can click the left mouse button once on the piece, then once more on
the destination square. To drop a new piece on a square (when
applicable), press the middle or the right mouse button over the
-square and select from the popup menu. In cases where you can drop
+square and select from the pop-up menu. In cases where you can drop
either a white or black piece, use the middle button (or shift+right)
for white and the right button (or shift+middle) for black. When you
are playing a bughouse game on an Internet Chess Server, a list of the
-offboard pieces that each player has available is shown in the window
+off-board pieces that each player has available is shown in the window
title after the player's name; in addition, the piece menus show the
number of pieces available of each type. From version 4.3.14 on, it is
-also possible in crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi to dag and drop pieces
+also possible in crazyhouse, bughouse or shogi to drag and drop pieces
to the board from the holdings squares displayed next to the board.
-
-All other XBoard commands are available from the menu bar. The most
+This latter method for dropping pieces during a game is preferred,
+and the piece-drop menu is now deprecated (except for editing a position).
+Although the old behavior can still be selected through a command-line
+option, the default function of the right mouse button is to display
+the position the chess program thinks it will end up in,
+while moving the mouse vertically with this button pressed will step
+through the principal variation to show how this position will be
+reached.
+
+Most other XBoard commands are available from the menu bar. The most
frequently used commands also have shortcut keys or on-screen buttons.
+Some rarely used parameters can only be set through options on the
+command line used to invoke XBoard.
+
+XBoard uses a settings file, in which it can remember any changes to
+the settings that are made through menus or command-line options,
+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.
+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,
+and defers reading and writing of user settings to a user-specific
+file like ~/.xboardrc in the user's home directory.
When XBoard is iconized, its graphical icon is a white knight if
it is White's turn to move, a black knight if it is Black's turn. See
@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 autmatically.) If you play with an engine, the engine must
+and XBoard adapts automatically.) If you play with an engine, the engine must
be able to play the selected variant, or the command will be ignored.
XBoard supports all major variants, such as xiangqi, shogi, chess, chess960,
-Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhous, bughouse.
+Capablanca Chess, shatranj, crazyhouse, bughouse.
+(But not every board size has built-in bitmaps for un-orthodox pieces!)
@item Load Game
@cindex Load Game, Menu Item
Plays a game from a record file. The @kbd{g} key is a keyboard equivalent.
-A popup dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file contains more
-than one game, a second popup dialog
+A pop-up dialog prompts you for the file name. If the file contains more
+than one game, a second pop-up dialog
displays a list of games (with information drawn from their PGN tags, if
any), and you can select the one you want. Alternatively, you can load the
Nth game in the file directly, by typing the number @kbd{N} after the
@item Save Game
@cindex Save Game, Menu Item
Appends a record of the current game to a file.
-A popup dialog
+A pop-up dialog
prompts you for the file name. If the game did not begin with
the standard starting position, the game file includes the
starting position used. Games are saved in the PGN (portable
with Load Game.
@item Load Position
@cindex Load Position, Menu Item
-Sets up a position from a position file. A popup dialog prompts
+Sets up a position from a position file. A pop-up dialog prompts
you for the file name. If the file contains more than one saved
position, and you want to load the Nth one, type the number N
after the file name, separated by a space. Position files must
@item Save Position
@cindex Save Game, Menu Item
Appends a diagram of the current position to a file.
-A popup dialog
+A pop-up dialog
prompts you for the file name. Positions are saved in
FEN (Forsythe-Edwards notation) format unless the @code{oldSaveStyle}
option is true, in which case they are saved in an older,
clock to tell XBoard which side moves first.
4. Select Analysis Mode from the Mode Menu to start the analysis.
+
+The analysis function can also be used when observing games on an ICS
+with an engine loaded (zippy mode); the engine then will analyse
+the positions as they occur in the observed game.
@item Analyze File
@cindex Analyze File, Menu Item
This option lets you load a game from a file (PGN, XBoard format, etc.)
-and analyze it. When you select this menu item, a popup window appears
-and asks for a filename to load.
-If the file contains multiple games, another popup appears that lets
+and analyze it. When you select this menu item, a pop-up window appears
+and asks for a file name to load.
+If the file contains multiple games, another pop up appears that lets
you select which game you wish to analyze.
After a game is loaded, use the XBoard arrow buttons to step
forwards/backwards through the game and watch the analysis.
Training mode lets you interactively guess the moves of a game for one
of the players. You guess the next move of the game by playing the
move on the board. If the move played matches the next move of the
-game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is autoplayed.
+game, the move is accepted and the opponent's response is auto-played.
If the move played is incorrect, an error message is displayed. You
can select this mode only while loading a game (that is, after
selecting @samp{Load Game} from the File menu). While XBoard is in
@samp{Training} mode, the navigation buttons are disabled.
+@item Show Engine Output
+@cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
+Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
+is displayed.
+XBoard will display lines of thinking output of the same depth ordered by score,
+(highest score on top), rather than in the order the engine produced them.
+Usually this amounts to the same, as a normal engine search will only find new PV
+(and emit it as thinking output)
+when it searches a move with a higher score than the previous variation.
+But when the engine is in multi-variation mode this needs not always be true,
+and it is more convenient for someone analyzing games to see the moves sorted by score.
+The order in which the engine found them is only of interest to the engine author,
+and can still be deduced from the time or node count printed with the line.
+@item Show Evaluation Graph
+@cindex Show Evaluation Graph, Menu Item
+Shows or hides a window which displays a graph of how the engine score(s)
+evolved as a function of the move number. Clicking on the graph will bring
+the corresponding position in the board display.
@item Show Game List
@cindex Show Game List, Menu Item
Shows or hides the list of games generated by the last @samp{Load Game}
Shows or hides a list of moves of the current game.
This list allows you to move the display to any earlier position in the game
by clicking on the corresponding move.
-@item Show Engine Output
-@cindex Show Engine Output, Menu Item
-Shows or hides a window in which the thinking output of any loaded engines
-is displayed.
@item Edit Tags
@cindex Edit Tags, Menu Item
Lets you edit the PGN (portable game notation)
@cindex Stop Examining, Menu Item
Ends your participation in examining a game, by issuing the ICS
unexamine command. ICS mode only.
+@item Adjudicate to White
+@itemx Adjudicate to Black
+@itemx Adjudicate Draw
+@cindex Adjudicate to White, Menu Item
+@cindex Adjudicate to Black, Menu Item
+@cindex Adjudicate Draw, Menu Item
+Terminate an ongoing game in Two-Machines mode (including match mode),
+with as result a win for white, for black, or a draw, respectively.
+The PGN file of the game will accompany the result string
+by the comment "user adjudication".
@end table
@node Step Menu
@cindex Backward, Menu Item
@cindex <, Button
Steps backward through a series of remembered moves.
-The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{b} key are equivalents.
+The @samp{[<]} button and the @kbd{b} key are equivalents,
+as is turning the mouse wheel towards you.
In addition, pressing the Control key steps back one move, and releasing
it steps forward again.
@cindex >, Button
Steps forward through a series of remembered moves (undoing the
effect of @samp{Backward}) or forward through a game file. The
-@samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{f} key are equivalents.
+@samp{[>]} button and the @kbd{f} key are equivalents,
+as is turning the mouse wheel away from you.
If you are examining an ICS game, the behavior of Forward
depends on whether XBoard is in Pause mode. If Pause mode is
@cindex Revert, Menu Item
If you are examining an ICS game and Pause mode is off, issues
the ICS command @samp{revert}.
+In local mode, when you were editing or analyzing a game,
+and have been entering a number of moves by hand, starting from
+a position not at the end of the game,
+the revert command restores the game to the variation you started from.
+The variation you had been entering is currently added as a comment
+to the original move where you deviated.
+This can be applied recursively,
+so that you can analyze variations on variations;
+each time you create a new variation by entering an alternative move,
+the current variation will be shelved.
+Revert allows you to return to the most recently shelved variation.
@item Truncate Game
@cindex Truncate Game, Menu Item
Discards all remembered moves of the game beyond the current
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 posititions
+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 impossble to win unless the opponent seeks its own demise
+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 insruct XBoard to enforce a 50-move or 3-fold-repeat
-rule and automtically declare draw (after a user-adjustable number of moves
+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 cosecutive moves) that one
+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 faclitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
+the engine's scores. To facilitate the latter, you can inform xboard here if
the engines report scores from the viewpoint of white, or from that of their own color.
-@item Engine Settings
+@item General Settings
+@cindex General Settings, Menu Item
Pops up a sub-menu where you can set some engine parameters common to most engines,
such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
-to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature tht allows setting of these parameters on
-engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many WinBoard engines respond
+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.
+@item Engine #N Settings
+@cindex Engine Settings, Menu Item
+@cindex Engine #1 Settings, Menu Item
+@cindex Engine #2 Settings, Menu Item
+Pop up a menu dialog to alter the settings specific to the applicable engine.
+(The second engine is only accessible once it has been used in Two-Machines mode.)
+For each parameter the engine allows to be set,
+a control element will appear in this dialog that can be used to alter the value.
+Depending on the type of parameter (text string, number, multiple choice,
+on/off switch, instantaneous signal) the appropriate control will appear,
+with a description next to it.
+XBoard has no idea what these values mean; it just passes them on to the engine.
+How this dialog looks is completely determined by the engine,
+and XBoard just passes it on to the user.
+Many engines do not have any parameters that can be set by the user,
+and in that case the dialog will be empty (except for the OK and cancel buttons).
+UCI engines usually have many parameters. (But these are only visible with
+a sufficiently modern version of the Polyglot adapter needed to run UCI engines,
+e.g. Polyglot 1.4.55b.) For native XBoard engines this is less common.
@item Time Control
@cindex Time Control, Menu Item
Pops up a sub-menu where you can set the time-control parameters interactively.
If this option is off, XBoard brings up a dialog
box whenever you move a pawn to the last rank, asking what piece
you want to promote it to. If the option is true, your pawns are
-always promoted to queens. Your opponent can still underpromote.
+always promoted to queens. Your opponent can still under-promote.
@item Animate Dragging
@cindex Animate Dragging, Menu Item
If Animate Dragging is on, while you are dragging a piece with the
and over.
When you turn this option on from the menu, XBoard
immediately fetches the move list of the current game (if any).
+@item Highlight Dragging
+@cindex Highlight Dragging, Menu Item
+If Highlight Dragging is on, and the option -showTargetSquares is also on
+in the settings file, all squares a piece that is 'picked up' with the mouse
+can legally move to are highighted with a fat colored dot in the
+highlightColor (non-captures) or premoveHighlightColor (captures).
+Legality testing must be on for XBoard to know how the piece moves.
@item Highlight Last Move
@cindex Highlight Last Move, Menu Item
If Highlight Last Move is on, after a move is made, the starting and
If this option is off, when you make an error in moving (such as
attempting an illegal move or moving the wrong color piece), the
error message is displayed in the message area. If the option is
-on, move errors are displayed in small popup windows like other errors.
-You can dismiss an error popup either by clicking its OK button or by
-clicking anywhere on the board, including downclicking to start a move.
+on, move errors are displayed in small pop-up windows like other errors.
+You can dismiss an error pop-up either by clicking its OK button or by
+clicking anywhere on the board, including down-clicking to start a move.
@item Premove
@cindex Premove, Menu Item
If this option is on while playing a game on an ICS, you can register
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 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.
+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
+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.
+Such options would still be understood when they appear in the settings
+file in case they were put there with the aid of a text editor, but they
+would disappear from the file as soon as you save the settings.
+@item Save Settings on Exit
+@cindex Save Settings on Exit, Menu Item
+Setting this option has no immediate effect, but causes the settings
+to be saved when you quit XBoard. What happens then is otherwise
+identical to what happens when you use select "Save Settings Now",
+see there.
@end table
@node Help Menu
* ICS options:: Connecting to and using ICS.
* Load and Save options:: Input/output options.
* User interface options:: Look and feel options.
-* Adjudication Options:: Control adjudcation of engine-engine games.
+* Adjudication Options:: Control adjudication of engine-engine games.
* Other options:: Miscellaneous.
@end menu
If mode=0, both play with reduced time. Default: 0.
@item -hideThinkingFromHuman true/false
Controls the Hide Thinking option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
-(Relaces the Show-Thinking option of older xboard versions.)
+(Replaces the Show-Thinking option of older xboard versions.)
@item -thinking/-xthinking or -showThinking true/false
@cindex thinking, option
@cindex showThinking, option
@cindex ponderNextMove, option
Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
@item -smpCores number
-Specifies the maxmum nmber of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
-Only works for engines that support the WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
+Specifies the maximum number of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
+Only works for engines that support the XBoard/WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
@item -mg or -matchGames n
@cindex mg, option
@cindex matchGames, option
If this option is set, the score reported by the engine is taken to be
that in favor of white, even when the engine plays black.
Important when XBoard uses the score for adjudications, or in PGN reporting.
+@item -niceEngines priority
+@cindex niceEngines, option
+This option allows you to lower the priority of the engine processes,
+so that the generally insatiable hunger for CPU time of chess engines does not interfere so much
+with smooth operation of XBoard (or the rest of your system).
+Negative values could increase the engine priority, which is not recommended.
+@item -firstOptions string
+@itemx -secondOptions string
+@cindex firstOptions, option
+@cindex secondOptions, option
+The given string is a comma-separated list of (option name=option value) pairs,
+like the following example: "style=Karpov,blunder rate=0".
+If an option announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol
+matches one of the option names (i.e. "style" or "blunder rate"),
+it would be set to the given value (i.e. "Karpov" or 0)
+through a corresponding option command to the engine.
+This provided that the type of the value (text or numeric) matches as well.
+@item -firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
+@itemx -secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN string
+@cindex firstNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
+@cindex secondNeedsNoncompliantFEN, option
+The castling rights and e.p. fields of the FEN sent to the mentioned engine
+with the setboard command will be replaced by the given string. This can for
+instance be used to run engines that do not understand Chess960 FENs in
+variant fischerandom, to make them at least understand the opening position,
+through setting the string to "KQkq -". (Note you also have to give the e.p. field!)
+Other possible applications are to provide work-arounds for engines that want to see
+castling and e.p. fields in variants that do not have castling or e.p.
+(shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that XBoard would normally omit them
+(string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by XBoard
+(e.g. to indicate the number of checks in 3check).
@end table
@node UCI + WB Engine Settings
Indicates if the mentioned engine executable file is an 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
-through a .ini temporary file ceated for the purpose.
+through a .ini temporary file created for the purpose.
@item -PolyglotDir filename
@cindex PolyglotDir, option
Gives the name of the directory in which the Polyglot adapter for UCI engines expects its files.
Default: "/usr/local/share/polyglot".
@item -usePolyglotBook true/false
@cindex usePolyglotBook, option
-Specifies if the Polygot book should be used.
+Specifies if the Polyglot book should be used.
@item -PolyglotBook filename
@cindex PolyglotBook, option
Gives the filename of the opening book that Polyglot should use.
-From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
+From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native XBoard/WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
provided the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI} applying to the engine
is set to false.
The engine will be kept in force mode as long as the current position is in book,
and XBoard will select the book moves for it. Default "".
-@item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
-@itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
+@item -fNoOwnBookUCI or -firstXBook or -firstHasOwnBookUCI true/false
+@itemx -sNoOwnBookUCI or -secondXBook or -secondHasOwnBookUCI true/false
@cindex fNoOwnBookUCI, option
@cindex sNoOwnBookUCI, option
@cindex firstHasOwnBookUCI, option
@cindex secondHasOwnBookUCI, option
+@cindex firstXBook, option
+@cindex secondXBook, option
Indicates if the mentioned engine has its own opening book it should play from,
rather than using the external book through XBoard. Default: false.
@item -defaultHashSize n
@cindex defaultHashSize, option
Sets the size of the hash table to n MegaBytes. Together with the EGTB cache size
-this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
-for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
+this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
+for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
@item -defaultCacheSizeEGTB n
@cindex defaultCacheSizeEGTB, option
Sets the size of the EGTB cache to n MegaBytes. Together with the hash-table size
-this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
-for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
+this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
+for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
@item -defaultPathEGTB filename
@cindex defaultPathEGTB, option
Gives the name of the directory where the end-game tablebases are installed, for UCI engines.
the given character I/O device instead of opening a TCP connection.
Use this option if your system does not have any kind of
Internet connection itself (not even a SLIP or PPP connection),
-but you do have dialup access (or a hardwired terminal line) to
+but you do have dial-up access (or a hardwired terminal line) to
an Internet service provider from which you can telnet to the ICS.
The support for this option in XBoard is minimal. You need to
@cindex autoObserve, option
Sets the Auto Observe menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
@item -autoKibitz
-@cindex autoKibitz, option`
+@cindex autoKibitz, option
Enables kibitzing of the engines last thinking output (depth, score, time, speed, PV)
before it moved
to the ICS, in zippy mode. The option @code{showThinking} must be switched on for
this option to work.
+Also diverts similar kibitz information of an opponent engine that is playing you
+through the ICS to the engine-output window, as if the engine was playing locally.
@item -moves/-xmoves or -getMoveList true/false
@cindex moves, option
@cindex getMoveList, option
Sets the ICS Alarm menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
@item -icsAlarmTime ms
@cindex icsAlarmTime, option
-Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option.
+Sets the time in milliseconds for the ICS Alarm menu option.
@xref{Options Menu}. Default: 5000.
+@item lowTimeWarning true/false
+@cindex lowTimeWarning, option
+Controls a color change of the board as a warning your time is running out.
+@xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
@item -pre/-xpre \fRor\fB -premove true/false
@cindex pre, option
@cindex premove, option
xboard*soundIcsUnfinished: unfinished.wav
xboard*soundIcsAlarm: alarm.wav
@end example
+@item -dropMenu true|false
+@cindex dropMenu, option
+This option allows you to emulate old behavior,
+where the right mouse button brings up the (now deprecated) drop menu
+rather than displaying the position at the end of the principal variation.
+Default: False.
@end table
@node Load and Save options
specifies the standard output.
@item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
@cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option`
-If this option is set, WinBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
+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 -pgnEventHeader string
Default: "Computer Chess Game".
@item -saveOutOfBookInfo true/false
@cindex saveOutOfBookInfo, option`
-Include the information on how the engine(s) game out of its opening book in a special annotator tag with the PGN file.@item -oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false
+Include the information on how the engine(s) game out of its opening book
+in a special 'annotator' tag with the PGN file.
+@item -oldsave/-xoldsave or -oldSaveStyle true/false
@cindex oldsave, option
@cindex oldSaveStyle, option
Sets the Old Save Style menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: false.
+@item -gameListTags string
+@cindex gameListTags, option
+The character string lists the PGN tags that should be printed in the
+Game List, and their order. The meaning of the codes is e=event,
+s=site, d=date, o=round, p=players, r=result, w=white Elo, b=black Elo,
+t=time control, v=variant, a=out-of-book info, c=result comment.
+Default: "eprd"
+@item -ini or -settingsFile filename
+@itemx -saveSettingsFile filename
+@itemx @@filename
+@cindex saveSettingsFile, option
+@cindex SettingsFile, option
+@cindex init, option
+@cindex at sign, option
+When XBoard encounters an option -settingsFile (or -ini for short),
+or @@filename, it tries to read the mentioned file,
+and substitutes the contents of it (presumaby more command-line options)
+in place of the option.
+In the case of -ini or -settingsFile, the name of a successfully read
+settings file is also remembered as the file to use for saving settings
+(automatically on exit, or on user command).
+An option of the form @@filename does not affect saving.
+The option -saveSettingsFile does specify a name of the file to use
+for saving, without reading any options from it, and is thus also effective
+when the file did not exist yet.
+So the settings will be saved to the file specified in the last
+-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
+a -saveSettingsFile and -settingsFile options to specify a settings file
+accessible to the individual user, such as ~/.xboardrc in the user's
+home directory.
@end table
@node User interface options
@cindex geometry, option
@cindex iconic, option
These and most other standard Xt options are accepted.
+@item -noGUI
+@cindex noGUI, option
+Suppresses all GUI functions of XBoard
+(to speed up automated ultra-fast engine-engine games, which you dont want to watch).
+There will be no board or clock updates, no printing of moves,
+and no update of the icon on the task bar in this mode.
@item -movesound/-xmovesound or -ringBellAfterMoves true/false
@cindex movesound, option
@cindex bell, option
Medium 64x64, Moderate 58x58, Average 54x54, Middling 49x49, Mediocre
45x45, Small 40x40, Slim 37x37, Petite 33x33, Dinky 29x29, Teeny 25x25,
or Tiny 21x21.
-Pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
+Orthodox pieces of all these sizes are built into XBoard.
Other sizes can
be used if you have them; see the pixmapDirectory and bitmapDirectory
options.
+Complete sets of un-orthodox pieces are only provided in sizes
+Bulky, Middling and (to a lesser extent) Petite;
+Archbishop, Marshall and Amazon are also available in all sizes between
+Bulky and Petite.
+When no bitmap is available, the piece will be displayed as Amazon or King.
The default depends on the size of your screen; it is approximately the
largest size that will fit without clipping.
Determines whether XBoard displays its pieces and squares with
two colors (true) or four (false). You shouldn't have to
specify @code{monoMode}; XBoard will determine if it is necessary.
+@item -showTargetSquares true/false
+@cindex showTargetSquares, option
+Determines whether XBoard can highlight the squares a piece has
+legal moves to, when you grab that piece with the mouse.
+If this option is set, this feature can be controlled through
+the Highlight Dragging menu item.
@item -flashCount count
@itemx -flashRate rate
@itemx -flash/-xflash
@itemx -lightSquareColor color
@itemx -darkSquareColor color
@itemx -highlightSquareColor color
+@itemx -lowTimeWarningColor color
@cindex Colors
@cindex whitePieceColor, option
@cindex blackPieceColor, option
@cindex lightSquareColor, option
@cindex darkSquareColor, option
@cindex highlightSquareColor, option
+@cindex lowTimeWarningColor, option
Colors to use for the pieces, squares, and square highlights.
Defaults:
-darkSquareColor #77A26D
-highlightSquareColor #FFFF00
-premoveHighlightColor #FF0000
+-lowTimeWarningColor #FF0000
@end example
On a grayscale monitor you might prefer:
-darkSquareColor gray60
-highlightSquareColor gray100
-premoveHighlightColor gray70
+-lowTimeWarningColor gray70
@end example
@item -drag/-xdrag or -animateDragging true/false
@cindex drag, option
@cindex -animateSpeed, option
Number of milliseconds delay between each animation frame when Animate
Moves is on.
+@item -autoDisplayComment true/false
+@itemx -autoDisplayTags true/false
+@cindex -autoDisplayComment, option
+@cindex -autoDisplayTags, option
+If set to true, these options cause the window with the move comments,
+and the window with PGN tags, respectively, to pop up automatically when
+such tags or comments are encountered during the replaying a stored or
+loaded game. Default: true.
+@item -pasteSelection true/false
+@cindex -pasteSelection, option
+If this option is set to true, the Paste Position and Paste Game
+options paste from the currently selected text. If false, they paste
+from the clipboard. Default: false.
@end table
@node Adjudication Options
is below the given score threshold for that engine. Make sure the score
is interpreted properly by XBoard,
using @code{-firstScoreAbs} and @code{-secondScoreAbs} if needed.
-Default: 0 (no adjudiction)
+Default: 0 (no adjudication)
@item -adjudicateDrawMoves n
@cindex adjudicateDrawMoves, option
If the given value is non-zero, XBoard adjudicates the game as a draw
-if after the given number of moves it was not yet decided. Defaut: 0 (no adjudication)
+if after the given number of moves it was not yet decided. Default: 0 (no adjudication)
@item -checkMates true/false
@cindex checkMates, option
If this option is set, XBoard detects all checkmates and stalemates,
gothic similar, with a better initial position
caparandom An FRC-like version of Capablanca Chess (10x8)
janus A game with two Archbishops (10x8 board)
-courier Medieval intermedite between shatranj and
+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
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)
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
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 (offboard
-interposition on mate), losers, suicide, giveaway, atomic, and 3check
-are not fully understood.
+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 offboard pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
+track of off-board pieces. In shatranj it does implement the baring
rule when mate detection is switched on.
@item -boardHeight N
@cindex boardHeight, option
@cindex debug, option
@cindex debugMode, option
Turns on debugging printout.
+@item -debugFile filename or -nameOfDebugFile filename
+@cindex debugFile, option
+@cindex nameOfDebugFile, option
+Sets the name of the file to which XBoard saves debug information
+(including all communication to and from the engines).
+@item -engineDebugOutput number
+@cindex engineDebugOutput, option
+Specifies how XBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
+with respect to saving it in the debug file.
+The output is further (hopefully) ignored.
+If number=0, XBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
+If number=1, all engine output is written faithfully to the debug file.
+If number=2, any protocol-violating line is prefixed with a '#' character,
+as the engine itself should have done if it wanted to submit info for inclusion in the debug file.
+This option is provided for the benefit of applications that use the debug file
+as a source of information, such as the broadcaster of live games TLCV / TLCS.
+Such applications can be protected from spurious engine output that might otherwise confuse them.
@item -rsh or -remoteShell shell-name
@cindex rsh, option
@cindex remoteShell, option
@cindex userName, option
Name under which the Human player will be listed in the PGN file.
Default is the login name on your local computer.
+@item -delayBeforeQuit number
+@itemx -delayAfterQuit number
+@cindex delayBeforeQuit, option
+@cindex delayAfterQuit, option
+These options specify how long XBoard has to wait before sending a termination signal to rogue engine processes, that do not want to react to the 'quit' command. The second one determines the pause after killing the engine, to make sure it dies.
+
@end table
@node Chess Servers
the piece you are trying to drop. But this way of dropping pieces should be considered
an obsolete feature, now that pieces can be dropped by dragging them from the holdings
to the board. Anyway, if you would attempt an illegal move when using a chess engine or the ICS,
-WinBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
+XBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
FEN positions saved by XBoard do include correct information about whether castling or
en passant are legal, and also handle the 50-move counter.
The mate detector does not understand that non-contact mate is not really mate in bughouse.
@cindex Problems
@cindex Reporting problems
-Report bugs and problems with XBoard to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}.
+You can report bugs and problems with XBoard using
+the bug tracker at @code{https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/}
+or by sending mail to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}. It can also
+be useful to report or discuss bugs in the WinBoard Forum at
+@code{http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/},
+WinBoard development section.
Please use the @file{script} program to start a typescript, run
XBoard with the @samp{-debug} option, and include the typescript
output in your message.
Also tell us what kind of machine and what operating system version
you are using. The command @samp{uname -a} will often tell you this.
-Here is a sample of approximately what you should type:
-
-@example
-script
-uname -a
-./configure
-make
-./xboard -debug
-exit
-mail bug-xboard@@gnu.org
-Subject: Your short description of the problem
-Your detailed description of the problem
-~r typescript
-.
-@end example
-
-The WinBoard / XBoard 4.3 line is being developed by H.G. Muller
-independently of the GNU Savannah xboard project.
-Bug reports on this version, and suggestions for improvements and additions,
-are best posted in the WinBoard forum,
-WinBoard-development section (http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum).
If you improve XBoard, please send a message about your changes,
and we will get in touch with you about merging them in
to the main line of development.
-Also see our Web site at http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/.
@node Contributors
@chapter Authors and contributors
@cindex Authors
@cindex Contributors
-Tim Mann has been responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 and beyond, and
-for WinBoard, a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32 (Windows NT and
-Windows 95). H.G.Muller is responsible for version 4.3.
-
-Mark Williams contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation
-of many new features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version
-4.1.0, including copy/paste, premove, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training
-mode, auto raise, and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste
-code for XBoard.
-
-Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to XBoard, and Henrik Gram
-(henrikg@@funcom.com) added it to WinBoard. Frank McIngvale added
-click/click moving, the Analysis modes, piece flashing, ZIICS import,
-and ICS text colorization to XBoard. Jochen Wiedmann ported XBoard to
-the Amiga, creating AmyBoard, and converted the documentation to
-texinfo. Elmar Bartel contributed the new piece bitmaps introduced in
-version 3.2. John Chanak contributed the initial implementation of
-ICS mode. The color scheme and the old 80x80 piece bitmaps were taken
+Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
+responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2. The color scheme was taken
from Wayne Christopher's @code{XChess} program.
-Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
-responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2.
+Tim Mann was primarily responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 through
+4.2.7, and for WinBoard (a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32) from its
+inception through version 4.2.7.
+
+John Chanak contributed the initial implementation of ICS mode. Evan
+Welsh wrote @code{CMail}, and Patrick Surry helped in designing,
+testing, and documenting it. Elmar Bartel contributed the new piece
+bitmaps introduced in version 3.2. Jochen Wiedmann converted the
+documentation to texinfo. Frank McIngvale added click/click moving,
+the Analysis modes, piece flashing, ZIICS import, and ICS text
+colorization to XBoard. Hugh Fisher added animated piece movement to
+XBoard, and Henrik Gram added it to WinBoard. Mark Williams
+contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation of many new
+features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version 4.1.0, including
+copy/paste, premove, icsAlarm, autoFlipView, training mode, auto
+raise, and blindfold. Ben Nye contributed X copy/paste code for
+XBoard.
-Evan Welsh wrote @code{CMail}. Patrick Surry helped in designing,
-testing, and documenting CMail.
+In a fork from version 4.2.7, Alessandro Scotti added many elements to
+the user interface of WinBoard, including the board textures and
+font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph, move-history and
+engine-output window. He was also responsible for adding the UCI
+support.
+
+H. G. Muller continued this fork of the project, producing version
+4.3. He made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware, added variant support
+with adjustable board sizes, the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy
+pieces. In addition he added most of the adjudication options, made
+WinBoard more robust in dealing with buggy and crashing engines, and
+extended time control with a time-odds and node-count-based modes.
+Most of the options that initially were WinBoard only have now been
+back-ported to XBoard.
-Allessandro Scotti added many elements to the user interface of WinBoard,
-including the board textures and font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph,
-move-history and engine-output window.
-He was also responsible for adding the UCI support.
+Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
-H.G. Muller made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware,
-added variant support with adjustable board sizes,
-the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy pieces.
-In addition he added most of the adjudication options,
-made WinBoard more robust in dealing with buggy and crashing engines,
-and extended time control with a time-odds and node-count-based modes.
-Most of the options that initially wre WinBoard only have now been back-ported to XBoard.
+Meanwhile, some work continued on the GNU XBoard project maintained at
+savannah.gnu.org, but version 4.2.8 was never released. Daniel
+Mehrmann was responsible for much of this work.
-Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
+Most recently, Arun Persaud worked with H. G. Muller to merge all
+the features of the never-released XBoard/WinBoard 4.2.8 of the GNU
+XBoard project and the never-released 4.3.16 from H. G.'s fork into a
+unified XBoard/WinBoard 4.4, which is now available both from the
+savannah.gnu.org web site and the WinBoard forum.
@node CMail
@chapter CMail
environment variable @code{$CMAIL_MAILPROG} or failing that
@file{/usr/ucb/Mail}, @file{/usr/ucb/mail} or @file{Mail}. You will need
to set this variable if none of the above paths fit your system.
-@item -gamesFile <file>
-@cindex .cmailgames
-A file containing a list of games with email addresses. This defaults to
-the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_GAMES} or failing that
-@file{.cmailgames}.
-@item -aliasesFile <file>
-@cindex .cmailaliases
-A file containing one or more aliases for a set of email addresses. This
-defaults to the environment variable @code{$CMAIL_ALIASES} or failing
-that @file{.cmailaliases}.
@item -logFile <file>
A file in which to dump verbose debugging messages that are invoked with
the @samp{-v}
@node Fairy-Max
@section Fairy-Max
-Fairy-Max is a derivative from the World's smallest Chess program micro-Max,
+Fairy-Max is a derivative from the once World's smallest Chess program micro-Max,
which measures only about 100 lines of source code.
The main difference with micro-Max is that Fairy-Max loads its move-generator
tables from a file, so that the rules for piece movement can be easily configured
to implement unorthodox pieces.
-Fairy-Max can therefore play a lage number of variants, normal Chess being one of those.
-In addition it plas Knightmate, Capablanca and Gothic Chess, Shatranj, Courier Chess,
+Fairy-Max can therefore play a large number of variants, normal Chess being one of those.
+In addition it plays Knightmate, Capablanca and Gothic Chess, Shatranj, Courier Chess,
Cylinder chess, Berolina Chess, while the user can easily define new variants.
It can be obtained from:
projects / xboard.git / blobdiff