Answers.Body: <p>Years ago I worked with these as just a hobbyist. I downloaded a resource document about an old piece of software called Tournament Administrator. The source site is gone, but the Internet Wayback Machine still had it from 2006 (2008 corrupted):</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060622121352/http://www.georgejohn.bcentralhost.com:80/GeorgeJohn/Chess/USCF/Computer/Current/Appendix_E1_TA_files.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://web.archive.org/web/20060622121352/http://www.georgejohn.bcentralhost.com:80/GeorgeJohn/Chess/USCF/Computer/Current/Appendix_E1_TA_files.htm</a></p>
  
  <p>I can't find any resource for newer USCF file formats. Good luck!</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-12-16T20:55:45.457Z
Answers.Text: Thanks!  This is actually exactly what I'm looking for, except it's for the older file format (e.g., without color information).  At least using this, I might have a better chance at reverse engineering the current format by looking at tournament report files from other events.
Answers.UserDisplayName: patbarron
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-12-16T18:24:20.147Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-12-16T18:40:48.387Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-12-16T18:40:48.387Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: TauranJanitor
Answers.Body: <p>This is a bit of an old question, but the &quot;new&quot; (2006) file format is at the link below:</p>
  <p><a href="https://secure2.uschess.org/TD_Affil/fileformat.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://secure2.uschess.org/TD_Affil/fileformat.php</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-10-14T18:53:08.513Z
Answers.Text: This should be marked as the right answer
Answers.UserDisplayName: Nick
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-06-23T16:46:49.920Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-06-23T16:46:49.920Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Richard Campbell
Answers.Body: <p>Google turned up many ways to read or convert DBF files as well as detailed descriptions of the contents.</p>
  
  <p>See the gory details here
  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.dbf#File_architecture_overview" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.dbf#File_architecture_overview</a></p>
  
  <p>and yet more gory here:
  <a href="http://www.dbase.com/Knowledgebase/INT/db7_file_fmt.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.dbase.com/Knowledgebase/INT/db7_file_fmt.htm</a></p>
  
  <p>with more details still at this site
  <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150323061445/http://ulisse.elettra.trieste.it/services/doc/dbase/DBFstruct.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://web.archive.org/web/20150323061445/http://ulisse.elettra.trieste.it/services/doc/dbase/DBFstruct.htm</a></p>
  
  <p>yet another view of the DBF file
  <a href="https://www.dbf2002.com/dbf-file-format.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dbf2002.com/dbf-file-format.html</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-12-06T21:56:59.460Z
Answers.Text: These are great links for the structure of the files, thanks!  Now it would be convenient to be able to get a description of fields that USCF uses in these files, and how those fields are interpreted.  Rather than just trying to reverse-engineer from tournament reports generated from other software....
Answers.UserDisplayName: patbarron
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-01-22T20:11:14.380Z
Answers.Text: And yet someone downvoted this today without any reason.
Answers.UserDisplayName: edwina oliver
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-12-06T18:02:12.793Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-12-06T21:49:23.380Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-12-06T21:49:23.380Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: edwina oliver
Body: <p>When a USCF rated tournament is submitted for rating, the tournament director submits to the USCF a set of dBase III files (.DBF files) that include the tournament data.  I've never seen a description of the structure of those files anywhere - I mean, I know they're dBase files, but as far as the fields and such.  Does such a description exist?</p>
  
  <p>A long while back, I was talking to someone at the USCF who worked on the website and online tournament submission, who told me that there was in the planning stages an XML-based format for submitting tournament results, and that it was in limited testing at that time.  I've never seen nor heard anything else about this since then.  Is anything like this still in progress?  Is there a description of that format anywhere?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-15T22:23:43.697Z
Comments.Text: Just curious. What happens when you open one of those files with something like Excel or NeoOffice that can read those files? Do you get column headings you can understand?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Arlen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-17T00:34:32.980Z
Comments.Text: I don't think Excel will open them, don't know about NeoOffice.  I don't have a sample tournament report to look at (due to not having either WinTD or SwissSys), otherwise I could probably reverse engineer the structure.  Maybe I could get Vega to generate a USCF-compatible tournament report, but I know Vega is rarely used for USCF tournaments, so I would prefer to have something generated by the software everyone uses...
Comments.UserDisplayName: patbarron
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-18T15:30:42.620Z
Comments.Text: Excel used to open dBase files, I have to admit I haven't checked that recently. I haven't submitted a tournament report in a decade or more.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Arlen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-18T18:32:04.960Z
Comments.Text: Excel can still open dBase files, and there are several other programs that can view them.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Herb
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-18T23:16:06.210Z
Comments.Text: Thanks!  I did not know that.
Comments.UserDisplayName: patbarron
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-12-06T19:28:45.977Z
Comments.Text: @ patbarron  --  google turned up many ways to read or convert DBF files as well as detailed descriptions of the contents.
Comments.UserDisplayName: edwina oliver
Tags: <software><uscf>
Title: Is there a description of the files used by USCF ratings reports?
ThreadText: # Is there a description of the files used by USCF ratings reports?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-07)
  
  When a USCF rated tournament is submitted for rating, the tournament director submits to the USCF a set of dBase III files (.DBF files) that include the tournament data. I've never seen a description of the structure of those files anywhere - I mean, I know they're dBase files, but as far as the fields and such. Does such a description exist?
  
  A long while back, I was talking to someone at the USCF who worked on the website and online tournament submission, who told me that there was in the planning stages an XML-based format for submitting tournament results, and that it was in limited testing at that time. I've never seen nor heard anything else about this since then. Is anything like this still in progress? Is there a description of that format anywhere?
  
  **Tags:** software, uscf
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Just curious. What happens when you open one of those files with something like Excel or NeoOffice that can read those files? Do you get column headings you can understand?  
  > **username_0**: I don't think Excel will open them, don't know about NeoOffice.  I don't have a sample tournament report to look at (due to not having either WinTD or SwissSys), otherwise I could probably reverse engineer the structure.  Maybe I could get Vega to generate a USCF-compatible tournament report, but I know Vega is rarely used for USCF tournaments, so I would prefer to have something generated by the software everyone uses...  
  > **username_1**: Excel used to open dBase files, I have to admit I haven't checked that recently. I haven't submitted a tournament report in a decade or more.  
  > **username_2**: Excel can still open dBase files, and there are several other programs that can view them.  
  > **username_0**: Thanks!  I did not know that.  
  > **username_3**: @ username_0  --  google turned up many ways to read or convert DBF files as well as detailed descriptions of the contents.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2019-12-16. Score: 3 | Accepted answer
  
  Years ago I worked with these as just a hobbyist. I downloaded a resource document about an old piece of software called Tournament Administrator. The source site is gone, but the Internet Wayback Machine still had it from 2006 (2008 corrupted):
  
  <https://web.archive.org/web/20060622121352/http://www.georgejohn.bcentralhost.com:80/GeorgeJohn/Chess/USCF/Computer/Current/Appendix_E1_TA_files.htm>
  
  I can't find any resource for newer USCF file formats. Good luck!
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thanks!  This is actually exactly what I'm looking for, except it's for the older file format (e.g., without color information).  At least using this, I might have a better chance at reverse engineering the current format by looking at tournament report files from other events.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2024-06-23. Score: 3
  
  This is a bit of an old question, but the "new" (2006) file format is at the link below:
  
  <https://secure2.uschess.org/TD_Affil/fileformat.php>
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: This should be marked as the right answer  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2019-12-06. Score: 3
  
  Google turned up many ways to read or convert DBF files as well as detailed descriptions of the contents.
  
  See the gory details here
  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.dbf#File_architecture_overview>
  
  and yet more gory here:
  <http://www.dbase.com/Knowledgebase/INT/db7_file_fmt.htm>
  
  with more details still at this site
  <http://web.archive.org/web/20150323061445/http://ulisse.elettra.trieste.it/services/doc/dbase/DBFstruct.htm>
  
  yet another view of the DBF file
  <https://www.dbf2002.com/dbf-file-format.html>
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: These are great links for the structure of the files, thanks!  Now it would be convenient to be able to get a description of fields that USCF uses in these files, and how those fields are interpreted.  Rather than just trying to reverse-engineer from tournament reports generated from other software....  
  > **username_3**: And yet someone downvoted this today without any reason.  
  
  ---
  
  