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Capturing paddle raise commitments in Spotter Mode

updated

During a paddle raise, spotters on the floor need to record who raised a paddle at each giving level, fast, in a dark room. Spotter Mode is built for exactly that: a big keypad, one level at a time, and an undo.

To open Spotter Mode:

  1. Tap Auctions in the app.
  2. Tap the auction you are working.
  3. Tap Paddle Raise Spotter Mode.

The screen shows the Selected Level you are capturing at. Everything a spotter adds is recorded against that level until it changes.

Capturing a commitment by paddle number

  1. Confirm the Selected Level matches the level the auctioneer is calling.
  2. Tap the paddle display to open the keypad.
  3. Tap the paddle number the guest is holding up.
  4. Tap Add Commitment.

A confirmation names the paddle and the bidder so the spotter can check they captured the right person before moving on.

Capturing by name

If a guest raises a hand without a paddle, tap Search by Name, enter a first or last name, choose the bidder from the results, and tap Add Commitment.

To go back to the keypad, tap Search by Paddle.

Changing level

When the auctioneer moves to a new level, tap Change Level and choose the new giving level from Select Giving Level. Everything captured after that is recorded at the new level.

Each device holds its own Selected Level. It is the level that spotter is capturing at, and it is not changed for them by anyone else.

When the room moves on

If the auctioneer activates a different level while a spotter is still on the previous one, the app tells them. A message appears under Selected Level reading Room is on followed by the level the auctioneer has moved to, with a Move button beside it.

Tapping Move switches that device to the room's level. Nothing switches on its own — a spotter part-way through capturing a raise is never moved out from under it, and a spotter deliberately finishing off the level that has just closed can stay there and ignore the message.

Important: Commitments are recorded against whatever level is showing at the moment they are added. The Room is on message tells you the two have drifted apart, but it does not change anything by itself — tap Move, or change level yourself, as soon as you have finished the raise you are on.

Duplicates and mistakes

  • A paddle already captured at the selected level is marked Already Added, so two spotters catching the same raise do not record it twice.
  • Tap Undo on the confirmation to remove the entry that was just added.
  • My Entries lists everything this spotter has captured, most recent first. It survives closing and reopening the app, so a spotter whose phone locks or whose screen refreshes mid-appeal still sees everything they have entered.

What happens to a captured commitment

A commitment a spotter captures is recorded against the auction straight away and counts toward the room total, exactly as one entered in the administrator does.

The exception is a possible duplicate. If the commitment matches one already recorded for the same bidder, at the same level, for the same amount, it is held for review instead. A held commitment shows as Pledged, is not counted in Total Raised, and is not shown on a Live Display. It waits under Possible Duplicates on the auction's Paddle Raise tab in the administrator until someone clicks Mark Valid to count it, or Mark Duplicate to void it.

Every commitment that counts is added to that bidder's checkout, alongside anything they won or bought, and is collected the same way. See Reconciling paddle raise commitments after the event.

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