| Q | How much does it cost to use CEMS? |
| A | The current charge for each state, regional, or national organization is $250.00/year. We also offer (separately) an option
for online registration. This is $0.35/registrant. |
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| Q | What are the requirements to run CEMS? |
| A | CEMS requires:
- Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Windows 7
- Access Version 2000, 2002, 2003, or 2007. We have not yet tested it on Access 2010.
- A Scantron Optical Mark Reader is required to scan forms that are prepared by judges (score sheets) or participants (answer sheets).
It is not required on computers that will not be performing these operations.
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| Q | I have downloaded CEMS and want to copy it to another computer. What do I do? |
| A |
- Copy the CEMS folder from the C: drive (or whichever folder you installed CEMS into) to the same folder on the new computer.
- Copy the file MSCOMM32.OCX from the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder on the first computer to the same folder on the second computer.
Note: On Windows 2000 computers, the folder will be C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32. On 64-bit XP, Vista, or Windows 7 computers, the folder
will be called C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64.
- Hit Start and Run.
- Type regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mscomm32.ocx . (On Windows 2000, type regsvr32 c:\winnt\system32\mscomm32.ocx instead.
On 64-bit systems, type regsvr32 c:\windows\syswow64\mscomm32.ocx instead.
As an alternative, if the new computer is connected to the internet, you can do the following:
- download and install CEMS on the new computer.
- Copy your conference file from the old computer to the CEMS folder on the new computer. This file will be named after your conference,
with the text "_be.mdb" at the end of the filename. It will be a Microsoft Access file.
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| Q | I have already worked on my conference. If I download and install CEMS again, will it foul anything up? |
| A | No, unless you entered all of your students into the sample file. If you did that, then re-installing CEMS will erase your work.
In that case, before you re-install CEMS, do the following:
- Start CEMS.
- Click the name of the conference from the list.
- Click the button Create a new conference based on this one.
- Enter a new name, and check all of the boxes below the name.
- Click the Create button.
- You can then exit CEMS and re-install it.
- In the future, use the conference with the name that you entered in step 4.
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| Q | When I go to scan forms, I get an error message, Invalid COMM Port (or something similar). |
| A | The COMM port setting is incorrect. At the main CEMS screen, choose General Settings and OMR Features.
Try a different COMM port. They are generally numbered 1-4. |
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| Q | When I go to scan forms, nothing happens. |
| A | There are several possibilities:
- The OMR is not properly connected to the computer. Check the cabling.
- The COMM port is incorrect. See the previous question about the Invalid COMM port.
- The OMR model is wrong. It should be 8000 for any newer OMR model (one that is using the new command set) but that is reading 25-channel
("option 2") forms (such as the 2200, 22000, and classic Blue DECA forms); 8400 for a newer model designed to read 48-channel forms (such as the Red 1187L),
and 2100 for old (pre-Scanmark) optical mark readers. To adjust the OMR model, select General Settings and OMR features, and change the OMR model number.
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| Q | Every time I read a form, it says "Invalid number of timing marks. Expecting xxxxxx but received yyyyy". |
| A | Here are things to check:
- If it does this only once in a while, it means that the optical mark reader either missed a timing mark or read too many. This will often happen
if the form has been folded, creased, or torn, or has stray marks in the timing mark area (the edge of the paper with the short black marks).
- if it happens randomly, but the forms look good, it could indicate that your OMR needs adjustment.
- If it is consistently off, it could be that the definition of your form is wrong. Count the black timing marks (including any larger black square at the
beginning or the end of the set of marks), then go to OMR Forms. Select the form you are using and see if the number of timing marks is correct.
- If it happens consistently, and the number of timing marks it reads is off by a significant fraction (i.e., 8/5 or 5/8), then your OMR model is probably wrong.
Go to General Settings and OMR Features. If the number it is reading is 5/8 the number it should read, then you want to change your OMR model
to 8000. If it is 8/5 the number it should be, then your OMR model should be 8400.
- If it happens consistently, but the number it is reading varies a little bit, and it reads roughly 8/5 or 5/8 the number expected, then your OMR may be configured
for a different option than your forms are printed for. You will need to either reconfigure your machine (using a configuration sheet) or get a different
OMR machine or use different forms. There is no way that CEMS can force the machine to read mismatching forms reliably. If you are using an old Option 2
form on a newer Option 48 machine, it will read 8/5 as many timing marks. If you use an Option 2 machine (or configure a modern machine to read Option 2), then
48 channel forms will be scanned with 5/8 the correct number of forms. After you fix the problem, be sure to adjust your OMR model in CEMS using
General Settings and OMR Featured. Model 8400 corresponds to the 48-channel machine or configuration, and model 8000 corresponds to the Option 2
machine.
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| Q | When I open CEMS, I get an error message, and all of the buttons on the main screen are blank. |
| A | See if there is a security warning on your screen. If so, you will need to click it and satisfy it. See the page about Access 2007
to get rid of those warnings for good. If you receive a different message, especially about an Active-X control, then you will need to properly install CEMS. See
the entry for I have downloaded CEMS and want to copy it to another computer. |
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| Q | How do I adjust weightings of different events? |
| A | At the main screen, click the Scores button in the top row. Find the specific event (under its series heading) that you want to adjust. Set its
weight at the right. These are weights relative to other events in the same series. CEMS will compute the corresponding percentage weight, and display it
next to the name of each event in the list at the right when you click into that list again. For example, if you gave BSM Comprehensive Exam a weight of 1, and
BSM Judged Event a weight of 3, then it would show "25%" next to the exam and "75%" next to the judged events. If you had entered weights of 5 and 15, you would get
the exact same results. |
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| Q | What preparation should I perform before a conference? |
| A | Here are our suggestions:
- Be sure to complete your registration at least a week or two before the conference. If there are still some late people, proceed to run reports and scan forms
(as described below) on a trial basis using the registrants you actually have.
- Be sure to set up your OMR and scan the answer keys at least a week before the conference. Use the same computer and OMR that you will use at the conference
if at all possible, since the two main stumbling blocks that people encounter are setting up the OMR and getting the forms set up correctly. Once you have scanned
the answer keys, you will have gotten through most of these issues.
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- Scan a few answer and judge's forms, and make sure that the scores are being displayed correctly. You can use dummy students if needed.
- If this is the first time you are using CEMS, or if you have made significant changes to the events or reports, review your events and weights, and print some
reports on a trial basis. Register some dummy participants if you don't have any real ones.
- Be sure to bring all of your equipment (including cables and adequate forms) to the conference. Bring a backup OMR (or have a plan to obtain one), as these sometimes
break or fall out of adjustment in shipping. If you have a backup ready, make sure it is configured and able to read the same kind of forms that you are using at the
conference.
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| Q | My conference file has gotton really large, and CEMS is working a bit slowly with it. Is there anything I can do? |
| A | Yes, you can compress it:
- Exit CEMS.
- Open up the conference file directly. It will be named after your conference, ending with "_be", and will be a Microsoft Access file. It will most likely be in the CEMS folder.
- In Access, choose Tools, Database Utilities, and Compact and Repair Database
- Exit Access
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| Q | I would like to send you my conference file. How would I do that? |
| A | It may be too large to EMAIL, but you can send it to us as follows:
- Go to http://184.191.35.218/upload.php
- Hit the Choose File button.
- Browse over to your conference file. It will be named after your conference, ending with "_be", and will be a Microsoft Access file. It will most likely be in the CEMS folder.
- Hit Open.
- Hit the Upload File button. It may take a minute or two to upload, depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection.
- Send an EMAIL to ness@ldness.com letting us know that you have sent it.
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| Q | I opened CEMS, but my conference does not appear in the list of conference files. How do I find it? |
| A | It is probably in a different folder than the one CEMS is looking in. At the bottom of the Choose Conference window, there is a prompt, Conferences are located
in the CEMS folder: followed by the name of the folder, which is usually C:\CEMS. If you know what folder your conference file is in, change it to that folder. If you are not sure
where your conference is located, search your computer for all files whose names contain "_be.mdb". Here is how to do that:
- In Windows XP,
- Hit Start and Search for Files and Folders.
- Click All Files and Folders.
- Enter _be.mdb after the prompt, "All or part of the file name:.
- Hit the Search button.
- In Windows 7 and Windows Vista:
- Hit Start and Computer and select the C: drive. (You may also want to try other drives if you think the file might be on one of them.
- In the upper right of the screen, you will see a box, containing the words "Search ..C:". Type *_be.mdb there, over top of those words.
- Hit Enter.
A list of all of the conference files will appear. You can then copy it to the folder that CEMS is using (right-click the file and choose Copy, then open the folder that CEMS is using
and choose Paste, or, when you start CEMS, tell it to use the folder that contains the conference file. |
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