3 <title>User interface options - XBoard</title>
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28 <a name="User-interface-options"></a>
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35 <h3 class="section">3.5 User interface options</h3>
37 <p><a name="index-User-interface-options-283"></a><a name="index-Options_002c-User-interface-284"></a>
39 <dt>-display<dt>-geometry<dt>-iconic<dd><a name="index-display_002c-option-285"></a><a name="index-geometry_002c-option-286"></a><a name="index-iconic_002c-option-287"></a>These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
40 <br><dt>-noGUI<dd><a name="index-noGUI_002c-option-288"></a>Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
41 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you dont 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>-movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false<dd><a name="index-movesound_002c-option-289"></a><a name="index-bell_002c-option-290"></a><a name="index-ringBellAfterMoves_002c-option-291"></a>Sets the Move Sound menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
45 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
46 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
47 <br><dt>-exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false<dd><a name="index-exit_002c-option-292"></a><a name="index-popupExitMessage_002c-option-293"></a>Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
48 <br><dt>-popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false<dd><a name="index-popup_002c-option-294"></a><a name="index-popupMoveErrors_002c-option-295"></a>Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
49 <br><dt>-queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false<dd><a name="index-queen_002c-option-296"></a><a name="index-alwaysPromoteToQueen_002c-option-297"></a>Sets the Always Queen menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
50 <br><dt>-legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false<dd><a name="index-legal_002c-option-298"></a><a name="index-testLegality_002c-option-299"></a>Sets the Test Legality menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
51 <br><dt>-size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)<dd><a name="index-size_002c-option-300"></a><a name="index-boardSize_002c-option-301"></a><a name="index-board-size-302"></a>Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
52 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
53 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
54 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
55 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
56 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
58 Pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
60 be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
62 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
63 largest size that will fit without clipping.
65 <p>You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
66 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
67 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
68 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
69 The value <code>n1</code> gives the piece size, <code>n2</code> the width of the
71 between squares, <code>n3</code> the desired size for the
72 clockFont, <code>n4</code> the desired size for the coordFont,
73 <code>n5</code> the desired size for the default font,
74 <code>n6</code> the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
75 and <code>n7</code> the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
76 All dimensions are in pixels.
77 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
78 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
79 If smallLayout is 1 and <code>titleInWindow</code> is true,
80 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
81 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
82 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
83 <br><dt>-coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false<dd><a name="index-coords_002c-option-303"></a><a name="index-showCoords_002c-option-304"></a>Sets the Show Coords menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
84 The <code>coordFont</code> option specifies what font to use.
85 <br><dt>-autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false<dd><a name="index-autoraise_002c-option-305"></a><a name="index-autoRaiseBoard_002c-option-306"></a>Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
86 <br><dt>-autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false<dd><a name="index-autoflip_002c-option-307"></a><a name="index-autoFlipView_002c-option-308"></a>Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
87 <br><dt>-flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false<dd><a name="index-flip_002c-option-309"></a><a name="index-flipView_002c-option-310"></a>If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
88 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
89 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
90 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
91 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
92 In any case, the Flip menu option (see <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>)
93 can be used to flip the board after
95 <br><dt>-title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false<dd><a name="index-title_002c-option-311"></a><a name="index-titleInWindow_002c-option-312"></a>If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
96 games) and game file names (for ‘<samp><span class="samp">Load Game</span></samp>’) inside its main
97 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
98 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
99 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
100 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
101 <br><dt>-buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False<dd><a name="index-buttons_002c-option-313"></a><a name="index-showButtonBar_002c-option-314"></a>If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
102 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
103 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
104 shortcuts. Default: true.
105 <br><dt>-mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false<dd><a name="index-mono_002c-option-315"></a><a name="index-monoMode_002c-option-316"></a>Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
106 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
107 specify <code>monoMode</code>; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
108 <br><dt>-flashCount count<dt>-flashRate rate<dt>-flash/-xflash<dd><a name="index-flashCount_002c-option-317"></a><a name="index-flashRate_002c-option-318"></a><a name="index-flash_002c-option-319"></a><a name="index-xflash_002c-option-320"></a>These options enable flashing of pieces when they
109 land on their destination square.
110 <code>flashCount</code>
111 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
112 lands on its destination square.
113 <code>flashRate</code>
114 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
117 sets flashCount to 3.
119 sets flashCount to 0.
120 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
121 <br><dt>-highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false<dd><a name="index-highlight_002c-option-321"></a><a name="index-highlightLastMove_002c-option-322"></a>Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
122 <br><dt>-blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false<dd><a name="index-blind_002c-option-323"></a><a name="index-blindfold_002c-option-324"></a>Sets the Blindfold menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
123 <br><dt>-clockFont font<dd><a name="index-clockFont_002c-option-325"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-clock-326"></a>The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
124 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
125 appropriate font for the board size being used.
126 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
127 <br><dt>-coordFont font<dd><a name="index-coordFont_002c-option-327"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-coordinates-328"></a>The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if <code>showCoords</code>
128 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
129 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
130 the board size being used.
131 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
132 <br><dt>-font font<dd><a name="index-font_002c-option-329"></a><a name="index-Font-330"></a>The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
133 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
134 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
135 the board size being used.
136 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
137 <br><dt>-fontSizeTolerance tol<dd><a name="index-fontSizeTolerance_002c-option-331"></a>In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
138 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
139 by <code>tol</code> pixels
140 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
141 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
142 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
143 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
144 used if available. Default: 4.
145 <br><dt>-bm or -bitmapDirectory dir<dt>-pixmap or -pixmapDirectory dir<dd><a name="index-bm_002c-option-332"></a><a name="index-bitmapDirectory_002c-option-333"></a><a name="index-pixmap_002c-option-334"></a><a name="index-pixmapDirectory_002c-option-335"></a>These options control what piece images xboard uses. The XBoard
146 distribution includes one set of pixmap pieces in xpm format, in the
147 directory <samp><span class="file">pixmaps</span></samp>, and one set of bitmap pieces in xbm format,
148 in the directory <samp><span class="file">bitmaps</span></samp>. Pixmap
149 pieces give a better appearance on the screen: the white pieces have
150 dark borders, and the black pieces have opaque internal details. With
151 bitmaps, neither piece color has a border, and the internal details
152 are transparent; you see the square color or other background color
155 <p>If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that includes libXpm,
156 the X pixmap library, the xpm pixmap pieces are compiled in as the
157 default. A different xpm piece set can be selected at runtime with
158 the <code>pixmapDirectory</code> option, or a bitmap piece set can be selected
159 with the <code>bitmapDirectory</code> option.
161 <p>If XBoard is configured and compiled on a system that does not include
162 libXpm (or the <code>--disable-xpm</code> option is given to the configure
163 program), the bitmap pieces are compiled in as the default. It is not
164 possible to use xpm pieces in this case, but pixmap pieces in another
165 format called "xim" can be used by giving the <code>pixmapDirectory</code> option.
166 Or again, a different bitmap piece set can be selected with the
167 <code>bitmapDirectory</code> option.
169 <p>Files in the <code>bitmapDirectory</code> must be named as follows:
170 The first character of a piece bitmap name gives the piece it
171 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>’),
172 the next characters give the size in pixels, the
173 following character indicates whether the piece is
174 solid or outline (‘<samp><span class="samp">s</span></samp>’ or ‘<samp><span class="samp">o</span></samp>’),
175 and the extension is ‘<samp><span class="samp">.bm</span></samp>’.
176 For example, a solid 80x80 knight would be named <samp><span class="file">n80s.bm</span></samp>.
177 The outline bitmaps are used only in monochrome mode.
178 If bitmap pieces are compiled in and the bitmapDirectory is missing
179 some files, the compiled in pieces are used instead.
181 <p>If the bitmapDirectory option is given,
182 it is also possible to replace xboard's icons and menu checkmark,
183 by supplying files named <samp><span class="file">icon_white.bm</span></samp>, <samp><span class="file">icon_black.bm</span></samp>, and
184 <samp><span class="file">checkmark.bm</span></samp>.
186 <p>For more information about pixmap pieces and how to get additional
187 sets, see <a href="zic2xpm.html#zic2xpm">zic2xpm</a> below.
188 <br><dt>-whitePieceColor color<dt>-blackPieceColor color<dt>-lightSquareColor color<dt>-darkSquareColor color<dt>-highlightSquareColor color<dt>-lowTimeWarningColor color<dd><a name="index-Colors-336"></a><a name="index-whitePieceColor_002c-option-337"></a><a name="index-blackPieceColor_002c-option-338"></a><a name="index-lightSquareColor_002c-option-339"></a><a name="index-darkSquareColor_002c-option-340"></a><a name="index-highlightSquareColor_002c-option-341"></a><a name="index-lowTimeWarningColor_002c-option-342"></a>Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
191 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
192 -blackPieceColor #202020
193 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
194 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
195 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
196 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
197 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
199 <p>On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
201 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor gray100
202 -blackPieceColor gray0
203 -lightSquareColor gray80
204 -darkSquareColor gray60
205 -highlightSquareColor gray100
206 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
207 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
209 <br><dt>-drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false<dd><a name="index-drag_002c-option-343"></a><a name="index-animateDragging_002c-option-344"></a>Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
210 <br><dt>-animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false<dd><a name="index-animate_002c-option-345"></a><a name="index-animateMoving_002c-option-346"></a>Sets the Animate Moving menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
211 <br><dt>-animateSpeed n<dd><a name="index-g_t_002danimateSpeed_002c-option-347"></a>Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate