========================================
 LEAGUE AND ELO TRACKER - USER GUIDE
 Version 2.4
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1. GETTING AROUND
-----------------
The sidebar on the left switches between the three screens:

  Home     Summary cards, the latest Elo ranking (click it to
           open the Players page) and quick actions
  Players  The Elo ladder, plus add / import / export of players
  Matches  Record a result, and browse the full match history

The menu bar at the top holds every import, export, backup and
restore command. The status bar at the bottom shows the date, the
player and match counts, and the result of your last action.

All new players start at Elo 1500. Recording a result updates both
players' ratings automatically.

2. ADD A PLAYER
---------------
Go to Players and click "Add Player", type a name and click Save.
Names must be at least 2 characters and must be unique.

3. RECORD A MATCH
-----------------
Go to Matches and use the "Record Match Result" card:

1. Select Player 1 and Player 2 from the dropdowns
2. Enter the score for each player
3. Set the match date (defaults to today)
4. Click "Record Match"

Equal scores are automatically treated as a draw.
The winner is determined by the higher score.

4. HOW ELO WORKS
----------------
Formula:  New Elo = Old Elo + 32 x (Actual - Expected)

  Actual score:  1 = win,  0.5 = draw,  0 = loss
  Expected    =  1 / (1 + 10^((Opponent Elo - Your Elo) / 400))

Upsets (beating a higher-rated player) gain more points than
expected wins. Draws benefit the lower-rated player.

5. IMPORT / EXPORT
------------------
Available from the File menu, and from the buttons on the Players
and Matches screens.

Import Players CSV:
  Header row:  Name
  Data rows:   One player name per line

Import Matches CSV (two accepted formats):
  With draw support:
    Player1Name,Player2Name,Player1Score,Player2Score,MatchDate
  Standard (no draws):
    WinnerName,LoserName,WinnerScore,LoserScore,MatchDate

  Date formats accepted: MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD
  Equal scores = draw detected automatically
  IMPORTANT: Import players before importing matches.

Import League Rounds from Excel:
  Reads a league workbook and imports each round's results.

Export Players CSV:  Name, Elo, Wins, Draws, Losses, Win%, Highest/Lowest Elo
Export Players ELO:  Name and rating only, for sharing between apps
Export Matches CSV:  Full match history with Elo changes

CSV templates are in the Templates\ folder.

6. BACKUP & RESTORE  (File menu)
---------------------------------
Create Backup  - saves a timestamped ZIP of all data to your Downloads folder
Restore Backup - select a ZIP to roll back to a previous state

Create Backup is also a quick action on the Home screen.

Tip: always create a backup before bulk CSV imports.

7. DATA FILES
-------------
All data is stored in the Data folder next to the executable:

  Data\players.json   - player ratings and statistics
  Data\matches.json   - full match history

  Templates\          - CSV import templates

Keep the Data folder next to the executable. Do not manually edit JSON files.
Data is saved automatically after every operation.

8. TROUBLESHOOTING
------------------
App won't start      Run as administrator; click "More info" ->
                     "Run anyway" in Windows SmartScreen
Data not saving      Check folder write permissions; try running
                     as administrator or move to Documents\
Import fails         Verify column headers match templates exactly
Player not found     Names must match exactly (case-insensitive);
                     import players before matches

9. TIPS
-------
 * Back up before bulk imports or application updates
 * Export to CSV to share rankings or analyse in Excel/Sheets
 * Import matches in chronological order for accurate Elo history
 * Don't manually edit Elo values - let the system calculate
 * Don't separate the .exe from its data files

========================================
 Version 2.4 | github.com/NickSmuts/League-and-Elo-Tracker
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