The command line
You code a match by typing on the command line at the bottom of the console. Type a code, or several separated by spaces, and press Enter. Courtside reads back what you typed before you commit it.
Type and add codes
- Click the command line, or press Ctrl+K (⌘K on a Mac) from anywhere in the console.
- Type one or more codes, separated by spaces:
7 a10 a14#. - Read the line under it. It says what each code means, or what's wrong.
- Press Enter to add them. Press Esc to clear the line.
You can type a whole rally on one line, or one touch at a time. Both give the same codes.
Short codes are filled in for you: 8# becomes *08AH#, an attack by home #8 that wins the point. Letters after the shirt number can be typed in lower case. How codes are built: Code layout. What Courtside adds by itself: What Courtside fills in.
The read-back line
The line under the command line always shows one of these:
- With nothing typed: a reminder, "Enter adds the code · Esc clears · shorthand like a10 or 5S.a12# is filled in · several codes per line".
- While you type: what each code means, separated by
·. Where you typed a short form, the full code comes first:*08AH# Harbour City VC #8 attack, high, perfect, wins the point. - When a code can't be read: what's wrong, in red. With several codes on the line it names the one at fault. Enter adds nothing until it's fixed.
- After Enter: what happened, such as "Added 7 a10 a14#." or why it was refused.
Some messages you'll see:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Start with the shirt number (a for the away team)." | A touch starts with the player: 7, a7, *7. |
| "Unknown skill letter K." | Use S, R, E, A, B, D or F. A setter call such as K1 needs its two characters: 4K1. |
| "Unknown type letter X." | Use H, M, Q, T, U, N or O. |
| "Shirt numbers go from 0 to 99." | Check the number. |
| "Add the evaluation (# + ! - / =)." | The code needs a rating. |
| "Dot codes pair a serve with a reception, or an attack with a block or dig." | See Dot codes. |
| "The part after the dot is the other team's touch." | Don't put the same team's prefix on both halves. |
| "Put the skill letter (S R E A B D F) before the zones and the rest." | With zones or other details, type the skill letter. |
Who serves
At the start of a rally, once the set's first point is played, the empty command line says who serves, for example a05 serves: type + or the passer. You can then leave the serve out: type its rating alone (+), or start with the passer (7-). See The serve from the rotation.
Before a set's first point, Courtside doesn't know who serves. Type the server: 7 or a7.
Point buttons
On each side of the command line is a Point button for each team, with the team's name. They're on the same side as the team on the court, and follow when you swap sides.
- Point on the left: Alt+1 (⌥1 on a Mac).
- Point on the right: Alt+2 (⌥2).
Use them when the rally ends in a way the codes don't show, for example after an untouched ball or a referee's decision. Courtside writes the point code with the new score, and the rotation if it's a side-out.
Most of the time you don't need them: a code that ends the rally (an ace, a kill, an error) writes the point by itself.
A point with no rally. If you press Point before typing anything in the rally, Courtside warns you first, because the last rally is usually already over: "The last rally already went to Riverside Volley (a14AH#)…". Press the same Point again to give the team a point with no rally, for example for a penalty.
The Point buttons are off while a team needs its lineup, while a set end waits for you, and once the match is over.
Commands
Not every code is a touch. These work on the command line, with or without the home team's *:
| Type | Becomes | What it is |
|---|---|---|
T, aT | *T, aT | Timeout |
c6.7, ac6.7 | *c06:07, ac06:07 | Substitution: #6 off, #7 on |
z3, az3 | *z3, az3 | The setter is in zone 3 |
P5, aP5 | *P5, aP5 | The setter is #5 |
p5:3 | *p05:03 | Point, with the score after it (home:away) |
The team panel's buttons write the same codes. See Substitutions, timeouts and rotation.
Keys while you type
While the cursor is on the command line, only keys with Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) or Alt (⌥), or the function keys F1 to F12, run actions. Plain keys always type.
Ctrl+Z (⌘Z) with text on the line undoes your typing. With an empty line it undoes the last code added. See Undo and redo.
You can make a plain key type something else, for example ] type #. See Keys that type.
When the cursor comes back to the command line after you click a button or use the video, it goes to the end of the line, so you carry on typing where you were.
Video times
With a video open, each code gets the video time of its first keystroke. See Video times and sync.
When codes are refused
- A set end is waiting for you to confirm it. End the set first. See Ending a set.
- The match is over. You can still modify earlier codes.
- A team needs its lineup. Enter it on the lineup screen.