and removed from your working directory.

Of course it doesn't have to be the 1st of the year. Whenever you reach the point of having a year of data in your working directory you need to remove the files from last year before downloading the files for this year.

You can do it manually, you can use the KeyRace program to to it, or you can use the File Rat.

My vote is for the File Rat.

Of course I download all tracks and that is a requirement for the Archive Files option to work.

[km]

'thumb, the new year makes no difference to the previous files unless they are more than 365-days old. Keep tailoring your local folder (usually HTR folder) on a regular basis and remove files from the bottom of the list that are more than a year old. That's all you need to do, the change to calendar year 2012 has additional meaning with your file management.

The File Rat will do this automatically. There is no valid reason to keep files more than 1yr anymore unless you are into serious number crunching for targeted research, such as a particular trainer at a certain meet.

[DanG]

There is no valid reason to keep files more than 1yr anymore unless you are into serious number crunching for targeted research, such as a particular trainer at a certain meet.

Don’t leave out the pack rats Ken. :)

http://www.audiotubes.com/garage3.jpg

[sly7449]

Of course I download all tracks and that is a requirement for the Archive Files option to work.

As in my case, I do not download all Tracks.

So from what you are saying, for the Archive Option to work, we must D/L All Tracks.

If I change the Track Selection from Select Only Favorites TODAY, will it be able to implement the Archive Feature?

Should we use the Select All Tracks or the Download All Tracks (Rats)?

Thanks

Sly

[njcurveball]

There is no valid reason to keep files more than 1yr anymore unless you are into serious number crunching for targeted research, such as a particular trainer at a certain meet.

Ken,

You confused me and probably a few others here, so perhaps you can explain this.

For me I have to keep older files for the main reason when anything in the program changes I have to re-export everything to keep my database in sync. For example, you add a new field to HX4, I need to re-export to test that new field against previous years.

I also think others keep directories to test the robot against previous years. I have done that as well.

The easiest thing to do (at least for me) is to simply rename the HTR directory on December 31 after I download the results and before I download January 1.

I simply rename it to HTR2011. The HTRDATA directory can either be deleted or renamed HTRDATA2011 at that time.

I also create a new directory HTR and copy all of my baseline files there. Or you could simply re-install the program at that point.

I don't know what the Filerat does with these directories but my own personal preference I keep older files.

Jim

[Rick]

Sly,

The Select All Tracks is for use when setting up favorites.

You need to use the "Download All Tracks (Cool)" to use the Archive Files option.

[km]

Good point Dan and NJ, holding onto to older files is important for db users.

Database users need to store their files by year in order to update each time the HX file spec changes.

My bad. I was thinking about the average user that utilizes the Robot only for testing 365.

[John]

Sly: Use the checkbox "Download All Tracks." This will download all tracks even if the track is not shown in the track list window.

NJ: The File Rat doesn't delete any files it only archives files. You can find these files on your C: drive in FILERAT_HTR_ARCHIVE and FILERAT_HTRDATA_ARCHIVE. It organizes the files by year to help you organize your files. Other archiving options are available ex: by year and month.

One key factor with the File Rat is that is uses an internal process to determine the date of your files and not the OS directory date which can be a date other what the file really is. Another key factor is the File Rat catches zero byte and corrupted files and moves them in an Err or UKN directory under the File Rat Archive directory structure mentioned above.

You can use the File Rat Utilities to scan through all your old files and get the proper dates and eliminate corrupt data. You can go through any directory on your hard drive and it will either move or copy all your HTR files (both unzipped and zipped) to the proper year under the Archive directory structure.

To get started new with the benefits of the File Rat or to start over after a period of absence:

1) Go into the "HTR File Utility" (button located on the left of the main File Rat screen) and select the bottom radio button "File Sweeper." At the top of the screen select your handicapping directory. Hit "Scan" and it will go through your selected directory and will "MOVE" any files a year older than today's date into the FILERAT Archive directory structure by the proper year and will catch corrupt files and move then into an "Err" or "UNK" folder in the Archive structure. This helps us keep a clean set of archive files to move, store and backup.

2) In the main screen of the File Rat, keep the "checkbox" "Download All Tracks" checked and on the left keep the "Archive Files" checked. If you select "UnZip" it will unzip your HTR files as it downlaods so the other HTR programs can skip that step when opening. The "UnZip" feature moves the HTR files to the C:\HTRDATA directory just like HTR's suite of handicapping programs. The File Rat's "HTR File Utility" modules located on the left always moves or copies files to the FILERAT ARCHIVE directory structure and never deletes anything.

I keep these settings while downloading for handicapping and it keeps my handicapping directory clean and without any files older than a year. At the same time it is aiding me in my archiving routine by organizing the older files in the FILERAT Archive.

Just using the two steps above saves me time from manually searching for files older than a year.

Periodically I use the HTR File Utility to scan the C:\HTRDATA directory and use the "Move" option to clean and transfer those files into C:\FILERAT.. Archive directory structure. Every now and then I use the HTR File Utility to scan my handicapping directory and "COPY" just to make sure I have everything possible in the File Rat Archives. Once the files are in the archive I know they are clean and properly dated to be moved for other management.


Aside from using the File Rat while downloading to maintain my current handicapping directory, I used the HTR File Utility to scan through all my saved files over the years. I set it for "MOVE", set the directory that I wanted to scan at the top of the screen and it cleaned and moved all the files by year to the C:\FILERAT Archive structure. I deleted the bad files and then moved my scanned files to another place for permanent archiving. When I did this I found quite a few files that were wrongly dated. The operating system associates a date to the file (File Date in Windows Explorer) however the actual HTR handicapping file might be a different day or even year all together. The date shown for a file in Windows Explorer is a characteristic of and managed by the Windows OS and has nothing to do with how HTR processes the files.

For my permanent archive I always use the files from the FILERAT ARCHIVE on my C: drive that have been scanned with the HTR File Utility. I keep moving files from this archive to a place and store them by year.

In the FILERAT ARCHIVE directories, you will sometimes find folders with the name "2,1" or other unusual names. You can safely delete these folders and files as well as the "Err" and "UNK" folders.

John

[sly7449]

Gentlemen,

Thanks to Rick for a speedy response and also to John for an in-depth reply and cool tool.

Looks like I got it in spite of the Warning: Your Selected Directory Is The Same As Your Download Directory In The HTR File Rat.

Thanks Once Again.

Sly