Frequently Asked Questions

I added an unused race. What do I do?

We were finished racing, but I accidentally hit the + button, and we have an extra race that we don’t need. What do I do?

Go to the race screen
Use the “>” button to navigate to the last race (the one you accidentally added)
Ensure that no finishes have been entered (Use Long Press/Return to Scheduled if you have unwanted finishes)
Use the “-” key to remove the race
If you have added more than one unwanted race, keep using the “-” key until you get back to the last wanted race

Notes:

you can only remove the last race (or races) of the event
this method only works for Single Fleet (not HMS)

I have an old Android tablet. Can I use it for Afleet scoring?

Many people have older Android tablets lying around. Maybe you could consider using one for scoring your club’s racing? Some sailors even donate unused Android tablets to their club; so that the scoring system is available to the Officer of the day.

We have ensured that Afleet is compatible with older tablets, because we know that clubs do not always have lots of money to throw around. And having a club scoring tablet works very well for many clubs. If you don’t have an Android phone, or you want to use a tablet, we want Afleet to be inexpensive to set up.

So, what is the minimum Android version required for Afleet?

The minimum Android version required, for all features, is 5.0 Lollipop. 5.0 was released in November 2014.

The absolute minimum Android version required is 4.1 (Jelly Bean). 4.1 was released in July 2012. It gives you all features except printing. But you can still share your scores in HTML which is what most people do.

You can check your Android version by going to the settings. Look for “About”. Usually it’s near the bottom of the Settings menu. Otherwise, if you can remember when you bought the tablet, that would be a good guide.

Google Play will not let you purchase and download Afleet, if your tablet will not run it.

And remember, good Android tablets are relatively inexpensive to buy new. You don’t need top of the line. Just get a good reliable brand (we find Samsung works well).

So, give it a go. We will refund if it doesn’t work, or you are not satisfied.

Can I use A-Fleet on Windows or Mac?

A-Fleet can be used on a Windows 10 or 11 computer with the aid of http://www.bluestacks.com . Bluestacks is an Android emulator, allowing you to run Android applications (including A-Fleet) on your Windows machine. The installation guide is here.

Bluestacks also runs on a Mac. I haven’t tested this, but it should work for a Mac too. I’ll find a Mac, give it a test and let you know. If anyone has tested this, please contact us and let me know!

If you don’t have an Android device, you can use Bluestacks to try A-Fleet on your home computer. If you like it great! Your club may even consider getting an Android tablet. People love getting the scores as they happen, at the side of the lake.

Do I need the Internet to use Afleet?

At the lakeside, you can use Afleet to record your scores, with no connection to the internet. When you get home, you can connect to the internet and send out the results.

If internet is available, at the lake (mobile connection) you can send results directly from the event. If you are using Afleet on your phone, you can send directly from that, or use a WiFi mobile hotspot, if you are using a tablet.

In NZ, we have a beautiful radio sailing venue at Lake Manuwai. Mobile coverage was very limited, so we decided, at the beginning of the project, that the app had to be usable offline. We recently had a question on this, so it has turned out to be a good decision!

Can I transfer my data to another device?

We all upgrade our phones at times. Or maybe we have tried Afleet on our phone, and want to transfer our data to the club tablet. How do I set up Afleet on a new device?

Step 1: Load Afleet onto the new Android device. Note: if your new device uses the same account, you will not need to re-purchase the license. See “Can I transfer my Afleet License to Another Device?”

Step 2: Export any events that you want to keep. See https://afleet.app/export-and-import . This will also copy any contacts associated with those events, saving quite a lot of work.

Step 3: Import the event(s) into the new device.

Keeping Afleet Up to Date

We work very hard to keep Afleet running smoothly, and to update functionality as we receive your requests and are able to respond. Sometimes users find issues that we hadn’t anticipated, and we release fixes to resolve them.

You will have the best experience with Afleet by keeping it up to date. We recommend you update now, if you are not on the latest version.

Even better, set up your device to automatically update.

Google instructions here: How to update the Play Store and Apps on Android

Can I transfer my Afleet License to Another Device?

Your A-Fleet license is tied to your Google Account. It will work on any Android device which is logged in to Google with the account you used to purchase the license

Just go to the Google Play Store and install the app on your new device.

Thanks to Art (from West Coast Radio Sailing) for the simple explanation!

BlueStacks – Exporting PDFs to Windows (or Mac)

Using Afleet on Bluestacks www.bluestacks.com, I can print the scoresheet to PDF. But how do I make the PDF visible to Windows (or Mac)? Here’s how…

Note: this is tested on Windows, but not tested on Mac.

Starting point:

Afleet is loaded on Bluestacks, and I have scored an event. I now want to save to PDF, and make it available to my PC/Mac …

From Afleet (on BlueStacks) …

Select the Score screen
Print
Select “Save as PDF”
Click the PDF button
Select Downloads
Save

We have now saved your PDF in the BluesStacks environment, and need to get it into your PC/Mac environment

From Bluestacks…

Home (top left corner of the BlueStacks window)
System Apps
Media Manager
Long click (click and hold) on the PDF (that we saved earlier). You should then see a tick in the corner of the PDF icon
Click the “Export to Windows” button (towards the top of the screen). (There should be a similar function for the Mac version of BlueStacks)
Choose a Windows/Mac folder, and Save

From Windows File Explorer (or Mac equivalent)

Locate the PDF you saved
Email/Print (or whatever you choose)

Thanks to John B for the question.

Deleting Contacts

Sometimes you cannot delete a Contact, and it can be hard to understand why.

A Contact can only be deleted from the Contact list if the sailor is not entered in any Events. Here is how to handle some common scenarios…

I don’t want to keep the Event(s) the Contact is entered in

If you are finished working with the Event, and you have shared the results, you can delete the Event (including removing it from the Recycle Bin). If you do this for all Events the Contact is entered in, you can delete the Contact

I have two spellings for the same Sailor

Let’s say we enter Alister into Event 1. Alistair tells us we have spelt his name wrong, so we enter Alistair into Event 2. But we can’t delete Alister as a contact. To fix this:

Go back to Event 1, and change the Event Entry from Alister to Alistair (you won’t break the results)
Go to the Contacts screen and delete Alister

We recognise this is a problem for people, and we will improve this area of the App when we can.

Many of you have asked this question. Thanks to Mike C, who contacted me about it recently. I hope it helps!

Changing Names and Sail Numbers

It’s very easy to change the name/spelling, or sail number of an event entry. So, if you have spelt a name wrong, or used the wrong sail number…

Menu/ Enter
Select the Entry
Change the Name or Sail Number

Results, for that boat, will automatically have the new name or sail number applied. So if you start out with details a bit wrong, you can change them, any time.

Note: If you have spelt a name wrong, you probably want to remove the “wrong” name from the contacts. See “Deleting Contacts” (above) if you need help with that.

Recording a Dead Heat

Sometimes, when boats finish, you just aren’t sure who finished first. My experience is that most race committees make a call – I’ve done it myself! But if we don’t know, maybe it’s better to call it a dead heat.

Today, Graham B asked a question on how to record a dead heat (thanks Graham). So here is the answer…

Example:

56 1st

94 2nd=

89 2nd=

64 4th

Try this:

– Finish 56, 94, 89, 64 as if they had come 1, 2, 3 and 4

– Long press on 94

– Select Redress/RDG – Race Officer Awards Points

– Type 2.5 / OK

Repeat for 89

Result

89 will now show up as having been given redress. On the score screen, you should get

56 – 1

94 – 2.5

89 – 2.5

64 – 4

This is a workaround, but it does work! You may want to give it a try.