Ratings Tab - Environment Options

This tab controls what ratings are loaded with online or database searches and how ratings are calculated for tournament play.

The same Rating setup controls appear in several places:

• Ratings tab (here): embedded directly in Environment Options.
• Registration: click the Rating options button in the registration toolbar to open a modal titled Confirm/edit rating search options.
• Update paths: shown automatically by Database > Update players from database and Internet > Update players from USCF or FIDE site.
• Database Setup and the Database Wizard: the same profile panel chooses which ratings each database provides.

Changes made in one place apply everywhere. These settings are tournament-specific: they now persist per tournament in the saved .sjson file, so a joint USCF + FIDE setup travels with that event. The values on this tab serve as the default for new tournaments.

Configuration display: When you open the Registration panel, the search area shows read-only status labels (Local: and Online:) that mirror your current rating configuration exactly. If no online search applies, the Online label is hidden. See Register - Players Menu for the label format.

Which controls you see

The Rating setup section adapts to the database you have loaded:

Most tournaments use a downloaded .rbin database or run online-only, so the profile panel is the usual view.

The Rating setup panel

The panel reads top to bottom:

• Capability line (gray, upper right) — what rating data is available, for example This database: USCF + FIDE (joint) or, with no database, No local database - lookups run online (chessroster.com).
• Preset chips — one-click setups: USCF, USCF + FIDE, CFC, CFC + FIDE, FIDE.
• Rating type — Regular, Quick, or Blitz for USCF/CFC; Standard, Rapid, or Blitz for FIDE.
• Summary — two plain-language lines describing exactly what each player will receive.
• More options — a single [+] More options: IDs, search and import settings expander for everything else.

Preset chips

Each chip configures the whole profile at once — which organization fills the primary ID and rating, which fills the secondary ID2 and Rating 2, and the matching online search settings.

• A joint chip (USCF + FIDE or CFC + FIDE) also turns on “fetch FIDE alongside USCF online.”
• A single chip turns that off.
• If the database a chip needs is not loaded, the chip still works: with no local database it sets up online-only lookups immediately, then offers (never forces) a database download for faster local searches.

The summary lines

The two summary lines update live and state precisely what gets written into each player:

• Line 1 — the primary ID and rating and where they come from, for example USCF ID + USCF Reg - from this database + USCF online (Published, Latest supplement), or USCF ID + USCF Reg - from USCF online only when no local database is loaded.
• Line 2 — the secondary slot, for example ID2 / Rating 2: not used.

These labels are truthful — they match exactly what SwissSys populates, so the Registration screen never shows a stale federation label.

More options

Expanding More options reveals the full controls. Collapsed, the panel stays compact.

Custom IDs and ratings

• ID 1 + Rating — the primary organization (for example “USCF (online only)”) and its rating category.
• ID 2 + Rating 2 — the secondary organization (or “(None)”) and its category.
• The <-> button swaps the primary and secondary assignments.

A chip is just a shortcut for these combos; use them directly to build any combination by hand.

Titles

Title import is off by default. Enable only what you need:

• Load FIDE titles — FIDE titles from the database’s FIDE data (available when the profile includes FIDE).
• Load USCF NM titles — write a USCF NM (National Master) designation into the player title.
• Load USCF CM titles — write a USCF CM (Candidate Master) designation into the player title.

The NM and CM gates are available when the profile includes USCF. Other USCF titles (LM, SM, GM) and FIDE titles are unaffected by the NM/CM gates.

Field placement

• Put secondary ID in ID2 — store the secondary organization’s ID in the ID2 field.
• Put federation in Club — store the federation code in the Club field.

Online search settings

These settings affect online searches only, not local database imports.

• Rating Source — Published uses the official USCF rating supplements (the periodically issued lists). Live queries the player’s current rating from USCF online instead of a supplement. Available only for USCF; FIDE forces Published.
• Supplement Date — Latest always uses the most recent USCF supplement; Tournament date uses the supplement current as of the event’s Starting Date (set in Tournament Setup). Using the tournament date reflects what was published before the event began, which is standard for USCF-rated events. Applies only to Published ratings — disabled when Rating Source is Live or the federation is FIDE.

Rating import settings

These settings apply to both online and local database searches.

• If the required rating is missing… — Leave it as is, Use the alternate, Prompt for choice, or Special handling for online-quick. (Special handling uses the regular rating for online-quick events: it prefers the Online Quick rating and falls back to the OTB Regular rating. Use only for online quick tournaments.)
• Provisionally rated: — how a provisional rating (too few games to be established) is treated on import:
  • Ignore all — import with no special marking (default)
  • Mark all with “p” — flag every provisional rating so those players are visually distinct
  • Warn me — prompt during the search so you can decide per player
• Online event — load online ratings for internet-based tournaments.
• Use highest rating — offer the highest available rating during registration.

See Estimated and Provisional Ratings for how these display on reports.

Also fetch FIDE data when refreshing USCF online

When the panel is shown as the Confirm/edit rating search options modal, the expander also includes Also fetch FIDE data when refreshing USCF online. When checked, an online USCF refresh returns the player’s FIDE ratings and title in the same lookup. A joint chip turns this on automatically; it is only meaningful when the profile includes FIDE.

Joint USCF + FIDE databases

When you load a joint USCF + FIDE (or CFC + FIDE) .rbin, the capability line confirms it and the joint chips become the natural choice. Selecting USCF + FIDE keeps the USCF rating primary and maps FIDE into the secondary slot.

Legacy Federation controls (non-binary databases)

When a configured non-binary database is loaded (.dbf, .xls, .mdb, or .txt), the panel shows the older Federation controls instead of the profile chips.

Choose the federation for the tournament:

• USCF offers the full Online search settings and Rating import settings described above.
• FIDE simplifies to the Rating import settings only (Rating Source is forced to Published and Supplement Date is disabled).
• N/A disables online search entirely and hides the Online status label in registration. Useful for federations without online support (CFC text databases, ECF, and so on).

Post-Event Ratings

Note: Post-event rating calculation settings have been moved to the Registration & Editing tab.

See the Registration & Editing tab for:

• Formula for post-event ratings
• Scholastic rating setup

Related Topics

• Online Player Search - Using online search during registration
• Register - Players Menu - Registration dialog and status labels
• Database Setup - Point SwissSys at a database and set its profile
• Files & Databases - Database configuration