@section Options Menu
@cindex Menu, Options
@cindex Options Menu
-@table @asis
-@item General Options
+@subsection 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 Absolute Analysis Scores
+@table @asis
+@item Absolute Analysis Scores
@cindex Absolute Analysis Scores, Menu Item
Controls if scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
will be printed from the white or the side-to-move point-of-view.
-@itemx Almost Always Queen
+@item Almost Always Queen
@cindex Almost Always Queen, Menu Item
If this option is on, 7th-rank pawns automatically change into
Queens when you pick them up,
Otherwise XBoard would bring up a dialog
box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
you want to promote to.
-@itemx Animate Dragging
+@item 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.
-@itemx Animate Moving
+@item 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.
-@itemx Auto Flag
+@item 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 (?).
-@itemx Auto Flip View
+@item 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
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}.
-@itemx Blindfold
+@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.
-@itemx Drop Menu
+@item 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 Enable Variation Trees
+@item Enable Variation Trees
@cindex Enable Variation Trees, Menu Item
If this option is on, playing a move in Edit Game or Analyze mode
while keeping the Shift key pressed will start a new variation.
You can then recall the previous line through the @samp{Revert} menu item.
When off, playing a move will truncate the game and append the move
irreversibly.
-@itemx Hide Thinking
+@item 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.
-@itemx Highlight Last Move
+@item 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.
-@itemx Highlight with Arrow
+@item 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 Move Sound
+@item Move Sound
@cindex Move Sound, Menu Item
Enables the sounding of an audible signal when the computer performs a move.
For the selection of the sound, see @samp{Sound Options}.
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}.)
-@itemx One-Click Moving
+@item 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
Promoting a Pawn by clicking its to-square will suppress the promotion
popup or other methods for selecting an under-promotion,
and make it promote to Queen.
-@itemx Periodic Updates
+@item 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.
-@itemx Play Move(s) of Clicked PV
+@item Play Move(s) of Clicked PV
@cindex Play Move(s) of Clicked PV, Menu Item
If this option is on, right-clicking a PV in the Engine Output window
during Analyze mode will cause the first move of that PV to be played.
to engage in the PV walk such a right-click will start,
to seek out another position along the PV where you want to continue
the analysis, before releasing the mouse button.
-@itemx Ponder Next Move
+@item 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.
-@itemx Popup Exit Message
+@item 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.
-@itemx Popup Move Errors
+@item 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.
-@itemx Scores in Move List
+@item Scores in Move List
@cindex Scores in Move List, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard will display the depth and score
of engine moves in the Move List, in the format of a PGN comment.
-@itemx Show Coords
+@item Show Coords
@cindex Show Coords, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard displays algebraic coordinates
along the board's left and bottom edges.
-@itemx Show Target Squares
+@item Show Target Squares
@cindex Show Target Squares, Menu Item
If this option is on, 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.
-@itemx Test Legality
+@item 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
+@item 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
+@item Animation Speed
@cindex Animation Speed, Menu Item
Determines the duration (in msec) of an animation step,
when @samp{Animate Moving} is swiched on.
-@itemx Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph
+@item Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph
@cindex Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
Sets the valueof the @code{evalZoom} option,
indicating the factor by which the score interval (-1,1) should be
blown up on the vertical axis of the Evaluation Graph.
-@item Time Control
+@end table
+@subsection 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,
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
+
+@subsection 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
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
+
+@subsection Adjudications
@cindex Adjudications, Menu Item
Pops up a sub-menu where you can enable or disable various adjudications
that XBoard can perform in engine-engine games.
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 ICS Options
+@subsection ICS Options
@cindex ICS Options, Menu Item
The following options occur in a dialog summoned by the
ICS Options menu item.
-@itemx Auto Kibitz
+@table @asis
+@item Auto Kibitz
@cindex Auto Kibitz, Menu Item
Setting this option when playing with or aginst a chess program on an ICS
will cause the last line of thinking output of the engine before its move
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
+@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
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
+@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
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
+@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.
-@itemx Auto Save
+@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
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
+@item 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.
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
+@item 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
+@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
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
+@item Quiet Play
@cindex Quiet Play, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard will automatically issue an ICS
@kbd{set shout 0}
@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
+@item 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
+@item 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 ICC,
and requires a lot of bandwidth on a busy server.
-@itemx Premove
+@item Premove
@itemx Premove White
@itemx Premove Black
@itemx First White Move
You can also enter premoves for the first white and black moves
of the game.
-@itemx ICS Alarm
+@item ICS Alarm
@itemx ICS Alarm Time
@cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
@cindex ICS Alarm Time, Menu Item
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
+@item 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.
+@end table
-@item Match Options
+@subsection Match Options
@cindex Match 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).
-@itemx Tournament file
+@table @asis
+@item Tournament file
@cindex Tournament file, Menu item
To run a tournament, XBoard needs a file to record its progress,
so it can resume the tourney when it is interrupted.
without participants no tournament file will be made, but other entered values
(e.g. for the file with opening positions) will take effect.
Default: configured by the @code{defaultTourneyName} option.
-@itemx Sync after round
+@item Sync after round
@itemx Sync after cycle
@cindex Sync after round, Menu Item
@cindex Sync after cycle, Menu Item
This guarantees correct ordering in the games file,
even when multiple XBoard instances are concurrently playing games for the same tourney.
Default: sync after cycle, but not after round.
-@itemx Select Engine
+@item Select Engine
@itemx Tourney participants
@cindex Select Engine, Menu Item
@cindex Tourney participants, Menu Item
to delete engines you selected by accident, or change their order.
Do not type names yourself there, because names that do not exactly match
one of the names from the drop-down list will lead to undefined behavior.
-@itemx Tourney type
+@item Tourney type
@cindex Tourney type, Menu Item
Here you can specify the type of tournament you want.
XBoard’s intrinsic tournament manager support round-robins (type = 0),
pairing engine must be specified through the @code{pairingEngine} option.
Each Swiss round will be considered a tourney cycle in that case.
Default:0
-@itemx Number of tourney cycles
+@item Number of tourney cycles
@itemx Default number of Games
@cindex Number of tourney cycles, Menu Item
@cindex Default number of Games, Menu Item
Default is 1 cycle;
the number of games per pairing is the same as the default number of match games,
stored in your settings file through the @code{defaultMatchGames} option.
-@itemx Save Tourney Games
+@item Save Tourney Games
@cindex Save Tourney Games, Menu Item
File where the tournament games are saved
(duplicate of the item in the @samp{Save Game Options}).
-@itemx Game File with Opening Lines
+@item Game File with Opening Lines
@itemx File with Start Positions
@itemx Game Number
@itemx Position Number
but the second (even) games will select the same moves from the book as the previous game.
(Note this leads to the same opening only if both engines use the GUI book!)
Default: No game or position file will be used. The default index if such a file is used is 1.
-@itemx Disable own engine bools be default
+@item Disable own engine bools be default
@cindex Disable own engine bools be default, Menu Item
Setting this option reverses the default situation for use of the GUI opening book
in tournaments from what it normally is, namely not using it.
So unless the engine is installed with an option to explicitly specify it should
not use the GUI book (i.e. @code{-firstHasOwnBookUCI true}),
it will be made to use the GUI book.
-@itemx Replace Engine
+@item Replace Engine
@itemx Upgrade Engine
@cindex Replace Engine, Menu Item
@cindex Upgrade Engine, Menu Item
In this latter case the engine must not be playing when you do this,
but otherwise there is no need to pause the tournament play
for making a substitution.
-@itemx Clone Tourney
+@item Clone Tourney
@cindex CloneTourney, Menu Item
Pressing this button after you have specified an existing tournament file
will copy the contents of the latter to the dialog,
You can then run a tourney with the same parameters
(possibly after changing the proposed name of the tourney file for the new tourney)
by pressing 'OK'.
+@end table
-@item Load Game Options
+@subsection 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),
You can also set search criteria for determining which games
will be displayed in the Game List for a multi-game file,
and thus be eligible for loading:
-@itemx Elo of strongest player
+@table @asis
+@item Elo of strongest player
@itemx Elo of weakest player
@itemx year
@cindex Elo of strongest player, Menu Item
These numeric fields set thresholds (lower limits) on the Elo rating of the mentioned player,
or the date the game was played.
Defaults: 0
-@itemx Search mode
+@item Search mode
@cindex Search mode, Menu Item
@cindex find position, Menu Item
@cindex narrow, Menu Item
but only searches in the already selected games,
rather than the complete game file,
and can thus be used to refine a search based on multiple criteria.
-@itemx number of consecutive positions
+@item number of consecutive positions
@cindex number of consecutive positions, Menu Item
When you are searching by material, rather than for an exact match,
this parameter indicates forhowmany consecutive game positions
the same amount of material must be on the board before it is
considered a match.
-@itemx Also match reversed colors
+@item Also match reversed colors
@itemx Also match left-right flipped position
@cindex Also match reversed colors, Menu Item
@cindex Also match left-right flipped position, Menu Item
will be also considered a match.
The left-right flipping is only useful after all castling rights
have expired (or in Xiangqi).
+@end table
-@item Save Game Options
+@subsection Save Game Options
@cindex Save Game Options, Menu Item
Summons a dialog where you can specify the files on which XBoard should
automatically save any played or entered games,
should be included.
For Chess, always set the format to PGN, rather than "old save stye"!
-@item Game List
+@subsection 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
+@subsection 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.
The sound is not played after moves you make or moves read from a
saved game file.
-@item Save Settings Now
+@subsection Save Settings Now
@cindex Save Settings Now, Menu Item
Selecting this menu item causes the current XBoard settings to be
written to the settings file, so they will also apply in future sessions.
in ~/.xboardrc, you will essentially turn them into volatile options
with the specified value as default, because that value will overrule
the value loaded from the settings file (being read later).
-@item Save Settings on Exit
+
+@subsection Save Settings on Exit
@cindex Save Settings on Exit, Menu Item
Setting this option has no immediate effect, but causes the settings
to be saved when you quit XBoard. What happens then is otherwise
identical to what happens when you use select "Save Settings Now",
see there.
-@end table
@node Help Menu
@section Help Menu
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