@menu
* Major modes:: The main things XBoard can do.
+* Basic operation:: Mouse and keyboard functions.
* Menus:: Menus, buttons, and keys.
* Options:: Command options supported by XBoard.
* Chess Servers:: Using XBoard with an Internet Chess Server (ICS).
instructions.
@end table
-@node Menus
-@chapter Menus, buttons, and keys
-@cindex Menus
+@node Basic operation
+@chapter Basic operation
+@cindex Basic operation
To move a piece, you can drag it with the left mouse button, or you
can click the left mouse button once on the piece, then once more on
-the destination square. To drop a new piece on a square (when
-applicable), press the middle or the right mouse button over the
-square and select from the pop-up menu. In cases where you can drop
-either a white or black piece, use the middle button (or shift+right)
-for white and the right button (or shift+middle) for black. When you
-are playing a bughouse game on an Internet Chess Server, a list of the
-off-board pieces that each player has available is shown in the window
-title after the player's name; in addition, the piece menus show the
-number of pieces available of each type. From version 4.3.14 on, it is
-also possible in crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi to drag and drop pieces
-to the board from the holdings squares displayed next to the board.
-This latter method for dropping pieces during a game is preferred,
-and the piece-drop menu is now deprecated (except for editing a position).
-Although the old behavior can still be selected through a command-line
-option, the default function of the right mouse button is to display
-the position the chess program thinks it will end up in,
-while moving the mouse vertically with this button pressed will step
-through the principal variation to show how this position will be
-reached.
-Lines of play displayed in the engine-output window an similarly
+the destination square. In crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi you can
+drag and drop pieces to the board from the holdings squares
+displayed next to the board.
+Old behavior, where right-clicking a square brings up a menu
+where you can select what piece to drop on it can still be
+selected through a command-line option.
+But only in Edit Position mode right clicking a square is still used to
+put a piece on it, and the piece to drop is selected by sweeping
+the mouse vertically with the button held down.
+
+The default function of the right mouse button in other modes is
+to display the position the chess program thinks it will end up in.
+While moving the mouse vertically with this button pressed
+XBoard will step through the principal variation to show how
+this position will be reached.
+Lines of play displayed in the engine-output window,
+or PGN variations in the comment window can similarly
be played out on the board, by right-clicking on them.
When connected to an ICS, it is possible to call up a graphical
Iconize in @ref{Keys} below if you have problems getting this
feature to work.
+@node Menus
+@chapter Menus, buttons, and keys
+@cindex Menus
+
@menu
* File Menu:: Accessing external games and positions.
+* Edit Menu:: Altering games, positions, PGN tags or comments.
+* View Menu:: Controlling XBoard's shape and looks.
* Mode Menu:: Selecting XBoard's mode.
* Action Menu:: Talking to the chess engine or ICS opponents.
-* Step Menu:: Controlling the game.
+* Engine Menu:: Controlling settings and actions of the engine(s).
* Options Menu:: User preferences.
* Help Menu:: Getting help.
* Keys:: Other shortcut keys.
be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
XBoard supports all major variants, such as xiangqi, shogi, chess, chess960,
Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
-(But not every board size has built-in bitmaps for un-orthodox pieces!)
+But not every board size has built-in bitmaps for un-orthodox pieces!
+Only sizes bulky (72) and middling (49) have all pieces,
+while size petite (33) has most.
+These sizes would have to be set at startup through the @code{size}
+command-line option when you start up XBoard for such variants to be playable.
+
+You can overrule the default board format of the selected variant,
+(e.g. to play suicide chess on a 6 x 6 board),
+in this dialog, but normally you would not do that,
+and leave them at '-1', which means 'default'.
@item Load Game
@cindex Load Game, Menu Item
Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
so you can step through it.
You can later revert to the previous line with the @samp{Revert} command.
This way you can walk quite complex varation trees with XBoard.
-(The XBoard PGN parser is currenty limited to three nested levels of variations
-on top of the main game, however.)
The nonstandard PGN tag [Variant "varname"] functions similarly to
the -variant command-line option (see below), allowing games in certain chess
variants to be loaded.
There is also a heuristic to
recognize chess variants from the Event tag, by looking for the strings
that the Internet Chess Servers put there when saving variant ("wild") games.
-@item Load Next Game
-@cindex Load Next Game, Menu Item
-Loads the next game from the last game record file you loaded.
-The @kbd{Alt+PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Load Previous Game
-@cindex Load Previous Game, Menu Item
-Loads the previous game from the last game record file you
-loaded. The @kbd{Alt+PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
-@item Reload Same Game
-@cindex Reload Same Game, Menu Item
-Reloads the last game you loaded.
-Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
-@item Save Game
-@cindex Save Game, Menu Item
-Appends a record of the current game to a file.
-The @kbd{Ctrl-S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-A pop-up dialog
-prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
-the standard starting position, the game file includes the
-starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
-game notation) format, unless the oldSaveStyle option is true,
-in which case they are saved in an older format that is specific
-to XBoard. Both formats are human-readable, and both can be
-read back by the @samp{Load Game} command.
-Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
-is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
-this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
-@item Copy Game
-@cindex Copy Game, Menu Item
-Copies a record of the current game to an internal clipboard in PGN
-format and sets the X selection to the game text. The @kbd{Ctrl-C}
-key is a keyboard equivalent. The game can be
-pasted to another application (such as a text editor or another copy
-of XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
-applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
-used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Game command.
-@item Paste Game
-@cindex Paste Game, Menu Item
-Interprets the current X selection as a game record and loads it, as
-with Load Game. The @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
@item Load Position
@cindex Load Position, Menu Item
Sets up a position from a position file. A pop-up dialog prompts
@item Load Next Position
@cindex Load Next Position, Menu Item
Loads the next position from the last position file you loaded.
-The shifted @kbd{Alt+PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+The shifted @kbd{PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
@item Load Previous Position
@cindex Load Previous Position, Menu Item
Loads the previous position from the last position file you
-loaded. The shifted @kbd{Alt+PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+loaded. The shifted @kbd{PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
-@item Reload Same Position
-@cindex Reload Same Position, Menu Item
-Reloads the last position you loaded.
-Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
-@item Save Position
+@item Save Game
@cindex Save Game, Menu Item
+Appends a record of the current game to a file.
+The @kbd{Ctrl-S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+A pop-up dialog
+prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
+the standard starting position, the game file includes the
+starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
+game notation) format, unless the oldSaveStyle option is true,
+in which case they are saved in an older format that is specific
+to XBoard. Both formats are human-readable, and both can be
+read back by the @samp{Load Game} command.
+Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
+is accepted for piece-drops in bughouse games;
+this is a nonstandard extension to PGN.
+@item Save Position
+@cindex Save Position, Menu Item
Appends a diagram of the current position to a file.
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl+S} key is a keyboard equivalent.
A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. Positions are saved in
option is true, in which case they are saved in an older,
human-readable format that is specific to XBoard. Both formats
can be read back by the @samp{Load Position} command.
+@item Mail Move
+@itemx Reload CMail Message
+@cindex Mail Move, Menu Item
+@cindex Reload CMail Message, Menu Item
+See @ref{CMail}.
+@item Exit
+@cindex Exit, Menu Item
+Exits from XBoard. The @kbd{Ctrl-Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@end table
+
+@node Edit Menu
+@section Edit Menu
+@cindex Menu, Edit
+@cindex Edit Menu
+@table @asis
+@item Copy Game
+@cindex Copy Game, Menu Item
+Copies a record of the current game to an internal clipboard in PGN
+format and sets the X selection to the game text. The @kbd{Ctrl-C}
+key is a keyboard equivalent. The game can be
+pasted to another application (such as a text editor or another copy
+of XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
+applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
+used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Game command.
@item Copy Position
@cindex Copy Position, Menu Item
Copies the current position to an internal clipboard in FEN format and
XBoard) using that application's paste command. In many X
applications, such as xterm and emacs, the middle mouse button can be
used for pasting; in XBoard, you must use the Paste Position command.
+@item Paste Game
+@cindex Paste Game, Menu Item
+Interprets the current X selection as a game record and loads it, as
+with Load Game. The @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
@item Paste Position
@cindex Paste Position, Menu Item
Interprets the current X selection as a FEN position and loads it, as
with Load Position. The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-V} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Mail Move
-@itemx Reload CMail Message
-@cindex Mail Move, Menu Item
-@cindex Reload CMail Message, Menu Item
-See @ref{CMail}.
-@item Exit
-@cindex Exit, Menu Item
-Exits from XBoard. The @kbd{Ctrl-Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@end table
-
-@node Mode Menu
-@section Mode Menu
-@cindex Menu, Mode
-@cindex Mode Menu
-@table @asis
-@item Machine White
-@cindex Machine White, Menu Item
-Tells the chess engine to play White.
-The @kbd{Ctrl-W} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Machine Black
-@cindex Machine Black, Menu Item
-Tells the chess engine to play Black.
-The @kbd{Ctrl-B} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Two Machines
-@cindex Two Machines, Menu Item
-Plays a game between two chess engines.
-The @kbd{Ctrl-T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Analysis Mode
-@cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
-XBoard tells the chess engine to start analyzing the current game/position
-and shows you the analysis as you move pieces around.
-The @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
-
-To set up a position to analyze, you do the following:
-
-1. Select Edit Position from the Mode Menu
-
-2. Set up the position. Use the middle and right buttons to
-bring up the white and black piece menus.
-
-3. When you are finished, click on either the Black or White
-clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
-
-4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
-
-The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
-with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
-the positions as they occur in the observed game.
-@item Analyze File
-@cindex Analyze File, Menu Item
-This option lets you load a game from a file (PGN, XBoard format, etc.)
-and analyze it. The @kbd{Ctrl-F} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-When you select this menu item, a pop-up window appears
-and asks for a file name to load.
-If the file contains multiple games, another pop up appears that lets
-you select which game you wish to analyze.
-After a game is loaded, use the XBoard arrow buttons to step
-forwards/backwards through the game and watch the analysis.
-Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
-@item ICS Client
-@cindex ICS Client, Menu Item
-This is the normal mode when XBoard
-is connected to a chess server. If you have moved into
-Edit Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this option to get out.
-
-To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the foreground with the -ics
-option, and use the terminal you started it from to type commands and
-receive text responses from the chess server. See
-@ref{Chess Servers} below for more information.
-
-XBoard activates some special position/game editing features when you
-use the @kbd{examine} or @kbd{bsetup} commands on ICS and you have
-@samp{ICS Client} selected on the Mode menu. First, you can issue the
-ICS position-editing commands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
-with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse
-button 2 or 3 over the square. This brings up a menu of white pieces
-(button 2) or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let
-you empty the square or clear the board. Click on the White or Black
-clock to set the side to play. You cannot set the side to play or
-drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examining on ICC, but you can
-do so in @kbd{bsetup} mode on FICS. In addition, the menu commands
-@samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, and @samp{Stop Examining}
-have special functions in this mode; see below.
@item Edit Game
@cindex Edit Game, Menu Item
Allows you to make moves for both Black and White, and to change
edit positions on ICS in a way that other ICS users can see, use
the ICS @kbd{examine} command, or start an ICS match against yourself.
(See also the ICS Client topic above.)
-@item Training
-@cindex Training, Menu Item
-Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
-of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
-move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
-game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
-If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
-can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
-selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
-@samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
-@item Show Engine Output
-@cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
-Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
-is displayed. The shifted @kbd{Alt+O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-XBoard will display lines of thinking output of the same depth ordered by score,
-(highest score on top), rather than in the order the engine produced them.
-Usually this amounts to the same, as a normal engine search will only find new PV
-(and emit it as thinking output)
-when it searches a move with a higher score than the previous variation.
-But when the engine is in multi-variation mode this needs not always be true,
-and it is more convenient for someone analyzing games to see the moves sorted by score.
-The order in which the engine found them is only of interest to the engine author,
-and can still be deduced from the time or node count printed with the line.
-@item Show Evaluation Graph
-@cindex Show Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
-Shows or hides a window which displays a graph of how the engine score(s)
-evolved as a function of the move number.
-The shifted @kbd{Alt+G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-Clicking on the graph will bring
-the corresponding position in the board display.
-@item Show Game List
-@cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
-Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
-command. The shifted @kbd{Alt+L} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Show Move History
-@cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
-Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
-The shifted @kbd{Alt+H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
-by clicking on the corresponding move.
@item Edit Tags
@cindex Edit Tags, Menu Item
Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
Adds or modifies a comment on the current position. Comments are
saved by @samp{Save Game} and are displayed by @samp{Load Game},
@samp{Forward}, and @samp{Backward}.
+@item Revert
+@itemx Annotate
+@cindex Revert, Menu Item
+@cindex Annotate, Menu Item
+If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off,
+Revert issues the ICS command @samp{revert}.
+In local mode, when you were editing or analyzing a game,
+and the @code{-variations} command-line option is switched on,
+you can start a new variation by holding the Shift key down while
+entering a move not at the end of the game.
+Variations can also become the currently displayed line by
+clicking a PGN variation displayed in the Comment window.
+This can be applied recursively,
+so that you can analyze variations on variations;
+each time you create a new variation by entering an alternative move
+with Shift pressed, or select a new one from the Comment window,
+the current variation will be shelved.
+@samp{Revert} allows you to return to the most recently shelved variation.
+The difference between @samp{Revert} and @samp{Annotate}
+is that with the latter,
+the variation you are now abandoning will be added as a comment
+(in PGN variation syntax, i.e. between parentheses)
+to the original move where you deviated, for later recalling.
+The @kbd{Home} key is a keyboard equivalent to @samp{Revert}.
+@item Truncate Game
+@cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
+Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
+position. Puts XBoard into @samp{Edit Game} mode if it was not there
+already.
+The @kbd{End} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Backward
+@cindex Backward, Menu Item
+@cindex <, Button
+Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
+The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+LeftArrow} key are equivalents,
+as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
+In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
+it steps forward again.
+
+In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
+it does not retract moves. This is the case if you are playing against
+a chess engine, playing or observing a game on an ICS, or loading a game.
+If you select @samp{Backward} in any of these situations, you will not
+be allowed to make a different move. Use @samp{Retract Move} or
+@samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past moves.
+
+If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Backward}
+depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
+off, @samp{Backward} issues the ICS backward command, which backs up
+everyone's view of the game and allows you to make a different
+move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
+view.
+@item Forward
+@cindex Forward, Menu Item
+@cindex >, Button
+Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
+effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
+@samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+RightArrow} key are equivalents,
+as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
+
+If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
+depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
+off, @samp{Forward} issues the ICS forward command, which moves
+everyone's view of the game forward along the current line. If
+Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward} only moves your local view forward,
+and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
+you paused.
+@item Back to Start
+@cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
+@cindex <<, Button
+Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
+The @samp{[<<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+Home} key are equivalents.
+
+In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look back at old
+positions; it does not retract moves. This is the case if you
+are playing against a local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
+a chess server, or loading a game. If you select @samp{Back to Start} in any
+of these situations, you will not be allowed to make different
+moves. Use @samp{Retract Move} or @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past
+moves; or use Reset to start a new game.
+
+If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Back to
+Start} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
+is off, @samp{Back to Start} issues the ICS @samp{backward 999999}
+command, which backs up everyone's view of the game to the start and
+allows you to make different moves. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Back
+to Start} only backs up your local view.
+@item Forward to End
+@cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
+@cindex >>, Button
+Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
+@samp{[>>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+End} key are equivalents.
+
+If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Forward to
+End} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
+is off, @samp{Forward to End} issues the ICS @samp{forward 999999}
+command, which moves everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
+the current line. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward to End} only moves
+your local view forward, and it will not go past the position
+that the game was in when you paused.
+@end table
+
+@node View Menu
+@section View Menu
+@cindex Menu, View
+@cindex View Menu
+@table @asis
+@item Flip View
+@cindex Flip View, Menu Item
+Inverts your view of the chess board for the duration of the
+current game. Starting a new game returns the board to normal.
+The @kbd{F2} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Show Engine Output
+@cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
+Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
+is displayed. The shifted @kbd{Alt+O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+XBoard will display lines of thinking output of the same depth ordered by score,
+(highest score on top), rather than in the order the engine produced them.
+Usually this amounts to the same, as a normal engine search will only find new PV
+(and emit it as thinking output)
+when it searches a move with a higher score than the previous variation.
+But when the engine is in multi-variation mode this needs not always be true,
+and it is more convenient for someone analyzing games to see the moves sorted by score.
+The order in which the engine found them is only of interest to the engine author,
+and can still be deduced from the time or node count printed with the line.
+@item Show Move History
+@cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
+Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
+The shifted @kbd{Alt+H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
+by clicking on the corresponding move.
+@item Show Evaluation Graph
+@cindex Show Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
+Shows or hides a window which displays a graph of how the engine score(s)
+evolved as a function of the move number.
+The shifted @kbd{Alt+E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+Clicking on the graph will bring
+the corresponding position in the board display.
+@item Show Game List
+@cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
+Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
+command. The shifted @kbd{Alt+G} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Tags
+@cindex Tags, Menu Item
+Pops up a window which shows the PGN (portable game notation)
+tags for the current game.
+For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Tags} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
+@item Comments
+@cindex Comments, Menu Item
+Pops up a window which shows any comments to or variations on the current move.
+For now this is a duplicate of the @samp{Edit Comment} item in the @samp{Edit} menu.
@item ICS Input Box
@cindex ICS Input Box, Menu Item
If this option is set in ICS mode,
The input box is especially useful if you want to type in something long or do
some editing on your input, because output from ICS doesn't get mixed
in with your typing as it would in the main terminal window.
+@item Board
+@cindex Board, Menu Item
+Summons a dialog where you can customaize the look of the chess board.
+Here you can specify the directory from which piece images should be taken,
+when you don't want to use the built-in piece images
+(see @code{pixmapDirectory} and @code{bitmapDirectory} options),
+an external pixmap to be used for the board squares
+(@code{liteBackTextureFile} and @code{darkBackTextureFile} options),
+and square and piece colors for the built-ins.
+@item Game List Tags
+@cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
+a duplicate of the Game List dialog in the Options menu.
+@end table
+
+@node Mode Menu
+@section Mode Menu
+@cindex Menu, Mode
+@cindex Mode Menu
+@table @asis
+@item Machine White
+@cindex Machine White, Menu Item
+Tells the chess engine to play White.
+The @kbd{Ctrl-W} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Machine Black
+@cindex Machine Black, Menu Item
+Tells the chess engine to play Black.
+The @kbd{Ctrl-B} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Two Machines
+@cindex Two Machines, Menu Item
+Plays a game between two chess engines.
+The @kbd{Ctrl-T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Analysis Mode
+@cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
+XBoard tells the chess engine to start analyzing the current game/position
+and shows you the analysis as you move pieces around.
+The @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
+
+To set up a position to analyze, you do the following:
+
+1. Select Edit Position from the Mode Menu
+
+2. Set up the position. Use the middle and right buttons to
+bring up the white and black piece menus.
+
+3. When you are finished, click on either the Black or White
+clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
+
+4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
+
+The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
+with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
+the positions as they occur in the observed game.
+@item Analyze File
+@cindex Analyze File, Menu Item
+This option lets you load a game from a file (PGN, XBoard format, etc.)
+and analyze it. The @kbd{Ctrl-F} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+When you select this menu item, a pop-up window appears
+and asks for a file name to load.
+If the file contains multiple games, another pop up appears that lets
+you select which game you wish to analyze.
+After a game is loaded, XBoard will start auto-playing the game,
+while the engine is analyzing the current position.
+The game will be annotated with the results of these analyses.
+In particlar, the score and depth will be added as a comment,
+and the PV will be added as a variation.
+The time the engine spends on analyzing each move can be controlled
+through the command-line option @samp{-timeDelay}.
+Note: Some chess engines do not support Analysis mode.
+@item Edit Game
+Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
+Note that @samp{Edit Game} is the idle mode of XBoard, and can be used
+to get you out of other modes. E.g. to stop analyzing, stop a game
+between two engines or stop editing a position.
+@item Edit Position
+Duplicate of the item in the Edit menu.
+@item Training
+@cindex Training, Menu Item
+Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
+of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
+move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
+game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
+If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
+can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
+selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
+@samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
+@item ICS Client
+@cindex ICS Client, Menu Item
+This is the normal mode when XBoard
+is connected to a chess server. If you have moved into
+Edit Game or Edit Position mode, you can select this option to get out.
+
+To use xboard in ICS mode, run it in the foreground with the -ics
+option, and use the terminal you started it from to type commands and
+receive text responses from the chess server. See
+@ref{Chess Servers} below for more information.
+
+XBoard activates some special position/game editing features when you
+use the @kbd{examine} or @kbd{bsetup} commands on ICS and you have
+@samp{ICS Client} selected on the Mode menu. First, you can issue the
+ICS position-editing commands with the mouse. Move pieces by dragging
+with mouse button 1. To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse
+button 2 or 3 over the square. This brings up a menu of white pieces
+(button 2) or black pieces (button 3). Additional menu choices let
+you empty the square or clear the board. Click on the White or Black
+clock to set the side to play. You cannot set the side to play or
+drag pieces to arbitrary squares while examining on ICC, but you can
+do so in @kbd{bsetup} mode on FICS. In addition, the menu commands
+@samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, and @samp{Stop Examining}
+have special functions in this mode; see below.
+@item Machine Match
+@cindex Machine match, Menu Item
+Starts a match between two chess programs,
+with a number of games and other parameters set through
+the @samp{Match Options} menu dialog.
@item Pause
@cindex Pause, Menu Item
Pauses updates to the board, and if you are playing against a chess engine,
by the comment "user adjudication".
@end table
-@node Step Menu
-@section Step Menu
-@cindex Step Menu
-@cindex Menu, Step
+@node Engine Menu
+@section Engine Menu
+@cindex Engine Menu
+@cindex Menu, Engine
@table @asis
-@item Backward
-@cindex Backward, Menu Item
-@cindex <, Button
-Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
-The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+LeftArrow} key are equivalents,
-as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
-In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
-it steps forward again.
-
-In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
-it does not retract moves. This is the case if you are playing against
-a chess engine, playing or observing a game on an ICS, or loading a game.
-If you select @samp{Backward} in any of these situations, you will not
-be allowed to make a different move. Use @samp{Retract Move} or
-@samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past moves.
-
-If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Backward}
-depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
-off, @samp{Backward} issues the ICS backward command, which backs up
-everyone's view of the game and allows you to make a different
-move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
-view.
-@item Forward
-@cindex Forward, Menu Item
-@cindex >, Button
-Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
-effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
-@samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+RightArrow} key are equivalents,
-as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
-
-If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
-depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
-off, @samp{Forward} issues the ICS forward command, which moves
-everyone's view of the game forward along the current line. If
-Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward} only moves your local view forward,
-and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
-you paused.
-@item Back to Start
-@cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
-@cindex <<, Button
-Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
-The @samp{[<<]} button and the @kbd{Alt+Home} key are equivalents.
-
-In most modes, Back to Start only lets you look back at old
-positions; it does not retract moves. This is the case if you
-are playing against a local chess engine, playing or observing a game on
-a chess server, or loading a game. If you select @samp{Back to Start} in any
-of these situations, you will not be allowed to make different
-moves. Use @samp{Retract Move} or @samp{Edit Game} if you want to change past
-moves; or use Reset to start a new game.
-
-If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Back to
-Start} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
-is off, @samp{Back to Start} issues the ICS @samp{backward 999999}
-command, which backs up everyone's view of the game to the start and
-allows you to make different moves. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Back
-to Start} only backs up your local view.
-@item Forward to End
-@cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
-@cindex >>, Button
-Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
-@samp{[>>]} button and the @kbd{Alt+End} key are equivalents.
-
-If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of @samp{Forward to
-End} depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode
-is off, @samp{Forward to End} issues the ICS @samp{forward 999999}
-command, which moves everyone's view of the game forward to the end of
-the current line. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Forward to End} only moves
-your local view forward, and it will not go past the position
-that the game was in when you paused.
-@item Revert
-@itemx Annotate
-@cindex Revert, Menu Item
-@cindex Annotate, Menu Item
-If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off, issues
-the ICS command @samp{revert}.
-In local mode, when you were editing or analyzing a game,
-and have been entering a number of moves by hand, starting from
-a position not at the end of the game,
-the revert command restores the game to the variation you started from.
-This can be applied recursively,
-so that you can analyze variations on variations;
-each time you create a new variation by entering an alternative move,
-the current variation will be shelved.
-Revert allows you to return to the most recently shelved variation.
-The difference between Revert and Annotate is that with the latter,
-the variation you had been entering and are now abandoning
-is currently added as a comment
-(in PGN variation syntax, i.e. between parentheses)
-to the original move where you deviated.
-Note that such 'variation comments' can be played out on the board again
-(also when they were loaded from file)
-by clicking them in the comment window.
-The @kbd{Home} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Truncate Game
-@cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
-Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
-position. Puts XBoard into @samp{Edit Game} mode if it was not there
-already.
-The @kbd{End} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Engine #N Settings
+@cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
+@cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
+@cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
+Pop up a menu dialog to alter the settings specific to the applicable engine.
+(The second engine is only accessible once it has been used in Two-Machines mode.)
+For each parameter the engine allows to be set,
+a control element will appear in this dialog that can be used to alter the value.
+Depending on the type of parameter (text string, number, multiple choice,
+on/off switch, instantaneous signal) the appropriate control will appear,
+with a description next to it.
+XBoard has no idea what these values mean; it just passes them on to the engine.
+How this dialog looks is completely determined by the engine,
+and XBoard just passes it on to the user.
+Many engines do not have any parameters that can be set by the user,
+and in that case the dialog will be empty (except for the OK and cancel buttons).
+UCI engines usually have many parameters. (But these are only visible with
+a sufficiently modern version of the Polyglot adapter needed to run UCI engines,
+e.g. Polyglot 1.4.55b.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
+@item Hint
+@cindex Hint, Menu Item
+Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
+@item Book
+@cindex Book, Menu Item
+Displays a list of possible moves from the chess engine's opening
+book. The exact format depends on what chess engine you are using.
+With GNU Chess 4, the first column gives moves, the second column
+gives one possible response for each move, and the third column shows
+the number of lines in the book that include the move from the first
+column. If you select this option and nothing happens, the chess
+engine is out of its book or does not support this feature.
@item Move Now
@cindex Move Now, Menu Item
Forces the chess engine to move immediately. Chess engine mode only.
@cindex Menu, Options
@cindex Options Menu
@table @asis
-@item Flip View
-@cindex Flip View, Menu Item
-Inverts your view of the chess board for the duration of the
-current game. Starting a new game returns the board to normal.
-The @kbd{F2} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Time Control
+@cindex Time Control, Menu Item
+Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
+Allows you to select classical or incremental time controls,
+set the moves per session, session duration, and time increment.
+Also allows specification of time-odds factors for one or both engines.
+If an engine is given a time-odds factor N, all time quota it gets,
+be it at the beginning of a session or through the time increment or
+fixed time per move, will be divided by N.
+The shifted @kbd{Alt+T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Common Engine
+@cindex Common Engine, Menu Item
+Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
+such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
+that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
+to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
+engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many XBoard/WinBoard engines respond
+to it yet, but UCI engines should.
+
+It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
+book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
+It then forces the engine to play the book move, rather than to think up its own,
+if that position is found in the book.
+The book can switched on and off independently for either engine.
+The way book moves are chosen can be influenced through the settings of
+book depth and variety.
+After both sides have played more moves than the specified depth,
+the book will no longer be consulted.
+When the variety is set to 50, moves will be played with the probability
+specified in the book.
+When set to 0, only the move(s) with the highest probability will be played.
+When set to 100, all listed moves will be played with equal pobability.
+Other settings interpolate between that.
+The shifted @kbd{Alt+U} key is a keyboard equivalent.
@item Adjudications
@cindex Adjudications, Menu Item
Pops up a sub-menu where you can enable or disable various adjudications
For the latter adjudication to work, XBoard should be able to properly understand
the engine's scores. To facilitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
the engines report scores from the viewpoint of white, or from that of their own color.
-@item General Settings
-@cindex General Settings, Menu Item
-Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
-such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
-that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
-to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
-engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many XBoard/WinBoard engines respond
-to it yet, but UCI engines should.
-It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
-book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
-It then forces the engine to play the book move, rather than to think up its own,
-if that position is found in the book.
-The book can switched on and off independently for either engine.
-The shifted @kbd{Alt+U} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Engine #N Settings
-@cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
-@cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
-@cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
-Pop up a menu dialog to alter the settings specific to the applicable engine.
-(The second engine is only accessible once it has been used in Two-Machines mode.)
-For each parameter the engine allows to be set,
-a control element will appear in this dialog that can be used to alter the value.
-Depending on the type of parameter (text string, number, multiple choice,
-on/off switch, instantaneous signal) the appropriate control will appear,
-with a description next to it.
-XBoard has no idea what these values mean; it just passes them on to the engine.
-How this dialog looks is completely determined by the engine,
-and XBoard just passes it on to the user.
-Many engines do not have any parameters that can be set by the user,
-and in that case the dialog will be empty (except for the OK and cancel buttons).
-UCI engines usually have many parameters. (But these are only visible with
-a sufficiently modern version of the Polyglot adapter needed to run UCI engines,
-e.g. Polyglot 1.4.55b.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
-@item Time Control
-@cindex Time Control, Menu Item
-Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
-Allows you to select classical or incremental time controls,
-set the moves per session, session duration, and time increment.
-Also allows specification of time-odds factors for one or both engines.
-If an engine is given a time-odds factor N, all time quota it gets,
-be it at the beginning of a session or through the time increment or
-fixed time per move, will be divided by N.
-The shifted @kbd{Alt+T} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Always Queen
+@item Match Game Options
+@cindex Match Game Options, Menu Item
+Summons a dialog where you can set options important for playing automatic
+matches between two chess programs
+(e.g. by using the @samp{Machine Match} menu item in the @samp{Mode} menu).
+You can specify the number of games such a match should last,
+and the duration of the pause between games
+(important for some older engines to not have the last move of a previous
+game be given when the next game has already started).
+You can also specify a file with opening lines, or a file with initial positions
+(the @code{loadGameFile} and @code{loadPositionFile} options),
+and the number of the game or position to use from these files.
+Values -1 and -2 of this 'index' convey a special meaning,
+namely that XBoard should automatically step through all lines or positions
+in these files.
+With -1 such stepping is done every game; with -2 every two games,
+so that each line or position is played with both colors before stepping
+to the next one.
+You can have XBoard automatically rewind to the first line or position
+in the file after the index reaches a certain vaue,
+which you can also specify here.
+@item Load Game Options
+@cindex Load Game Options, Menu Item
+Summons a dialog where you can set the @code{autoDisplayComment} and
+@code{autoDisplayTags} options, (which control popups when viewing loaded games),
+and specify the rate at which loaded games are auto-played,
+in seconds per move (which can be a fractional number, like 1.6).
+@item Save Game Options
+@cindex ave Game Options, Menu Item
+Summons a dialog where you can specify the files on which XBoard should
+automtically save any played or entered games,
+(the @code{saveGameFile} option),
+or the final position of such games (the @code{savePositionfile} option).
+You can also select 'auto-save' without a file name,
+in which case XBoard will prompt the user for a file name after each game.
+You can also set the default value for the PGN Event tag that will
+be used for each new game you start.
+Various options for the format of the game can be specified as well,
+such as whether scores and depths of engine games should be saved as comments,
+and if a tag with info about the score with which the engine came out of book
+should be included.
+For Chess, always set the format to PGN, rather than "old save stye"!
+@item Game List
+@cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
+Pops up a dialog where you can select the PGN tags that should appear
+on the lines in the game list, and their order.
+@item Sound Options
+@cindex Sound Options, Menu Item
+Summons a dialog where you can specify the sounds that should accompany
+various events that can occur XBoard.
+Most events are only relevant to ICS play,
+but the move sound is an important exception.
+For each event listed in the dialog,
+you can select a standard sound from a menu.
+You can also select a user-supplied sound file,
+by typing its name into the designated text-edit field first,
+and then selecting "Above WAV File" from the menu for the event.
+A dummy event has been provided for trying out the sounds with the
+"play" button next to it.
+The directory with standard sounds, and the external program for playing
+the sounds can be specified too, but normally you would not touch these
+once XBoard is properly installed.
+@itemx Move Sound
+@cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
+When a move sound other than 'None' is selected,
+XBoard alerts you by playing a sound
+after each of your opponent's moves (or after every
+move if you are observing a game on the Internet Chess Server).
+The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
+saved game file.
+If you turn on this option when using XBoard with the Internet
+Chess Server, you will probably want to give the
+@kbd{set bell 0}
+command to the ICS, since otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
+after every move (not just yours). (The @file{.icsrc} file
+is a good place for this; see @ref{ICS options}.)
+@item General Options
+@cindex General Options, Menu Item
+The following items to set option values appear in the dialog
+summoned by the general Options menu item.
+@itemx Always Queen
@cindex Always Queen, Menu Item
If this option is off, XBoard brings up a dialog
box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
you want to promote it to. If the option is true, your pawns are
always promoted to queens. Your opponent can still under-promote.
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-Q} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Animate Dragging
+@itemx Animate Dragging
@cindex Animate Dragging, Menu Item
If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging a piece with the
mouse, an image of the piece follows the mouse cursor.
If Animate Dragging is off, there is no visual feedback while you are
dragging a piece, but if Animate Moving is on, the move will be
animated when it is complete.
-@item Animate Moving
+@itemx Animate Moving
@cindex Animate Moving, Menu Item
If Animate Moving is on, all piece moves are animated. An image of the
piece is shown moving from the old square to the new square when the
If Animate Moving is off, a moved piece instantly disappears from its
old square and reappears on its new square when the move is complete.
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-A} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Auto Comment
-@cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
-If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS while you are observing or
-playing a game are recorded as a comment on the current move. This includes
-remarks made with the ICS commands @kbd{say}, @kbd{tell}, @kbd{whisper},
-and @kbd{kibitz}.
-Limitation: remarks that you type yourself are not recognized;
-XBoard scans only the output from ICS, not the input you type to it.
-@item Auto Flag
+@itemx Auto Flag
@cindex Auto Flag, Menu Item
If this option is on and one player runs out of time
before the other,
insufficient mating material. In local chess engine mode,
XBoard
may call either player's flag and will not take material into account (?).
-@item Auto Flip View
+@itemx Auto Flip View
@cindex Auto Flip View, Menu Item
If the Auto Flip View option is on when you start a game, the board
will be automatically oriented so that your pawns move from the bottom
of the window towards the top.
-@item Auto Observe
-@cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
-If this option is on and you add a player to your @code{gnotify}
-list on ICS, XBoard will automatically observe all of that
-player's games, unless you are doing something else (such as
-observing or playing a game of your own) when one starts.
-The games are displayed
-from the point of view of the player on your gnotify list; that is, his
-pawns move from the bottom of the window towards the top.
-Exceptions: If both players in a game are on your gnotify list, if
-your ICS
-@code{highlight}
-variable is set to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not
-properly support observing from Black's point of view,
-you will see the game from White's point of view.
-@item Auto Raise Board
-@cindex Auto Raise Board, Menu Item
-If this option is on, whenever a new game begins, the chessboard window
-is deiconized (if necessary) and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
-@item Auto Save
-@cindex Auto Save, Menu Item
-If this option is true, at the end of every game XBoard prompts
-you for a file name and appends a record of the game to the file
-you specify.
-Disabled if the @code{saveGameFile} command-line
-option is set, as in that case all games are saved to the specified file.
-@xref{Load and Save options}.
-@item Blindfold
-@cindex Blindfold, Menu Item
-If this option is on, XBoard displays the board as usual but does
-not display pieces or move highlights. You can still move in the
-usual way (with the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even though
-the pieces are invisible.
-@item Flash Moves
-@cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
-If this option is on, whenever a move is completed, the moved piece flashes.
-The number of times to flash is set by the flashCount command-line
-option; it defaults to 3 if Flash Moves is first turned on from the menu.
If you are playing a game on an ICS, the board is always
oriented at the start of the game so that your pawns move from
if it is false (the default), White's pawns move from bottom to top
at the start of each game; if it is true, Black's pawns move from
bottom to top. @xref{User interface options}.
-@item Get Move List
-@cindex Get Move List, Menu Item
-If this option is on, whenever XBoard
-receives the first board of a new ICS game (or a different game from
-the one it is currently displaying), it
-retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
-You can then review the moves with the @samp{Forward} and @samp{Backward}
-commands
-or save them with @samp{Save Game}. You might want to
-turn off this option if you are observing several blitz games at once,
-to keep from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching the move lists over
-and over.
-When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
-immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
-@item Highlight Dragging
+@itemx Blindfold
+@cindex Blindfold, Menu Item
+If this option is on, XBoard displays the board as usual but does
+not display pieces or move highlights. You can still move in the
+usual way (with the mouse or by typing moves in ICS mode), even though
+the pieces are invisible.
+@itemx Drop Menu
+@cindex Drop Menu, Menu Item
+Controls if right-clicking the board in crazyhouse / bughouse
+will pop up a menu to drop a piece on the clicked square
+(old, deprecated behavior)
+or allow you to step through an engine PV
+(new, recommended behavior).
+@itemx Highlight Dragging
@cindex Highlight Dragging, Menu Item
If Highlight Dragging is on, and the option -showTargetSquares is also on
in the settings file, all squares a piece that is 'picked up' with the mouse
can legally move to are highighted with a fat colored dot in the
highlightColor (non-captures) or premoveHighlightColor (captures).
Legality testing must be on for XBoard to know how the piece moves.
-@item Highlight Last Move
+@itemx Highlight Last Move
@cindex Highlight Last Move, Menu Item
If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is made, the starting and
ending squares remain highlighted. In addition, after you use Backward
or Back to Start, the starting and ending squares of the last move to
be unmade are highlighted.
-@item Move Sound
-@cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
-If this option is on, XBoard alerts you by playing a sound
-after each of your opponent's moves (or after every
-move if you are observing a game on the Internet Chess Server).
-The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
-saved game file. By default, the
-sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems you can change it
-to a sound file using the soundMove option; see below.
-
-If you turn on this option when using XBoard with the Internet
-Chess Server, you will probably want to give the
-@kbd{set bell 0}
-command to the ICS, since otherwise the ICS will ring the terminal bell
-after every move (not just yours). (The @file{.icsrc} file
-is a good place for this; see @ref{ICS options}.)
-@item ICS Alarm
-@cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
-When this option is on, an alarm sound is played when your clock
-counts down to the icsAlarmTime (by default, 5 seconds) in an ICS
-game. For games with time controls that include an increment, the
-alarm will sound each time the clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime.
-By default, the alarm sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems
-you can change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm option; see
-below.
-@item Old Save Style
-@cindex Old Save Style, Menu Item
-If this option is off, XBoard saves games in PGN
-(portable game notation) and positions in FEN (Forsythe-Edwards
-notation). If the option is on, a save style that is compatible
-with older versions of XBoard is used instead.
-The old position style is more human-readable
-than FEN; the old game style has no particular advantages.
-@item Periodic Updates
+@itemx Highlight with Arrow
+@cindex Highlight with Arrow, Menu Item
+Causes the highlighting described in Highlight Last Move to be done
+by drawing an arrow between the highlighted squares,
+so that it is visible even when the width of the grid lines is set to zero.
+@itemx One-Click Moving
+@cindex One-Click Moving, Menu Item
+If this option is on, XBoard does not wait for you to click both the
+from- and the to-square, or drag the piece, but performs a move as soon
+as it is uniqely specified.
+This applies to clicking an own piece that only has a single legal move,
+clicking an empty square or opponent piece where only one of your pieces
+can move (or capture) to.
+Furthermore, a double-click on a piece that can only make a single capture
+will cause that capture to be made.
+Promoting a Pawn by clicking its to-square will suppress the promotion
+popup, and make it promote to Queen.
+@itemx Periodic Updates
@cindex Periodic Updates, Menu Item
If this option is off (or if
you are using a chess engine that does not support periodic updates),
the analysis window
will only be updated when the analysis changes. If this option is
on, the Analysis Window will be updated every two seconds.
-@item Ponder Next Move
+@itemx Ponder Next Move
@cindex Ponder Next Move, Menu Item
If this option is off, the chess engine will think only when it is on
move. If the option is on, the engine will also think while waiting
for you to make your move.
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-P} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Popup Exit Message
+@itemx Popup Exit Message
@cindex Popup Exit Message, Menu Item
If this option is on, when XBoard wants to display a message just
before exiting, it brings up a modal dialog box and waits for you to
click OK before exiting. If the option is off, XBoard prints the
message to standard error (the terminal) and exits immediately.
-@item Popup Move Errors
+@itemx Popup Move Errors
@cindex Popup Move Errors, Menu Item
If this option is off, when you make an error in moving (such as
attempting an illegal move or moving the wrong color piece), the
on, move errors are displayed in small pop-up windows like other errors.
You can dismiss an error pop-up either by clicking its OK button or by
clicking anywhere on the board, including down-clicking to start a move.
-@item Premove
-@cindex Premove, Menu Item
-If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
-your next planned move before it is your turn. Move the piece with
-the mouse in the ordinary way, and the starting and ending squares
-will be highlighted with a special color (red by default). When it is
-your turn, if your registered move is legal, XBoard will send it to
-ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and you can make a
-different move. If you change your mind about your premove, either
-make a different move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the move
-entirely.
-@item Quiet Play
-@cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
-If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
-@kbd{set shout 0}
-command whenever you start a game and a
-@kbd{set shout 1}
-command whenever you finish one. Thus, you will not be distracted
-by shouts from other ICS users while playing.
-@item Show Coords
+@itemx Show Coords
@cindex Show Coords, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard displays algebraic coordinates
along the board's left and bottom edges.
-@item Hide Thinking
+@itemx Hide Thinking
@cindex Hide Thinking, Menu Item
If this option is off, the chess engine's notion of the score and best
line of play from the current position is displayed as it is
whether it is showing White's thinking or Black's, and only the thinking
of the engine that is on move is shown.
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-H} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-@item Test Legality
+@itemx Test Legality
@cindex Test Legality, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard tests whether the moves you try to make
with the mouse are legal and refuses to let you make an illegal move.
rules that XBoard does not understand. (Bughouse, suicide, and wild
variants where the king may castle after starting on the d file are
generally supported with Test Legality on.)
+@itemx Flash Moves
+@itemx Flash Rate
+@cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
+@cindex Flash Rate, Menu Item
+If this option is non-zero, whenever a move is completed,
+the moved piece flashes the specified number of times.
+The flash-rate setting determines how rapidly this flashing occurs.
+@itemx Animation Speed
+@cindex Animation Speed, Menu Item
+Determines the duration (in msec) of an animation step,
+when @samp{Animate Moving} is swiched on.
+
+@item ICS Options
+@cindex ICS Options, Menu Item
+The following options occur in a dialog summoned by the
+ICS Options menu item.
+@itemx Auto Kibitz
+@cindex Auto Kibitz, Menu Item
+Setting this option when playingwith or aginst a chess program on an ICS
+will cause the last line of thinking output of the engine before its move
+to be sent to the ICS in a kibitz command.
+In addition, any kibitz message received through the ICS from
+an opponent chess program will be diverted to the engine-output window,
+(and suppressed in the console),
+where you can play through its PV by right-clicking it.
+@itemx Auto Comment
+@cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
+If this option is on, any remarks made on ICS while you are observing or
+playing a game are recorded as a comment on the current move. This includes
+remarks made with the ICS commands @kbd{say}, @kbd{tell}, @kbd{whisper},
+and @kbd{kibitz}.
+Limitation: remarks that you type yourself are not recognized;
+XBoard scans only the output from ICS, not the input you type to it.
+@itemx Auto Observe
+@cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
+If this option is on and you add a player to your @code{gnotify}
+list on ICS, XBoard will automatically observe all of that
+player's games, unless you are doing something else (such as
+observing or playing a game of your own) when one starts.
+The games are displayed
+from the point of view of the player on your gnotify list; that is, his
+pawns move from the bottom of the window towards the top.
+Exceptions: If both players in a game are on your gnotify list, if
+your ICS
+@code{highlight}
+variable is set to 0, or if the ICS you are using does not
+properly support observing from Black's point of view,
+you will see the game from White's point of view.
+@itemx Auto Raise Board
+@cindex Auto Raise Board, Menu Item
+If this option is on, whenever a new game begins, the chessboard window
+is deiconized (if necessary) and raised to the top of the stack of windows.
+@itemx Auto Save
+@cindex Auto Save, Menu Item
+If this option is true, at the end of every game XBoard prompts
+you for a file name and appends a record of the game to the file
+you specify.
+Disabled if the @code{saveGameFile} command-line
+option is set, as in that case all games are saved to the specified file.
+@xref{Load and Save options}.
+@itemx Background Observe
+@cindex Background Observe, Menu Item
+Setting this option will make XBoard suppress display of any boards
+from observed games while you are playing.
+In stead the last such board will be remembered,
+and shown to you when you right-click the board.
+This allows you to peek at your bughouse partner's game when you want,
+without disturbing your own game too much.
+@itemx Dual Board
+@cindex Dual Board, Menu Item
+Setting this option in combination with @samp{Background Observe}
+will display boards of observed games while you are playing
+on a second board next to that of your own game.
+@itemx Get Move List
+@cindex Get Move List, Menu Item
+If this option is on, whenever XBoard
+receives the first board of a new ICS game (or a different game from
+the one it is currently displaying), it
+retrieves the list of past moves from the ICS.
+You can then review the moves with the @samp{Forward} and @samp{Backward}
+commands
+or save them with @samp{Save Game}. You might want to
+turn off this option if you are observing several blitz games at once,
+to keep from wasting time and network bandwidth fetching the move lists over
+and over.
+When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
+immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
+@itemx Quiet Play
+@cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
+If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
+@kbd{set shout 0}
+command whenever you start a game and a
+@kbd{set shout 1}
+command whenever you finish one. Thus, you will not be distracted
+by shouts from other ICS users while playing.
+@itemx Seek Graph
+@cindex Seek Graph, Menu Item
+Setting this option will cause XBoard to display an graph of
+currently active seek ads when you left-click the board
+while idle and logged on to an ICS.
+@itemx Auto-Refresh Seek Graph
+@cindex Auto-Refresh Seek Graph, Menu Item
+In combination with the @samp{Seek Graph} option this
+will cause automatic update of the seek graph while it is up.
+This only works on FICS and ICS,
+and requires a lot of bandwidth on a busy server.
+@itemx Premove
+@itemx Premove White
+@itemx Premove Black
+@itemx First White Move
+@itemx First Black Move
+@cindex Premove, Menu Item
+@cindex Premove White, Menu Item
+@cindex Premove Black, Menu Item
+@cindex First White Move, Menu Item
+@cindex First Black Move, Menu Item
+If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
+your next planned move before it is your turn. Move the piece with
+the mouse in the ordinary way, and the starting and ending squares
+will be highlighted with a special color (red by default). When it is
+your turn, if your registered move is legal, XBoard will send it to
+ICS immediately; if not, it will be ignored and you can make a
+different move. If you change your mind about your premove, either
+make a different move, or double-click on any piece to cancel the move
+entirely.
+
+You can also enter premoves for the first white and black moves
+of the game.
+@itemx ICS Alarm
+@itemx ICS Alarm Time
+@cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
+@cindex ICS Alarm Time, Menu Item
+When this option is on, an alarm sound is played when your clock
+counts down to the icsAlarmTime in an ICS game.
+(By default, the time is 5 seconds, but you can pecify other values
+with the Alarm Time spin control.)
+For games with time controls that include an increment, the
+alarm will sound each time the clock counts down to the icsAlarmTime.
+By default, the alarm sound is the terminal bell, but on some systems
+you can change it to a sound file using the soundIcsAlarm option; see
+below.
+@itemx Colorize Messages
+@cindex Colorize Messages, Menu Item
+Ticking this options causes various types of ICS messages do be
+displayed with different foreground or background colors in the console.
+The colors can be individually selected for each type,
+through the accompanying text edits.
+
@item Save Settings Now
@cindex Save Settings Now, Menu Item
Selecting this menu item causes the current XBoard settings to be
the @samp{make install} command when you built XBoard, and the
directory it was placed in must be on the search path for your
system's @samp{man} command.
-@item Hint
-@cindex Hint, Menu Item
-Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
-@item Book
-@cindex Book, Menu Item
-Displays a list of possible moves from the chess engine's opening
-book. The exact format depends on what chess engine you are using.
-With GNU Chess 4, the first column gives moves, the second column
-gives one possible response for each move, and the third column shows
-the number of lines in the book that include the move from the first
-column. If you select this option and nothing happens, the chess
-engine is out of its book or does not support this feature.
@item About XBoard
@cindex About XBoard, Menu Item
Shows the current XBoard version number.
a way to enable graphical icons. If you get black and white reversed,
we would like to hear about it; see @ref{Problems} below for
instructions on how to report this problem.
+@item Load Next Game
+@cindex Load Next Game, Menu Item
+Loads the next game from the last game record file you loaded.
+The @kbd{Alt+PgDn} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Load Previous Game
+@cindex Load Previous Game, Menu Item
+Loads the previous game from the last game record file you
+loaded. The @kbd{Alt+PgUp} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
+@item Reload Same Game
+@cindex Reload Same Game, Menu Item
+Reloads the last game you loaded.
+Not available if the last game was loaded from a pipe.
+@item Reload Same Position
+@cindex Reload Same Position, Menu Item
+Reloads the last position you loaded.
+Not available if the last position was loaded from a pipe.
@end table
You can add or remove shortcut keys using the X resources
and should be run with the aid of the Polyglot adapter rather than directly.
Xboard will then pass the other UCI options and engine name to Polyglot
through a .ini temporary file created for the purpose.
-@item -PolyglotDir filename
-@cindex PolyglotDir, option
-Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines expects its files.
-Default: "/usr/local/share/polyglot".
+@item -polyglotDir filename
+@cindex polyglotDir, option
+Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines resides.
+Default: "".
@item -usePolyglotBook true/false
@cindex usePolyglotBook, option
Specifies if the Polyglot book should be used.
-@item -PolyglotBook filename
-@cindex PolyglotBook, option
+@item -polyglotBook filename
+@cindex polyglotBook, option
Gives the filename of the opening book that Polyglot should use.
From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native XBoard/WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
provided the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI} applying to the engine
is set to false.
The engine will be kept in force mode as long as the current position is in book,
-and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default "".
+and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default: "".
@item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstXBook or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
@itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondXBook or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
@cindex fNoOwnBookUCI, option
is possible.
Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
-Defaut: false.
+Default: false.
@item -moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false
@cindex moves, option
@cindex getMoveList, option
bell by sending a ^G character to standard output, instead of playing
a sound file. If an option is set to the empty string "", no sound is
played for that event.
+@item -soundDirectory directoryname
+@cindex soundDirectory, option
+@cindex Sounds
+This option specifies where XBoard will look for sound files,
+when these are not given as an absolute path name.
@item -soundShout filename
@itemx -soundSShout filename
@itemx -soundChannel filename
where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
Default: False.
+@item -variations true|false
+@cindex variations, option
+When this option is on, you can start new variations in Edit Game or
+Analyze mode by holding the Shift key down while entering a move.
+When it is off, the Shift key will be ignored.
+Default: False.
@end table
@node Load and Save options
@item -td or -timeDelay seconds
@cindex td, option
@cindex timeDelay, option
-Time delay between moves during @samp{Load Game}. Fractional seconds
-are allowed; try @samp{-td 0.4}. A time delay value of -1 tells
-XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1
-second.
+Time delay between moves during @samp{Load Game} or @samp{Analyze File}.
+Fractional seconds are allowed; try @samp{-td 0.4}.
+A time delay value of -1 tells
+XBoard not to step through game files automatically. Default: 1 second.
@item -sgf or -saveGameFile file
@cindex sgf, option
@cindex saveGameFile, option
@cindex highlight, option
@cindex highlightLastMove, option
Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
+@item -highlightMoveWithArrow true/false
+@cindex highlight Arrow, option
+@cindex highlightMoveWithArrow, option
+Sets the Highlight with Arrow menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
@item -blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false
@cindex blind, option
@cindex blindfold, option
knightmate King moves as Knight, and vice versa
super Superchess (shuffle variant with 4 exo-pieces)
makruk Thai Chess (shatranj-like, P promotes on 6th rank)
+spartan Spartan Chess (black has unorthodox pieces)
fairy A catchall variant in which all piece types
known to XBoard can participate (8x8)
unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
Some special XBoard features are activated when you are
in examine mode on ICS. See the descriptions of the menu commands
@samp{Forward}, @samp{Backward}, @samp{Pause}, @samp{ICS Client},
-and @samp{Stop Examining} on the @ref{Step Menu}, @ref{Mode Menu}, and
-@ref{Options Menu}.
+and @samp{Stop Examining} on the @ref{Edit Menu}, @ref{Mode Menu}, and
+@ref{Action Menu}.
@node Firewalls
@chapter Firewalls
You can load and edit games that contain piece drops.
The (obsolete) piece menus are not active,
but you can perform piece drops by dragging pieces from the holdings.
-Edit Position mode does not allow you to edit the crazyhouse holdings properly.
-You cannot drag pieces to the holding, and using the popup menu to put pieces
-there does not adapt the holding counts and leads to an inconsistent state.
-Set up crazyhouse positions by loading / pasting a bFEN, from there you can set the holdings.
Fischer Random castling is fully understood.
You can enter castlings by dragging the King on top of your Rook.
You can probably also play Fischer Random successfully on ICS by typing
projects / xboard.git / blobdiff