Summary
This article explains in detail how to create a club account for the Bridgemate app and what installation and configuration is needed on your club computer in order to broadcast the club event information and results to the players' smartphones.
Procedure
Follow these steps in order to run the Bridgemate app in your club:
- Install Bridgemate Control Software 3.9.6 or later version
- Create a club account for the Bridgemate app
- Enter your club details
- Retrieve your club account number and verification code
- Configure the behaviour of the app
- Configure app settings in Bridgemate Control Software
- Start uploading event data to Bridgemate app
- Validate new player registrations
1. Install Bridgemate Control Software 3.9.6 or later version
Bridgemate Control Software (BCS) 3.9.6 or newer is required to upload your event data to the Bridgemate app. You can easily download and install this version on top of your existing BCS installation. The download link to the latest version can be found in this article.
2. Create a club account for the Bridgemate app
Once you have installed the latest version of BCS, you are ready to create a club account with the Bridgemate app. This is essential for uploading data to the Bridgemate app. The club account allows you to upload data as well as control the behaviour of the app in your club. You can also validate any players who have registered for using the app in your club, and verify that they have registered correctly.
Go to the club account page to create an account (or log in to an existing account).
Click on Create an account to create a new club account.
Enter the name of your club, then select the country and state your club is located in, and enter the city. This information is used by players to identify their club in the app. If your country is not listed, this means the app is not yet available in your country.
If your club is affiliated to a national bridge federation (for example the ACBL in the USA, or the EBU in England), select "Federation affiliated" and enter the federation club number in the box that appears (with a maximum of six digits).
Provide a password and email address which will be used for logging in and retrieving the login details. You must agree with the terms of use and the privacy policy. Click on Submit to complete the registration process. A new club account is now created and you should receive an email containing your club account number. You need this account number and your password to log in to your club account. If you do not receive this email, please check your spam folder.
3. Complete club details
Once your account is created, log in to the club administration page with your account number and your password. Click on Club information on the left to retrieve the club details.
Complete the remaining address details (where the club holds its events) and the website address, if any. Click on Save to store these details.
4. Retrieve your club account number and verification code
While logged in, click on App configuration. You now see the app verification code and the club number. Write down these two codes because you need them to identify your club in Bridgemate Control Software.
Please note that the app verification code is not the same as the password you provided when creating the account. The password is used to log in to the club administration page, while the verification code is used within Bridgemate Control Software when uploading the data to the Bridgemate app server.
You cannot manually change the verification code. Should you want to change this code, click on Regenerate which creates a new verification code for you.
5. Configure app behaviour
Various functions of the app can be enabled or disabled during play. Clubs can configure the app on individual basis and when a player uses the app within the club, the app behaves according to the club's configuration. Full details are available in this article on configuring app behaviour.
6. Configure app settings in Bridgemate Control Software
The next step is to configure Bridgemate Control Software (BCS) with the correct club account information. Start BCS from the Windows Start menu (or from your scoring program) and go to menu Tools -> Options -> App settings. You now see the following window:
Select "Enable Bridgemate app functionality" to enable your event data and results to be uploaded to the Bridgemate app. Enter your club number and the app verification code in the boxes below. Press "Test connection" to verify you have entered the correct information.
If your scoring program does not provide all the necessary information to BCS, you should keep "Show session information window at session start" selected. This enables you to easily change the event name when starting a new bridge event.
7. Start uploading event data to the Bridgemate app
Your setup is now complete and BCS automatically uploads all event information and results to the Bridgemate app. Players can now install the app on their smartphones and register them as a member of your club to view their results.
8. Validate new player registrations
Depending on your app configuration settings, you might have to validate all new player registrations before players can view their results on the app. See the article about validating new player registrations for more information.
Additional information
Tips for using the Bridgemate app
See also
No further references available for this article.
Update history
21-01-2015 - Article published