Move Player - Players Menu

Moves or copies players between sections (in the same tournament) or even between different tournament files.

Access Methods

• Menu Command: Players → Move Player (opens the Move Player dialog).
• Drag-and-Drop: New in v11.76: Drag a player directly from the roster grid onto a section tab to move them (no dialog needed).

Drag-and-Drop Method

Start Drag: In the player roster grid, each row has a small “hamburger” icon (three orange horizontal lines on the far left). Click and hold that hamburger icon on the player you want to move.

Drag to Target: With the mouse held down, drag the player up to the section tabs (the labeled tabs at the top of the SwissSys window that show each section’s name and player count). Hover over the tab of the section you want to move the player into.

Drop: Release the mouse button while over the target section tab. SwissSys will move the player to that section.

Alternative Method: If you double-click the hamburger icon instead of dragging, SwissSys will open a small menu (section picker) allowing you to choose the destination section and whether to Move or Copy the player. This is useful if you prefer an explicit prompt or if you want to duplicate the player rather than move.

Visual Feedback During Drag:

• The mouse cursor will turn into a “hand with document” icon when you are dragging a player.
• If you hover over a section tab, a tooltip might appear (e.g., “Release to move player to [Section Name]”).
• The hamburger icon is orange normally; it turns black for the row you are dragging (or have selected).

Operation Types

Whether you use drag-and-drop or the dialog, there are two types of operations:

• Move (Transfer): Moves the player completely to the destination section.

  • SwissSys copies the player into the new section and removes them from the original section.
  • Ratings and relevant info move with them (their results do not transfer; any results from the old section are cleared).
  • The player’s participation (history) is preserved in the sense that SwissSys keeps an internal record that they moved sections (so you don’t lose track of rating calculations, etc.).
  • Use this for a permanent transfer (e.g., the player was placed in the wrong section initially).

• Duplicate (Copy): Copies the player to the destination section but also leaves them in the source section.

  • SwissSys creates a separate entry for the player in the new section. The original stays intact.
  • The two instances of the player are treated as different participants (for example, if you wanted to test a “what-if” scenario or let a player play in two sections, which is rare).
  • Use this for special cases like testing pairings or if a player legitimately plays in multiple sections (note: very uncommon in official events).

After initiating a move or copy via drag-and-drop, SwissSys may ask you to confirm the action (especially if using the dialog or if the player already has results – see Restrictions below). The interface is designed not to assume your intent blindly, to prevent accidental deletions or duplicates.

Menu Command Method

If you prefer the traditional way or need to move players between different tournament files:

1. Select the player in the roster (click their name so the row is highlighted).
2. Go to Players → Move Player. This opens the Move Player dialog.
3. In the dialog, choose the destination Section (within the same tournament) or select an external tournament File to move/copy into.
4. Choose Move or Copy (this dialog will prompt you for which operation).
5. Click the Move button to execute.

The menu/dialog method allows moving between different tournament files as well (you’ll browse to another .sjson file to receive the player).

Note: The Move/Copy operation is blocked if a round is currently in progress and the player is already paired in that round. You cannot move a player out of a section in the middle of an active round.

Restrictions

Drag-and-Drop Unavailable: Some situations disable the drag-and-drop feature:

• Single-section tournaments (there’s nowhere to drag a player to if only one section exists).
• Tournaments using FIDE pairing rules, after the second round has been paired. (FIDE rules prohibit section changes after Round 2, so SwissSys will not allow it.)
• Round-Robin sections once pairings are set. (Moving players in a round-robin breaks the pairing structure.)
• Fixed roster team events after the event has started. (Teams have set board orders and composition, so you cannot move players between sections.)

Players with Results: If a player already has results in the section, moving them will require confirmation since it will erase those results from the original section. SwissSys will prompt you: e.g., “This player has results in Section A. OK to clear those results and move the player to Section B?” If you confirm, the results in the old section are removed (treated as if the player withdrew from that section). Under FIDE rules (after round 2), such a move is not allowed at all.

Multiple Selections: The drag-and-drop interface supports moving one player at a time. If you need to move multiple players in one go, use the Move Player dialog: you can select multiple players in the dialog’s list (or move them one by one). There is no multi-select drag of several players simultaneously.

Preserving Data: When you move a player, their ID and pre-tournament rating history move with them, but any game scores in the old section do not. If you accidentally moved someone, you can always re-enter them into the original section (their previous results would need to be re-entered if they continue there).

Configuration

To minimize the need to move players, you can use certain Environment Options that enforce logical section entries during registration:

• Ratings-based section rules: You can configure SwissSys to warn or prevent you from adding a player to a section if their rating is outside a set range. This helps catch mis-entries (for example, a 2000-rated player accidentally entered in an U1200 section).
• Age/Grade registration rules: If running scholastic sections, you can set up rules so that if you enter a player with an age or grade that doesn’t match the section’s range, SwissSys alerts you.

These settings (found under Options → Environment → Registration) can reduce mistakes that require using Move Player later.

Related Topics

• Player Roster – Viewing and managing the list of players in a section.
• Section Panels – Overview of section tabs and information displayed (including how to interpret counts after moving players).
• Clear Selected Results – If you need to remove a player’s results (SwissSys does part of this automatically when moving).