3 <title>User interface options - XBoard</title>
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27 <a name="User-interface-options"></a>
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35 <h3 class="section">4.6 User interface options</h3>
37 <p><a name="index-User-interface-options-429"></a><a name="index-Options_002c-User-interface-430"></a>
39 <dt>-display<dt>-geometry<dt>-iconic<dt>-name<dd><a name="index-display_002c-option-431"></a><a name="index-geometry_002c-option-432"></a><a name="index-iconic_002c-option-433"></a><a name="index-resource-name_002c-option-434"></a>These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
40 <br><dt>-noGUI<dd><a name="index-noGUI_002c-option-435"></a>Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
41 (to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you don't want to watch).
42 There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
43 and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
44 <br><dt>-logoSize N<dd><a name="index-logoSize_002c-option-436"></a>This option controls the drawing of player logos next to the clocks.
45 The integer N specifies the width of the logo in pixels;
46 the logo height will always be half the width.
47 When N = 0, no logos will be diplayed.
49 <br><dt>-firstLogo imagefile<dt>-secondLogo imagefile<dd><a name="index-firstLogo_002c-option-437"></a><a name="index-secondLogo_002c-option-438"></a>Specify the images to be used as player logos when <code>logoSize</code>
50 is non-zero, next to the white and black clocks, respectively.
51 <br><dt>-autoLogo true/false<br><dt>-logoDir filename<dd><a name="index-autoLogo_002c-option-439"></a><a name="index-logoDir_002c-option-440"></a>When <code>autoLogo</code> is set, XBoard will search for a PNG image file
52 with the name of the engine or ICS in the directory specified
53 by <code>logoDir</code>.
54 <br><dt>-recentEngines number<dt>-recentEngineList list<dd><a name="index-recentEngines_002c-option-441"></a><a name="index-recentEngineList_002c-option-442"></a>When the number is larger than zero, it determines how many recently
55 used engines will be appended at the bottom of the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Engines</span></samp>’ menu.
56 The engines will be saved in your settings file as the option
57 <code>recentEngineList</code>, by their nicknames,
58 and the most recently used one will always be sorted to the top.
59 If the list after that is longer than the specified number,
60 the last one is discarded.
61 Changes in the list will only become visible the next session,
62 provided you saved the settings.
64 <br><dt>-oneClickMove true/false<dd><a name="index-oneClickMove_002c-option-443"></a>When set, this option allows you to enter moves by only clicking the to-
65 or from-square, when only a single legal move to or from that square
67 Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
68 will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
70 <br><dt>-movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false<dd><a name="index-movesound_002c-option-444"></a><a name="index-bell_002c-option-445"></a><a name="index-ringBellAfterMoves_002c-option-446"></a>Sets the Move Sound menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
71 For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
72 accepted as abbreviations for this option.
73 <br><dt>-exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false<dd><a name="index-exit_002c-option-447"></a><a name="index-popupExitMessage_002c-option-448"></a>Sets the Popup Exit Message menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
74 <br><dt>-popup/-xpopup or -popupMoveErrors true/false<dd><a name="index-popup_002c-option-449"></a><a name="index-popupMoveErrors_002c-option-450"></a>Sets the Popup Move Errors menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
75 <br><dt>-queen/-xqueen or -alwaysPromoteToQueen true/false<dd><a name="index-queen_002c-option-451"></a><a name="index-alwaysPromoteToQueen_002c-option-452"></a>Sets the Always Queen menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
76 <br><dt>-sweepPromotions true/false<dd><a name="index-sweepPromotion_002c-option-453"></a>Sets the ‘<samp><span class="samp">Almost Always Promote to Queen</span></samp>’ menu option.
77 See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
78 <br><dt>-legal/-xlegal or -testLegality true/false<dd><a name="index-legal_002c-option-454"></a><a name="index-testLegality_002c-option-455"></a>Sets the Test Legality menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
79 <br><dt>-size or -boardSize (sizeName | n1,n2,n3,n4,n5,n6,n7)<dd><a name="index-size_002c-option-456"></a><a name="index-boardSize_002c-option-457"></a><a name="index-board-size-458"></a>Determines how large the board will be, by selecting the pixel size
80 of the pieces and setting a few related parameters.
81 The sizeName can be one of: Titanic, giving 129x129 pixel pieces,
82 Colossal 116x116, Giant 108x108, Huge 95x95, Big 87x87, Large 80x80, Bulky 72x72,
83 Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
84 45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
86 Xboard installs with a set of scalable (svg) piece images,
87 which it scales to any of the requested sizes.
88 The square size can further be continuously scaled by sizing the board window,
89 but this only adapts the size of the pieces,
90 and has no effect on the width of the grid lines or the font choice
91 (both of which would depend on he selected boardSize).
92 The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
93 largest size that will fit without clipping.
95 <p>You can select other sizes or vary other layout parameters by providing
96 a list of comma-separated values (with no spaces) as the argument.
97 You do not need to provide all the values; for any you omit from the
98 end of the list, defaults are taken from the nearest built-in size.
99 The value <code>n1</code> gives the piece size, <code>n2</code> the width of the
101 between squares, <code>n3</code> the desired size for the
102 clockFont, <code>n4</code> the desired size for the coordFont,
103 <code>n5</code> the desired size for the messageFont,
104 <code>n6</code> the smallLayout flag (0 or 1),
105 and <code>n7</code> the tinyLayout flag (0 or 1).
106 All dimensions are in pixels.
107 If the border between squares is eliminated (0 width), the various
108 highlight options will not work, as there is nowhere to draw the highlight.
109 If smallLayout is 1 and <code>titleInWindow</code> is true,
110 the window layout is rearranged to make more room for the title.
111 If tinyLayout is 1, the labels on the menu bar are abbreviated
112 to one character each and the buttons in the button bar are made narrower.
113 <br><dt>-overrideLineGap n<dd><a name="index-overrideLineGap_002c-option-459"></a>When n >= 0, this forces the width of the black border between squares
114 to n pixels for any board size. Mostly used to suppress the grid
115 entirely by setting n = 0, e.g. in xiangqi or just getting a prettier
116 picture. When n < 0 this the size-dependent width of the grid lines
117 is used. Default: -1.
118 <br><dt>-coords/-xcoords or -showCoords true/false<dd><a name="index-coords_002c-option-460"></a><a name="index-showCoords_002c-option-461"></a>Sets the Show Coords menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
119 The <code>coordFont</code> option specifies what font to use.
120 <br><dt>-autoraise/-xautoraise or -autoRaiseBoard true/false<dd><a name="index-autoraise_002c-option-462"></a><a name="index-autoRaiseBoard_002c-option-463"></a>Sets the Auto Raise Board menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
121 <br><dt>-autoflip/-xautoflip or -autoFlipView true/false<dd><a name="index-autoflip_002c-option-464"></a><a name="index-autoFlipView_002c-option-465"></a>Sets the Auto Flip View menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
122 <br><dt>-flip/-xflip or -flipView true/false<dd><a name="index-flip_002c-option-466"></a><a name="index-flipView_002c-option-467"></a>If Auto Flip View is not set, or if you are observing but not participating
123 in a game, then the positioning of the board at the start of each game
124 depends on the flipView option. If flipView is false (the default),
125 the board is positioned so that the white pawns move from the bottom to the
126 top; if true, the black pawns move from the bottom to the top.
127 In any case, the Flip menu option (see <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>)
128 can be used to flip the board after
130 <br><dt>-title/-xtitle or -titleInWindow true/false<dd><a name="index-title_002c-option-468"></a><a name="index-titleInWindow_002c-option-469"></a>If this option is true, XBoard displays player names (for ICS
131 games) and game file names (for ‘<samp><span class="samp">Load Game</span></samp>’) inside its main
132 window. If the option is false (the default), this information is
133 displayed only in the window banner. You probably won't want to
134 set this option unless the information is not showing up in the
135 banner, as happens with a few X window managers.
136 <br><dt>-buttons/-xbuttons or -showButtonBar True/False<dd><a name="index-buttons_002c-option-470"></a><a name="index-showButtonBar_002c-option-471"></a>If this option is False, xboard omits the [<<] [<] [P] [>] [>>] button
137 bar from the window, allowing the message line to be wider. You can
138 still get the functions of these buttons using the menus or their keyboard
139 shortcuts. Default: true.
140 <br><dt>-evalZoom factor<dd><a name="index-evalZoom_002c-option-472"></a>The score interval (-1,1) is blown up on the vertical axis of
141 the Evaluation Graph by the given factor.
143 <br><dt>-evalThreshold n<dd><a name="index-evalThreshold_002c-option-473"></a>Score below n (centiPawn) are plotted as 0 in the Evaluation Graph.
145 <br><dt>-mono/-xmono or -monoMode true/false<dd><a name="index-mono_002c-option-474"></a><a name="index-monoMode_002c-option-475"></a>Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
146 two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
147 specify <code>monoMode</code>; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
148 <br><dt>-showTargetSquares true/false<dd><a name="index-showTargetSquares_002c-option-476"></a>Determines whether XBoard can highlight the squares a piece has
149 legal moves to, when you grab that piece with the mouse.
151 <br><dt>-flashCount count<dt>-flashRate rate<dt>-flash/-xflash<dd><a name="index-flashCount_002c-option-477"></a><a name="index-flashRate_002c-option-478"></a><a name="index-flash_002c-option-479"></a><a name="index-xflash_002c-option-480"></a>These options enable flashing of pieces when they
152 land on their destination square.
153 <code>flashCount</code>
154 tells XBoard how many times to flash a piece after it
155 lands on its destination square.
156 <code>flashRate</code>
157 controls the rate of flashing (flashes/sec).
160 sets flashCount to 3.
162 sets flashCount to 0.
163 Defaults: flashCount=0 (no flashing), flashRate=5.
164 <br><dt>-highlight/-xhighlight or -highlightLastMove true/false<dd><a name="index-highlight_002c-option-481"></a><a name="index-highlightLastMove_002c-option-482"></a>Sets the Highlight Last Move menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
165 <br><dt>-highlightMoveWithArrow true/false<dd><a name="index-highlight-Arrow_002c-option-483"></a><a name="index-highlightMoveWithArrow_002c-option-484"></a>Sets the Highlight with Arrow menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
166 <br><dt>-blind/-xblind or -blindfold true/false<dd><a name="index-blind_002c-option-485"></a><a name="index-blindfold_002c-option-486"></a>Sets the Blindfold menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: false.
167 <br><dt>-periodic/-xperiodic or -periodicUpdates true/false<dd><a name="index-periodic_002c-option-487"></a><a name="index-periodicUpdates_002c-option-488"></a>Controls updating of current move andnode counts in analysis mode. Default: true.
168 <br><dt>-fSAN<dt>-sSAN<dd><a name="index-fSAN_002c-option-489"></a><a name="index-sSAN_002c-option-490"></a>Causes the PV in thinking output of the mentioned engine to be converted
169 to SAN before it is further processed.
170 Warning: this might lose engine output not understood by the parser,
171 and uses a lot of CPU power.
172 Default: the PV is displayed exactly as the engine produced it.
173 <br><dt>-showEvalInMoveHistory true/false<dd><a name="index-showEvalInMoveHistory_002c-option-491"></a>Controls whether the evaluation scores and search depth of engine moves
174 are displayed with the move in the move-history window.
176 <br><dt>-clockFont font<dd><a name="index-clockFont_002c-option-492"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-clock-493"></a>The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
177 that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
178 appropriate font for the board size being used.
179 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
180 <br><dt>-coordFont font<dd><a name="index-coordFont_002c-option-494"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-coordinates-495"></a>The font used for rank and file coordinate labels if <code>showCoords</code>
181 is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
182 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
183 the board size being used.
184 Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
185 <br><dt>-messageFont font<dd><a name="index-messageFont_002c-option-496"></a><a name="index-Font_002c-message-497"></a>The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
186 If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
187 the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
188 the board size being used.
189 Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal–*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
190 <br><dt>-fontSizeTolerance tol<dd><a name="index-fontSizeTolerance_002c-option-498"></a>In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
191 over a scalable font if the nonscalable font's size differs
192 by <code>tol</code> pixels
193 or less from the desired size. A value of -1 will force
194 a scalable font to always be used if available; a value of 0 will
195 use a nonscalable font only if it is exactly the right size;
196 a large value (say 1000) will force a nonscalable font to always be
197 used if available. Default: 4.
198 <br><dt>-pid or -pieceImageDirectory dir<dd><a name="index-pid_002c-option-499"></a><a name="index-pieceImageDirectory_002c-option-500"></a>This options control what piece images xboard uses.
199 XBoard will look in the specified directory for an image in png
200 or svg format for every piece type, with names like BlackQueen.svg,
202 When neither of these is found (or no valid directory is specified)
203 XBoard will use the svg piece that was installed with it
204 (from the source-tree directory ‘<samp><span class="samp">svg</span></samp>’).
205 Both svg and png images will be scaled by XBoard to the required size,
206 but the png pieces lose much in quality when scaled too much.
208 <br><dt>-whitePieceColor color<dt>-blackPieceColor color<dt>-lightSquareColor color<dt>-darkSquareColor color<dt>-highlightSquareColor color<dt>-preoveHighlightColor color<dt>-lowTimeWarningColor color<dd><a name="index-Colors-501"></a><a name="index-whitePieceColor_002c-option-502"></a><a name="index-blackPieceColor_002c-option-503"></a><a name="index-lightSquareColor_002c-option-504"></a><a name="index-darkSquareColor_002c-option-505"></a><a name="index-highlightSquareColor_002c-option-506"></a><a name="index-premoveHighlightColor_002c-option-507"></a><a name="index-lowTimeWarningColor_002c-option-508"></a>Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
211 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor #FFFFCC
212 -blackPieceColor #202020
213 -lightSquareColor #C8C365
214 -darkSquareColor #77A26D
215 -highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
216 -premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
217 -lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
219 <p>On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
221 <pre class="example"> -whitePieceColor gray100
222 -blackPieceColor gray0
223 -lightSquareColor gray80
224 -darkSquareColor gray60
225 -highlightSquareColor gray100
226 -premoveHighlightColor gray70
227 -lowTimeWarningColor gray70
229 <p>The PieceColor options only work properly if the image files
230 defining the pieces were pure black & white
231 (possibly anti-aliased to produce gray scales
232 and semi-transparancy),
233 like the pieces images that come with the install.
234 Their effect on colored pieces is undefined.
235 The SquareColor option only have an effect
236 when no board textures are used.
237 <br><dt>-trueColors true/false<dd><a name="index-trueColors_002c-option-509"></a>When set, this option suppresses the effect of the
238 PieceColor options mentioned above.
239 This is recommended for images that are already colored.
240 <br><dt>-useBoardTexture true/false<dt>-liteBackTextureFile filename<dt>-darkBackTextureFile filename<dd><a name="index-useBoardTexture_002c-option-510"></a><a name="index-liteBackTextureFile_002c-option-511"></a><a name="index-darkBackTextureFile_002c-option-512"></a>Indicate the png image files to be used for drawing the board squares,
241 and if they should be used rather than using simple colors.
242 The algorithm for cutting squares out of a given bitmap is such that
243 the picture is perfectly reproduced when a bitmap the size of
244 the complete board is given.
245 Default: false and ""
246 <br><dt>-drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false<dd><a name="index-drag_002c-option-513"></a><a name="index-animateDragging_002c-option-514"></a>Sets the Animate Dragging menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
247 <br><dt>-animate/-xanimate or -animateMoving true/false<dd><a name="index-animate_002c-option-515"></a><a name="index-animateMoving_002c-option-516"></a>Sets the Animate Moving menu option. See <a href="Options-Menu.html#Options-Menu">Options Menu</a>. Default: true.
248 <br><dt>-animateSpeed n<dd><a name="index-g_t_002danimateSpeed_002c-option-517"></a>Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
250 <br><dt>-autoDisplayComment true/false<dt>-autoDisplayTags true/false<dd><a name="index-g_t_002dautoDisplayComment_002c-option-518"></a><a name="index-g_t_002dautoDisplayTags_002c-option-519"></a>If set to true, these options cause the window with the move comments,
251 and the window with PGN tags, respectively, to pop up automatically when
252 such tags or comments are encountered during the replaying a stored or
253 loaded game. Default: true.
254 <br><dt>-pasteSelection true/false<dd><a name="index-g_t_002dpasteSelection_002c-option-520"></a>If this option is set to true, the Paste Position and Paste Game
255 options paste from the currently selected text. If false, they paste
256 from the clipboard. Default: false.
257 <br><dt>-autoCopyPV true|false<dd><a name="index-autoCopyPV_002c-option-521"></a>When this option is set, the position displayed on the board when
258 you terminate a PV walk
259 (initiated by a right-click on board or engine-output window)
260 will be automatically put on the clipboard as FEN.
262 <br><dt>-dropMenu true|false<dd><a name="index-dropMenu_002c-option-522"></a>This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
263 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
264 rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
266 <br><dt>-pieceMenu true|false<dd><a name="index-pieceMenu_002c-option-523"></a>This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
267 where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) piece menu
268 in Edit Position mode.
269 From this menu you can select the piece to put on the square you
270 clicked to bring up the menu,
271 or select items such as <kbd>clear board</kbd>.
272 You can also <kbd>promote</kbd> or <kbd>demote</kbd> a clicked piece to convert
273 it into an unorthodox piece that is not directly in the menu,
274 or give the move to <kbd>black</kbd> or <kbd>white</kbd>.
275 <br><dt>-variations true|false<dd><a name="index-variations_002c-option-524"></a>When this option is on, you can start new variations in Edit Game or
276 Analyze mode by holding the Shift key down while entering a move.
277 When it is off, the Shift key will be ignored.
279 <br><dt>-appendPV true|false<dd><a name="index-appendPV_002c-option-525"></a>When this option is on, right-clicking a PV in the Engine Output window
280 will play the first move of that PV in Analyze mode,
281 or as many moves as you walk through by moving the mouse.
283 <br><dt>-absoluteAnalysisScores true|false<dd><a name="index-absoluteAnalysisScores_002c-option-526"></a>When true, scores on the Engine Output window during analysis
284 will be printed from the white point-of-view, rather than the
285 side-to-move point-of-view.
287 <br><dt>-scoreWhite true|false<dd><a name="index-scoreWhite_002c-option-527"></a>When true, scores will always be printed from the white point-of-view,
288 rather than the side-to-move point-of-view.
projects / xboard.git / blob