All of these files are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. Adobe Reader is completely free and works just about everywhere. If you don't have it installed on your machine, get it here.
GMS' documentation is written in OpenOffice, a free productivity suite compatible with Microsoft Office.
For a zip file with all of these documents together, download here.
| Installation and migration This walks you through installing GMS 5, setting up the appropriate databases, and potentially converting your data from previous versions of GMS. |
Download here |
| GMS 5 update installation This walks you through updating an existing installation of GMS 5 with the latest versions, with none of the hassles, in a one-page easy document. |
Download here |
| Creating a New Games This walks you through the New Games Wizard and the Games Duplication tool as ways of making new games in your data. |
Download here |
| Games Fifty three pages of everything you need to know to run a games, from the New Games Wizard to bib assignment, games reports and exceptions reports. |
Download here |
| Registration Wizard This wizard walks you through the registration process, finding, updating and adding events to individuals. |
Download here |
| Divisioning This document walks you through the process and tools available for divisioning entrants for competition within an event (non-bracketed events only). |
Download here |
| Bracketing GMS 5.1 supports bracketed events - single-elimination, double-elimination and round-robin. Read up on how to do it here. |
Download here |
| Event Results Entry This covers entering results for a non-bracketed event, running results reports and labels, and printing honest-effort reports. |
Download here |
| Web Exporter The web exporter lets you turn your games into a complete web site for registration verification, results, and PR. |
Download here |
| GMS 5 Enterprise Manager This is a catch-all set of tools for GMS handles backups, restores, security, tracing and user monitoring, and various utilities for fixing issues in your GMS data. |
Download here |
| Backup and restore A primer on how to backup your data using GMS 5, and how to restore it when necessary. |
Download here |
| NexusDB table repair NexusDB tables are relatively hard to break, especially compared to Paradox tables. If you do damage one (or you think one is damaged), read this to learn how to fix it. (GMS 5.2.0.83 and higher have a built-in tool for managing this process.) |
Download here |
| NexusDB as a service NexusDB Server v1 can be run as a service on your server rather than a standalone application. This lets it start with the machine, rather that requiring that someone be logged on to the server. |
Download here |
| Paradox table Repair Users of Paradox-based data sometimes find that their tables may be damaged or get "BLOB has been modified" or "Index out of date" errors while running GMS. Use this document to learn how to repair these tables without losing your data. |
Download here |
| System Setup This describes the various system configuration options for GMS. |
Download here |
| Advancement Wizard The Advancement Wizard lets you advance winners (and others that meet your criteria) from a set of earlier games into a new games. |
Download here |
| Score Transfer Tool This tool lets you copy the scores, divisions, levels and/or other values from entrants in one events to another event, and possibly add/delete entrants if missing. |
Download here |
| Flat-file Importer This tool lets you import data from other programs into GMS. |
Download here |
| Games Verification This tool lets you validate any of your games and check for problems. |
Download here |
| Duplicate Person Handler This is designed to accurately detect multiple people in your data who really refer to the same individual and then let you combine them together. |
Download here |
| GMS Exchange GMS Exchange is the tool to use for sending data from one copy of GMS to another, and this is how to use it for exporting data. |
Exporting Importing |
| Awards Estimator This tool is for estimating the number of awards by type and sport that will be required for a games. |
Download here |
| Scheduling Scheduling is used for assigning dates, times and locations to both entrants and divisions. |
Download here |
| Custom Fields Custom fields let you associate data that GMS otherwise would not understand with people, delegations, and other objects. Create your own custom fields of any data type. |
Download here |
| Credentials Credentials can be anything from wristbands to full-color cards with photos. Use built-in or roll your own. |
Download here |
| Report Designer Used within the credentials, mailing labels and custom heat sheets designer, this is a quick intro into the basics of the report designer. |
Download here |
| Event Definition GMS' complicated event definition system made easy (or at least less obtuse). |
Download here |
| Template Events Describes how to find, edit, copy and create template events, which are used as the basis of events in new games. |
Download here |
| Permanent Delegations Permanent delegations are delegations which exist outside the context of a games and which act as the repositories for all of the people in GMS. This document describes how they work, how to make new ones and combine existing ones together. |
Download here |
| Scoreboards GMS can drive numerous types of scoreboards with results, staging and informational data. You can also define your own scoreboards. |
Using scoreboards Defining your own scoreboards |
| Colorado System 5 Timing Interface GMS will directly connect to a Colorado System 5 timing interface at your pool to capture detailed information right out of the timer. |
Download here |
| Finish Lynx and Omega Scan-O-Vision GMS will work directly with Finish Lynx and Omega Scan-O-Vision timing systems to transfer entrants, divisions and schedules and then to retrieve the results right back into GMS. |
Download here |
| Lane Assignments This walks you through the process of defining your event to use lanes, using the Lane Assignment Wizard, and gives examples of how to set your lane specifications for various types of events. |
Download here |
| GMS Data Encryption GMS 5.5 adds support for the encryption of certain pieces of data. This walks you through the process of defining master and user decryption keys and how to use them. |
Download here |
| Automated Background Checks GMS 5.5 adds tools for entering background check requests, processing them through IntelliCorp, Securint or ChoicePoint, and running reports against them. |
Download here |
| Certifications Purge Tool This tool lets you delete certifications associated with people, either because the person has two or more records of the same kind, or other criteria that you specify. |
Download here |
| Exporters This walks you through two of GMS' most useful exporters: the "Standard Exporter" (globally and from within a games) and the "Certifications" exporter. |
Download here |
| Timing Interfaces These explain how to use the Alge TDC4000/TDC8000 and Seiko CT300/CT400 timing system interfaces. |
Alge timers Seiko timers |
| Lists These explain how to use the new lists tools in GMS which let you form lists of people for exports and mailing labels |
Download here |