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27 <a name="User-interface-options"></a>
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35 <h3 class="section">4.6 User interface options</h3>
37 <p><a name="index-User-interface-options-418"></a><a name="index-Options_002c-User-interface-419"></a>
39 <dt>-display<dt>-geometry<dt>-iconic<dt>-name<dd><a name="index-display_002c-option-420"></a><a name="index-geometry_002c-option-421"></a><a name="index-iconic_002c-option-422"></a><a name="index-resource-name_002c-option-423"></a>These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
40 <br><dt>-noGUI<dd><a name="index-noGUI_002c-option-424"></a>Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
41 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you don't want to watch).
42 There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
43 and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
44 <br><dt>-recentEngines number<dt>-recentEngineList list<dd><a name="index-recentEngines_002c-option-425"></a><a name="index-recentEngineList_002c-option-426"></a>When the number is larger than zero, it determines how many recently
45 used engines will be appended at the bottom of the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Engines</span></samp>’ menu.
46 The engines will be saved in your settings file as the option
47 <code>recentEngineList</code>, by their nicknames,
48 and the most recently used one will always be sorted to the top.
49 If the list after that is longer than the specified number,
50 the last one is discarded.
51 Changes in the list will only become visible the next session,
52 provided you saved the settings.
54 <br><dt>-oneClickMove true/false<dd><a name="index-oneClickMove_002c-option-427"></a>When set, this option allows you to enter moves by only clicking the to-
55 or from-square, when only a single legal move to or from that square
57 Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
58 will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
60 <br><dt>-movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false<dd><a name="index-movesound_002c-option-428"></a><a name="index-bell_002c-option-429"></a><a name="index-ringBellAfterMoves_002c-option-430"></a>Sets the Move Sound menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
61 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
62 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
63 <br><dt>-exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false<dd><a name="index-exit_002c-option-431"></a><a name="index-popupExitMessage_002c-option-432"></a>Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
64 <br><dt>-popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false<dd><a name="index-popup_002c-option-433"></a><a name="index-popupMoveErrors_002c-option-434"></a>Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
65 <br><dt>-queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false<dd><a name="index-queen_002c-option-435"></a><a name="index-alwaysPromoteToQueen_002c-option-436"></a>Sets the Always Queen menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
66 <br><dt>-sweepPromotions true/false<dd><a name="index-sweepPromotion_002c-option-437"></a>Sets the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Almost Always Promote to Queen</span></samp>’ menu option.
67 See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
68 <br><dt>-legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false<dd><a name="index-legal_002c-option-438"></a><a name="index-testLegality_002c-option-439"></a>Sets the Test Legality menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
69 <br><dt>-size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)<dd><a name="index-size_002c-option-440"></a><a name="index-boardSize_002c-option-441"></a><a name="index-board-size-442"></a>Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
70 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
71 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
72 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
73 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
74 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
76 Orthodox pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
78 be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
80 Complete sets of un-orthodox pieces are only provided in sizes
81 Bulky, Middling and (to a lesser extent) Petite;
82 Archbishop, Marshall and Amazon are also available in all sizes between
84 When no bitmap is available, the piece will be displayed as Amazon or King.
85 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
86 largest size that will fit without clipping.
88 <p>You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
89 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
90 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
91 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
92 The value <code>n1</code> gives the piece size, <code>n2</code> the width of the
94 between squares, <code>n3</code> the desired size for the
95 clockFont, <code>n4</code> the desired size for the coordFont,
96 <code>n5</code> the desired size for the messageFont,
97 <code>n6</code> the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
98 and <code>n7</code> the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
99 All dimensions are in pixels.
100 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
101 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
102 If smallLayout is 1 and <code>titleInWindow</code> is true,
103 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
104 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
105 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
106 <br><dt>-overrideLineGap n<dd><a name="index-overrideLineGap_002c-option-443"></a>When n >= 0, this forces the width of the black border between squares
107 to n pixels for any board size. Mostly used to suppress the grid
108 entirely by setting n = 0, e.g. in xiangqi or just getting a prettier
109 picture. When n < 0 this the size-dependent width of the grid lines
110 is used. Default: -1.
111 <br><dt>-coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false<dd><a name="index-coords_002c-option-444"></a><a name="index-showCoords_002c-option-445"></a>Sets the Show Coords menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
112 The <code>coordFont</code> option specifies what font to use.
113 <br><dt>-autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false<dd><a name="index-autoraise_002c-option-446"></a><a name="index-autoRaiseBoard_002c-option-447"></a>Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
114 <br><dt>-autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false<dd><a name="index-autoflip_002c-option-448"></a><a name="index-autoFlipView_002c-option-449"></a>Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
115 <br><dt>-flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false<dd><a name="index-flip_002c-option-450"></a><a name="index-flipView_002c-option-451"></a>If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
116 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
117 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
118 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
119 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
120 In any case, the Flip menu option (see <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>)
121 can be used to flip the board after
123 <br><dt>-title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false<dd><a name="index-title_002c-option-452"></a><a name="index-titleInWindow_002c-option-453"></a>If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
124 games) and game file names (for ‘<samp><span class="samp">Load Game</span></samp>’) inside its main
125 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
126 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
127 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
128 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
129 <br><dt>-buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False<dd><a name="index-buttons_002c-option-454"></a><a name="index-showButtonBar_002c-option-455"></a>If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
130 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
131 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
132 shortcuts. Default: true.
133 <br><dt>-evalZoom factor<dd><a name="index-evalZoom_002c-option-456"></a>The score interval (-1,1) is blown up on the vertical axis of
134 the Evaluation Graph by the given factor.
136 <br><dt>-evalThreshold n<dd><a name="index-evalThreshold_002c-option-457"></a>Score below n (centiPawn) are plotted as 0 in the Evaluation Graph.
138 <br><dt>-mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false<dd><a name="index-mono_002c-option-458"></a><a name="index-monoMode_002c-option-459"></a>Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
139 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
140 specify <code>monoMode</code>; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
141 <br><dt>-showTargetSquares true/false<dd><a name="index-showTargetSquares_002c-option-460"></a>Determines whether XBoard can highlight the squares a piece has
142 legal moves to, when you grab that piece with the mouse.
144 <br><dt>-flashCount count<dt>-flashRate rate<dt>-flash/-xflash<dd><a name="index-flashCount_002c-option-461"></a><a name="index-flashRate_002c-option-462"></a><a name="index-flash_002c-option-463"></a><a name="index-xflash_002c-option-464"></a>These options enable flashing of pieces when they
145 land on their destination square.
146 <code>flashCount</code>
147 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
148 lands on its destination square.
149 <code>flashRate</code>
150 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
153 sets flashCount to 3.
155 sets flashCount to 0.
156 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
157 <br><dt>-highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false<dd><a name="index-highlight_002c-option-465"></a><a name="index-highlightLastMove_002c-option-466"></a>Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
158 <br><dt>-highlightMoveWithArrow true/false<dd><a name="index-highlight-Arrow_002c-option-467"></a><a name="index-highlightMoveWithArrow_002c-option-468"></a>Sets the Highlight with Arrow menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
159 <br><dt>-blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false<dd><a name="index-blind_002c-option-469"></a><a name="index-blindfold_002c-option-470"></a>Sets the Blindfold menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
160 <br><dt>-periodic/-xperiodic or -periodicUpdates true/false<dd><a name="index-periodic_002c-option-471"></a><a name="index-periodicUpdates_002c-option-472"></a>Controls updating of current move andnode counts in analysis mode. Default: true.
161 <br><dt>-fSAN<dt>-sSAN<dd><a name="index-fSAN_002c-option-473"></a><a name="index-sSAN_002c-option-474"></a>Causes the PV in thinking output of the mentioned engine to be converted
162 to SAN before it is further processed.
163 Warning: this might lose engine output not understood by the parser,
164 and uses a lot of CPU power.
165 Default: the PV is displayed exactly as the engine produced it.
166 <br><dt>-showEvalInMoveHistory true/false<dd><a name="index-showEvalInMoveHistory_002c-option-475"></a>Controls whether the evaluation scores and search depth of engine moves
167 are displayed with the move in the move-history window.
169 <br><dt>-clockFont font<dd><a name="index-clockFont_002c-option-476"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-clock-477"></a>The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
170 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
171 appropriate font for the board size being used.
172 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
173 <br><dt>-coordFont font<dd><a name="index-coordFont_002c-option-478"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-coordinates-479"></a>The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if <code>showCoords</code>
174 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
175 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
176 the board size being used.
177 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
178 <br><dt>-messageFont font<dd><a name="index-messageFont_002c-option-480"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-message-481"></a>The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
179 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
180 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
181 the board size being used.
182 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
183 <br><dt>-fontSizeTolerance tol<dd><a name="index-fontSizeTolerance_002c-option-482"></a>In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
184 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
185 by <code>tol</code> pixels
186 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
187 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
188 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
189 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
190 used if available. Default: 4.
191 <br><dt>-bm or -bitmapDirectory dir<dt>-pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir<dd><a name="index-bm_002c-option-483"></a><a name="index-bitmapDirectory_002c-option-484"></a><a name="index-pixmap_002c-option-485"></a><a name="index-pixmapDirectory_002c-option-486"></a>These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard
192 distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the
193 directory <samp><span class="file">pixmaps</span></samp>, and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format,
194 in the directory <samp><span class="file">bitmaps</span></samp>. Pixmap
195 pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
196 dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With
197 bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details
198 are transparent; you see the square color or other background color
201 <p>If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm,
202 the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the
203 default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with
204 the <code>pixmapDirectory</code> option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected
205 with the <code>bitmapDirectory</code> option.
207 <p>If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include
208 libXpm (or the <code>--disable-xpm</code> option is given to the configure
209 program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not
210 possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another
211 format called "xim" can be used by giving the <code>pixmapDirectory</code> option.
212 Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the
213 <code>bitmapDirectory</code> option.
215 <p>Files in the <code>bitmapDirectory</code> must be named as follows:
216 The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it
217 represents (‘<samp><span class="samp">p</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">n</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">b</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">r</span></samp>’, ‘<samp><span class="samp">q</span></samp>’, or ‘<samp><span class="samp">k</span></samp>’),
218 the next characters give the size in pixels, the
219 following character indicates whether the piece is
220 solid or outline (‘<samp><span class="samp">s</span></samp>’ or ‘<samp><span class="samp">o</span></samp>’),
221 and the extension is ‘<samp><span class="samp">.bm</span></samp>’.
222 For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named <samp><span class="file">n80s.bm</span></samp>.
223 The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode.
224 If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
225 some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.
227 <p>If the bitmapDirectory option is given,
228 it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark,
229 by supplying files named <samp><span class="file">icon_white.bm</span></samp>, <samp><span class="file">icon_black.bm</span></samp>, and
230 <samp><span class="file">checkmark.bm</span></samp>.
232 <p>For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional
233 sets, see <a href="zic2xpm.html#zic2xpm">zic2xpm</a> below.
234 <br><dt>-whitePieceColor color<dt>-blackPieceColor color<dt>-lightSquareColor color<dt>-darkSquareColor color<dt>-highlightSquareColor color<dt>-preoveHighlightColor color<dt>-lowTimeWarningColor color<dd><a name="index-Colors-487"></a><a name="index-whitePieceColor_002c-option-488"></a><a name="index-blackPieceColor_002c-option-489"></a><a name="index-lightSquareColor_002c-option-490"></a><a name="index-darkSquareColor_002c-option-491"></a><a name="index-highlightSquareColor_002c-option-492"></a><a name="index-premoveHighlightColor_002c-option-493"></a><a name="index-lowTimeWarningColor_002c-option-494"></a>Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
237 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
238 -blackPieceColor #202020
239 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
240 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
241 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
242 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
243 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
245 <p>On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
247 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor gray100
248 -blackPieceColor gray0
249 -lightSquareColor gray80
250 -darkSquareColor gray60
251 -highlightSquareColor gray100
252 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
253 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
255 <br><dt>-useBoardTexture true/false<dt>-liteBackTextureFile filename<dt>-darkBackTextureFile filename<dd><a name="index-useBoardTexture_002c-option-495"></a><a name="index-liteBackTextureFile_002c-option-496"></a><a name="index-darkBackTextureFile_002c-option-497"></a>Indicate the pixmap files to be used for drawing the board squares,
256 and if they should be used rather than using simple colors.
257 The algorithm for cutting squares out of a given bitmap is such that
258 the picture is perfectly reproduced when a bitmap the size of
259 the complete board is given.
260 Default: false and ""
261 <br><dt>-drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false<dd><a name="index-drag_002c-option-498"></a><a name="index-animateDragging_002c-option-499"></a>Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
262 <br><dt>-animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false<dd><a name="index-animate_002c-option-500"></a><a name="index-animateMoving_002c-option-501"></a>Sets the Animate Moving menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
263 <br><dt>-animateSpeed n<dd><a name="index-g_t_002danimateSpeed_002c-option-502"></a>Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
265 <br><dt>-autoDisplayComment true/false<dt>-autoDisplayTags true/false<dd><a name="index-g_t_002dautoDisplayComment_002c-option-503"></a><a name="index-g_t_002dautoDisplayTags_002c-option-504"></a>If set to true, these options cause the window with the move comments,
266 and the window with PGN tags, respectively, to pop up automatically when
267 such tags or comments are encountered during the replaying a stored or
268 loaded game. Default: true.
269 <br><dt>-pasteSelection true/false<dd><a name="index-g_t_002dpasteSelection_002c-option-505"></a>If this option is set to true, the Paste Position and Paste Game
270 options paste from the currently selected text. If false, they paste
271 from the clipboard. Default: false.
272 <br><dt>-autoCopyPV true|false<dd><a name="index-autoCopyPV_002c-option-506"></a>When this option is set, the position displayed on the board when
273 you terminate a PV walk
274 (initiated by a right-click on board or engine-output window)
275 will be automatically put on the clipboard as FEN.
277 <br><dt>-dropMenu true|false<dd><a name="index-dropMenu_002c-option-507"></a>This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
278 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
279 rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
281 <br><dt>-pieceMenu true|false<dd><a name="index-pieceMenu_002c-option-508"></a>This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
282 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) piece menu
283 in Edit Position mode.
284 From this menu you can select the piece to put on the square you
285 clicked to bring up the menu,
286 or select items such as <kbd>clear board</kbd>.
287 You can also <kbd>promote</kbd> or <kbd>demote</kbd> a clicked piece to convert
288 it into an unorthodox piece that is not directly in the menu,
289 or give the move to <kbd>black</kbd> or <kbd>white</kbd>.
290 <br><dt>-variations true|false<dd><a name="index-variations_002c-option-509"></a>When this option is on, you can start new variations in Edit Game or
291 Analyze mode by holding the Shift key down while entering a move.
292 When it is off, the Shift key will be ignored.
294 <br><dt>-absoluteAnalysisScores true|false<dd><a name="index-absoluteAnalysisScores_002c-option-510"></a>When true, scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
295 will be printed from the white point-of-view, rather than the
296 side-to-move point-of-view.
298 <br><dt>-scoreWhite true|false<dd><a name="index-scoreWhite_002c-option-511"></a>When true, scores will always be printed from the white point-of-view,
299 rather than the side-to-move point-of-view.
projects / xboard.git / blob