machine, XBoard lets you play a game against the machine,
set up arbitrary positions, force variations, watch a game between two
chess engines, interactively analyze your stored games or set up and
-analyze arbitrary positions. (Note: Not all chess engines support
-analysis.)
+analyze arbitrary positions.
+To run engines that use the UCI standard XBoard will draw upon
+the Polyglot adapter fully transparently, but you will need to have
+the polyglot package installed for this to work.
@item xboard -ics -icshost hostname [options]
As Internet Chess Server (ICS) interface, XBoard
lets you play against other ICS users, observe games
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. In crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi you can
+the destination square. To under-promote a Pawn you can drag it backwards
+until it morphs into the piece you want to promote to, after which you
+drag that forward to the promotion square.
+Or after selecting the pawn with a first click you can then click
+the promotion square and move the mouse while keeping the button down
+until the piece that you want appears in the promotion square.
+To castle you move the King to its destination or, in Chess960,
+on top of the Rook you want to castle with.
+In crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi you can
drag and drop pieces to the board from the holdings squares
displayed next to the board.
or PGN variations in the comment window can similarly
be played out on the board, by right-clicking on them.
Only in Analysis mode, when you walk along a PV,
-releasing the mouse button will forward the game upto that point,
+releasing the mouse button might forward the game upto that point,
like you entered all previous PV moves.
As the display of the PV in that case starts after the first move
a simple right-click will play the move the engine indicates.
In Analysis mode you can also make a move by grabbing the piece
with a double-click of the left mouse button
-(or while keeping the Ctrl key pressed).
+(or while keeping the @kbd{Ctrl} key pressed).
In this case the move you enter will not be played,
but will be excluded from the analysis of the current position.
(Or included if it was already excluded; it is a toggle.)
These shortcut keystrokes are mostly non-printable characters.
Typing a letter or digit while the board window has focus
will bring up a type-in box with the typed letter already in it.
-You can use that to type a move in siuations where it is your
+You can use that to type a move in situations where it is your
turn to enter a move,
type a move number to call up the position after that move
in the display,
so they will still apply when you restart XBoard for another session.
The settings can be saved into this file automatically when XBoard exits,
or on explicit request of the user.
+Note that the board window can be sized by the user, but that this
+will not affect the size of the clocks above it, and won't be remembered
+in the settings file.
+To persistently change the size of the clocks, use the @code{size}
+command-line option when starting XBoard.
The default name for the settings file is /etc/xboard/xboard.conf,
but in a standard install this file is only used as a master settings
file that determines the system-wide default settings,
Similar to @samp{New Game}, but allows you to specify a particular initial position
(according to a standardized numbering system)
in chess variants which use randomized opening positions (e.g. Chess960).
-You can also press the @samp{Pick Fixed} button to let XBoard generate
-a random number for you.
-The thus selected opening position will then persistently be chosen on any following
-New Game command until you use this menu to select another.
-Selecting position number -1 (or pushing the @samp{Randomize} button)
-will produce a newly randomized position on any new game.
-Using this menu item in variants that normally do not shuffle their opening position
-does cause these variants to become shuffle variants until you use the
-@samp{New Shuffle Game} menu to explicitly switch the randomization off,
-or select a new variant.
+@item shuffle
+@cindex shuffle, Menu Item
+Ticking @samp{shuffle} will cause the current variant to be played
+with shuffled initial position.
+Shuffling will preserve the possibility to castle in the way allowed by the variant.
+@item Fischer castling
+@cindex Fischer castling, menu item
+Ticking @samp{Fischer castling} will allow castling with Kings and Rooks
+that did not start in their normal place, as in Chess960.
+@item Start-position number
+@itemx randomize
+@itemx pick fixed
+@cindex randomize, Menu Item
+@cindex pick fixed, Menu Item
+@cindex Start-position number, Menu Item
+The @samp{Start-position number} selects a particular start position
+from all allowed shufflings, which will then be used for every new game.
+Setting this to -1 (which can be done by pressing the @samp{randomize} button)
+will cause a fresh random position to be picked for every new game.
+Pressing the @samp{pick fixed} button causes @samp{Start-position number}
+to be set to a random value, to be used for all subsequent games.
@item New Variant
@cindex New variant, Menu Item
Allows you to select a new chess variant in non-ICS mode.
(In ICS play, the ICS is responsible for deciding which variant will be played,
and XBoard adapts automatically.) The shifted @kbd{Alt+V} key is a
keyboard equivalent. If you play with an engine, the engine must
-be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
+be able to play the selected variant, or the corresponding choice will be disabled.
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!
-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.
+makruk, Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
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'.
+and leave them at '-1', which means 'default' for the chosen variant.
@item Load Game
@cindex Load Game, Menu Item
Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{Ctrl-O} key is a keyboard equivalent.
Nth game in the file directly, by typing the number @kbd{N} after the
file name, separated by a space.
-The game file parser will accept PGN (portable game notation),
+The game-file parser will accept PGN (portable game notation),
or in fact almost any file that contains moves in algebraic
notation.
Notation of the form @samp{P@@f7}
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 Save Selected Games
+@cindex Save Selected Games
+Will cause all games selected for display in the current Game List
+to be appended to a file of the user's choice.
@item Save Games as Book
@cindex Save Games as Book, Menu Item
-Creates an opening book from the currently loaded game file.
+Creates an opening book from the currently loaded game file,
+incorporating only the games currently selected in the Game List.
The book will be saved on the file specified in the @samp{Common Engine}
options dialog.
The value of @samp{Book Depth} specified in that same dialog will
This command can take a long time to process,
and the size of the buffer is currently limited.
At the end the buffer will be saved as a Polyglot book,
-but the buffer will ot be cleared,
+but the buffer will not be cleared,
so that you can continue adding games from other game files.
@item Mail Move
@itemx Reload CMail Message
The shifted @kbd{Ctrl-E} key is a keyboard equivalent.
Use mouse button 1 to drag pieces to new squares, or to delete a piece
by dragging it off the board or dragging an empty square on top of it.
+When you do this keeping the @kbd{Ctrl} key pressed,
+or start dragging with a double-click,
+you will move a copy of the piece, leaving the piece itself where it was.
+In variants where pieces can promote (such as Shogi),
+left-clicking an already selected piece promotes or demotes it.
To drop a new piece on a square, press mouse button 2 or 3 over the
square.
This puts a white or black pawn in the square, respectively,
cycle through the available pieces
(including those of opposite color),
and can release the button when you see the piece you want.
+(Note you can swap the function of button 2 and 3 by pressing
+the shift key, and that there is an option @code{monoMouse}
+to combine al functions in one button, which then acts as
+button 3 over an empty square, and as button 1 over a piece.)
To alter the side to move, you can click the clock
(the words White and Black above the board)
of the side you want to give the move to.
To clear the board you can click the clock of the side that
-alread has the move (which is highlighted in black).
+already has the move (which is highlighted in black).
+If you repeat this the board will cycle from empty to a
+@code{pallette board} containing every piece once to the initial
+position to the one before clearing.
+The quickest way to set up a position is usually to start
+with the pallette board, and move the pieces to were you
+want them, duplicating them where necessary by using the
+@kbd{Ctrl} key, dragging those you don't want off board,
+and use static button 2 or 3 clicks to place the Pawns.
The old behavior with a piece menu can still be configured
with the aid of the @code{pieceMenu} option.
+Dragging empty squares off board can create boards with
+holes (inaccessible black squares) in them.
Selecting @samp{Edit Position} causes XBoard to discard
all remembered moves in the current game.
from the currently displayed position,
together with their weights and (optionally in braces) learn info.
You can then edit this list, and the new list will be stored
-back into the book when you press OK.
+back into the book when you press 'save changes'.
+When you press the button 'add next move', and play a move
+on the board, that move will be added to the list with weight 1.
Note that the listed percentages are neither used, nor updated when
you change the weights; they are just there as an optical aid.
+When you right-click a move in the list it will be played.
@item Revert
@itemx Annotate
@cindex Revert, Menu Item
already.
The @kbd{End} key is a keyboard equivalent.
@item Backward
+@itemx <
@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
+In addition, pressing the ??? key steps back one move, and releasing
it steps forward again.
In most modes, @samp{Backward} only lets you look back at old positions;
move. If Pause mode is on, @samp{Backward} only backs up your local
view.
@item Forward
+@itemx >
@cindex Forward, Menu Item
@cindex >, Button
Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
and it will not go past the position that the game was in when
you paused.
@item Back to Start
+@itemx <<
@cindex Back to Start, Menu Item
@cindex <<, Button
Jumps backward to the first remembered position in the game.
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
+@itemx >>
@cindex Forward to End, Menu Item
@cindex >>, Button
Jumps forward to the last remembered position in the game. The
The use of the board window as 'variation board' will normally end when
you release the right button,
or when the opponent plays a move.
-But beware: in Analysis mode, moves thus played out will be added to the game.
+But beware: in Analysis mode, moves thus played out might be added to the game,
+depending on the setting of the option 'Play moves of clicked PV',
+when you initiate the click left of the PV in the score area.
The Engine-Output pane for each engine will contain a header displaying the
multi-PV status and a list of excluded moves in Analysis mode,
-which are also responsive to right-clicking.
+which are also responsive to right-clicking:
+Clicking the words 'fewer' or 'more' will alter the number of variations
+shown at each depth, through the engine's MultiPV option,
+while clicking in between those and moving the mouse horizontally adjust
+the option 'Multi-PV Margin'. (In so far the engines support those.)
@item Show Move History
@cindex Show Move History, Menu Item
Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
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.
+The title bar shows the score (and search depth at which it was obtained)
+of the currently displayed position numerically.
Clicking on the graph will bring
the corresponding position in the board display.
+A button 3 click will toggle the display mode between plain and differential
+(showing the difference in score between successive half moves).
+Using the mouse wheel over the window will change the scale of the
+low-score region (from -1 to +1).
@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.
+The line describing each game is built from a selection of the PGN tags.
+Which tags contribute, and in what order, can be changed by the @samp{Game list tags}
+menu dialog, which can be popped up through the @samp{Tags} button below the Game List.
+Display can be restricted to a sub-set of the games meeting certain criteria.
+A text entry below the game list allows you to type a text that the game lines
+must contain in order to be displayed.
+Games can also be selected based on their Elo PGN tag,
+as set in the @samp{Load Game Options} dialog, which can be popped up through the
+@samp{Thresholds} button below the Game List.
+Finally they can be selected based on containing a position similar to the one
+currently displayed in the main window, by pressing the 'Position' button below
+the Game List, (which searches the entire list for the position), or the 'Narrow'
+button (which only searches the already-selected games).
+What counts as similar enough to be selected can also be set in the
+@samp{Load Game Options} dialog, and ranges from an exact match to just the
+same material.
@item Tags
@cindex Tags, Menu Item
Pops up a window which shows the PGN (portable game notation)
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 Open Chat Window
-@cindex Open Chat Window, Menu Item
-This menu item opens a window in which you can conduct upto 5 chats
+@item ICS/Chat Console
+@cindex ICS Chat/Console, Menu Item
+This menu item opens a window in which you can interact with the ICS,
+so you don't have to use the messy xterm from which you launched XBoard
+for that.
+The window has a text entry at the bottom where you can type your
+commands and messages unhindered by the stream of ICS output.
+The latter will be displayed in a large pane above the input field,
+the ICS Console.
+Up and down arrow keys can be used to recall previous input lines.
+Typing an <Esc> character in the input field transfers focus back
+to the board window (so you could operate the menus there
+through accelerator keys).
+Typing a printable character in the board window transfers focus
+back to the input field of the @samp{ICS Chat/Console} window.
+@item Chats
+@cindex Chats
+There is a row of buttons at the top of the @samp{ICS Chat/Console} dialog,
+which can be used to navigate between upto 5 'chats'
with other ICS users (or channels).
-To use the window, write the name of your chat partner, the channel number,
-or the words 'shouts', 'whispers', 'cshouts' in the upper field
-(closing with <Enter>).
-Everything you type in the lowest field will then automatically be sent to
-the mentioned party, while everything that party sends to you will
-appear in the central text box, rather than appear in the ICS console.
-The row of buttons allow you to choose between chat;
-to start a new chat, just select an empty button,
-and complete the @samp{Chat partner} field.
+These will switch the window to 'chat mode',
+where the ICS output pane is vertically split to divert messages from
+a specific user or ICS channel to the lower half.
+Lines typed in the input field will then be interpreted as messages
+to be sent to that user or channel,
+(automatically prefixed with the apporpriate ICS command and user name)
+rather than as commands to the ICS.
+Chats will keep collecting ICS output intended for them even when not displayed,
+and their buttons will turn orange to alert the user there has been activity.
+Typing <Tab> in the input field will switch to another active chat,
+giving priority to those with content you have not seen yet.
+@item New Chat
+@cindex New Chat, Menu Item
+Buttons for chats currently not assigned to a user or channel
+will carry the text @samp{New Chat}, and pressing them will
+switch to chat mode, enabling you to enter the user name or channel number
+you want to use it for.
+Typing Ctrl-N in the input field is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Chat partner
+@cindex Chat partner, Menu Item
+To (re-)assign a chat, write the name of your chat partner, the channel number,
+or the words 'shouts', 'whispers', 'cshouts' in the @samp{Chat partner} text entry
+(ending with <Enter>!).
+Typing Ctrl-O in the input field at the bottom of the window will
+open a chat with the person that last sent you a 'tell' that was printed
+in the ICS Console output pane.
+The @samp{ICS text menu} can contain a button @samp{Open Chat (name)}
+that can be used to open a chat with as partner the word/number you
+right-clicked in the output pane to pop up this menu.
+@item End Chat
+@cindex End Chat, Menu Item
+This button, only visible when the chat pane is open,
+will clear the @samp{Chat partner} field, so that the chat can be
+assigned to a new user or channel.
+Typing Ctrl-E in the input field is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item Hide
+@cindex Hide, Menu Item
+This button, only visible when the chat pane is open,
+will close the latter, so you can use the input field
+to give commands to the ICS again.
+Typing Ctrl-H in the input field is a keyboard equivalent.
+@item ICS text menu
+@cindex ICS text menu, Menu Item
+Brings up a menu that is user-configurable through the @code{icsMenu} option.
+Buttons in this menu can sent pre-configured commands directly to the ICS,
+or can put partial commands in the input field of the @samp{ICS Chat/Console}
+window, so that you can complete those with some text of your own before
+sending them to the ICS by pressing Enter.
+This menu item can also be popped up by right-clicking in the text memos
+of the ICS Chat/Console window.
+In that case the word that was clicked can be incorporated in the message
+sent to the ICS. E.g. to challenge a player whose name you click for a game,
+or prepare for sending him a message through a 'tell' commands.
@item Board
@cindex Board, Menu Item
Summons a dialog where you can customize the look of the chess board.
+@item White Piece Color
+@itemx Black Piece Color
+@itemx Light Square Color
+@itemx Dark Square Color
+@itemx Highlight Color
+@itemx Premove Highlight Color
+@cindex Piece Color, Menu Item
+@cindex Square Color, Menu Item
+@cindex Highlight Color, Menu Item
+These items set the color of pieces, board squares and move highlights
+(borders or arrow).
+Square colors are only used when the @samp{Use Board Textures} option is off,
+the piece colors only when @samp{Use piece bitmaps with their own colors} is off.
+You can type the color as hexadecimally encoded RGB value preceded by '#',
+or adjust it through the R, G, B and D buttons to make it redder, greener, bluer
+or darker.
+A sample of the adjusted color will be displayed behind its text description;
+pressing this colored button restores the default value for the color.
+@item Flip Pieces Shogi Style
+@cindex Flip Pieces Shogi Style, Menu Item
+With this option on XBoard will swap white and black pieces,
+when you flip the view of the board to make white play downward.
+This should be used with piece themes that do not distinguish sides by color,
+but by orientation.
+@item Mono Mode
+@cindex Mono Mode, Menu Item
+This option sets XBoard to pure black-and-white display
+(no grey scales, and thus no anti-aliasing).
+@item Logo Size
+@cindex Logo Size, Menu Item
+Specifies the width of the engine logos displayed next to the clocks, in pixels.
+Setting it to 0 suppresses the display of such logos.
+The height of the logo will be half its width.
+In the GTK build of XBoard any non-zero value is equivalent,
+and the logos are always sized to 1/4 of the board width.
+@item Line Gap
+@cindex Line Gap, Menu Item
+This option specifies the width of the grid lines that separate the squares,
+which change color on highlighting the move.
+Setting it to 0 suppresses these lines, which in general looks better,
+but hides the square-border highlights,
+so that you would have to rely on other forms of highlighting.
+Setting the value to -1 makes XBoard choose a width by itself,
+depending on the square size.
+@item Use Board Textures
+@itemx Light-Squares Texture File
+@itemx Dark-Squares Texture File
+@cindex Use Board Texture, Menu Item
+@cindex Texture Files, Menu Item
+When the option @samp{Use Board Textures} is set,
+the squares will not be drawn as evenly colored surfaces,
+but will be cut from a texture image, as specified by the
+@samp{Texture Files}.
+Separate images can be used for light and dark squares.
+XBoard will try to cut the squares out of the texture image
+with as little overlap as possible, so they all look different.
+The name of the texture file can contain a size hint,
+e.g. @code{xqboard-9x10.png}, alerting XBoard to the fact that
+it contains a whole-board image, out of which squares have to
+be cut in register with the nominal sub-division.
+@item Use external piece bitmaps with their own color
+@cindex Draw pieces with their own colors, Menu Item
+When this option is on XBoard will ignore the piece-color settings,
+and draw the piece images in their original colors.
+The piece-color settings would only work well for evenly colored
+pieces, such as the default theme.
+@item Directory with Pieces Images
+@cindex Piece-Image Directory, Menu Item
+When a directory is specified here, XBoard will first look for
+piece images (SVG or PNG files) in that directory,
+and fall back on the image from the default theme only for
+images it cannot find there.
+An image file called White/BlackTile in the directory will be prefered
+as fall-back for missing pieces over the default image, however.
+@item Selectable themes
+@itemx New name for current theme
+@cindex Board Themes, Menu Item
+@cindex Theme name, Menu Item
+When a theme name is specified while pressing 'OK',
+the combination of settings specified in the dialog
+will be stored in XBoard's list of themes,
+which will be saved with the other options in the settings file
+(as the @code{themeNames} option).
+This name will then appear in the selection listbox next time
+you open the dialog,
+so that you can recall the entire combination of settings
+by double-clicking it.
+
+
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{pieceImageDirectory} option),
external images to be used for the board squares
(@code{liteBackTextureFile} and @code{darkBackTextureFile} options),
and square and piece colors for the default pieces.
+The current combination of these settings can be assigned a 'theme' name
+by typing one in the text entry in the lower-left of the dialog,
+and closing the latter with OK.
+It will then appear in the themes listbox next time you open the dialog,
+where you can recall the complete settings combination with a double-click.
+@item Fonts
+@cindex Fonts, Menu Item
+Pops up a dialog where you can set the fonts used in the main elements of various windows.
+Pango font names can be typed for each window type,
+and behind each text entry there are buttons to adjust the point size,
+and toggle the 'bold' or 'italic' attributes of the font.
@item Game List Tags
@cindex Game List Tags, Menu Item
a duplicate of the Game List dialog in the Options menu.
@item Analysis Mode
@cindex Analysis Mode, Menu Item
@cindex null move
+@cindex move exclusion
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.
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.
+1. Set up the position by any means. (E.g. using @samp{Edit Position}
+mode, pasing a FEN or loading a game and stepping to the position.)
-4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
+2. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
You can now play legal moves to create follow-up positions for the
engine to analyze, while the moves will be remembered as a stored game,
The output of this engine will then be shown in the lower pane
of the Engine Output window.
The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
-with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
+with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyze
the positions as they occur in the observed game.
@item Analyze Game
@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.
+the @samp{Tournament Options} menu dialog.
When a match is already running, selecting this item will make
XBoard drop out of match mode after the current game finishes.
@item Pause
@cindex Engine Menu
@cindex Menu, Engine
@table @asis
-@item Load Engine
-@cindex Load Engine, Menu Item
+@item Edit Engine List
+@cindex Edit Engine List, Menu Item
+Opens a window that shows the list of engines registered for use
+by XBoard, together with the options that would be used with them
+when you would select them from the @samp{Load Engine} dialogs.
+You can then edit this list, e.g. for re-ordering the engines,
+or adding uncommon options needed by this engine
+(e.g. to cure non-compliant behavior).
+
+By editing you can also organize the engines into collapsible groups.
+By sandwiching a number of engine lines between lines "# NAME" and "# end",
+the thus enclosed engines will not initially appear in engine listboxes
+of other dialogs, but only the single line "# NAME"
+(where NAME can be an arbitrary text) will appear in their place.
+Selecting that line will then show the enclosed engines in the listbox,
+which recursively can contain other groups.
+The line with the group name will still present as a header,
+and selecting that line will collapse the group again,
+and makes the listbox go back to displaying the surrounding group.
+@item Load New 1st Engine
+@itemx Load New 2nd Engine
+@cindex Load New Engine, Menu Item
Pops up a dialog where you can select or specify an engine to be loaded.
-You will always have to indicate whether you want to load the engine
-as first or second engine, through the ‘Load menitioned engine as’
-drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog.
You can even replace engines during a game, without disturbing that game.
(Beware that after loading an engine, XBoard will always be in Edit Game mode,
so you will have to tell the new engine what to do before it does anything!)
-When you select an already installed engine from the ‘Select Engine from List’
-drop-down list,
-all other fields of the dialog will be ignored.
-In other cases, you have to specify the engine executable,
-possible arguments on the engine command line
-(if the engine docs say the engine needs any),
-and the directory where the engine should look for its files
-(if this cannot be deduced automatically from the specification of the engine executable).
-You will also have to specify (with the aid of checkboxes) if the engine is UCI.
-If ‘Add this engine to the list’ is ticked (which it is by default),
-the engine will be added to the list of installed engines in your settings file,
-(provided you save the settings!),
-so that next time you can select it from the drop-down list.
-You can also specify a ‘nickname’,
-under which the engine will then appear in that drop-down list,
-and even choose to use that nickname for it in PGN files for engine-engine games.
-The info you supply with the checkboxes whether the engine should use GUI book,
-or (for variant engines) automatically switch to the current variant when loaded,
-will also be included in the list.
-For obsolete XBoard engines, which would normally take a long delay to load
-because XBoard is waiting for a response they will not give,
-you can tick ‘WB protocol v1’ to speed up the loading process.
-@item Engine #N Settings
-@cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
-@cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
-@cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
+@table @asis
+@item Select engine from list
+@cindex Select engine, Menu Item
+The listbox shows the engines registered for use with XBoard before.
+(This means XBoard has information on the engine type, whether it plays book etc.
+in the engine list stored in its settings file.)
+Double-clicking an engine here will load it and close the dialog.
+The list can also contain groups, indicated by a starting '#' sign.
+Double-clicking such a group will 'open' it,
+and show the group contents in the listbox instead of the total list,
+with the group name as header.
+Double-clicking the header will 'close' the group again.
+@item Nickname
+@itemx Use nickname in PGN player tags of engine-engine games
+@cindex Nickname, Menu Item
+When a @samp{Nickname} is specified, the engine will appear under this name
+in the @samp{Select Engine} listbox.
+Otherwise the name there will be a tidied version of the engine command.
+The user can specify if the nickname is also to be used in PGN tags;
+normally the name engines report theselves would be used there.
+@item Engine Command
+@cindex Engine Command, Menu Item
+The command needed to start the engine from the command line.
+For compliantly installed engine this is usually just a single word,
+the name of the engine package (e.g. 'crafty' or 'stockfish').
+Some engines need additional parameters on the command line.
+For engines that are not in a place where the system would expect them
+a full pathname can be specified, and usually the browse button
+for this oprion is the easiest way to obtain that.
+@item Engine Directory
+@cindex Engine Directory, Menu Item
+Compliant engines could run from any directory,
+and by default this option is proposed as '.', the current directory.
+If a (path)name is specified here, XBoard will start the engine
+in that directory.
+If you make the field empty, it will try to derive the directory
+from the engine command (if that was a path name).
+@item UCI
+@cindex UCI, Menu Item
+When the @samp{UCI} checkbox is ticked XBoard will assume
+the engine is of UCI type, and will invoke the corresponding adapter
+(as specified in the @code{adapterCommand} option stored in its
+settings file)to use it.
+By default this adapter is Polyglot,
+which must be installed from a separate package!
+@item USI/UCCI
+@cindex USI/UCCI, Menu Item
+Ticking this checkbox informs XBoard that the engine is of USI or UCCI type
+(as Shogi or Xiangqi engines often are).
+This makes XBoard invoke an adapter to run the engines,
+as specified by the @code{uxiAdapter} option stored in its settings file.
+The UCI2WB program is an adapter that can handle both these engine types,
+as well as UCI.
+@item WB protocol v1
+@cindex WB protocol v1, Menu Item
+Ticking this checkbox informs XBoard the engine is using an old version (1)
+of the communication protocol, so that it won't respond to a request
+to interrogate its properties.
+XBoard then won't even try that, saving you a wait of several seconds
+each time the engine is started.
+Do not use this on state-of-the-art engines,
+as it would prevent XBoard from interrogating its capabilities,
+so that many of its features might not work!
+@item Must not use GUI book
+@cindex Use GUI book, Menu Item
+By default XBoard assumes engines are responsible for their own opening book,
+but unticking this option makes XBoard consult its own book
+(as per @samp{Opening-Book Filename}) on behalf of the engine.
+@item Add this engine to the list
+@cindex Add engine, Menu Item
+By default XBoard would add the engine you specified,
+with all the given options to its list of registered engines
+(kept in its settings file), when you press 'OK'.
+Next time you could then simply select it from the listbox,
+or use the command "xboard -fe NICKNAME" to start XBoard with the
+engine and accompanying options.
+New engines are always added at the end of the existing list,
+or, when you have opened a group in the @samp{Select Engine} listbox,
+at the end of that group.
+But can be re-ordered later with the aid
+of the @samp{Edit Engine List} menu item.
+When you untick this checkbox before pressing 'OK'
+the engine will be loaded, but will not be added to the engine list.
+@item Force current variant with this engine
+@cindex Force variant with engine, Menu Item
+Ticking this option will make XBoard automatically start the engine
+in the current variant, even when XBoard was set for a different
+variant when you loaded the engine.
+Useful when the engine plays multiple variants,
+and you specifically want to play one different from its primary one.
+@end table
+
+@item Engine #1 Settings
+@itemx Engine #2 Settings
+@cindex Engine #N 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,
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.
+e.g. Polyglot 2.0.1.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
+
+@item Common Settings
+@cindex Common Settings, Menu Item
+Pops up a menu dialog 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.
+The shifted @kbd{Alt+U} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+Older XBoard/WinBoard engines might not respond to these settings,
+but UCI engines always should.
+@item Maximum Number of CPUs per Engine
+@cindex Max. Number of CPUs, Menu Item
+Specifies the number of search threads any engine can maximally use.
+Do not set it to a number larger than the number of cores your computer has.
+(Or half of it when you want two engines to run simultaneously,
+as in a Two-Machines game with @samp{Ponder Next Move} on.)
+@item Polyglot Directory
+@item Hash-Table Size
+@cindex Hash-Table Size
+Specifies the maximum amount of memory (RAM) each engine is allowed to use
+for storing info on positions it already searched,
+so it would not have to search them again.
+Do not set it so that it is more than half
+(or if you use two engines, more than a quarter)
+of the memory your computer has,
+or it would slow the engines down by an extreme amount.
+@item EGTB Path
+@cindex EGTB Path, Menu Item
+Sets the value of the @code{egtFormats} option, which specifies
+where on your computer the files for End-Game Tables are stored.
+It must be a comma-separated list of path names,
+the path for each EGT flavor prefixed with the name of the latter
+and a colon. E.g. "nalimov:/home/egt/dtm,syzygy:/home/egt/dtz50".
+The path names after the colon will be sent to the engines
+that say they can use the corresponding EGT flavor.
+@item EGTB Cache Size
+@cindex EGTB Cache Size, Menu Item
+Specifies the amount of memory the engine should use to
+buffer end-game information.
+Together with the @samp{Hash-Table Size} this determines how
+much memory the engine is allowed to use in total.
+@item Use GUI Book
+@itemx Opening-Book Filename
+@cindex Use GUI Book, Menu Item
+@cindex Opening-Book Filename, Menu Item
+The @samp{Opening-Book Filename} specifies an opening book
+in Polyglot format (usually a .bin file),
+from which XBoard can play moves on behalf of the engine.
+This is also the book file on which the @samp{Edit Book}
+and @samp{Save Games as Book} menu items operate.
+A checkbox @samp{Use GUI Book} can be used to temporarily
+disable the book without losing the setting.
+(This does not prevent editing or saving games on it!)
+@item Book Depth
+@itemx Book Variety
+@cindex Book Depth, Menu Item
+@cindex Book Variety, Menu Item
+The way moves are selected from the book can be controlled by two options.
+@samp{Book Depth} controls for how deep into the game the book
+will be consulted (measured in full moves).
+@samp{Book Variety} controls the likelihood of playing weaker moves.
+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.
+@item Engine #1 Has Own Book
+@itemx Engine #2 Has Own Book
+@cindex Engine Has Own Book
+These checkboxes control on a per-engine basis
+whether XBoard will consult the opening book for them.
+If ticked, XBoard will never play moves from its GUI book,
+giving the engine the opportunity to use its own.
+These options are automatically set whenever you load an engine,
+based on the setting of @samp{Must not use GUI book}
+when you installed that through the @samp{Load Engine} menu dialog.
@item Hint
@cindex Hint, Menu Item
Displays a move hint from the chess engine.
@cindex Move Now, Menu Item
Forces the chess engine to move immediately. Chess engine mode only.
The @kbd{Ctrl-M} key is a keyboard equivalent.
+Many engines won't respond to this.
@item Retract Move
@cindex Retract Move, Menu Item
Retracts your last move. In chess engine mode, you can do this only
so you won't have to search for it in your list of installed engines,
if that is very long.
The maximum number of displayed engine names is set by the
-@code{recentEngines}command-line option.
+@code{recentEngines} command-line option.
@end table
@node Options Menu
@section Options Menu
@cindex Menu, Options
@cindex Options Menu
-@subsection General Options
+@section 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.
and the ICS may award you a draw instead of a win if you have
insufficient mating material. In local chess engine mode,
XBoard
-may call either player's flag and will not take material into account (?).
+may call either player's flag.
@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
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.
+@item Headers in Engine Output Window
+@cindex Headers in Engine Output Window, Menu Item
+Controls the presence of column headers above the variations and
+associated information printed by the engine, on which you can issue
+button 3 clicks to open or close the columns.
+Available columns are search depth, score, node count, time used,
+tablebase hits, search speed and selective search depth.
@item Hide Thinking
@cindex Hide Thinking, Menu Item
If this option is off, the chess engine's notion of the score and best
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.
-@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}.
-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 One-Click Moving
@cindex One-Click Moving, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard does not wait for you to click both the
on, the Analysis Window will be updated every two seconds.
@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
+If this option is on, right-clicking on the first move of a PV
+or on the data fields left of it in the Engine Output window
during Analyze mode will cause the first move of that PV to be played.
You could also play more than one (or no) PV move by moving the mouse
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.
+Clicking on later moves of the PV only temporarily show the moves
+for as long you keep the mouse button down,
+without adding them to the game.
@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
@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.
+can legally move to are highighted with a fat colored dot in
+yellow (non-captures) or red (captures).
+Special moves might have other colors
+(e.g. magenta for promotion, cyan for a partial move).
+Legality testing must be on for XBoard to know how the piece moves,
+but with legality testing off some engines would offer this information.
+@item Sticky Windows
+@cindex Sticky Windows, Menu Item
+Controls whether the auxiliary windows such as Engine Output, Move History
+and Evaluation Graph should keep touching XBoard's main window when
+you move the latter.
@item Test Legality
@cindex Test Legality, Menu Item
If this option is on, XBoard tests whether the moves you try to make
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.)
+@item Top-Level Dialogs
+@cindex Top-Level Dialogs, Menu Item
+Controls whether the auxiliary windows will appear as icons in the
+task bar and independently controllable, or whether they open and
+minimize all together with the main window.
@item Flash Moves
@itemx Flash Rate
@cindex Flash Moves, Menu Item
when @samp{Animate Moving} is swiched on.
@item Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph
@cindex Zoom factor in Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
-Sets the valueof the @code{evalZoom} option,
+Sets the value of 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.
@end table
-@subsection Time Control
+@section 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.
+@table @asis
+@item classical
+@cindex classical, Menu Item
+Selects classical TC,
+where the game is devided into sessions of a certain number of moves,
+and after each session the start time is again added to the clocks.
+@item incremental
+@cindex incremental, Menu Item
+Selects a TC mode where the game will start with a base time on the clocks,
+and after every move an 'increment' will be added to it.
+@item fixed max
+@cindex fixed max, Menu Item
+Selects a TC mode where you have to make each move within a given time,
+and any left-over time is not carried over to the next move.
+@item Divide entered times by 60
+@cindex Divide entered times by 60, Menu Item
+To allow entering of sub-minute initial time or sub-second increment,
+you can tick this checkbox.
+The initial time can then be entered in seconds,
+and the increment in units of 1/60 second.
+@item Moves per session
+@cindex Moves per session, Menu Item
+Sets the duration of a session for classical time control.
+@item Initial time
+@cindex Initial time, Menu Item
+Time initially on the clock in classical or incremental time controls.
+In classical time controls this time will also be added to the clock
+at the start of ach new session.
+@item Increment or max
+@cindex Increment or max, Menu Item
+Time to be added to the clock after every move in incremental TC mode.
+Fore 'fixed maximum' TC mode, the clock will be set to this time
+before every move, irrespective of how much was left on that clock.
+@item Time-Odds factors
+@cindex Time-Odds factors, Menu Item
+When these options are set to 1 the clocks of the players will be set
+according to the other specified TC parameters.
+Players can be given unequal times by specifying a time-odds factor
+for one of them (or a different factor for both of them).
+Any time received by that player will then be divided by that factor.
+@end table
-@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
-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.
-
-@subsection Adjudications
+@section 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 shifted @kbd{Alt+J} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-You can instruct XBoard to detect and terminate the game on checkmate
-or stalemate, even if the engines would not do so, to verify engine
-result claims (forfeiting engines that make false claims), rather than
-naively following the engine, to declare draw on positions
-which can never be won for lack of mating material, (e.g. KBK),
-or which are impossible to win unless the opponent seeks its own demise
-(e.g. KBKN).
-For these adjudications to work, @samp{Test Legality} should be switched on.
-It is also possible to instruct XBoard to enforce a 50-move or 3-fold-repeat
-rule and automatically declare draw (after a user-adjustable number of moves
-or repeats) even if the engines are prepared to go on.
-It is also possible to have XBoard declare draw on games that seem to drag on
-forever, or adjudicate a loss if both engines agree (for 3 consecutive moves) that one
-of them is behind more than a user-adjustable score threshold.
-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.
-
-@subsection ICS Options
+@table @asis
+@item Detect all Mates
+@cindex Detect all Mates, Menu Item
+When this option is set
+XBoard will terminate the game on checkmate or stalemate,
+even if the engines would not do so.
+Only works when @samp{Test Legality} is on.
+@item Verify Engine Result Claims
+@cindex Verify Engine Result Claims, Menu Item
+When this option is set
+XBoard will verify engine result claims,
+(forfeiting engines that make false claims),
+rather than naively beleiving the engine.
+Only works when @samp{Test Legality} is on.
+@item Draw if Insufficient Mating Material
+@cindex Draw if Insufficient Mating Material, Menu Item
+When this option is set
+XBoard will terminate games with a draw result
+when so little material is left
+that checkmate is not longer possible.
+In normal Chess this applies to KK, KNK, KBK
+and some positions with multiple Bishops all on the same
+square shade.
+Only works when @samp{Test Legality} is on.
+@item Adjudicate Trivial Draws
+@cindex Adjudicate Trivial Draws, Menu Item
+When this option is set
+XBoard will terminate games with a draw result
+in positions that could only be won against an idiot.
+In normal Chess this applies to KNNK, KRKR, KBKN, KNKN,
+and KBKB with Bishops on different square shades.
+KQKQ will also be adjudicated a draw (possibly unjustly so).
+Only works when @samp{Test Legality} is on.
+@item N-Move Rule
+@cindex N-Move Rule, Menu Item
+When this option is set to a value differnt from zero
+XBoard will terminate games with a draw result
+after the specified number of reversible moves
+(i.e. without captures or pawn pushes) is made.
+@item N-fold Repeats
+@cindex N-fold Repeats, Menu Item
+When this option is set to a value larger than 1,
+XBoard will terminate games with a draw result when
+the same position has occurred the specified number of times.
+@item Draw after N Moves Total
+@cindex Draw after N Moves Total, Menu Item
+When this option is set to a value different from zero,
+XBoard will terminate games with a draw result
+after that many moves have been played.
+Useful in automated engine-engine matches,
+to prevent one game between stubborn engines will soak up
+all your computer time.
+@item Win / Loss Threshold
+@cindex Win / Loss Threshold, Menu Item
+When this option is set to a value different from zero,
+XBoard will terminate games as a win when both engines
+agree the score is above the specified value
+(interpreted as centi-Pawn)
+for three successive moves.
+@item Negate Score of Engine #1
+@itemx Negate Score of Engine #2
+@cindex Negate Score of Engine, Menu Item
+These options should be used with engines
+that report scores from the white point of view,
+rather than the side-to-move POV as XBoard would otherwise
+assume when adjudicating games based on the engine score.
+When the engine is installed with the extra option
+@code{firstScoreIsAbs} true in the engine list
+the option would be automatically set when the engine is
+loaded throuhgh the Engine menu,
+or with the @code{fe} or @code{se} command-line option.
+@end table
+
+@section ICS Options
@cindex ICS Options, Menu Item
-The following options occur in a dialog summoned by the
-ICS Options menu item.
+Pops up a menu dialog where options can be set that affect
+playing against an Internet Chess Server.
@table @asis
-@item Auto Kibitz
-@cindex Auto Kibitz, Menu Item
+@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
to be sent to the ICS in a kibitz command.
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.
-@item Auto Comment
-@cindex Auto Comment, Menu Item
+@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 Observe
-@cindex Auto Observe, Menu Item
+@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
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
+@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.
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 Background Observe
-@cindex Background Observe, Menu Item
+@item Background Observe while Playing
+@cindex Background Observe while Playing, 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,
+Instead 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.
-@item Dual Board
-@cindex Dual Board, Menu Item
+@item Dual Board for Background-Observed Game
+@cindex Dual Board for Background-Observed Game, 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.
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.
+@item Auto-InputBox PopUp
+@cindex Auto-InputBox PopUp, Menu Item
+Controls whether the ICS Input Box will pop up automatically when
+you type a printable character to the board window in ICS mode.
+@item Quit After Game
+@cindex Quit After Game, Menu Item
+Controls whether XBoard will automatically disconnect from the ICS
+and close when the game currently in progress finishes.
@item Premove
-@itemx Premove White
-@itemx Premove Black
+@itemx Premove for White
+@itemx Premove for Black
@itemx First White Move
@itemx First Black Move
@cindex Premove, Menu Item
-@cindex Premove White, Menu Item
-@cindex Premove Black, Menu Item
+@cindex Premove for White, Menu Item
+@cindex Premove for 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
+If the @samp{Premove} 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
You can also enter premoves for the first white and black moves
of the game.
-@item ICS Alarm
-@itemx ICS Alarm Time
-@cindex ICS Alarm, Menu Item
-@cindex ICS Alarm Time, Menu Item
+@item Alarm
+@itemx Alarm Time
+@cindex Alarm, Menu Item
+@cindex 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
+counts down to the @samp{Alarm Time} in an ICS game.
+(By default, the time is 5 seconds, but you can specify 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.
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 -icsMenu string
+@cindex icsMenu, option
+The string defines buttons for the @samp{ICS text menu}.
+Each button definition consists of two semi-colon-terminated pieces of text,
+the first giving the label to be written on the button,
+the second the text that should be sent to the ICS when that button is pressed.
+This second part (the 'message') can contain linefeeds, so that you can send
+multiple ICS commands with one button.
+Some message in the text, all starting with a $-sign, are treated special.
+When the message contains '$input', it will not be sent directly to the ICS,
+but will be put in the input field of the @samp{ICS Chat/Console},
+with the text cursor at the indicated place, so you can addsome text to
+the message before sending it off.
+If such a message starts with '$add' it will be placed behind any text
+that is already present in the input field, otherwise this field will
+be cleared first.
+The word '$name' occurring in the message will be replaced by the word
+that was clicked (through button 3) in the ICS Chat/Console.
+There are two special messages: '$chat' will open a new chat with
+the clicked word in the chat-partner field,
+while '$copy' will copy the text that is currently-selected
+in the ICS Console to the clipboard.
+An example of a text menu as it might occur in your settings file
+(where you could edit it):
+
+@example
+-icsMenu @{copy;$copy;
+list players;who;
+list games;games;
+finger (player);finger $name;
+bullet (player);match $name 1 1 r;
+blitz (player);match $name 5 1 r;
+rapid (player);match $name 30 0 r;
+open chat (player);$chat;
+tell (player);tell $name $input;
+ask pieces;ptell Please give me a $input;
+P;$add Pawn $input;
+N;$add Knight $input;
+B;$add Bishop $input;
+R;$add Rook $input;
+Q;$add Queen $input;
+@}
+@end example
@end table
-@subsection Match Options
-@cindex Match Options, Menu Item
+@section Tournament Options
+@cindex Tournament Options, Menu Item
Summons a dialog where you can set options important for playing automatic
-matches between two chess programs
+matches between two or more chess programs
(e.g. by using the @samp{Machine Match} menu item in the @samp{Mode} menu).
@table @asis
@item Tournament file
you must not leave this field blank.
When you enter the name of an existing tournament file,
XBoard will ignore all other input specified in the dialog,
-and will take them from that tournament file.
+and will take the corresponding info from that tournament file.
This resumes an interrupted tournament, or adds another XBoard
agent playing games for it to those that are already doing so.
Specifying a not-yet-existing file will cause XBoard to create it,
@itemx Tourney participants
@cindex Select Engine, Menu Item
@cindex Tourney participants, Menu Item
-With the Select Engine drop-down list you can pick an engine from your list
-of installed engines in the settings file, to be added to the tournament.
+From the Select Engine listbox you can pick an engine from your list
+of engines registered in the settings file, to be added to the tournament.
The engines selected so far will be listed in the ‘Tourney participants’ memo.
The latter is a normal text edit, so you can use normal text-editing functions
-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.
+to delete engines you selected accidentally, or change their order.
+Typing names here yourself is not recommended, because names that do not exactly match
+one of the names from the selection listbox will lead to undefined behavior.
@item Tourney type
@cindex Tourney type, Menu Item
Here you can specify the type of tournament you want.
as specified by the ‘number of games per pairing’,
or by repeating the entire tournament schedule a number of times
(specified by the ‘number of tourney cycles’).
-The total number of times two engine meet will be the product of these two.
-Default is 1 cycle;
+The total number of times two engines meet will be the product of these two.
+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.
@item Save Tourney Games
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.
-@item Disable own engine bools be default
-@cindex Disable own engine bools be default, Menu Item
+@item Disable own engine books be default
+@cindex Disable own engine books 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
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'.
+@item Continue Later
+@cindex Continue Later, Menu Item
+Pressing the @samp{Continue Later} button confirms the current value of all
+items in the dialog and closes it,
+but will not automatically start the tournament.
+This allows you to return to the dialog later without losing the settings you
+already entered, to adjust paramenters through other menu dialogs.
+(The @samp{Common Engine Setting}, @samp{Time Control} and @samp{General Options}
+dialogs can be accessed without closing the @samp{Tournament Options} dialog
+through the respective buttons at the bottom of the latter.)
@end table
-@subsection Load Game Options
+@section 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).
-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:
+Summons a dialog where you can set options that control loading of games.
@table @asis
-@item Elo of strongest player
-@itemx Elo of weakest player
-@itemx year
-@cindex Elo of strongest player, Menu Item
-@cindex Elo of weakest player, Menu Item
-@cindex year, 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
+@item Auto-Display Tags
+@cindex Auto-Display Tags, Menu Item
+Setting this option causes a window to pop up on loading a game,
+displaying the PGN Tags for that game.
+@item Auto-Display Comment
+@cindex Auto-Display Comment, Menu Item
+Setting this option causes a window to pop up whenever there
+is a comment to (or variation on) the currently displayed move.
+@item Auto-Play speed of loaded games
+@cindex Auto-Play speed, Menu Item
+This option sets the number of seconds between moves
+when a newly loaded game is auto-playing.
+A decimal fraction on the number is understood.
+Setting it to -1 disables auto-play, staying in the start position
+of the game after the loading completes.
+Setting it to 0 will instantly move to the final position of the game.
+The @samp{Auto-Play speed} is also used to determine the
+analysis time for each move during @samp{Analyze Game}.
+Note that auto-playing (including game analysis) can be stopped at any
+time through the @samp{P} button above the board.
+@item options to use in game-viewer mode
+@cindex Game-Viewer options, Menu Item
+Specifies the options automatically set when XBoard is invoked
+with the option @code{-viewer} on its command line,
+as will happen when it is started in response to clicking a PGN game file.
+The default setting would start XBoard without engine
+(due to the @code{-ncp} option),
+but if you want it to automatically start with your favorite engine,
+and automatically start analyzing, you could include the necessary
+options for that here (e.g. @code{-fe <engine> -initialMode analysis}).
+@item Thresholds for position filtering in game list
+@cindex Thresholds for game selection, Menu Item
+The following options can be set to limit the display of games
+in the @samp{Game List} window to a sub-set,
+meeting the specified criteria.
+@item Elo of strongest player at least
+@item Elo of weakest player at least
+@cindex Elo limits, Menu Item
+Games with an Elo tag specifying a lower rating for the mentioned player
+will not be diplayed in the @samp{Game List}.
+@item No games before year
+@cindex Date limit, Menu item
+Games with a Date tag before the specified year
+will not be diplayed in the @samp{Game List}.
+@item Final nr of pieces
+@cindex Final number of pieces, Menu Item
+A single number or a range (like 8-10) can be entered here,
+and will cause only games where the number of men in the final
+position is in the given range
+will be diplayed in the @samp{Game List}.
+@item Minimum nr consecutive positions
+@cindex Consecutive positions, Menu Item
+Specifies for how many consecutive positions the more fuzzy
+position-matching criteria have to be satisfied
+in order to count as a match.
@item Search mode
+@itemx find position
@cindex Search mode, Menu Item
@cindex find position, Menu Item
-@cindex narrow, Menu Item
-This setting determines which positions in a game will be considered a match
-to the position currently displayed in the board window
-when you press the @samp{find position} button in the Game List.
+XBoard can select games for display in the @samp{Game List}
+based on whether (in addition to the conditions on the PGN tags)
+they contain a position that matches the
+position currently displayed on the board,
+by pressing the @samp{find position}
+or @samp{narrow} buttons in the @samp{Game List} window.
+The @samp{Search mode} setting determines what counts as match.
You can search for an exact match,
a position that has all shown material in the same place,
but might contain additional material,
but can have the shown material anywhere,
a position that can have all shown material anywhere,
or a position that has material between certain limits anywhere.
-For the latter you have to place the material that must be present
+For the latter you have to place the material that must minimally be present
in the four lowest ranks of the board,
and optional additional material in the four highest ranks of the board.
-You can request the optional material to be balanced.
+You can request the optional material to be balanced,
+i.e. equal for white and black.
+@item narrow
+@cindex narrow, Menu Item
The @samp{narrow} button is similar in fuction to the @samp{find position} button,
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.
-@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.
@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
+@cindex Match reversed colors, Menu Item
+@cindex Match left-right flipped position, Menu Item
When looking for matching positions rather than by material,
these settings determine whether mirror images
(in case of a vertical flip in combination with color reversal)
have expired (or in Xiangqi).
@end table
-@subsection Save Game Options
+@section 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,
-(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.
-In ICS mode you can limit the auto-saving to your own games
-(i.e. suppress saving of observed games).
-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"!
-
-@subsection Game List
+Summons a dialog where you can specify whether XBoard should
+automatically save files of games when they finish,
+and where and how to do that.
+@table @asis
+@item Auto-Save Games
+@cindex Auto-Save Games, Menu Item
+When set XBoard will automatically save games on a file as they finish.
+(Not when you abort them by pressing @samp{New Game}, though!)
+It will either prompt you for a filename,
+or use the file specified by the @code{saveGameFile} option.
+@item Own Games Only
+@cindex Own Games Only, Menu Item
+Setting this option will exclude games by others observed on an
+Internet Chess Server from automatic saving.
+@item Save Games on File
+@cindex Save Games on File, Menu Item
+Name of the file on which games should be saved automatically.
+Games are always appended to the file,
+and will never overwrite anything.
+@item Save Final Position on File
+@cindex Save Final Position on File, Menu Item
+When a name is defined, the final position of each game
+is appended to the mentioned file.
+@item PGN Event Header
+@cindex PGN Event Header, Menu Item
+Specifies the name of the event used in the PGN event tag
+of new games that you create.
+@item Old Save Style
+@cindex Old Save Style, Menu Item
+Saves games in an obsolete and now long forgotten format,
+rather than as PGN. Never use this for orthodox Chess!
+@item Include Number Tag in tourney PGN
+@cindex Include Number Tag in tourney PGN, Menu Item
+When on this option will cause the non-standard 'Number' tag
+to be written in any game saved in PGN format.
+It will contain the unique number of the game in the tourney.
+(As opposed to the 'Round' tag, which can be shared by many games.)
+@item Save Score/Depth Info in PGN
+@cindex Save Score/Depth in PGN, Menu Item
+When on this option will cause the score and depth at which it was
+calculated by an engine, and (when available) thinking time
+to be saved with the move as a comment to the move,
+in the format @{score/depth time@}.
+Here 'score'is in pawn units from the point of view of the player
+that made the move, with two digits behind the decimal Pawn.
+'Time' is in seconds, or min:sec.
+@item Save Out-of-Book Info in PGN
+@cindex Save Out-of-Book Info in PGN, Menu Item
+When on this option causes the score of the first move
+the engine made after coming out of book in an 'Annotator' PGN tag.
+@end table
+
+@section 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.
+on the lines in the @samp{Game List}, and their order.
-@subsection Sound Options
+@section 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.
+various events that can occur in 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.
-When a move sound other than 'None' is selected,
-XBoard alerts you by playing that 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.
-
-@subsection Save Settings Now
+@table @asis
+@item Sound Program
+@cindex Sound Program, Menu Item
+Specifies the command XBoard should invoke to play sounds.
+The specified text will be suffixed by the name of the sound file,
+and then run as a command.
+@item Sounds Directory
+@cindex Sounds Directory, Menu Item
+Specifies the directory where XBoard will look for files with
+the names of the standard sounds.
+@item User WAV File
+@cindex User WAV File, Menu Item
+When we type a filename here, it can be assigned to the events
+by selecting @samp{Above WAV File} from the drop downs.
+@item Try-Out Sound
+@itemx Play
+@cindex Try-Out Sound, Menu Item
+The 'event' triggering the Try-Out sound is pressing
+of the @samp{Play} button behind it.
+This allows you to judge the sounds.
+@end table
+
+@section 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.
+written to the settings file, (.xboardrc in your home directory),
+so they will also apply in future sessions.
Note that some settings are 'volatile', and are not saved,
because XBoard considers it too unlikely that you want those to apply
next time.
-In particular this applies to the Chess program names, and all options
+In particular this applies to the Chess program, and all options
giving information on those Chess programs (such as their directory,
if they have their own opening book, if they are UCI or native XBoard),
or the variant you are playing.
You can then safely specify volatile options in ~/.xboardrc, either
before or after the settingsFile options.
Note that when you specify persistent options after the settingsFile options
-in ~/.xboardrc, you will essentially turn them into volatile options
+in this ~/.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).
-@subsection Save Settings on Exit
+@section 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
Currently no keystroke is assigned to this ReloadPositionProc.
@end table
-You can add or remove shortcut keys using the X resources
-@code{form.translations}. Here is an example of what would go in your
-@file{.Xresources} file:
+In the Xaw build of XBoard you can add or remove shortcut keys
+using the X resources @code{paneA.translations}.
+Here is an example of what could go into your
+@file{.Xdefaults} file:
@example
-XBoard*form.translations: \
- Shift<Key>?: AboutGameProc() \n\
- <Key>y: AcceptProc() \n\
- <Key>n: DeclineProc() \n\
- <Key>i: NothingProc()
+XBoard*paneA.translations: \
+ Shift<Key>?: MenuItem(Help.About) \n\
+ Ctrl<Key>y: MenuItem(Action.Accept) \n\
+ Ctrl<Key>n: MenuItem(Action.Decline) \n\
+ Ctrl<Key>i: MenuItem(Nothing)
@end example
@noindent
-Binding a key to @code{NothingProc} makes it do nothing, thus removing
-it as a shortcut key. The XBoard commands that can be bound to keys
+So the key should always be bound to the action 'MenuItem',
+with the (hierarchical) name of the menu item as argument.
+There are a few actions available for which no menu item exists:
+Binding a key to @code{Nothing} makes it do nothing, thus removing
+it as a shortcut key. Other such functions that can be bound to keys
are:
@example
-AbortProc, AboutGameProc, AboutProc, AcceptProc, AdjournProc,
-AlwaysQueenProc, AnalysisModeProc, AnalyzeFileProc,
-AnimateDraggingProc, AnimateMovingProc, AutobsProc, AutoflagProc,
-AutoflipProc, AutoraiseProc, AutosaveProc, BackwardProc,
-BlindfoldProc, BookProc, CallFlagProc, CopyGameProc, CopyPositionProc,
-DebugProc, DeclineProc, DrawProc, EditCommentProc, EditGameProc,
-EditPositionProc, EditTagsProc, EnterKeyProc, FlashMovesProc,
-FlipViewProc, ForwardProc, GetMoveListProc, HighlightLastMoveProc,
-HintProc, IcsAlarmProc, IcsClientProc, IcsInputBoxProc,
-InfoProc, LoadGameProc, LoadNextGameProc, LoadNextPositionProc,
-LoadPositionProc, LoadPrevGameProc, LoadPrevPositionProc,
-LoadSelectedProc, MachineBlackProc, MachineWhiteProc, MailMoveProc,
-ManProc, MoveNowProc, MoveSoundProc, NothingProc, OldSaveStyleProc,
-PasteGameProc, PastePositionProc, PauseProc, PeriodicUpdatesProc,
-PonderNextMoveProc, PopupExitMessageProc, PopupMoveErrorsProc,
-PremoveProc, QuietPlayProc, QuitProc, ReloadCmailMsgProc,
-ReloadGameProc, ReloadPositionProc, RematchProc, ResetProc,
-ResignProc, RetractMoveProc, RevertProc, SaveGameProc,
-SavePositionProc, ShowCoordsProc, ShowGameListProc, ShowThinkingProc,
-StopExaminingProc, StopObservingProc, TestLegalityProc, ToEndProc,
-ToStartProc, TrainingProc, TruncateGameProc, and TwoMachinesProc.
+AboutGame, DebugProc (switches the -debug option on or off),
+LoadNextGame, LoadPrevGame, ReloadGame, ReloadPosition.
@end example
@node Options
* Load and Save options:: Input/output options.
* User interface options:: Look and feel options.
* Adjudication Options:: Control adjudication of engine-engine games.
+* Install options:: Maintaining and extending the XBoard install.
* Other options:: Miscellaneous.
@end menu
is still highlighted. Also, unless @code{searchTime}
is set, the chess engine still keeps track of the clock time and uses it to
determine how fast to make its moves.
+@item -shoMoveTime true/false
+@cindex showMoveTime, option
+When this option is set the time that has been thought about the current move
+will be displayed behind the remaining time in parentheses (in seconds).
+Default: false.
@item -st or -searchTime minutes[:seconds]
@cindex st, option
@cindex searchTime, option
Otherwise the same applies as for the @samp{-matchGames} option,
over which it takes precedence if both are specified. (See there.)
Default: 0 (do not run a match).
+@item -epd
+@cindex epd, option
+This option puts XBoard in a special mode for solving EPD test-suites,
+for the entire duration of the session.
+In this mode games are aborted after a single move,
+and that move will be compared with the best-move or avoid-move
+from the EPD position description from which the 'game' was started.
+Playing a best move counts as a win, playing an avoid move as a loss,
+and playing any other move counts as a draw.
+This option should be used in combination with match mode,
+and an EPD file of starting positions with an auto-incrementing index.
+Color assignment will be such that the first engine plays all moves,
+and the second engine will be never involved.
+The results for individual positions,
+as well as the time used for solving them,
+will be reported in the lower pane of the Engine Output window.
@item -fcp or -firstChessProgram program
+@itemx -scp or -secondChessProgram program
@cindex fcp, option
@cindex firstChessProgram, option
-Name of first chess engine.
-Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
-@item -scp or -secondChessProgram program
@cindex scp, option
@cindex secondChessProgram, option
-Name of second chess engine, if needed.
-A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode.
-Default: @file{Fairy-Max}.
+Name of first and second chess engine, respectively.
+A second chess engine is started only in Two Machines (match) mode,
+or in Analyze mode with two engines.
+The second engine is by default the same as the first.
+Default for the first engine: @file{fairymax}.
@item -fe or -firstEngine nickname
+@itemx -se or -secondEngine nickname
+@cindex se, option
+@cindex secondEngine, option
@cindex fe, option
@cindex firstEngine, option
-This is an alternative to the @code{fcp} option for specifying the first engine,
-for engines that were already configured (using the @samp{Load Engine} dialog)
+This is an alternative to the @code{fcp} and @code{scp} options
+for specifying the first and second engine,
+for engines that were already registered (using the @samp{Load Engine} dialog)
in XBoard's settings file.
It will not only retrieve the real name of the engine,
but also all options configured with it.
(E.g. if it is UCI, whether it should use book.)
-@item -se or -secondEngine nickname
-@cindex se, option
-@cindex secondEngine, option
-As @code{fe}, but for the second engine.
@item -fb/-xfb or -firstPlaysBlack true/false
@cindex fb, option
@cindex firstPlaysBlack, option
Shufflings are symmetric for black and white, and exempt King and Rooks in variants
with normal castling.
Remains in force until a new variant is selected.
+@item -fischerCastling
+@cindex fischerCastling, option
+Specifies Fischer castling (as in Chess960) should be enabled in variants
+that normally would not have it.
+Remains in force until a new variant is selected.
@end table
@node UCI + WB Engine Settings
@cindex sUCI, option
@cindex firstIsUCI, option
@cindex secondIsUCI, option
-Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is an UCI engine,
+Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is a UCI engine,
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
on its command line, according to the option @code{adapterCommand}.
Options similar to @code{fUCI} and @code{sUCI}, except that they
use the indicated engine with the protocol adapter specified in
the @samp{uxiAdapter} option.
-This can then be configured for running an UCCI or USI adapter,
+This can then be configured for running a UCCI or USI adapter,
as the need arises.
@item -adapterCommand string
@cindex adapterCommand, option
-The string conatins the command that should be issued by XBoard
+The string contains the command that should be issued by XBoard
to start an engine that is accompanied by the @code{fUCI} option.
Any identifier following a percent sign in the command (e.g. %fcp)
will be considered the name of an XBoard option, and be replaced
By playing an match in this mode, a book will be built from scratch.
The only output are the saved games, which can be converted to an
actual book later, with the @samp{Save Games as Book} command.
-This command can also be used to pre-fill the book buffer
+The latter command can also be used to pre-fill the book buffer
before adding new games based on the probing algorithm.
@item -fn string or -firstPgnName string
@itemx -sn string or -secondPgnName string
@cindex sn, option
Indicates the name that should be used for the engine in PGN tags of
engine-engine games.
-Intended to allow you to install verions of the same engine with different settings,
+Intended to allow you to install versions of the same engine with different settings,
and still distinguish them.
Default: "".
@item -defaultHashSize n
If the name part matches that of a format that the engine requests through a feature command,
xboard will relay the path name for this format to the engine through an egtpath command.
One egtpath command for each matching format will be sent.
-Popular formats are "nalimov" DTM tablebases and "scorpio" bitbases.
+Popular formats are "nalimov" and "gaviota" DTM tablebases,
+syzygy DTZ tablebases and "scorpio" bitbases.
Default: "".
@item -firstChessProgramNames=@{names@}
-This option lets you customize the drop-down list of chess engine names
-that appears in the @samp{Load Engine} and @samp{Match Options} dialog.
+@cindex firstChessProgramNames, option
+This option lets you customize the listbox with chess-engine names
+that appears in the @samp{Load Engine} and @samp{Tournament Options} dialog.
It consists of a list of strings, one per line.
When an engine is loaded, the corresponding line is prefixed with "-fcp ",
and processed like it appeared on the command line.
That means that apart from the engine command,
-it can contain any list of XBoard options you want to use with this engine.
+it can contain any number of XBoard options you want to use with this engine.
(Commonly used options here are -fd, -firstXBook, -fUCI, -variant.)
The value of this option is gradually built as you load new engines
through the @samp{Load Engine} menu dialog, with @samp{Add to list} ticked.
-To change it, edit your settings file with a plain text editor.
+To change it in other ways, (e.g. deleting engines),
+use the menu item @samp{Edit Engine List} in the @samp{Engine} menu.
@end table
@node Tournament options
Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
@item -results string
@cindex results, option
-The string of +=- characters lists the result of all played games in a toruney.
+The string of +=- characters lists the result of all played games in a tourney.
Games currently playing are listed as *,
-while a space indicates a game that is not yet played or playing .
+while a space indicates a game that is not yet played.
Volatile option, but stored in tourney file.
@item -defaultTourneyName string
@cindex defaultTourneyName, option
@cindex afterGame, option
@cindex afterTourney, option
When non-empty, the given string will be executed as a system command
-after each tournament game, orafterthe tourney completes, respectively.
+after each tournament game, or after the tourney completes, respectively.
This can be used, for example, to autmatically run a cross-table generator
on the PGN file where games are saved, to update the tourney standings.
Default: ""
Only a summary of time left and material of both players will appear
in the message field above the board.
XBoard will remember the last board it has received this way,
-and will display it in stead of the position in your own game
+and will display it instead of the position in your own game
when you press the right mouse button.
No other information is stored on such games observed in the background;
you cannot save such a game later, or step through its moves.
CShout is synonymous with SShout.
@item -soundMove filename
@cindex soundMove, option
-This sound is used by the Move Sound menu option. Default: "$".
+This sound is played when a player other than yourself makes a move.
+Default: "$".
+@item -soundRoar filename
+@cindex soundRoar, option
+This sound is played when a Lion makes a hit-and-run or double capture/
+Default: "" (no sound).
@item -soundIcsAlarm filename
@cindex soundIcsAlarm, option
This sound is used by the ICS Alarm menu option. Default: "$".
If this option is set, XBoard appends the final position reached
in every game played to the specified file. The file name @file{-}
specifies the standard output.
+@item -positionDir directory
+@cindex positionDir, option
+Specifies the directory where file browsing should start when using
+the @samp{Load Position} menu item.
@item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
@cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option
If this option is set, XBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
move that the engine found as a comment in the PGN file.
Default: false.
+@item -pgnTimeLeft true/false
+@cindex pgnTimeLeft, option
+If this option is set, XBoard will save the remaining clock time for
+the player that has just moved as part of the @samp{pgnExtendedInfo},
+rather than the time that player thought about his latest move.
+Default: false.
@item -pgnEventHeader string
+Default: false.
@cindex pgnEventHeader, option
Sets the name used in the PGN event tag to string.
Default: "Computer Chess Game".
-saveSettingsFile or succesfull -settingsFile / -ini command,
if any, and in /etc/xboard/xboard.conf otherwise.
Usualy the latter is only accessible for the system administrator, though,
-and will be used to contain system-wide default setings, amongst which
+and will be used to contain system-wide default settings, amongst which
a -saveSettingsFile and -settingsFile options to specify a settings file
accessible to the individual user, such as ~/.xboardrc in the user's
home directory.
@cindex User interface options
@cindex Options, User interface
@table @asis
-@item -display
-@itemx -geometry
-@itemx -iconic
-@itemx -name
-@cindex display, option
-@cindex geometry, option
-@cindex iconic, option
-@cindex resource name, option
-These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
@item -noGUI
@cindex noGUI, option
Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
Specify the images to be used as player logos when @code{logoSize}
is non-zero, next to the white and black clocks, respectively.
@item -autoLogo true/false
-@item -logoDir filename
+@itemx -logoDir filename
@cindex autoLogo, option
@cindex logoDir, option
When @code{autoLogo} is set, XBoard will search for a PNG image file
with the name of the engine or ICS in the directory specified
by @code{logoDir}.
+For a human player it will look for a file <username>.png in this
+directory, but only when ~/.logo.png does not provide one.
@item -recentEngines number
@itemx -recentEngineList list
@cindex recentEngines, option
Double-clicking a piece (or clicking an already selected piece)
will instruct that piece to make the only capture it can legally do.
Default: false.
+@item -monoMouse true/false
+@cindex monoMouse, option
+When set button 1 clicks on empty squares in Edit Position mode
+will be interpreted as button 3 clicks, so they place a piece.
+Default: false.
@item -movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false
@cindex movesound, option
@cindex bell, option
Sets the Move Sound menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
For compatibility with old XBoard versions, -bell/-xbell are also
accepted as abbreviations for this option.
+@item -analysisBell N
+@cindex analysisBell, option
+When N is non-zero, the Move Sound will be played whenever a new
+PV arrives in analysis mode after more than N seconds of analysis.
+Default: 0.
@item -exit/-xexit or -popupExitMessage true/false
@cindex exit, option
@cindex popupExitMessage, option
The font used for the clocks. If the option value is a pattern
that does not specify the font size, XBoard tries to choose an
appropriate font for the board size being used.
-Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default Xaw: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default GTK: Sans Bold %d.
@item -coordFont font
@cindex coordFont, option
@cindex Font, coordinates
is true. If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
the board size being used.
-Default: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default Xaw: -*-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default GTK: Sans Bold %d.
@item -messageFont font
@cindex messageFont, option
@cindex Font, message
-The font used for popup dialogs, menus, comments, etc.
+The font used for popup dialogs, menus, etc.
If the option value is a pattern that does not specify
the font size, XBoard tries to choose an appropriate font for
the board size being used.
-Default: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default Xaw: -*-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*.
+Default GTK: Sans Bold %d
+@item -tagsFont font
+@cindex tagsFont, option
+@cindex Font, tags
+The font used in the Edit Tags dialog.
+If the option value contains %d, XBoard will replace it by
+an appropriate font for the board size being used.
+(Only used in GTK build.)
+Default: Sans Normal %d.
+@item -commentFont font
+@cindex commentFont, option
+@cindex Font, comment
+The font used in the Edit Comment dialog.
+If the option value contains %d, XBoard will replace it by
+an appropriate font for the board size being used.
+(Only used in GTK build.)
+Default: Sans Normal %d.
+@item -icsFont font
+@cindex icsFont, option
+@cindex Font, ics
+The font used to display ICS output in the ICS Chat window.
+As ICS output often contains tables aligned by spaces,
+a mono-space font is recommended here.
+If the option value contains %d, XBoard will replace it by
+an appropriate font for the board size being used.
+(Only used in GTK build.)
+Default: Monospace Normal %d.
+@item -moveHistoryFont font
+@cindex moveHistoryFont, option
+@cindex Font, moveHistory
+The font used in Move History and Engine Output windows.
+As these windows display mainly moves,
+one could use a figurine font here.
+If the option value contains %d, XBoard will replace it by
+an appropriate font for the board size being used.
+(Only used in GTK build.)
+Default: Sans Normal %d.
+@item -gameListFont font
+@cindex gameListFont, option
+@cindex Font, gameList
+The font used in the listbox of the Game List window.
+If the option value contains %d, XBoard will replace it by
+an appropriate font for the board size being used.
+(Only used in GTK build.)
+Default: Sans Bold %d.
@item -fontSizeTolerance tol
@cindex fontSizeTolerance, option
In the font selection algorithm, a nonscalable font will be preferred
or svg format for every piece type, with names like BlackQueen.svg,
WhiteKnight.svg etc.
When neither of these is found (or no valid directory is specified)
-XBoard will use the svg piece that was installed with it
+XBoard will first ty to use an image White/BlackTile.svg in that same
+directory, and if that is not present either
+use the svg piece that was installed with it
(from the source-tree directory @samp{svg}).
Both svg and png images will be scaled by XBoard to the required size,
but the png pieces lose much in quality when scaled too much.
+Default: "".
+@item -inscriptions utf8string
+@cindex inscriptions, option
+The positions in the utf8string correspond to XBoard's piece types,
+and for each type a glyph can be defined.
+This glyph will then be rendered on top of the image for the piece.
+This is useful in combination with the White/BlackTile.svg images,
+which could be the image of a blank Shogi tile, for writing the
+kanji piece name on top of it on the fly.
+Default: "".
@item -whitePieceColor color
@itemx -blackPieceColor color
The algorithm for cutting squares out of a given bitmap is such that
the picture is perfectly reproduced when a bitmap the size of
the complete board is given.
+If the filename ends in "-NxM.png", with integer N and M,
+it is assumed to contain a bitmap of a complete board of N files
+and M ranks, and XBoard will scale it to exactly match the
+current square size.
+If N=M=0 it scales the entire bitmap to the size of the board,
+irrespective of the number of files and ranks of the latter.
+Without any -NxM suffix textures are only blown up by an integer
+factor when they are smaller than the square size, or,
+when the name starts with "xq", too small to cover the
+complete Xiangqi board.
Default: false and ""
@item -drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false
@cindex drag, option
Default: False.
@item -appendPV true|false
@cindex appendPV, option
-When this option is on, right-clicking a PV in the Engine Output window
-will play the first move of that PV in Analyze mode,
-or as many moves as you walk through by moving the mouse.
+When this option is on, a button 3 click left of a PV in the Engine
+Output window will play the first move of that PV in Analyze mode,
+or as many moves as you walk through it by moving the mouse.
Default: False.
@item -absoluteAnalysisScores true|false
@cindex absoluteAnalysisScores, option
When true, scores will always be printed from the white point-of-view,
rather than the side-to-move point-of-view.
Default: False.
+@item -memoHeaders true|false
+@cindex memoHeaders, option
+When true, column headers will be displayed in the Engine Output window
+for the depth, score, time and nodes data.
+A button 3 click on these headers will hide or show the corresponding data.
+(Not intended for dynamic use, as already printed data of the current search
+will not be affected!)
+Defaul: False.
@end table
@node Adjudication Options
as repeats, XBoard is fully e.p. and castling aware!
@end table
+@node Install options
+@section Install options
+@cindex Options, install
+@table @asis
+@item --show-config parameter
+@cindex show-config, option
+When called with this option, XBoard will close immediately after printing the
+value of the indicated configuration parameter, or, when no parameter was given,
+after printing a list of all such parameters.
+Currently the only valid values for parameter are Datadir and Sysconfdir.
+This option can be used by install scripts for board themes
+to figure out where the currently active XBoard stores its data.
+@item -date timestamp
+@itemx -saveDate timestamp
+@cindex date, option
+@cindex saveDate, option
+These options specify an epoch as an integer number.
+The @code{saveDate} option is written by XBoard in the settings file every time the
+settings are saved, with the current time, so that later runs of XBoard can know this.
+The @code{date} option can be included in settings files to indicate when lines
+following it were added to those files.
+Some options will be ignored if the epoch specified by the latest @code{date} option
+predates the -saveDate setting (implying they must have been seen before).
+@item -autoInstall list
+@cindex autoInstall, option
+When the list is set to a non-empty string, XBoard will scan the
+operating system's plugin directory for engines supporting UCI
+and XBoard protocol at startup.
+When it finds an engine that was installed after it last saved
+its settings, a line to launch that engine (as per specs in
+the plugin file) is appended to the -firstChessProgramNames
+list of installed engines.
+In the future it will be possible to use the autoInstall list to limit
+this automatic adding of engines based on the chess variant they play.
+@item -addMasterOption string
+@cindex addMasterOption, option
+Adds the mentioned string as an additional line of XBoard's master settings file,
+after adding a line with a @code{date} option to timestamp it.
+Intended to add options of the 'install' type (see below) to the master file,
+which will then be processed by any XBoard that has not seen them since
+it last saved its settings.
+@item -autoClose
+@cindex autoClose, option
+The presence of this option cause XBoard to close immediately after processing
+all its options (from settings file and command line).
+Typically used from install scripts together with options that change XBoard's
+settings files, so that XBoard can be run in batch mode rather than interactively.
+@item -installEngine string
+@cindex installEngine, option
+Adds the given string as an additional line to the value of the
+@code{firstChessProgramNames} option when the -saveDate setting preceeds the -date setting.
+Intended for adding to the master settings file with the aid of -addMasterOption
+in the install script of engines, as a method for broadcasting the presence
+of a new engine to all users,
+which would then see it automatically registered with XBoard.
+Made obsolete by the advent of the plugin standard (see the @code{autoInstall} option),
+which broadcasts such presence in a non-XBoard-specific way
+by dropping *.eng files in a certain system directory.
+@item -installTheme string
+@cindex installTheme, option
+Adds the given string as an additional line to the value of the
+-themeNames option when the -saveDate setting preceeds the -date setting.
+Intended for adding to the master settings file with the aid of -addMasterOption
+in the install script of board graphics themes,
+as a method for broadcasting the availability of a new theme to all users,
+who would then see the theme appear automatically in the listbox in the
+View Board menu dialog next time they run XBoard.
+@end table
+
@node Other options
@section Other options
@cindex Options, miscellaneous
When XBoard is invoked with a single argument that is a file
with .trn extension, it will assume this argument to be the value
of a @code{tourneyFile} option,
-and apped the value of the persistent option @code{tourneyOptions}
+and append the value of the persistent option @code{tourneyOptions}
as stored in the settings file to the command line.
Thus the value of @code{tourneyOptions} can be
used to configure XBoard to automatically start running a
AnalyzeFile, EditGame, EditPosition, and Training.
@item -variant varname
@cindex variant, option
-Activates preliminary, partial support for playing chess variants
+Activates (sometimes partial) support for playing chess variants
against a local engine or editing variant games. This flag is not
needed in ICS mode. Recognized variant names are:
courier Medieval intermediate between shatranj and
modern Chess (on 12x8 board)
falcon Patented 10x8 variant with two Falcon pieces
-berolina Pawns capture straight ahead, and move diagonal
+berolina Pawns capture straight ahead, and move diagonally
cylinder Pieces wrap around the board edge
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)
asean ASEAN Chess (a modernized version of Makruk)
spartan Spartan Chess (black has unorthodox pieces)
+great Great Shatranj, a 10x8 variant without sliders
+grand Grand Chess, on 10x10 with Capablanca pieces
+lion Mighty-Lion Chess, with a multi-capturing Lion
+elven Eleven Chess, with Lion and crowned sliders on 10x10
+chu Chu Shogi, historic 12x12 variant with 2x46 pieces
fairy A catchall variant in which all piece types
known to XBoard can participate (8x8)
unknown Catchall for other unknown variants
@end example
-NOT ALL BOARDSIZES PROVIDE A COMPLETE SET OF BUILT-IN BITMAPS FOR ALL
-UN-ORTHODOX PIECES, though. Only in @code{boardSize} middling and bulky
-all 22 piece types are provided, while -boardSize petite has most
-of them. Archbishop, Chancellor and Amazon are supported in every
-size from petite to bulky. Kings or Amazons are substituted for
-missing bitmaps. You can still play variants needing un-orthodox
-pieces in other board sizes providing your own bitmaps through the
-@code{bitmapDirectory} or @code{pixmapDirectory} options.
-
-In the shuffle variants, XBoard now does shuffle the pieces, although
+In the shuffle variants, XBoard does shuffle the pieces, although
you can still do it by hand using Edit Position. Some variants are
supported only in ICS mode, including bughouse, and
-kriegspiel. The winning/drawing conditions in crazyhouse (off-board
-interposition on mate) are not fully understood, but losers, suicide,
-giveaway, atomic, and 3check should be OK.
-Berolina and cylinder chess can only be played with legality testing off.
-In crazyhouse, XBoard now does keep
-track of off-board pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
-rule when mate detection is switched on.
+kriegspiel.
+Berolina and cylinder chess are only partially supported,
+and can only be played with legality testing off.
+
+Apart from these standard variants, engines can define variants
+of arbitrary names, briefing XBoard transparently on the rules
+for piece movement, board size and initial setup,
+so that they work nearly as well as fully-supported standard variants.
+(But obviously only while using that engine.)
+The user might have to alter the adjudication settings for some
+variants, however. E.g. it makes no sense to adjudicate a draw
+after 50 reversible moves in variants that have a 64-move rule,
+or no similar rule at all.
+
+Default: "normal". Except when the first engine gave an explicit list
+of variants it supports, and 'normal' is not amongst those.
+In that case the first variant the engine mentioned it did play will
+be chosen.
@item -boardHeight N
@cindex boardHeight, option
Allows you to set a non-standard number of board ranks in any variant.
@item -pieceToCharTable string
@cindex pieceToCharTable, option
The characters that are used to represent the piece types XBoard knows in FEN
-diagrams and SAN moves. The string argument has to have an even length
+diagrams and SAN moves.
+You should not have to use this option often: each variant has its own default
+setting for the piece representation in FEN, which should be sufficient in normal use.
+The string argument has to specify an even number of pieces
(or it will be ignored), as white and black pieces have to be given separately
(in that order). The last letter for each color will be the King.
The letters before that will be PNBRQ and then a whole host of fairy pieces
-in an order that has not fully crystallized yet (currently FEACWMOHIJGDVSLU,
+in an order that has not fully crystallized yet (currently FEACWMOHIJGDVLSU,
F=Ferz, Elephant, A=Archbishop, C=Chancellor, W=Wazir, M=Commoner, O=Cannon,
H=Nightrider). You should list at least all pieces that occur in the variant
-you are playing. If you have less than 44 characters in the string, the pieces
-not mentioned will get assigned a period, and you will not be able to distinguish
-them in FENs. You can also explicitly assign pieces a period, in which case they
+you are playing. If you have fewer characters in the string than XBoard has
+pieces, the pieces not mentioned will get assigned a period,
+and will not be usable in the variant.
+You can also explicitly assign pieces a period, in which case they
will not be counted in deciding which captured pieces can go into the holdings.
A tilde '~' as a piece name does mean this piece is used to represent a promoted
-Pawn in crazyhouse-like games, i.e. on capture it turns back onto a Pawn.
+Pawn in crazyhouse-like games, i.e. on capture it turns back to a Pawn.
A '+' similarly indicates the piece is a shogi-style promoted piece, that should
revert to its non-promoted version on capture (rather than to a Pawn).
-Note that promoted pieces are represented by pieces 11 further in the list.
-You should not have to use this option often: each variant has its own default
-setting for the piece representation in FEN, which should be sufficient in normal use.
-Default: ""
+By default the second 11 pieces known to XBoard are the promoted forms of the first 11.
+A piece specified by the character combination ^ plus letter will be assumed
+to be the promoted form of the piece indicated by that letter,
+and get a '+' assigned.
+To get around the limitation of the alphabet,
+piece IDs can also be 'dressed letters', i.e. a single letter
+(upper case for white, lower case for black)
+followed by a single quote or an exclamation point.
+Default: "" (meaning the default for the variant is used).
@item -pieceNickNames string
@cindex pieceNickNames, option
The characters in the string are interpreted the same way as in the
projects / xboard.git / blobdiff