Course Design

Course symbol dimensions

The settings for course overprint: course symbols, dimensions and colors etc are available via a single dialog window, so all settings can be found in one place.

The settings are configurable separately for each canvas, so each canvas can have its own style.

The Course Overprint Symbols and Dimensions dialog is opened via the menu item: Canvas / Course overprint symbols and dimensions.

The dialog has 3 tabs.  The first tab, Course Overprint Symbols, deals with symbols and dimensions that are governed by the IOF Map Specifications. The IOF has a collection of different Map Specifications, one for each discipline and a separate one for sprint.  To simplify adherence, Condes allows you to select the map specification to use, and symbols and dimensions pertinent to that specification is then used.

The second tab, Additional Dimensions and Fonts, allows you to configure additional dimensions that are not governed by the map specification.

The third tab, Overprint Color, allows you to configure course overprint colors.

For control numbers, the size of these is specified in the IOF map specification, so the size is configured on the first tab.  The typeface is not specified by the map specification, so the font can be chosen on the second tab.

Diamond loops (Phi loops)

Loops are commonly used to avoid following, for example if you have a mass start.

Condes supports butterfly and diamond loops.

A butterfly uses a common control and 2-6 loops of controls.  Competitors run the loops in different order, coming back to the common control after each loop.

A diamond uses two common controls: an entry and an exit control, and 3 branches: 2 branches from the entry control to the exit control, and one branch back.  Competitors start with the entry control, and take the two “forward” branches in different order, going to the exit control, and using the “backwards” branch back to the entry control.

You create a course with butterflies or diamonds by first creating a normal course, then adding the loops to the course.  This is done in the Course window, which you can open from the Course Layout Editor by using the menu Course / Edit, or by simply double-clicking on the map.

The course shown at the left has a diamond with entry control 33 and exit control 31.  This generates two variations: AB, and BA, where AB takes controls in the order -33-62-32-31-40-33-41-31-, and BA takes the loops in the opposite order, so -33-41-31-40-33-62-32-31-.

In the Course Layout Editor, you can select to show either of the two variations. In the printout window, you can select the variations to print.

You can mix butterflies and diamonds on the same course.  Adding multiple butterflies or diamonds to the same course creates additional variations.

You cannot add butterflies or diamonds to a relay course.

Show all controls

When editing a course, and using the “insert control” tool to add controls to the course, control circles for all existing controls are shown, so that you can choose which one to insert.  However, it can be useful to see all control circles even when not inserting a control.  This is now possible.  There is a new button on the toolbar, which toggles on/off all control circles (menu: Canvas / Show all controls dimmed).  When this feature is on, controls that are not part of the course currently being edited, are shown dimmed.

Course Length Calculation along Route Choice

Condes provides a “route choice” mode, which lets you to draw a “route choice” line for each leg from one control to the next.  When the course is configured to use the route choice line for length calculation, the course length is measured along the route choice lines.

You can add multiple different route choice lines between each two controls.  This is handy, for example on sprint courses, where you may need to compare route choices.  The route choices are shown in different color so that you can use a screen shot to illustrate the leg’s route choices. The course length is calculated along the shortest route choice.  If the same course leg is used on multiple courses, you need only draw the route choice line once.

Forbidden Route

Forbidden Route symbols can be rotated.  Use the “rotate” tool when a Forbidden Route symbol is selected.

Course symbols: Boundary Lines, Out-of-Bounds, Refreshments

Each individual course symbol can be configured to be shown only on a given course and/or a given canvas, or can be shared by courses and/or canvases.

Boundary Lines only for course overprint

Boundary line line width is not configurable, as the boundary line objects are a part of the course symbols “layer”.

If you need other lines, you can create lines as graphics objects, and configure the properties of these – by means of the graphics object type: Line

Automatic cutting of crossing course leg lines

When two course leg line intersect each other, one of the lines is automatically cut.  Similarly, a course leg line that overlaps with a control number is automatically cut.This feature can be enabled/disabled in the Additional Dimensions and Fonts dialog.

MTBO Forbidden Route

There is a tool to create the zigzag line that is used to indicate a forbidden route for MTBO courses.

Rogaine Course

A Rogaine course almost identical to a Score course.  The difference is that a Rogaine course automatically contains all the controls created for the event, and the points value for each control is automatically set equal to the control code rounded down to the nearest multiple of 10.

There is a setting in the Course dialog window that enables Rogaine scoring for a Score O course.