The WinBoard Gold Pack 4.4.0
+For the ultimate WinBoard experience!
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+The WinBoard Gold Pack 4.4.0+For the ultimate WinBoard experience!+ |
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+The most convenient way to run invoke WinBoard is usually through PSWBTM, +as this combines an easy way to select the engine with a large choice of engines. +A viable alternative for things you do very often +(e.g. play on FICS, or play your own engine on ICC) +is to use a shortcut. +Such a shortcut hardly offers any flexibility, as it always starts WinBoard with exactly +the same combination of options. +But it does allow you to start this combination with a single mouse click, +which can be convenient for something you do frequently. +And the WinBoard menus offer you a possibility to tailor some settings later. +
+If you browse to the WinBoard directory of this package (~\WinBoard), +starting from "My Computer" on the desk top, +You will see a number of black-knight icons. +Except for the one marked "winboard" these are all shortcuts +(recognizable from the small arrow in their lower left). +They were defined as examples for how shortcuts can be used to ease some common tasks. +
+A good example to look how this works at is the "PGN viewer" shortcut. +Double-click this, and you will see WinBoard pop up. +Only the WinBoard main and move-history window will be there. +Compare this to what you get when you click the winboard icon itself (i.e. not a shotcut): +this will pop up the start-up dialog first, where you would have to tick that you want +to use WinBoard to view or edit games only, after which it would come up in the default mode, +with game history, engine output and evaluation graph all open up. +(Unless you changed this default after downloading.) +So to get into the same mode as was pre-programmed in the "PGN Viewer" shortcut, +you would first have to close these auxiiary windows (in the "Mode" menu). +So the shortcut does save quite some effort. +
+In a shortcut you can include any command-line options with the command that invokes WinBoard +(in the target field that you see when you right-click the shortcut, and select "properties"). +The shortcuts in this package are all based on the use of "indirection" file arguments. +That means that the actual arguments for, say, the "PGN Viewer" icon, +are collected into a file "viewer.ini". +The only option on the command-line in the shortcut is then "@viewer". +Such a name preceded by a '@' sign is interpreted by WinBoard as the name of an .ini file +(in this case viewer.ini), which is then read to get the actual option settings. +This allows for far more options than can be put in the target line of the shortcut, +and allows you to easily modify the options with a text editor like NotePad, +rather than in the cramped confines of the shortcut properties dialog. +
+So when you want to change the settings of the shortcuts, +you only have to change the contents of the corresponding .ini file. +The shortcuts themselves only contain +
+~\WinBoard\winboard.exe @INIFILENAME ++in their target field, +where the twiddle stands for the path where you installed the Gold Pack. +(Windows XP adapts this automatically, first time you use the shortcut.) +And this can always stay that way. +(Note that Windows XP and Vista do not show you the "@INIFILENAME" in the target field, +when you open its properties dialog, which is a bit confusing.) +
++There is thus no reason to ever touch the shortcuts themselves. +All you have to do is to edit or replace the corresponding.ini file. +For instance, for the shortcut to play against Fairy-Max, +the settingsfile "fairy.ini" contains: +
++; +; parameters for playing against an engine +; +/cp +/firstChessProgram="fmax 22" +/firstDirectory="../Fairy-Max" +/secondChessProgram="fmax 22" +/secondDirectory="../Fairy-Max" +; +; +; define window layout +; +/autoLogo=true +/moveHistoryUp=true +/evalGraphUp=false +/engineOutputUp=false +/hideThinkingFromHuman=true +; +; define window positions +; +/winWidth=426 +/winHeight=539 +/moveHistoryX=426 +/moveHistoryY=0 +/moveHistoryW=250 +/moveHistoryH=539 +; +; +; prevent these settings from becoming default +; +/saveSettingsOnExit=false+
+One thing that is apparent is that a .ini file can contain "comments" +describing what the options do, in lines starting with a semicolon. +From top to bottom, the options tell WinBoard that we want it +to run a Chess program (so it skips the startup dialog), +which one, and where to find it. +Note that WinBoard always wants to have two Chess programs in this mode, +so we give it the same twice. +(The second program is only used when you select Two-Machines Mode.) +In the next section we tell WinBoard that it should try to find logos +to display with the players, +that of the three auxiliary windows only the move history should be open, +and that the Human opponent should not be alowed to see what the engine +is thinking. +
+Then follows a section which describes exactly where to locate the windows, +in this case only the move-history window. +The position of this is given (in pixels) compared to the position of +the main window. +Note it does not specify where to position the main window, +or what boardSize to use. +So for this the default value will be used. +(Usually what was used last time, as remembered in the winboard.ini file.) +For reference, though, the width and height of the main window for +which the position information on the other windows refers, +is mentioned first, as /winWidth and /winHeight. +This allows WinBoard to conclude at startup that the move-history window +was touching the main window on the right edge +(since winWidth = moveHistoryX). +So that it can retain this attachment if we start up WinBoard with +a main window of a different width. +(E.g. because we are playing Gothic Chess on a 10x8 board.) +
+At the bottom there is an option that says all this should not be copied +to the win board.ini file automatically. +After all, because these settings are collected in a shortcut, +you can summon them at the click of a mouse. +So there is no reason to make them disturb the carefuly chosen settings +of your previous session, +which might take you a lot of effort to reproduce. +
+OK, that was pretty nasty, especially the coordinates part. +You don't want to calculate coordinates by hand, and find out by trial and +error what looks nice. +A more convenient way of adjusting this, +is to start WinBoard not through a shortcut, but through the startup dialog, +and then drag and size the windows where you want them +(or close them if you don't want them). +You then save the settings in winboard.ini +(usually done automatically, when you close WinBoard, +but you can do it also with the "Options -> Save Settings Now" menu). +Now you can open winboard.ini with the text editor, +and at the end you will see all the coordinates of the windows as +you just layed them out. +Simply copy this information (starting with the /winWidth parameter) +to the .ini file of the shortcut you are customizing. +
++If you want to create an entirely new shortcut, +e.g. for a task you commonly perform, but which was not delivered with this package, +you can use the following procedure: +
+First start up WinBoard, and bring it in exactly the state you would want it +to start up in through the shortcut. +Then save the settings on the winboard.ini file, +make a copy of winboard.ini, and rename that copy to "MyShortcut.ini" (say). +Then open this MyShortcut.ini in NotePad (usually by double-left-clicking it). +Now you can add option settings to it which are normally not remembered +from session to session (because they are not saved in winboard.ini), +such as the variant (e.g. /variant=fischerandom), +or the chess program and its folder (e.g. /fcp=Fruit /fd="..\Fruit" /fUCI). +
+Right-click the "winboard" knight icon (which is not a shortcut), +and select "Make Shortcut" from the popup menu. +Change the name of the newly appearing shortcut to "MyShortcut". +Then right-click this shortcut, and select "Propeties". +The text in the "target" field of the popup will now just be the name of the winboard.exe. +Click this text at the end to put the cursor there (posibly with help of the arrow keys). +Then add to this line " @MyShortcut.ini", so the line becomes: +
+~\WinBoard\winboard.exe @MyShortcut.ini ++and click "OK". This completes the process. +
+This is pretty much all that can be said about how to mak shortcuts; +the main problem is to figure out what the options are that do what you want done. +Looking in the winboard.ini file often can provide inspiration, and when all else fails, +as a final resort, you can read the manual! +
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