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7.1.4 Viewing and editing ball details in the arsenal

Viewing and editing ball details in the arsenal

7.1.4   arsenal

 

Once a ball has been added to a bowler's Arsenal, its entry is a living record — not a set-and-forget note. Ball details change over time: status shifts from Active to Retired, surface notes accumulate, slugs get replaced, and spec sheets are added with each re-drill. Knowing how to navigate to a ball's entry, read its full history, and update its details accurately keeps the Arsenal useful across the entire lifespan of a bowler's equipment.

🎳 Opening a Ball's Arsenal Entry

🖥️ On Desktop

  1. Open the bowler's profile from the BOWLERS list.
  2. Scroll to the Arsenal section within the profile.
  3. Locate the ball in the Arsenal list — Active balls appear at the top by default, followed by Retired and Sold entries.
  4. Click the ball's name or entry row to open the full detail view.

📱 On Mobile or Tablet

  1. Navigate to the bowler's profile via the avatar icon.
  2. Scroll to the Arsenal section.
  3. Tap the ball's name or entry row to open the detail view.

📌 Note: Retired and Sold balls remain in the Arsenal list and are fully accessible — they are not hidden or archived. If the list is long, use the search or filter options within the Arsenal section to find a specific ball quickly.

📋 What the Ball Detail View Shows

Opening a ball's entry displays everything Spectre Cloud holds about that piece of equipment in a single view. The detail view is organised into two areas: the ball's identifying information and its linked spec sheet history.

Ball information

  • ✅ Ball name — brand, model, and weight as entered.
  • ✅ Serial number — if recorded at entry.
  • ✅ Purchase date — if recorded at entry.
  • ✅ Status — Active, Retired, or Sold.
  • ✅ Notes — free-text field showing surface history, slug details, or any other ball-specific information added over time.
  • ✅ Ball specifications — core type, RG, differential, MB differential (Arsenal Plus only, populated from the bowlingdatabase.com integration).

Linked spec sheet history

Below the ball information, the detail view lists every spec sheet associated with this ball entry, in chronological order from most recent to oldest. Each entry in the list shows the spec sheet's creation date, the span type, and a summary of key values. Tap or click any spec sheet in the list to open it in full.

  • ✅ A ball drilled once has one spec sheet in the list.
  • ✅ A ball that has been re-drilled multiple times shows all historical spec sheets — the full drilling evolution of that ball is visible at a glance.
  • ✅ The most recent spec sheet is always shown first — the current drilling state of the ball is immediately accessible without scrolling.

✏️ Editing Ball Details

Any field in the ball's Arsenal entry can be edited at any time. Common reasons to update an entry include a status change, adding surface maintenance notes, correcting a typo in the ball name, or adding a serial number that was not available at the time of original entry.

🖥️ Editing on Desktop

  1. Open the ball's detail view as described above.
  2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon or Edit label, typically in the top-right of the detail view).
  3. The entry fields become editable. Update any field that requires a change.
  4. Click Save to commit the changes. The updated entry syncs across all devices immediately.

📱 Editing on Mobile or Tablet

  1. Open the ball's detail view.
  2. Tap the Edit button.
  3. Update the relevant fields using the on-screen keyboard.
  4. Tap Save.

📌 Note: Editing the ball name in the Arsenal entry does not automatically update the ball name on associated spec sheets. If you correct a ball name, review the linked spec sheets and update their ball name fields individually to maintain the association. A name mismatch between the Arsenal entry and a spec sheet breaks the link between the two records.

🔄 Updating the Notes Field Over Time

The Notes field is the most frequently updated part of an Arsenal entry after the initial creation. Rather than replacing previous notes when adding new information, append new entries with a date so the notes field becomes a readable maintenance log for the ball:

  • ✅ Resurfaced to 2000 abralon — 14 Mar 2024
  • ✅ Thumb slug replaced (Turbo Quad 1") — 2 Jun 2024
  • ✅ Surface cleaned and polished — 18 Sep 2024

A notes field maintained this way gives any staff member an instant surface history for the ball without needing to ask the bowler or reference external records.

📊 Reading the Spec Sheet History

The spec sheet history list within the Arsenal entry is a read-only summary — to edit a spec sheet, open it directly from the list and edit it from within the spec sheet view. From the Arsenal detail view, the history list is most useful for:

  • ✅ Reviewing how the ball has been drilled over time — comparing layouts, pitch changes, and oval adjustments across multiple spec sheets reveals the fitting evolution for that ball.
  • ✅ Finding a previous drilling to replicate — if a bowler loved how the ball felt two drillings ago, open that spec sheet and compare it to the current one to identify what changed.
  • ✅ Confirming the current drilling state — the most recent spec sheet in the list represents the ball as it currently exists. For a ball that has been re-drilled several times, this is the authoritative record of what is in the ball right now.
  • ✅ Navigating to a spec sheet for printing or sharing — open the relevant spec sheet from the history list and use the print or share function from within the spec sheet view.

🗑️ Deleting a Ball Entry

Arsenal entries can be deleted, but deletion is permanent — the entry and its link to associated spec sheets cannot be recovered. In almost all cases, changing the ball's status to Retired or Sold is the better choice. Status changes preserve the full history while removing the ball from the Active view.

  • ✅ Retire or sell rather than delete in all routine cases — a retired ball's spec sheet history remains accessible and useful for future reference.
  • ✅ Delete only when an entry was created in clear error — a duplicate entry for the same physical ball, or a test entry that should never have been saved.
  • ❌ Do not delete an entry simply because the ball is old or no longer in use. The history has value — a bowler asking to replicate a ball from five years ago will thank you for keeping it.

⚠️ Verify with Spectre team: Confirm whether deleting an Arsenal entry also deletes associated spec sheets, or whether spec sheets remain accessible through the bowler's profile independently. The page advises against deletion partly on this basis — confirm the exact behaviour before publishing.

🔌 Arsenal Plus: Additional Detail View Features

With Arsenal Plus active, the ball detail view includes additional panels below the standard information and spec sheet history:

  • ✅ Ball specifications panel — displays RG, total differential, MB differential, core type, and coverstock details from the bowlingdatabase.com integration.
  • ✅ 3D layout rendering — shows a visual representation of the pin and mass bias placement based on the most recent spec sheet's layout values. Updates automatically when a new spec sheet is linked to the entry.
  • ✅ Suggested layouts — based on the ball's core specifications and the bowler's PAP (from their spec sheet history), Arsenal Plus surfaces layout suggestions appropriate for this ball directly within the detail view.
  • ✅ Layout conversion — allows the layout recorded on any linked spec sheet to be viewed in an alternative layout system (e.g., a VLS layout converted to PAL terms) without modifying the original record.

✨ Best Practices for Keeping Arsenal Entries Accurate

  • ✅ Update status promptly when a ball leaves the active bag — a bowler's Arsenal list is only useful as a current-inventory view if statuses are kept current.
  • ✅ Add surface notes at the time of service — a note added during the visit takes ten seconds; a note reconstructed from memory a week later is less reliable.
  • ✅ Review the Arsenal entry before every re-drill visit — reading the notes field and spec sheet history before the bowler arrives means you can start the conversation with informed questions rather than starting from scratch.
  • ✅ Correct name mismatches as soon as they are noticed — update both the Arsenal entry and the spec sheet simultaneously so the link is restored cleanly.
  • ❌ Do not use the Notes field as a substitute for a spec sheet — drilling details (span, pitch, oval, layout) belong on the spec sheet, not in the notes. Notes are for equipment condition and maintenance history.
  • 7.1.1 — What is the Arsenal section and how it connects to spec sheets
  • 7.1.2 — Adding a ball to the Arsenal
  • 7.1.3 — Hole Depth option — setting desired depth for each hole
  • 7.1.5 — Managing ball status (Active, Retired, Sold)
  • 04.x — Spec Sheets: editing and managing records
  • 07.x — Arsenal Plus: bowlingdatabase.com integration and 3D rendering

✨ Tip: Make reviewing the Arsenal detail view part of your standard pre-visit preparation for returning bowlers — open their profile, read the notes on their active balls, and scan the spec sheet history before they walk through the door. The bowler who feels like their pro shop operator remembers them and knows their equipment is the bowler who comes back for every new ball.

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