TIP: What is Data Sharing and How to Use - FAQ

[FTMSupport]

Here is a run down of the questions we have either received, or expect to receive about data sharing.

What is Data Sharing?

Data Sharing is a new feature in version 2.60 of both the iPhone and iPad version of iScore Baseball. This feature allows you to share teams and games between devices.


How do I share data?

We have provided two methods for sharing data. You can share via Bluetooth or over the Internet. Both methods are available by going to Options->Data Sharing. From there, you can either "Get Data from Others" or "Send Data to Others".


How do I share data using Bluetooth?

To share data over Bluetooth (no internet required), you set one device to "Get via Bluetooth", and the other to "Send via Bluetooth". The two devices will then use the built in connection interface to find each other and establish a connection. (Yes, this can be slow. We do not control this --- it is a built in feature of the iPhone SDK.) Once the connection is established, the device that is "getting" data will see a list of all Games and Teams that are on the remote device, but have not already been transferred to the local device. You can select a team that you want to transfer to your device, and it will then ask you to "map" the data to your local device. Mapping is the process of either saying the teams should be brought in as "New" teams on your device, or that the teams already exist on your device, and you choose which teams to map to. If you select a team from your device to map to, iScore will do it's best attempt to map the players from the remote team to the same players on your team. You have the option of overriding anything that iScore selects at this state. Once everything is "mapped" the way you want, let iScore do the transfer, and you will have the remote team(s) and/or game that you wanted to transfer.


How do I share data over the internet?

On the device you want to retrieve data from, make sure you have Exported the data to the iScore servers (Options->Export), and be sure you have set your Admin Password (Options->Admin Website). Now you can pull data in from that device. Select Options->Data Sharing->Get from Web Database. iScore will then ask for the Customer ID and Password of the database you want to get data from. This can be seen on the Options->Admin Website screen of the remote device. Enter this information, and iScore will then step you through the same steps as described in the Bluetooth section above.


Why do I have to map my teams/players?

Mapping allows you to continue keeping cumulative statistics even if games are scored from another device. If each device had independently created the teams and rosters, then their are internal identifiers for each team and player that are different on the two devices. Mapping allows you to say which teams or players on your device are the same as teams or players on the device you are getting data from. If you are getting data for a team that you do not already have on your device, then you can just leave the "New" selection, and new players/teams are created on your device to match the remote players/teams.

One data mapping has been done for a team between devices, you will not need to do it again. The next time you import data from the remote device, iScore will recognize that you have already mapped the players/teams, and not require you to do it again.


Can I share the data between my iPhone or iPod Touch and the iPad? (or alternatively... why can't I use Bluetooth to transfer data between an iPhone and the iPad)

Yes, you can transfer data between the iPhone or iPod Touch and the iPad, but it requires using the sharing over internet option described above. You can not use Bluetooth because the iPhone and iPad versions of the application are two separate applications, and the Bluetooth code being used only allows applications with the same "Application ID" to connect to each other. You can use Bluetooth to share from iPhone -> iPhone, from iPhone->iPod Touch (or vice versa), and from iPad->iPad, but you can not share from iPhone/iPod -> iPad over Bluetooth.

We will continue looking for ways to allow this.

[Skerrick]

Hello - am using the new sharing functionality..... I imported a game from my phone to my iPad..... The game data showed up ok but the player stats did not populate into the player records.... What did I do wrong? How can I fix it...? Thanks!!

[FTMSupport]

It sounds like you must have imported before the game was complete? The player stats are calculated when the game ends. If you go into the game score screen, and end the game, the stats should be updated.

If that is not the case, and you can export your data to us (Options->Export) and tell us which player the stats are not correct for, we can take a look. Do the export, and email us your customer ID to support@iscorecentral.com.

[nicett]

I also had the same problem. The player would not show in the player manager. After some "investgation", I learned that the league designated when the stats are imported is the default league. You will have to enable the default league, then go to player manager and select the specific player you are looking for. Then enable the particular league for that player. I don't know why the player's stats are not in there corresponding league when importing. Maybe ftm can elaborate.

[FTMSupport]

The data being imported is actually assigned to whatever leagues you have on the device you are importing to. It is not possible to use the leagues from the "remote" database as the leagues may not be the same --- you could be importing from someone that has a league called "my great league", and you would not necessarily want that on your device. The key is to just be sure you have the leagues you want the data assigned to enabled when you do an import. It is the same as when you create a new player, game, or team --- they inherit the currently selected league.

[dtkreutz]

Just an enhancement request...
Sharing is a great feature, especially between different families on a team. But could there be a way to implement a "Sync" feature to match up databases between devices? I have an iPad and iPhone, and love using them both. If there was a way to keep them in parity so I could use the device on hand and know all the info was there, that would be really convenient. You guys have our info in the cloud already, and so many other apps keep data synced, it seems like an automatically synced database would go over well with your customers.

Just a thought...
Thanks again for the best app on my devices.
Dave

[danmcc]

I am not aware of a automatic sync feature, however you can use the web database sharing feature to for instance upload from your iPhone and download to your iPad. After you score with the iPad export then retrieve to keep the iPhone in sync. It is not as simple as an auto sync feature but achievable.

[dtkreutz]

I may be wrong, but I think the Export, Import only works on devices that have the same serial number, so you can't mirror a unified database between 2 different devices via export/import. I don't believe you can share the same Customer ID for both an iPad and iPhone simultaneously.
And Data Sharing is much more granular than I'm looking for, having to select individual games or teams to copy back and forth.
It just seems like a "Master Database sync from the 'Cloud'" would be a wonderful solution, for me, anyway.

If I'm wrong, I apologize, and would appreciate any techniques for streamlining this.

[FTMSupport]

The Data Sharing only shows the games/teams that are not already on the device you are bringing the games in to, so it is a very simple way to get your devices in sync. We will not be able to automate the process because there is actually s step involved in synchronizing to make sure the players are matched up correctly. If on one device you create a player called "Jon Smith" and on another you have "John Smith", you would be able to manually match the names up, but the computer could not automatically determine of those are the same players. This is just one example, but is what makes the Data Sharing so powerful (two devices can create the same players and still be able to sync up the stats). Once you have done these mappings, future syncs remember the associations. If you give it a try, it is actually pretty quick.

[dtkreutz]

Thanks for that explanation. The full functionality of Data Sharing wasn't obvious on my limited data set.
As usual, you've thought the problem through way past what I even knew I needed.
I understand about the matching feature of Data Sharing, and it is elegant for conflicts, but I still quietly contend that a master data set in the cloud that my 2 devices check with would not run into these conflicts after the initial sync. After my devices are in parity, if I create jon smith on my iPhone on Saturday, when I take my iPad on Tuesday, it will check the cloud, update with my info, and I won't enter john smith accidentally. One master data set that all devices link to, just like every IMAP, CalDAV, iDisk solution out there.
Just a request. Place it on the pile at any level you deem appropriate.

You guys must feel great about this forum. People are only passionate and active when there is a product that is worthy of our precious time, and MAN, have you created a fantastic program that deserves all our praise!
Thanks again.
Dave