** Compiler/Buddy Newsletter #2 **

[Mike MacGregor 20]

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FF Today Cheatsheet Compiler and Draft Buddy

Newsletter Issue #2

Sunday August 10, 2003

 

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Hello all. We are overdue for a Compiler newsletter update, so here it is. Big news is we released a major upgrade to version 2.0 of the Compiler and Draft Buddy late this past week. The issue we’ve been wrestling with is that some people, particularly AOL users, are not getting the email we’re sending with your login info to get updates. Read on about that, the new features, and more.

 

 

<>==<>==<> IMPORTANT: LOGIN INFO <>==<>==<>

 

For everyone to be able to get the most updated Compiler and Draft Buddy versions, anytime you want, Mike and I set up a restricted access directory at FF Today for you to login to with userid and password and download the file from. The directory is located, here:

 

http://www.fftoday.com/download

 

Now, based on our knowledge of all things technical – and we are usually very meticulous about these things – everyone who purchased anytime prior to this past Saturday, August 9 (plus a few Saturday customers who made the cutoff) were added to the login script and sent their login info by email.

 

HOWEVER, it appears a number of people did not receive their login info email. Every person who has contacted us so far is properly set up in the script, but they didn’t get the email for some reason. The only thing I can think of is the receiving email server took our mass email as SPAM, and promptly deleted it.

 

So, if you did not receive your login info by email, try this:

 

1. Go to the download directory http://www.fftoday.com/download

 

2. When prompted for your userid, enter your EMAIL ADDRESS. This should be in all lower case. Unless it was requested otherwise, it will be your email address used for your PayPal account or credit card order that we saw on purchase.

 

3. For your password, enter the FIRST 8 CHARACTERS OF YOUR LAST NAME. This will also be all lower case, and remove characters such as single quotes, spaces or dashes if applicable. If your last name is less than 8 characters, then the password will be shortened to your last name. Again, this will be the last name as transmitted from the PayPal account used for purchase.

 

Note, however, the above will only apply if you have never tried to request the system to retrieve a lost password. If you used the link on the FF Today website to retrieve a lost password, it will issue a new, random password, and so the original password set up as your last name will not work.

 

I’m very sorry for the trouble this has caused. If you follow these steps to login and still have trouble, then please by all means contact me at compiler@fftoday.com and we’ll get you straightened out ASAP.

 

 

<>==<>==<> Version 2.0 <>==<>==<>

 

All right, let’s get on to the good stuff. The new features in version 2.0. You asked about adding and tweaking some things, and I responded as best I could with a limited number of hours in the day. Here is what was added or changed:

 

1. Improved Draft Buddy player drop-down lists to allow for selecting of players based on name (First Name Last Name) or rankings. Using the list by name now includes all players. The player drop-down format can be switched back and forth mid-draft.

 

2. Added custom baseline option in the Compiler, used to adjust any of the pre-set overall ranking methods. This feature allows users to increase or decrease the value of each position for the purpose of the overall rankings.

 

3. Changed the tiering feature from a bottom-up to a top-down methodology.

 

4. Updated offense, team defense and IDP projections, and depth chart and average draft position data.

 

And let’s not forget some stuff that was there in our mini-update, version 1.5, on the off chance you missed it:

 

1. Added Average Draft Position (ADP) data to Draft Buddy. ADP is a good measure of where players are normally drafted to help decide whether to pull the trigger on a player or wait until a later pick. Players drop off the ADP list as they are selected.

 

2. Added color highlighting feature to the overall rankings in the Compiler and Draft Buddy, and ADP list in Draft Buddy. This allows you to highlight all players at a particular position. Simply input the appropriate position abbreviation in the highlight boxes where indicated. Delete the position abbreviation to remove highlighting.

 

The drop-downs still aren’t perfect, but are very much improved I think. Darn things still start at the bottom of the list rather than the top, but (tip time) hit HOME to quickly jump to the top of the list. In fact, HOME, END, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN all work within the drop-down. Definitely do some trial runs with Buddy before getting into a live draft situation, but I think it should work fine.

 

As for the other stuff, I really like the addition of ADP data to help identify just how long you can wait to grab a player. Remember, it is only an average guide though, and not a guarantee someone you are targetting will wait around for you to pick them. Thanks to Steve at AntSports (www.antsports.com) for making this data available to us.

 

 

<>==<>==<> Help Guides <>==<>==<>

 

Stuck on something using the Compiler or Draft Buddy? Have you checked out our new Help Guides? Currently we have a Getting Started, Scoring Systems and Flex Lineups Help Guide which go into a lot of detail and discussion to help you get the most out the software. You can find them, here:

 

http://www.fftoday.com/compiler/hg_started.htm

 

http://www.fftoday.com/compiler/hg_scoring.htm

 

http://www.fftoday.com/compiler/hg_flex.htm

 

And of course, our best resource for tech support is the Compiler Forum at FF Today, found here:

 

http://www.fftodayforums.com/cgi-bin/ultim...?ubb=forum&f=20

 

 

<>==<>==<> Updating From A Prior Version Tip <>==<>==<>

 

With the new update, the obvious question is, what is the best way to update my old inputs to the new versions of the Compiler and Draft Buddy?

 

Currently, each update to the Compiler results in a whole new download. This means the custom scoring input in your prior version needs to be input again in this version. However, you can easily copy the scoring from the old version to new in only a couple of steps. Try this:

 

Open the old Compiler version and click on the scoring tab. Hit CTRL-A to select all, hit CTRL-C to copy. Then switch over to the scoring tab in the new Compiler version, click the cell in the very top left corner and hit CTRL-V (paste).

 

Do NOT do this for the Compiler inputs or Draft Buddy setup tabs.

 

However, you can do the copying/pasting for many other sections rather than the whole tab. For example, the box in the Buddy setup tab where you input the team and owner names. Or, the players input in the Buddy keepers tab. Or, the Pick Traded To and Pos/Player columns in Buddy if you added a lot of trades and keepers (by-passing the keepers tab) in your old version.

 

I can pretty much guarantee I will develop a better solution for this, but it is unlikely to be available this year since we are already into August.

 

 

<>==<>==<> Updating From A Prior Version Tip 2 <>==<>==<>

 

One of the best features of the Compiler is the ability to add projections from other websites or magazine, to average them together or just check for comparison to the FF Today projections. For those who went through the task of doing this, as described here:

 

http://www.fftodayforums.com/cgi-bin/ultim...c;f=20;t=000005

 

you’re probably wondering the best way to update this info from the old to new version of the Compiler. There are a couple options.

 

1. You could sort the player lists on the position tabs in each version. Since version 1.0, I don’t think any players were added except RB Tony Hollings (HOU), so they should all match up exactly except for him.

 

Start by selecting the cell in column A to the left of the first player on the position tab. Hit CTRL-SHIFT-END to highlight the whole area. While holding SHIFT, use the arrow keys to move the highlighted area to the last player line on the tab. Choose Data > Sort and sort by name (column C). Do the same for the other version. Then you can copy the projections you put in the last version, and paste them into the new version. Make sure to check they lineup with the player names properly.

 

2. You can use some VLOOKUP formulas to quickly reference the player name, and copy them over from one version to the other. This would be the same process as described in the above link, which many of you already have experience with.

 

 

<>==<>==<> Compiler/Buddy Kicked Some Ass <>==<>==<>

 

As mentioned way back in newsletter #1 which our early, early customers received, I was invited into a showcase league hosted by Fantasy Asylum. It is called the Dirty Dozen, and in it I am representing FF Today.

 

The draft was non-live, started July 9 and ran until July 20. I drafted in the 9 slot. Interesting league quirks:

 

> 3 player keeper league but only players selected in rounds 4 or later

> are eligible to be kept.

 

> Scoring is pretty standard performance except WR & TE get 1 point per

> reception while RB get 1 point per 4 receptions. But, RB do get 1

> point per 10 rush attempts.

 

Anyway, with FF Today Cheatsheet Compiler and Draft Buddy in hand, here is the lineup we ended up with:

 

1.09 RB Travis Henry

2.04 RB Fred Taylor

3.09 WR Koren Robinson

4.04 TE Jeremy Shockey

5.09 QB Aaron Brooks

6.04 WR Jimmy Smith

7.09 WR Todd Pinkston

8.04 RB Jerome Bettis

9.09 QB Steve McNair

10.04 WR Mushin Muhammad

11.09 QB Patrick Ramsey

12.04 WR Santana Moss

13.09 RB Maurice Morris

14.04 WR David Terrell

15.09 DT New England Patriots

16.04 DT New York Giants

17.09 PK Josh Brown

18.04 PK Matt Stover

 

I’ve since replaced Stover with backup RB LaBrandon Toefield for insurance on Fred Taylor.

 

I like this team. While I didn’t really need Patrick Ramsey already having Brooks and McNair, that was more a defensive move to keep his upside potential away from some other owners who didn’t even have their QB2 yet.

 

Interesting to note that Mike Krueger and I discussed the top 9 beforehand thinking Holmes and Henry would be the most likely to fall to us. (This draft was before the “I’m healthy” Holmes news.) Every player in our top 9 went in the actual draft top 9, and Holmes went 8, while we got Henry at 9 (but ranked 4th overall per the Compiler).

 

If interested to see how the whole draft went, check here:

 

http://football.myfantasyleague.com/2003/o...ns?L=76113&O=17

 

 

I think that about does it for this update. Hope you enjoyed it. If you have any feedback on the Compiler or Buddy please drop me an email.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

compiler@fftoday.com

[Mike MacGregor 20]

Above is the newsletter sent out Sunday, posted in case some of you didn't receive it. Mike K. and myself are really hating email mailing list programs and SPAM blocking software these days.

 

I can get 40+ emails a day on where to buy Viagra (and other related topics I won't discuss here), how to make $8,000 a month, and where to get free full color business cards, but think I can send out a newsletter to a long list of my best football buddies? Nooo... [/vent]

[chaz88 0]

Mike, Just curious about the ADP only having 10 team and 12 team ADP data. Is there enough 14 team ADP data out there to add this option as well?

 

Thanks

[Mike MacGregor 20]

There wasn't enough data when I added it chaz, otherwise it would be in there.