DiamondSigns

About:
DiamondSigns is a system built to allow baseball and softball coaches to create and use simple & secure play signals. This reduces player errors, speeds up your games, and prevents your opponents from learning your signs.

You may have seen coaches pass signs to their players using numeric codes instead of complicated and hard-to-learn (and easy to miss) hand signals. I've personally seen coaches spend hours creating 'crib notes' for their players to carry, manually randomizing their plays each time an important game or tournament comes up. You may have looked into automated software that can take the manual work out of the equation, only to find they can cost hundreds of dollars.

DiamondSigns solves these problems at a reasonable one-time price any team can afford.

Rather than using the same complicated signals all season and hoping your players understand your plans and your opponent doesn't, you can call out (or use your fingers from a distance) a 3 digit code that your player then cross-references on a sheet that shows the play you intend them to use. That sheet is randomized and printed as often as you like, preventing opposing teams from ever guessing your intentions. In addition, using a 3 digit sign is MUCH faster than sweeping, pinching, grabbing, cancelling, then repeating those signals. Instead of 15-20 seconds passing signs your players may misunderstand, you call out three numbers and know that your players understand you. Your players can even easily repeat the signs to their neighbors if needed.

This can be used offensively, defensively, and even for pitching, with a little planning on your part!

Sample DiamondSigns Output
Players Sheet	Players Wristband	Coaches Key Sheet

History:
In the 2020-2021 school year, my son was honored with being chosen for the position of Head Baseball Coach at East High School in Sioux City, IA.
He had seen other teams use numeric signing, and looked into what it would take for his team to take advantage of this improved system. After seeing some of the prices of competing products, and knowing that I have computer programming experience, he asked if it would be something I would be able/interested in creating for his team.

Together we designed a system that he and his team used very successfully his first year leading the Raiders. He, his staff, and his players all provided input to help create a user-friendly system that made his sign-calling virtually foolproof. In short, his coaches and players all love DiamondSigns!

After I worked out some bugs & kinks that first year, and improved the user interface, I brought up the idea of sharing it with other teams that may be thinking about such a system but are searching for a lower-priced option than some other systems, and he readily agreed I should make DiamondSigns available for a modest fee.

Nearly a year after conception, DiamondSigns is now a product that I feel is ready for teams everywhere to take advantage of.

Instructions:

• Installation Video
  1. Download the setup program linked below in the Downloads section.
  2. Run the program and accept all defaults. If you receive a warning from your anti-virus, see the FAQ section below.
  3. The setup program will create a shortcut on your desktop as well as a folder in your start menu linking to the program, documentation in PDF format, and other useful items.
• Quick Start Video
  • Pre-Game Prep
    1. Start DiamondSigns program.
    2. Enter an existing project name in the Project field (or browse for one using the Browse button) if desired.
    3. Click the Load button if you are loading an existing project.
    4. Enter 3 character (alphanumeric) codes in the Code field, and the percentage that code should be used in the output sheet in the % field.
       (IE, common plays should have higher percentages, rare plays should have low percentages).
    5. Change font/background colors (if desired) using the FG/BG options for each code. This can make the codes easier to identify visually.
    6. Repeat the above two steps for each play you may use during your game.
    7. Click the Save button to save this project for future re-use (if desired).
    8. Click the Generate button to scramble the codes and generate the coaches key and player sheets and open them in your browser as tabs or windows where you will print them like any other webpage.
    9. Cut the generated sheets down into the correct size to fit in your wristbands. Currently the sheets fit well in a 2.5" x 4.75" (or slightly larger) windowed wristband.
    10. We are working on a process to supply wristbands, but for now you can purchase them from Amazon, any of these should work: Supplier 1, Supplier 2, or Supplier 3.
    11. Pass the wristbands out to your players and enjoy the improvement!
    12. Note: Your players will need to learn how to use this new system. The only thing they will need to learn is the 3 digit alphanumeric code/play you enter in the Code field, what it represents, and how to transform your 3 digit numeric sign into that code/play.
  • Game Time
    1. Decide on the play you want to use.
    2. Find the code that represents that play on your coaches key sheet.
    3. Locate the next available numeric sign (we recommend using a dry-erase marker to scratch off signs as you use them so your opponent doesn't memorize them).
    4. Call out the 3 digit numeric sign (1-3-5, 2-4-1, etc) to your players, or use your fingers to signal players out of hearing range (numbers are intentionally 0-5 to allow one-handed signs for most).
    5. The player uses the first two digits of your code to identify the column, then the last digit to identify the row of your desired play. For example, using our sample sheet below, you call out 231, your player looks for column 23, then follows down to row 1, to learn they are to use play ABC. In the example below, 555 translates to XYZ and 422 is Blank. Blank codes are used to pad up to 100% when generating the tables, and can be called out when no play is desired, just to keep your opponents on their toes.
    6. Enjoy knowing your players received a clear sign and transformed it into the action you desire.
    
    
• Registration
  1. Register DiamondSigns below, and wait for the email with your registration information.
  2. When you start DiamondSigns and it prompts you, enter your Organization Name and Registration Key exactly as it appears in the email.
  3. Do not include any quotes, and make sure all capitalization and spacing is EXACTLY as displayed in the email.
  4. Your copy of DiamondSigns is now registered forever. Keep your email/information safe and secure in case you replace your computer or wish to install it on another system.
• Projects (Loading/Saving)
  Projects are simply sets of plays/signs that you can re-use, rather than typing all the information in again. You may have as few as 1 or 2 projects, or if you manage multiple teams or have different sets of plays for different strategies/opponents, you may have a dozen or more. The key to a project is the combining of Sign+Percentage+Colors. Rather than fill the screen out each time, you may load a project, modify it or generate sheets, and save it again. You can start with a project, modify the percentages to see how they fit your strategy, and save it under a different name, thus leaving the original project intact.
  1. From DiamondSigns main screen, click Browse to load an existing project, or type in a new project name.
  2. Click Import to load the existing project, if desired. If the project does not exist, you will receive a warning.
  3. Modify the input fields - change your play code, modify the percent of times it should show in output sheet, change foreground/background colors, etc.
  4. Click Generate to create new sheets in your browser.
  5. If you imported an existing project and do not want to erase the previous version, change the Project Name at the top of the screen.
  6. Click the Save button to store your project for future reuse.
  7. Important! If you accidently overwrite a previous project, there is no way to recover it - you will have to recreate it!
• Reprinting Past Sheets
  Normally, when you click the Generate button, the information on the screen is randomly scrambled and arranged into the output sheets you see in your browser window. It is not possible to recreate that randomization, however when you generate those sheets, they are given a unique name before you see them, and those uniquely named sheets can be reopened and printed in case you need to recreate duplicates.
  1. From your computers desktop, open the DiamondSigns folder.
  2. You will see all previously created output sheets, named in the format: [Project]_YY.MM.DD - YYMMDD represents the date the sheet was created, and the coaches key sheets have the postfix _Key
  3. Identify which sheet you want to print based on the Project Name and Date Created and whether you are printing the player sheet or coaches key (_Key).
  4. Double-click the sheet you want to reprint, and it will open in your browser window/tab.
  5. Verify the sheet matches what you are trying to reprint, then print the sheet and cut it out to fit your wristband.
• Managing Files (Projects & Sheets)
  • Projects
  1. From DiamondSigns main screen, click the Browse button next to the Project field.
  2. From this list, identify any Project files you wish to delete or rename.
  3. Right-click each Project file you wish to change and select Delete or Rename as desired, then continue as you would with any ordinary file.
  • Past Sheets
  1. Open the DiamondSigns folder on your computers desktop.
  2. Identify the sheet(s) you want to delete or rename.
  3. Right-click each sheet you wish to change and select Delete or Rename as desired, then continue as you would with any ordinary file.

FAQ:

Q: How do I upgrade when a newer version comes out?
A: Download the new version here, then run the program to install over the top of your old version. Existing projects and generated sheets will remain intact.

Q: Why do I receive a warning from my browser or antivirus software?
A: Because of the way this program is created, some over-paranoid antivirus vendors may flag it as suspicious. Depending on the security used by your organization, this may result in issues. VirusTotal (used by most major AV companies) shows a vast majority of companies recognize it as safe. I can promise there is no malicious code contained in this program, and will assist you as much as possible to get it working on your system.

Q: Can I get a refund?
A: We will gladly refund your purchase, as long as we have not emailed your registration code yet. Because DiamondSigns is try-before-you-buy, you should try it and be sure it will work for you before purchase. Additionally, because we provide you with a non-expiring registration code, once you purchase it, we have no way to be sure the software is no longer registered.

Download & Registration:

The current version can be downloaded here: DiamondSignsSetup.exe [Backup Mirror]

DiamondSigns has taken hundreds of hours to develop, and will continue to improve based on your suggestions. This software is NOT public domain, nor freeware, but is being distributed on a try-before-you-buy basis. When you download DiamondSigns and install it, you are able to evaluate the most important features of the software before deciding to purchase.

• Email signs@cdtech.biz indicating you are registering a copy of DiamondSigns for your organization.
  We will need your name, email address, and your organization name to generate your unique registration key/code.
• Purchase your registration key using one of the methods below - credit card is preferred, but we will accept mailed checks, PayPal, or Venmo.
• Registration is lifetime - you may use this software on as many computers WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION as you like, and registration includes future upgrades. Note that the advertised registration fee is for one team - for organizations with multiple teams (School Systems, Clubs, etc that contain more than one team should contact us to negotiate a licensing agreement that will cover all teams within that organization).
  DiamondSigns involves a lot of work by one person, please encourage future development by playing fair!
• Keep your registration information confidential and secure. You will need to reenter your registration info if you reinstall DiamondSigns on a new computer.
• If you lose your registration information, contact signs@cdtech.biz with your organization name and original email address, and we will provide your code again - you will NOT need to repurchase the registration code if you can prove you have already purchased a registration.

• The program asks for registration at every startup.
• Loading & saving projects is disabled (except you can load the included 'SAMPLE' file).
• Only signs numbered #1 through #5 are included in the generated output sheets.
• The phrase 'Unregistered Evaluation Version' appears on the screen and generated output sheets.
• Registered users receive priority phone support.

	Major Credit Card		US Mail
			Email signs@cdtech.biz to receive an invoice you can mail to us with a check or money order.

Your registration code will be emailed within 24 hours of purchase along with instructions to activate your copy of DiamondSigns, and all registrations are valid for all future versions of DiamondSigns.

Version Info:

2022.03.07 Initial Public Version
2021.04.27 Initial Concept - Private Internal Version - Development Model