This document highlights all the changes made from Zone4 version 4.3  to version 5.0 BETA which is an initial release for 2006/2007 focused mainly on the online registration aspects to allow clubs to get up and running quickly.

Online Registration System

• Much more attention has been paid to the elements around Online Registration and the program has been made more user-friendly.  The following 3 dialogs are now resizable allowing you to more easily enter information.  Set Option, Racer Details, and Online Registration Setup.
• The Set Options dialog  now allows quicker entry of Custom Fields and Registration Options.  Once the minimum amount of information is entered, it automatically Check's the field or option for inclusion and allows you to quickly go on to the next one.
• The Non-Category Specific fee options now includes a Header Type which allows you to group your Options in the same way you could group your Custom Fields.
• The Custom Fields and Options now allow much longer text descriptors and display names allowing more customization.
• There is now a Cart field in Racer list which is populated from the Online Registration system so that people sharing the same Cart number, registered together in the same order.  So if you have a family registering for Club Membership, they will all have
  the same Cart ID number.  The Cart field as well as the Registration Date is now included in the Racer List in Racer Info for easy grouping, and sorting.
• Added specific Province and Nation field types which end up as drop down list in Online Registration.  This will better ensure that proper Province and Nation designation is entered instead of the erratic (Ab, Al, Alberta, Alta, AB, etc) which made it difficult for organizers to sort and report on the fields.  Provinces will download as 2 character abbreviations and Nation is a 3 char field again using ISO standard country codes.
• The Waiver Text entry box has been moved to the Setup Online Registration page.  It didn't really belong in the Options section as it was specific to Online Registration.
• A change has been made to the functionality regarding the Other registration type.  The Other type is now unique because it does not charge the online registration fee for $0 events.  This means that if you have an event like Volunteer signup, field trip registration, or anything else your club can imagine where you do not want to collect fees, you can use the Zone4 Online Registration System as a FREE registration tool.  This can really help clubs simplify their day-to-day activities and save time and energy for small registration tasks.  Also note that as these Other events often smaller, they are only listed in your Club specific Online Registration area of Zone4 and are not displayed on the home page of www.Zone4.ca.

New Event Logging System

• There is now an event logging screen displayed in the lower right hand side of the screen.  This resizable log was a much needed program feature to address the following 3 issues.

1. Having a log system that tracks all the system and user events completed in a file is very important for knowing what has been completed and in which order.  The log keeps track of everything that happens in a file and can aid both other users and Zone4 is knowing what has happened to a file and when.
2. There was a need for a much more robust backup system.  The log allows for Restore Points to be marked in the file for the system to keep a specific number of backup copies of the file for the given Restore Points.  These backups are stored in an archive file in the program and you can specify how many backups (and space) this file should occupy.  You can also set the level of backups between 3 levels:  a) Automated and Backup up Very Often, b) Automated and backup only major changes, c) Backup only on manual command.  You can set this and other Backup options in the Options -> Backup section.  At any time you can resort to a Restore Point and the program will re-load the file from the archive.  So if you mess up and assign bib or something catastrophic in the middle of a race, you can easily perform and Undo Last to get yourself back.
3. The Log system also allows multiple networked computers to better communicate over a single file.  Not only can all networked users see the same list of performed tasks and log messages, but the new log system also allows the Non-Primary computers to send commands to the Primary computer (the one with the race file on it) for execution.  As the Primary computer can perform the local task much faster than a networked computer, this feature can greatly reduce network traffic and hopefully allow more Networked computers to work on the same file.

Coming Upgrades

This BETA release is just an initial release and more upgrades related to Electronic Timing, Disabled Categories, Reporting / Printouts, FIS/CCC Validation functionality are coming before the season starts.