1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1278 1279 1280 1281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 2079 2080 2081 2082 2083 2084 2085 2086 2087 2088 2089 2090 2091 2092 2093 2094 2095 2096 2097 2098 2099 2100 2101 2102 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 2109 2110 2111 2112 2113 2114 2115 2116 2117 2118 2119 2120 2121 2122 2123 2124 2125 2126 2127 2128 2129 2130 2131 2132 2133 2134 2135 2136 2137 2138 2139 2140 2141 2142 2143 2144 2145 2146 2147 2148 2149 2150 2151 2152 2153 2154 2155 2156 2157 2158 2159 2160 2161 2162 2163 2164 2165 2166 2167 2168 2169 2170 2171 2172 2173 2174 2175 2176 2177 2178 2179 2180 2181 2182 2183 2184 2185 2186 2187 2188 2189 2190 2191 2192 2193 2194 2195 2196 2197 2198 2199 2200 2201 2202 2203 2204 2205 2206 2207 2208 2209 2210 2211 2212 2213 2214 2215 2216 2217 2218 2219 2220 2221 2222 2223 2224 2225 2226 2227 2228 2229 2230 2231 2232 2233 2234 2235 2236 2237 2238 2239 2240 2241 2242 2243 2244 2245 2246 2247 2248 2249 2250 2251 2252 2253 2254 2255 2256 2257 2258 2259 2260 2261 2262 2263 2264 2265 2266 2267 2268 2269 2270 2271 2272 2273 2274 2275 2276 2277 2278 2279 2280 2281 2282 2283 2284 2285 2286 2287 2288 2289 2290 2291 2292 2293 2294 2295 2296 2297 2298 2299 2300 2301 2302 2303 2304 2305 2306 2307 2308 2309 2310 2311 2312 2313 2314 2315 2316 2317 2318 2319 2320 2321 2322 2323 2324 2325 2326 2327 2328 2329 2330 2331 2332 2333 2334 2335 2336 2337 2338 2339 2340 2341 2342 2343 2344 2345 2346 2347 2348 2349 2350 2351 2352 2353 2354 2355 2356 2357 2358 2359 2360 2361 2362 2363 2364 2365 2366 2367 2368 2369 2370 2371 2372 2373 2374 2375 2376 2377 2378 2379 2380 2381 2382 2383 2384 2385 2386 2387 2388 2389 2390 2391 2392 2393 2394 2395 2396 2397 2398 2399 2400 2401 2402 2403 2404 2405 2406 2407 2408 2409 2410 2411 2412 2413 2414 2415 2416 2417 2418 2419 2420 2421 2422 2423 2424 2425 2426 2427 2428 2429 2430 2431 2432 2433 2434 2435 2436 2437 2438 2439 2440 2441 2442 2443 2444 2445 2446 2447 2448 2449 2450 2451 2452 2453 2454 2455 2456 2457 2458 2459 2460 2461 2462 2463 2464 2465 2466 2467 2468 2469 2470 2471 2472 2473 2474 2475 2476 2477 2478 2479 2480 2481 2482 2483 2484 2485 2486 2487 2488 2489 2490 2491 2492 2493 2494 2495 2496 2497 2498 2499 2500 2501 2502 2503 2504 2505 2506 2507 2508 2509 2510 2511 2512 2513 2514 2515 2516 2517 2518 2519 2520 2521 2522 2523 2524 2525 2526 2527 2528 2529 2530 2531 2532 2533 2534 2535 2536 2537 2538 2539 2540 2541 2542 2543 2544 2545 2546 2547 2548 2549 2550 2551 2552 2553 2554 2555 2556 2557 2558 2559 2560 2561 2562 2563 2564 2565 2566 2567 2568 2569 2570 2571 2572 2573 2574 2575 2576 2577 2578 2579 2580 2581 2582 2583 2584 2585 2586 2587 2588 2589 2590 2591 2592 2593 2594 2595 2596 2597 2598 2599 2600 2601 2602 2603 2604 2605 2606 2607 2608 2609 2610 2611 2612 2613 2614 2615 2616 2617 2618 2619 2620 2621 2622 2623 2624 2625 2626 2627 2628 2629 2630 2631 2632 2633 2634 2635 2636 2637 2638 2639 2640 2641 2642 2643 2644 2645 2646 2647 2648 2649 2650 2651 2652 2653 2654 2655 2656 2657 2658 2659 2660 2661 2662 2663 2664 2665 2666 2667 2668 2669 2670 2671 2672 2673 2674 2675 2676 2677 2678 2679 2680 2681 2682 2683 2684 2685 2686 2687 2688 2689 2690 2691 2692 2693 2694 2695 2696 2697 2698 2699 2700 2701 2702 2703 2704 2705 2706 2707 2708 2709 2710 2711 2712 2713 2714 2715 2716 2717 2718 2719 2720 2721 2722 2723 2724 2725 2726 2727 2728 2729 2730 2731 2732 2733 2734 2735 2736 2737 2738 2739 2740 2741 2742 2743 2744 2745 2746 2747 2748 2749 2750 2751 2752 2753 2754 2755 2756 2757 2758 2759 2760 2761 2762 2763 2764 2765 2766 2767 2768 2769 2770 2771 2772 2773 2774 2775 2776 2777 2778 2779 2780 2781 2782 2783 2784 2785 2786 2787 2788 2789 2790 2791 2792 2793 2794 2795 2796 2797 2798 2799 2800 2801 2802 2803 2804 2805 2806 2807 2808 2809 2810 2811 2812 2813 2814 2815 2816 2817 2818 2819 2820 2821 2822 2823 2824 2825 2826 2827 2828 2829 2830 2831 2832 2833 2834 2835 2836 2837 2838 2839 2840 2841 2842 2843 2844 2845 2846 2847 2848 2849 2850 2851 2852 2853 2854 2855 2856 2857 2858 2859 2860 2861 2862 2863 2864 2865 2866 2867 2868 2869 2870 2871 2872 2873 2874 2875 2876 2877 2878 2879 2880 2881 2882 2883 2884 2885 2886 2887 2888 2889 2890 2891 2892 2893 2894 2895 2896 2897 2898 2899 2900 2901 2902 2903 2904 2905 2906 2907 2908 2909 2910 2911 2912 2913 2914 2915 2916 2917 2918 2919 2920 2921 2922 2923 2924 2925 2926 2927 2928 2929 2930 2931 2932 2933 2934 2935 2936 2937 2938 2939 2940 2941 2942 2943 2944 2945 2946 2947 2948 2949 2950 2951 2952 2953 2954 2955 2956 2957 2958 2959 2960 2961 2962 2963 2964 2965 2966 2967 2968 2969 2970 2971 2972 2973 2974 2975 2976 2977 2978 2979 2980 2981 2982 2983 2984 2985 2986 2987 2988 2989 2990 2991 2992 2993 2994 2995 2996 2997 2998 2999 3000 3001 3002 3003 3004 3005 3006 3007 3008 3009 3010 3011 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033 3034 3035 3036 3037 3038 3039 3040 3041 3042 3043 3044 3045 3046 3047 3048 3049 3050 3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3067 3068 3069 3070 3071 3072 3073 3074 3075 3076 3077 3078 3079 3080 3081 3082 3083 3084 3085 3086 3087 3088 3089 3090 3091 3092 3093 3094 3095 3096 3097 3098 3099 3100 3101 3102 3103 3104 3105 3106 3107 3108 3109 3110 3111 3112 3113 3114 3115 3116 3117 3118 3119 3120 3121 3122 3123 3124 3125 3126 3127 3128 3129 3130 3131 3132 3133 3134 3135 3136 3137 3138 3139 3140 3141 3142 3143 3144 3145 3146 3147 3148 3149 3150 3151 3152 3153 3154 3155 3156 3157 3158 3159 3160 3161 3162 3163 3164 3165 3166 3167 3168 3169 3170 3171 3172 3173 3174 3175 3176 3177 3178 3179 3180 3181 3182 3183 3184 3185 3186 3187 3188 3189 3190 3191 3192 3193 3194 3195 3196 3197 3198 3199 3200 3201 3202 3203 3204 3205 3206 3207 3208 3209 3210 3211 3212 3213 3214 3215 3216 3217 3218 3219 3220 3221 3222 3223 3224 3225 3226 3227 3228 3229 3230 3231 3232 3233 3234 3235 3236 3237 3238 3239 3240 3241 3242 3243 3244 3245 3246 3247 3248 3249 3250 3251 3252 3253 3254 3255 3256 3257 3258 3259 3260 3261 3262 3263 3264 3265 3266 3267 3268 3269 3270 3271 3272 3273 3274 3275 3276 3277 3278 3279 3280 3281 3282 3283 3284 3285 3286 3287 3288 3289 3290 3291 3292 3293 3294 3295 3296 3297 3298 3299 3300 3301 3302 3303 3304 3305 3306 3307 3308 3309 3310 3311 3312 3313 3314 3315 3316 3317 3318 3319 3320 3321 3322 3323 3324 3325 3326 3327 3328 3329 3330 3331 3332 3333 3334 3335 3336 3337 3338 3339 3340 3341 3342 3343 3344 3345 3346 3347 3348 3349 3350 3351 3352 3353 3354 3355 3356 3357 3358 3359 3360 3361 3362 3363 3364 3365 3366 3367 3368 3369 3370 3371 3372 3373 3374 3375 3376 3377 3378 3379 3380 3381 3382 3383 3384 3385 3386 3387 3388 3389 3390 3391 3392 3393 3394 3395 3396 3397 3398 3399 3400 3401 3402 3403 3404 3405 3406 3407 3408 3409 3410 3411 3412 3413 3414 3415 3416 3417 3418 3419 3420 3421 3422 3423 3424 3425 3426 3427 3428 3429 3430 3431 3432 3433 3434 3435 3436 3437 3438 3439 3440 3441 3442 3443 3444 3445 3446 3447 3448 3449 3450 3451 3452 3453 3454 3455 3456 3457 3458 3459 3460 3461 3462 3463 3464 3465 3466 3467 3468 3469 3470 3471 3472 3473 3474 3475 3476 3477 3478 3479 3480 3481 3482 3483 3484 3485 3486 3487 3488 3489 3490 3491 3492 3493 3494 3495 3496 3497 3498 3499 3500 3501 3502 3503 3504 3505 3506 3507 3508 3509 3510 3511 3512 3513 3514 3515 3516 3517 3518 3519 3520 3521 3522 3523 3524 3525 3526 3527 3528 3529 3530 3531 3532 3533 3534 3535 3536 3537 3538 3539 3540 3541 3542 3543 3544 3545 3546 3547 3548 3549 3550 3551 3552 3553 3554 3555 3556 3557 3558 3559 3560 3561 3562 3563 3564 3565 3566 3567 3568 3569 3570 3571 3572 3573 3574 3575 3576 3577 3578 3579 3580 3581 3582 3583 3584 3585 3586 3587 3588 3589 3590 3591 3592 3593 3594 3595 3596 3597 3598 3599 3600 3601 3602 3603 3604 3605 3606 3607 3608 3609 3610 3611 3612 3613 3614 3615 3616 3617 3618 3619 3620 3621 3622 3623 3624 3625 3626 3627 3628 3629 3630 3631 3632 3633 3634 3635 3636 3637 3638 3639 3640 3641 3642 3643 3644 3645 3646 3647 3648 3649 3650 3651 3652 3653 3654 3655 3656 3657 3658 3659 3660 3661 3662 3663 3664 3665 3666 3667 3668 3669 3670 3671 3672 3673 3674 3675 3676 3677 3678 3679 3680 3681 3682 3683 3684 3685 3686 3687 3688 3689 3690 3691 3692 3693 3694 3695 3696 3697 3698 3699 3700 3701 3702 3703 3704 3705 3706 3707 3708 3709 3710 3711 3712 3713 3714 3715 3716 3717 3718 3719 3720 3721 3722 3723 3724 3725 3726 3727 3728 3729 3730 3731 3732 3733 3734 3735 3736 3737 3738 3739 3740 3741 3742 3743 3744 3745 3746 3747 3748 3749 3750 3751 3752 3753 3754 3755 3756 3757 3758 3759 3760 3761 3762 3763 3764 3765 3766 3767 3768 3769 3770 3771 3772 3773 3774 3775 3776 3777 3778 3779 3780 3781 3782 3783 3784 3785 3786 3787 3788 3789 3790 3791 3792 3793 3794 3795 3796 3797 3798 3799 3800 3801 3802 3803 3804 3805 3806 3807 3808 3809 3810 3811 3812 3813 3814 3815 3816 3817 3818 3819 3820 3821 3822 3823 3824 3825 3826 3827 3828 3829 3830 3831 3832 3833 3834 3835 3836 3837 3838 3839 3840 3841 3842 3843 3844 3845 3846 3847 3848 3849 3850 3851 3852 3853 3854 3855 3856 3857 3858 3859 3860 3861 3862 3863 3864 3865 3866 3867 3868 3869 3870 3871 3872 3873 3874 3875 3876 3877 3878 3879 3880 3881 3882 3883 3884 3885 3886 3887 3888 3889 3890 3891 3892 3893 3894 3895 3896 3897 3898 3899 3900 3901 3902 3903 3904 3905 3906 3907 3908 3909 3910 3911 3912 3913 3914 3915 3916 3917 3918 3919 3920 3921 3922 3923 3924 3925 3926 3927 3928 3929 3930 3931 3932 3933 3934 3935 3936 3937 3938 3939 3940 3941 3942 3943 3944 3945 3946 3947 3948 3949 3950 3951 3952 3953 3954 3955 3956 3957 3958 3959 3960 3961 3962 3963 3964 3965 3966 3967 3968 3969 3970 3971 3972 3973 3974 3975 3976 3977 3978 3979 3980 3981 3982 3983 3984 3985 3986 3987 3988 3989 3990 3991 3992 3993 3994 3995 3996 3997 3998 3999 4000 4001 4002 4003 4004 4005 4006 4007 4008 4009 4010 4011 4012 4013 4014 4015 4016 4017 4018 4019 4020 4021 4022 4023 4024 4025 4026 4027 4028 4029 4030 4031 4032 4033 4034 4035 4036 4037 4038 4039 4040 4041 4042 4043 4044 4045 4046 4047 4048 4049 4050 4051 4052 4053 4054 4055 4056 4057 4058 4059 4060 4061 4062 4063 4064 4065 4066 4067 4068 4069 4070 4071 4072 4073 4074 4075 4076 4077 4078 4079 4080 4081 4082 4083 4084 4085 4086 4087 4088 4089 4090 4091 4092 4093 4094 4095 4096 4097 4098 4099 4100 4101 4102 4103 4104 4105 4106 4107 4108 4109 4110 4111 4112 4113 4114 4115 4116 4117 4118 4119 4120 4121 4122 4123 4124 4125 4126 4127 4128 4129 4130 4131 4132 4133 4134 4135 4136 4137 4138 4139 4140 4141 4142 4143 4144 4145 4146 4147 4148 4149 4150 4151 4152 4153 4154 4155 4156 4157 4158 4159 4160 4161 4162 4163 4164 4165 4166 4167 4168 4169 4170 4171 4172 4173 4174 4175 4176 4177 4178 4179 4180 4181 4182 4183 4184 4185 4186 4187 4188 4189 4190 4191 4192 4193 4194 4195 4196 4197 4198 4199 4200 4201 4202 4203 4204 4205 4206 4207 4208 4209 4210 4211 4212 4213 4214 4215 4216 4217 4218 4219 4220 4221 4222 4223 4224 4225 4226 4227 4228 4229 4230 4231 4232 4233 4234 4235 4236 4237 4238 4239 4240 4241 4242 4243 4244 4245 4246 4247 4248 4249 4250 4251 4252 4253 4254 4255 4256 4257 4258 4259 4260 4261 4262 4263 4264 4265 4266 4267 4268 4269 4270 4271 4272 4273 4274 4275 4276 4277 4278 4279 4280 4281 4282 4283 4284 4285 4286 4287 4288 4289 4290 4291 4292 4293 4294 4295 4296 4297 4298 4299 4300 4301 4302 4303 4304 4305 4306 4307 4308 4309 4310 4311 4312 4313 4314 4315 4316 4317 4318 4319 4320 4321 4322 4323 4324 4325 4326 4327 4328 4329 4330 4331 4332 4333 4334 4335 4336 4337 4338 4339 4340 4341 4342 4343 4344 4345 4346 4347 4348 4349 4350 4351 4352 4353 4354 4355 4356 4357 4358 4359 4360 4361 4362 4363 4364 4365 4366 4367 4368 4369 4370 4371 4372 4373 4374 4375 4376 4377 4378 4379 4380 4381 4382 4383 4384 4385 4386 4387 4388 4389 4390 4391 4392 4393 4394 4395 4396 4397 4398 4399 4400 4401 4402 4403 4404 4405 4406 4407 4408 4409 4410 4411 4412 4413 4414 4415 4416 4417 4418 4419 4420 4421 4422 4423 4424 4425 4426 4427 4428 4429 4430 4431 4432 4433 4434 4435 4436 4437 4438 4439 4440 4441 4442 4443 4444 4445 4446 4447 4448 4449 4450 4451 4452 4453 4454 4455 4456 4457 4458 4459 4460 4461 4462 4463 4464 4465 4466 4467 4468 4469 4470 4471 4472 4473 4474 4475 4476 4477 4478 4479 4480 4481 4482 4483 4484 4485 4486 4487 4488 4489 4490 4491 4492 4493 4494 4495 4496 4497 4498 4499 4500 4501 4502 4503 4504 4505 4506 4507 4508 4509 4510 4511 4512 4513 4514 4515 4516 4517 4518 4519 4520 4521 4522 4523 4524 4525 4526 4527 4528 4529 4530 4531 4532 4533 4534 4535 4536 4537 4538 4539 4540 4541 4542 4543 4544 4545 4546 4547 4548 4549 4550 4551 4552 4553 4554 4555 4556 4557 4558 4559 4560 4561 4562 4563 4564 4565 4566 4567 4568 4569 4570 4571 4572 4573 4574 4575 4576 4577 4578 4579 4580 4581 4582 4583 4584 4585 4586 4587 4588 4589 4590 4591 4592 4593 4594 4595 4596 4597 4598 4599 4600 4601 4602 4603 4604 4605 4606 4607 4608 4609 4610 4611 4612 4613 4614 4615 4616 4617 4618 4619 4620 4621 4622 4623 4624 4625 4626 4627 4628 4629 4630 4631 4632 4633 4634 4635 4636 4637 4638 4639 4640 4641 4642 4643 4644 4645 4646 4647 4648 4649 4650 4651 4652 4653 4654 4655 4656 4657 4658 4659 4660 4661 4662 4663 4664 4665 4666 4667 4668 4669 4670 4671 4672 4673 4674 4675 4676 4677 4678 4679 4680 4681 4682 4683 4684 4685 4686 4687 4688 4689 4690 4691 4692 4693 4694 4695 4696 4697 4698 4699 4700 4701 4702 4703 4704 4705 4706 4707 4708 4709 4710 4711 4712 4713 4714 4715 4716 4717 4718 4719 4720 4721 4722 4723 4724 4725 4726 4727 4728 4729 4730 4731 4732 4733 4734 4735 4736 4737 4738 4739 4740 4741 4742 4743 4744 4745 4746 4747 4748 4749 4750 4751 4752 4753 4754 4755 4756 4757 4758 4759 4760 4761 4762 4763 4764 4765 4766 4767 4768 4769 4770 4771 4772 4773 4774 4775 4776 4777 4778 4779 4780 4781 4782 4783 4784 4785 4786 4787 4788 4789 4790 4791 4792 4793 4794 4795 4796 4797 4798 4799 4800 4801 4802 4803 4804 4805 4806 4807 4808 4809 4810 4811 4812 4813 4814 4815 4816 4817 4818 4819 4820 4821 4822 4823 4824 4825 4826 4827 4828 4829 4830 4831 4832 4833 4834 4835 4836 4837 4838 4839 4840 4841 4842 4843 4844 4845 4846 4847 4848 4849 4850 4851 4852 4853 4854 4855 4856 4857 4858 4859 4860 4861 4862 4863 4864 4865 4866 4867 4868 4869 4870 4871 4872 4873 4874 4875 4876 4877 4878 4879 4880 4881 4882 4883 4884 4885 4886 4887 4888 4889 4890 4891 4892 4893 4894 4895 4896 4897 4898 4899 4900 4901 4902 4903 4904 4905 4906 4907 4908 4909 4910 4911 4912 4913 4914 4915 4916 4917 4918 4919 4920 4921 4922 4923 4924 4925 4926 4927 4928 4929 4930 4931 4932 4933 4934 4935 4936 4937 4938 4939 4940 4941 4942 4943 4944 4945 4946 4947 4948 4949 4950 4951 4952 4953 4954 4955 4956 4957 4958 4959 4960 4961 4962 4963 4964 4965 4966 4967 4968 4969 4970 4971 4972 4973 4974 4975 4976 4977 4978 4979 4980 4981 4982 4983 4984 4985 4986 4987 4988 4989 4990 4991 4992 4993 4994 4995 4996 4997 4998 4999 5000 5001 5002 5003 5004 5005 5006 5007 5008 5009 5010 5011 5012 5013 5014 5015 5016 5017 5018 5019 5020 5021 5022 5023 5024 5025 5026 5027 5028 5029 5030 5031 5032 5033 5034 5035 5036 5037 5038 5039 5040 5041 5042 5043 5044 5045 5046 5047 5048 5049 5050 5051 5052 5053 5054 5055 5056 5057 5058 5059 5060 5061 5062 5063 5064 5065 5066 5067 5068 5069 5070 5071 5072 5073 5074 5075 5076 5077 5078 5079 5080 5081 5082 5083 5084 5085 5086 5087 5088 5089 5090 5091 5092 5093 5094 5095 5096 5097 5098 5099 5100 5101 5102 5103 5104 5105 5106 5107 5108 5109 5110 5111 5112 5113 5114 5115 5116 5117 5118 5119 5120 5121 5122 5123 5124 5125 5126 5127 5128 5129 5130 5131 5132 5133 5134 5135 5136 5137 5138 5139 5140 5141 5142 5143 5144 5145 5146 5147 5148 5149 5150 5151 5152 5153 5154 5155 5156 5157 5158 5159 5160 5161 5162 5163 5164 5165 5166 5167 5168 5169 5170 5171 5172 5173 5174 5175 5176 5177 5178 5179 5180 5181 5182 5183 5184 5185 5186 5187 5188 5189 5190 5191 5192 5193 5194 5195 5196 5197 5198 5199 5200 5201 5202 5203 5204 5205 5206 5207 5208 5209 5210 5211 5212 5213 5214 5215 5216 5217 5218 5219 5220 5221 5222 5223 5224 5225 5226 5227 5228 5229 5230 5231 5232 5233 5234 5235 5236 5237 5238 5239 5240 5241 5242 5243 5244 5245 5246 5247 5248 5249 5250 5251 5252 5253 5254 5255 5256 5257 5258 5259 5260 5261 5262 5263 5264 5265 5266 5267 5268 5269 5270 5271 5272 5273 5274 5275 5276 5277 5278 5279 5280 5281 5282 5283 5284 5285 5286 5287 5288 5289 5290 5291 5292 5293 5294 5295 5296 5297 5298 5299 5300 5301 5302 5303 5304 5305 5306 5307 5308 5309 5310 5311 5312 5313 5314 5315 5316 5317 5318 5319 5320 5321 5322 5323 5324 5325 5326 5327 5328 5329 5330 5331 5332 5333 5334 5335 5336 5337 5338 5339 5340 5341 5342 5343 5344 5345 5346 5347 5348 5349 5350 5351 5352 5353 5354 5355 5356 5357 5358 5359 5360 5361 5362 5363 5364 5365 5366 5367 5368 5369 5370 5371 5372 5373 5374 5375 5376 5377 5378 5379 5380 5381 5382 5383 5384 5385 5386 5387 5388 5389 5390 5391 5392 5393 5394 5395 5396 5397 5398 5399 5400 5401 5402 5403 5404 5405 5406 5407 5408 5409 5410 5411 5412 5413 5414 5415 5416 5417 5418 5419 5420 5421 5422 5423 5424 5425 5426 5427 5428 5429 5430 5431 5432 5433 5434 5435 5436 5437 5438 5439 5440 5441 5442 5443 5444 5445 5446 5447 5448 5449 5450 5451 5452 5453 5454 5455 5456 5457 5458 5459 5460 5461 5462 5463 5464 5465 5466 5467 5468 5469 5470 5471 5472 5473 5474 5475 5476 5477 5478 5479 5480 5481 5482 5483 5484 5485 5486 5487 5488 5489 5490 5491 5492 5493 5494 5495 5496 5497 5498 5499 5500 5501 5502 5503 5504 5505 5506 5507 5508 5509 5510 5511 5512 5513 5514 5515 5516 5517 5518 5519 5520 5521 5522 5523 5524 5525 5526 5527 5528 5529 5530 5531 5532 5533 5534 5535 5536 5537 5538 5539 5540 5541 5542 5543 5544 5545 5546 5547 5548 5549 5550 5551 5552 5553 5554 5555 5556 5557 5558 5559 5560 5561 5562 5563 5564 5565 5566 5567 5568 5569 5570 5571 5572 5573 5574 5575 5576 5577 5578 5579 5580 5581 5582 5583 5584 5585 5586 5587 5588 5589 5590 5591 5592 5593 5594 5595 5596 5597 5598 5599 5600 5601 5602 5603 5604 5605 5606 5607 5608 5609 5610 5611 5612 5613 5614 5615 5616 5617 5618 5619 5620 5621 5622 5623 5624 5625 5626 5627 5628 5629 5630 5631 5632 5633 5634 5635 5636 5637 5638 5639 5640 5641 5642 5643 5644 5645 5646 5647 5648 5649 5650 5651 5652 5653 5654 5655 5656 5657 5658 5659 5660 5661 5662 5663 5664 5665 5666 5667 5668 5669 5670 5671 5672 5673 5674 5675 5676 5677 5678 5679 5680 5681 5682 5683 5684 5685 5686 5687 5688 5689 5690 5691 5692 5693 5694 5695 5696 5697 5698 5699 5700 5701 5702 5703 5704 5705 5706 5707 5708 5709 5710 5711 5712 5713 5714 5715 5716 5717 5718 5719 5720 5721 5722 5723 5724 5725 5726 5727 5728 5729 5730 5731 5732 5733 5734 5735 5736 5737 5738 5739 5740 5741 5742 5743 5744 5745 5746 5747 5748 5749 5750 5751 5752 5753 5754 5755 5756 5757 5758 5759 5760 5761 5762 5763 5764 5765 5766 5767 5768 5769 5770 5771 5772 5773 5774 5775 5776 5777 5778 5779 5780 5781 5782 5783 5784 5785 5786 5787 5788 5789 5790 5791 5792 5793 5794 5795 5796 5797 5798 5799 5800 5801 5802 5803 5804 5805 5806 5807 5808 5809 5810 5811 5812 5813 5814 5815 5816 5817 5818 5819 5820 5821 5822 5823 5824 5825 5826 5827 5828 5829 5830 5831 5832 5833 5834 5835 5836 5837 5838 5839 5840 5841 5842 5843 5844 5845 5846 5847 5848 5849 5850 5851 5852 5853 5854 5855 5856 5857 5858 5859 5860 5861 5862 5863 5864 5865 5866 5867 5868 5869 5870 5871 5872 5873 5874 5875 5876 5877 5878 5879 5880 5881 5882 5883 5884 5885 5886 5887 5888 5889 5890 5891 5892 5893 5894 5895 5896 5897 5898 5899 5900 5901 5902 5903 5904 5905 5906 5907 5908 5909 5910 5911 5912 5913 5914 5915 5916 5917 5918 5919 5920 5921 5922 5923 5924 5925 5926 5927 5928 5929 5930 5931 5932 5933 5934 5935 5936 5937 5938 5939 5940 5941 5942 5943 5944 5945 5946 5947 5948 5949 5950 5951 5952 5953 5954 5955 5956 5957 5958 5959 5960 5961 5962 5963 5964 5965 5966 5967 5968 5969 5970 5971 5972 5973 5974 5975 5976 5977 5978 5979 5980 5981 5982 5983 5984 5985 5986 5987 5988 5989 5990 5991 5992 5993 5994 5995 5996 5997 5998 5999 6000 6001 6002 6003 6004 6005 6006 6007 6008 6009 6010 6011 6012 6013 6014 6015 6016 6017 6018 6019 6020 6021 6022 6023 6024 6025 6026 6027 6028 6029 6030 6031 6032 6033 6034 6035 6036 6037 6038 6039 6040 6041 6042 6043 6044 6045 6046 6047 6048 6049 6050 6051 6052 6053 6054 6055 6056 6057 6058 6059 6060 6061 6062 6063 6064 6065 6066 6067 6068 6069 6070 6071 6072 6073 6074 6075 6076 6077 6078 6079 6080 6081 6082 6083 6084 6085 6086 6087 6088 6089 6090 6091 6092 6093 6094 6095 6096 6097 6098 6099 6100 6101 6102 6103 6104 6105 6106 6107 6108 6109 6110 6111 6112 6113 6114 6115 6116 6117 6118 6119 6120 6121 6122 6123 6124 6125 6126 6127 6128 6129 6130 6131 6132 6133 6134 6135 6136 6137 6138 6139 6140 6141 6142 6143 6144 6145 6146 6147 6148 6149 6150 6151 6152 6153 6154 6155 6156 6157 6158 6159 6160 6161 6162 6163 6164 6165 6166 6167 6168 6169 6170 6171 6172 6173 6174 6175 6176 6177 6178 6179 6180 6181 6182 6183 6184 6185 6186 6187 6188 6189 6190 6191 6192 6193 6194 6195 6196 6197 6198 6199 6200 6201 6202 6203 6204 6205 6206 6207 6208 6209 6210 6211 6212 6213 6214 6215 6216 6217 6218 6219 6220 6221 6222 6223 6224 6225 6226 6227 6228 6229 6230 6231 6232 6233 6234 6235 6236 6237 6238 6239 6240 6241 6242 6243 6244 6245 6246 6247 6248 6249 6250 6251 6252 6253 6254 6255 6256 6257 6258 6259 6260 6261 6262 6263 6264 6265 6266 6267 6268 6269 6270 6271 6272 6273 6274 6275 6276 6277 6278 6279 6280 6281 6282 6283 6284 6285 6286 6287 6288 6289 6290 6291 6292 6293 6294 6295 6296 6297 6298 6299 6300 6301 6302 6303 6304 6305 6306 6307 6308 6309 6310 6311 6312 6313 6314 6315 6316 6317 6318 6319 6320 6321 6322 6323 6324 6325 6326 6327 6328 6329 6330 6331 6332 6333 6334 6335 6336 6337 6338 6339 6340 6341 6342 6343 6344 6345 6346 6347 6348 6349 6350 6351 6352 6353 6354 6355 6356 6357 6358 6359 6360 6361 6362 6363 6364 6365 6366 6367 6368 6369 6370 6371 6372 6373 6374 6375 6376 6377 6378 6379 6380 6381 6382 6383 6384 6385 6386 6387 6388 6389 6390 6391 6392 6393 6394 6395 6396 6397 6398 6399 6400 6401 6402 6403 6404 6405 6406 6407 6408 6409 6410 6411 6412 6413 6414 6415 6416 6417 6418 6419 6420 6421 6422 6423 6424 6425 6426 6427 6428 6429 6430 6431 6432 6433 6434 6435 6436 6437 6438 6439 6440 6441 6442 6443 6444 6445 6446 6447 6448 6449 6450 6451 6452 6453 6454 6455 6456 6457 6458 6459 6460 6461 6462 6463 6464 6465 6466 6467 6468 6469 6470 6471 6472 6473 6474 6475 6476 6477 6478 6479 6480 6481 6482 6483 6484 6485 6486 6487 6488 6489 6490 6491 6492 6493 6494 6495 6496 6497 6498 6499 6500 6501 6502 6503 6504 6505 6506 6507 6508 6509 6510 6511 6512 6513 6514 6515 6516 6517 6518 6519 6520 6521 6522 6523 6524 6525 6526 6527 6528 6529 6530 6531 6532 6533 6534 6535 6536 6537 6538 6539 6540 6541 6542 6543 6544 6545 6546 6547 6548 6549 6550 6551 6552 6553 6554 6555 6556 6557 6558 6559 6560 6561 6562 6563 6564
|
### help.tcl: Help pages for Scid.
### This file uses UTF-8
#################################################
set helpTitle(Contents) "Contents"
set helpText(Contents) {<h1>Scid Help Contents</h1>
<h4>Starting out and general help</h4>
<ul>
<li><a Guide><b>Quick Guide</b> to using Scid</a> <red>(Read this first)</red></li>
<li><a Hints><b>Hints</b> for getting more out of Scid</a></li>
<li><a MainWindow>The Scid <b>main window</b></a></li>
<li><a Menus>Scid <b>menus</b></a></li>
<li><a Moves>Entering <b>chess moves</b></a></li>
<li><a Searches><b>Searches</b> in Scid</a></li>
<li><a Clipbase>Using the <b>Clipbase</b> database</a></li>
<li><a Annotating><b>Annotating games</b></a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Other Scid windows</h4>
<ul>
<li><a Analysis><b>Analysis</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Book><b>Book</b> window</a></li>
<li><a CalVar><b>Calculation of variations</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Comment><b>Comment editor</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Crosstable><b>Crosstable</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Switcher><b>Database Switcher</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Email><b>Email</b> chess manager window</a></li>
<li><a Finder><b>File Finder</b> window</a></li>
<li><a GameList><b>Game List</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Import><b>Import game</b> window</a></li>
<li><a OpeningTrainer><b>Opening Trainer</b> window </a></li>
<li><a Reports><b>Reports</b></a></li>
<li><a PGN><b>PGN</b> (game text) window</a></li>
<li><a PTracker><b>Piece Tracker</b></a></li>
<li><a PList><b>Player Finder</b> window</a></li>
<li><a PInfo><b>Player Info</b> window</a></li>
<li><a TacticalGame><b>Tactical game</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Tmt><b>Tournament Finder</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Tree><b>Tree</b> window</a></li>
<li><a Graphs><b>Graph</b> windows</a></li>
<li><a TB>Using <b>Tablebases</b> in Scid</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Other utilities and information</h4>
<ul>
<li><a Bookmarks><b>Bookmarks</b></a></li>
<li><a Cmdline>Command-line options</a></li>
<li><a Compact><b>Compacting</b> a database</a></li>
<li><a Correspondence>Correspondence Chess</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance><b>Database maintenance</b> tools</a></li>
<li><a ECO><b>ECO</b> openings classification</a></li>
<li><a EPD><b>EPD</b> files</a></li>
<li><a Export><b>Exporting</b> games to text files</a></li>
<li><a Flags>Game <b>Flags</b></a></li>
<li><a LaTeX>Using <b>LaTeX</b> with Scid</a></li>
<li><a Options><b>Options</b> and preferences</a></li>
<li><a Sorting><b>Sorting</b> a database</a></li>
<li><a Pgnscid><b>Pgnscid</b>: converting <a PGN>PGN</a> files</a></li>
<li><a NAGs>Standard <b>NAG</b> annotation values</a></li>
<li><a Formats>Scid database <b>file formats</b></a></li>
<li><a Author>Contact information</a></li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
###############
### Topic Index
set helpTitle(Index) "Scid Help Topic Index"
set helpText(Index) {<h1>Scid Help Topic Index</h1>
<h3>A</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Analysis>Analysis</a> window</li>
<li><a Annotating>Annotating games</a></li>
<li><a NAGs>Annotation symbols</a></li>
<li><a Author>Author, contacting</a></li>
<li><a MainWindow Autoplay>Autoplay mode</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>B</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Tree Best>Best games</a> window</li>
<li><a Searches Board>Board searches</a></li>
<li><a Book>Book</a> window</li>
<li><a BookTuning>Book</a> tuning</li>
<li><a Bookmarks>Bookmarks</a></li>
<li><a GameList Browsing>Browsing games</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>C</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Maintenance Cleaner>Cleaner</a></li>
<li><a Clipbase>Clipbase</a></li>
<li><a Cmdline>Command-line options</a></li>
<li><a Comment>Comment editor</a></li>
<li><a Compact>Compacting a database</a></li>
<li><a Correspondence>Correspondence Chess</a></li>
<li><a CCIcons>Correspondence Chess Icons</a></li>
<li><a Author>Contact information</a></li>
<li><a Contents>Contents</a></li>
<li><a Crosstable>Crosstable</a> window</li>
<li><a Appearance>Customize Appearance</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>D</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Compact>Database compaction</a></li>
<li><a Formats>Database file formats</a></li>
<li><a Metadata>Database information (Metadata)</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance>Database maintenance</a></li>
<li><a Sorting>Database sorting</a></li>
<li><a Switcher>Database switcher</a> window</li>
<li><a Maintenance Twins>Deleting twin games</a></li>
<li><a HardwareConfig>DGT Electronic Chess Board</a></li>
<li><a InputEngine>DGT usage</a></li>
<li><a Metadata>Dublin Core Metadata</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>E</h3>
<ul>
<li><a ECO Browser>ECO Browser</a> window</li>
<li><a ECO Codes>ECO code system</a></li>
<li><a ECO>ECO openings classification</a></li>
<li><a Menus Edit>Edit menu</a></li>
<li><a Email>Email manager</a> window</li>
<li><a CCeMailChess>Email Chess</a></li>
<li><a Analysis List>Engines list</a></li>
<li><a Moves>Entering chess moves</a></li>
<li><a EPD>EPD files</a></li>
<li><a Export>Exporting games to text files</a></li>
<li><a HardwareConfig>External Hardware (Novag, DGT...)</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>F</h3>
<ul>
<li><a FICSLogin>FICS Login</a></li>
<li><a FICSfindOpp>FICS Find opponent</a></li>
<li><a FICS>Play on the Internet (FICS)</a></li>
<li><a FICS Training>FICS lectures</a></li>
<li><a Finder>File Finder</a></li>
<li><a FindBestMove>Training: Find best move</a></li>
<li><a Formats>File formats</a></li>
<li><a Menus File>File menu</a></li>
<li><a Searches Filter>Filter</a></li>
<li><a Export>Filter, exporting</a></li>
<li><a Graphs Filter>Filter graph</a></li>
<li><a Flags>Flags</a></li>
<li><a Options Fonts>Fonts</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>G</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Flags>Game flags</a></li>
<li><a GameList>Game List</a> window</li>
<li><a Menus Game>Game menu</a></li>
<li><a Graphs>Graph windows</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>H</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Searches Header>Header searches</a></li>
<li><a Menus Help>Help menu</a></li>
<li><a Hints>Hints</a></li>
<li><a HardwareConfig>Using Hardware (Novag, DGT)</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>I</h3>
<ul>
<li><a CCIcons>Icons for Correspondence Chess</a></li>
<li><a Import>Import</a> window</li>
<li><a Moves Informant>Informant Symbols</a></li>
<li><a InputEngine>Input Engine drivers</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>L</h3>
<ul>
<li><a LaTeX>LaTeX</a> output format</li>
</ul>
<h3>M</h3>
<ul>
<li><a MainWindow>Main Window</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance>Maintenance tools</a></li>
<li><a TreeMasks>Masks for Trees</a></li>
<li><a Searches Material>Material/pattern searches</a></li>
<li><a Menus>Menus</a></li>
<li><a GameList Browsing>Merging games</a></li>
<li><a Metadata>Metadata</a></li>
<li><a Moves>Move entry</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>N</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Maintenance Editing>Names, editing</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance Spellcheck>Names, spellchecking</a></li>
<li><a NAGs>NAG annotation values</a></li>
<li><a Annotating Null>Null moves</a></li>
<li><a HardwareConfig>Novag Citrine Electronic Chess Board</a></li>
<li><a Novag>Novag Citrine usage</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>O</h3>
<ul>
<li><a ECO>Opening classification (ECO)</a></li>
<li><a Reports Opening>Opening report</a> window</li>
<li><a OpeningTrainer>Training: Openings</a></li>
<li><a Options>Options</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>P</h3>
<ul>
<li><a PGN>PGN</a> window</li>
<li><a Pgnscid>Pgnscid</a></li>
<li><a FICS>Play on the Internet (FICS)</a></li>
<li><a PTracker>Piece Tracker</a> window</li>
<li><a PList>Player Finder</a> window</li>
<li><a PInfo>Player Info</a> window</li>
<li><a Reports Player>Player report</a> window</li>
<li><a TacticalGame>Play tactical game</a></li>
<li><a SeriousGame>Play serious game</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Q</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Guide>Quick guide to using Scid</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>R</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Graphs Rating>Rating graph</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>S</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Searches Filter>Search filter</a></li>
<li><a Menus Search>Search menu</a></li>
<li><a Searches>Searches</a></li>
<li><a SeriousGame>Play serious game</a></li>
<li><a Sorting>Sorting a database</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance Spellcheck>Spellchecking names</a></li>
<li><a Switcher>Switcher</a> window</li>
</ul>
<h3>T</h3>
<ul>
<li><a TB>Tablebases</a></li>
<li><a TacticalGame>Tactical game</a></li>
<li><a Menus Tools>Tools menu</a></li>
<li><a Tmt>Tournament finder</a></li>
<li><a FindBestMove>Training: Find best move</a></li>
<li><a OpeningTrainer>Training: Openings</a></li>
<li><a TacticsTrainer>Training: Tactics</a></li>
<li><a FICS Training>Training: FICS lectures</a></li>
<li><a Tree>Tree window</a></li>
<li><a TreeMasks>Masks for Trees</a></li>
<li><a Moves Trial>Trial mode</a></li>
<li><a Maintenance Twins>Twin (duplicate) games</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>V</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Annotating Vars>Variations</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>W</h3>
<ul>
<li><a Menus Windows>Windows menu</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>X</h3>
<ul>
<li><a CCXfcc>Xfcc support</a></li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.23, March 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Quick Guide help:
set helpTitle(Guide) "Quick Guide to using Scid"
set helpText(Guide) {<h1>Quick Guide to using Scid</h1>
<p>
Scid is a chess database application; with it you can browse
databases of chess games, edit games and <a Searches>search</a>
for games by various criteria.
</p>
<p>
Scid uses its own special three-file <a Formats>database format</a>
which is very compact and fast, but it can convert to and from
the standard <a PGN>PGN</a> (Portable Game Notation) format.
Scid's <a PGN>PGN window</a> displays the text of the current game in
<a PGN>PGN</a> format.
</p>
<p>
You can use Scid to add chess games to a database, using the keyboard or
mouse to enter moves. See the help page on <a Moves>entering chess moves</a>
for more details.
</p>
<p>
You can also use Scid as a <a PGN>PGN</a> file browser, by pasting
<a PGN>PGN</a> text into Scid's <a Import>Import</a> window or by
opening a <a PGN>PGN</a> file in Scid. However, <a PGN>PGN</a>
files cannot be edited by Scid (it opens them read-only) and they
use more memory and are slower to load, so for large <a PGN>PGN</a>
files it is recommended that you create a Scid database from them
first with the <a Pgnscid>pgnscid</a> utility.
</p>
<p>
Windows can be used in docked mode or as independent windows (see
flag in the options menu). In docked mode, the most important
windows are embedded into a main one. The windows can be reordered
by right-clicking on the tab (where the title of the window is) and
by dragging tabs from one notebook to another. The menu for each
window that has one (marked with a triangle at the left of the tab)
is opened by left clicking on the tab.
</p>
<p>
The <a MainWindow>main window</a>
of Scid (with the graphical chess board) shows details of
the active game and database. At any time, you can have up to nine
databases open (five including the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a>),
and each will have its own active game.
(A game numbered 0 indicates a scratch game that is not part of the
actual database).
You can switch between the open databases with the
<a Menus File>File menu</a>.
</p>
<p>
For more information, please read the other help pages listed in the
<a Index>Help Index</a>.
</p>
<p>
See the <a Author>contact information</a> page if you need to contact the
author of Scid.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.7, December 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Hints page:
set helpTitle(Hints) "Scid Hints"
set helpText(Hints) {<h1>Scid Hints</h1>
<p>
This page contains useful hints in question and answer format to
help you use Scid better. If you are new to Scid, please read the <a
Guide>quick guide</a> first. Most of the information on this page
is available in more detail on the other help pages listed in the <a
Index>index</a>. If you think of a useful hint to add to this page,
please send it to the <a Author>author of Scid</a>.
</p>
<h4>Can I get Scid to load a database when it starts?</h4>
<p>
Yes, you can add databases, <a PGN>PGN</a> files or <a EPD>EPD files</a>
to the command line. For example:
<ul>
<li> <b>scid mybase games.pgn.gz</b> </li>
</ul>
will load the Scid database <b>mybase</b> and also load the
Gzip-compressed <a PGN>PGN</a> file <b>games.pgn.gz</b>.
</p>
<h4>Is there an easier way to change the board size than using the
options menu?</h4>
<p>
Yes, you can use the shortcut keys <b>Control+Shift+LeftArrow</b> and
<b>Control+Shift+RightArrow</b> to decrease or increase the board size.
</p>
<h4>I am training by playing through a game, so I do not want Scid to
print the next move in the game information area below the chessboard.
Can I hide it?</h4>
<p>
You can hide the next move by pressing the <b>right</b> mouse button in the
game information area, and selecting <b>Hide next move</b> from the
menu that appears.
</p>
<h4>How can I see the ECO opening code for the current position?</h4>
<p>
The ECO code is displayed on the bottom line of the game
information box, below the chessboard in the <a MainWindow>main window</a>,
if you have the ECO classification file (<b>scid.eco</b>) loaded. <br>
The <a ECO>ECO codes</a> help page explains how to load the ECO classification
file and save options so it will be loaded every time you start Scid.
</p>
<h4>I am entering a game, and I am up to move 30, but just saw that move
10 was wrong. How can I correct it and keep all the moves after it?</h4>
<p>
You can use the <a Import>Import</a> window; see the
<a Moves Mistakes>entering moves</a> help page for more information.
</p>
<h4>How do I copy games from one database to another?</h4>
<p>
Use the <a Switcher>database switcher window</a>: drag from the source
database to the target database to copy all games in the source database
<a Searches Filter>filter</a>.
</p>
<h4>Every time I enter a move where one already exists, I get a
"Replace move?" dialog box. How do I avoid that?</h4>
<p>
Turn it off with the <b>Ask before replacing moves</b> option in the
<menu>Options: Moves</menu> menu.
Or, get into the habit of taking back moves using the right-mouse button,
which actually removes the move from the game if you are at the last move of
the game.
</p>
<h4>How do I change column widths in the Game List window?</h4>
<p>
Click the left or right mouse button on each column title.
</p>
<h4>How can I use the tree window on a selection of games, not my whole
database?</h4>
<p>
Use the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a>. Set your database filter to contain the
games you want to use the tree on, then copy them to the clipbase using the
<a Switcher>database switcher</a>. Then, just open the tree window in the
clipbase.
</p>
<h4>The Tree is slow for large databases. How do I speed it up?</h4>
<p>
Save the Tree cache often, to save tree results for future use.
See the caching section of the <a Tree>Tree</a> help page for details.
</p>
<h4>How can I edit the <a PGN>PGN</a> representation of the game directly?</h4>
<p>
You cannot use the <a PGN>PGN</a> window to edit the current game, but you can
still edit its <a PGN>PGN</a> representation using the <a Import>Import game</a> window.
Just open it (shortcut key: <b>Control+Shift+I</b>) and then press the
<b>Paste current game</b> button, then edit the game, then press <b>Import</b>.
</p>
<h4>My database has several spellings for some player names. How do I
correct them all?</h4>
<p>
You can edit individual names or spellcheck all the names in a database
with the commands in the <menu>File: Maintenance</menu> menu.
See the <a Maintenance Editing>maintenance</a> page.
</p>
<h4>I have two databases open: one with my own games, and a large database of
grandmaster games. How do I compare one of my games to those in the large
database?</h4>
<p>
Just open the <a Tree>Tree</a> window for the reference database and
switch back to the game to compare by means of the database
switcher. Alternatively, a base can directly be opened as tree via
the <term>File</term> menu.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.28, December 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Main window help:
set helpTitle(MainWindow) "Scid main window"
set helpText(MainWindow) {<h1>Scid main window</h1>
<p>
The main window in Scid displays the current board position of the
active game and information about the current game and database.
Separate help pages describe the <a Menus>menus</a> and ways to
<a Moves>enter chess moves</a>.
</p>
<h3>The game information area</h3>
<p>
The area below the chessboard showing information about the game is
called the <term>game information area</term>. Its first three
lines show information such as the players, their country, result,
date, and site. This information is drawn from the games PGN
header. To show country information the fields
WhiteCountry/BlackCountry need to be available. The fourth line
indicates the current position in the game, and what the next move
is.
</p>
<p>
Additionally, flags set for a given game are shown. Here, custom
flags only show up by their respective number while the standard
flags also show their textual meaning.
</p>
<p>
Next to the flags a link called <term>Bib</term> may show up in case the
PGN header contains a bibliographic link, ie. a link to the chess
literature. This link is to be placed in a special header field
called <term>Bib</term> and links the game to a BibTeX database containing
the bibliographic information. This linking is done by almost
standard LaTeX structure, that is the <term>Bib</term> field
contains first the BibTeX key. Additional information (e.g. page,
game number...) may be added by <b>, addinfo</b>. To give more than
one bibliographic link several of this entries may be separated by
<b> ; </b> (ie. space semicolon space). To resolve the bibliographic
reference, Scid first searches a .bib-file named like the database
in the database directory. If it can not find such a file it resorts
to <b>~/.scid/data/Bookshelf.bib</b>.
</p>
<p>
The fifth line shows the <a ECO>ECO</a> (Encyclopedia of Chess
Openings) code for the current position, if the position appears in
the ECO file being used.
</p>
<p>
If Scid can find a suitable photo file (either in ~/.scid or Scid's
share directory within the photos folder) and photos for the players
exist, also these photos show up in the information area. (Suitable
photo files can be downloaded from the <url
http://scid.sourceforge.net/>Scid website</url>; a documentation of
their format is contained within these files.) However, the player
photos tend to hide some text in the information area. Therefore,
they can be minimised temporarily by clicking on them.
</p>
<p>
The game information area has a menu activated with the right mouse button,
with options to hide the next move (useful if you are training using a game
and want to guess each move) and to delete or undelete the current game.
You can also activate this menu without using the mouse, by pressing the
<b>[F9]</b> function key.
</p>
<p>
On the right hand side of the board the material balance can be
displayed by small piece symbols. E.g. if white has captured a
bishop while black has captured a knight, a white bishop and a black
knight show up.
</p>
<h4>Tablebases</h4>
<p>
The game information area also displays tablebase results whenever the
displayed position reaches a material configuration found in a
tablebase file. See the <a TB>tablebases</a> help page for details.
</p>
<h3>The status bar</h3>
<p>
The status bar shows information about the current database.
The first field indicates the game status: <b>XX</b> means it has been
altered and not yet saved, while <b>--</b> means it is unchanged,
and <b>%%</b> indicates the database is read-only (not alterable).
</p>
<p>
If you want a database to be opened read-only, just set the permissions
of its Scid files, or at least its index file, for example:
<b>chmod a-w myfile.si3</b>
as a shell command, and it will be opened read-only by Scid.
</p>
<p>
The status bar also shows how many games are currently in the
<a Searches Filter>filter</a>.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, October 2011)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Menus help screen:
set helpTitle(Menus) "Menus"
set helpText(Menus) {<h1>Scid menus</h1>
<h3><name File>File</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>New</menu>: Creates a new empty Scid database.</li>
<li><menu>Open</menu>: Opens an existing Scid database.</li>
<li><menu>Close</menu>: Closes the current Scid database.</li>
<li><menu>Finder</menu>: Opens the <a Finder>File Finder</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Bookmarks</menu>: <a Bookmarks>Bookmarks</a> and bookmark
functions.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Open base as tree</menu>: Opens the tree window for a
selected database</li>
<li><menu>Open recent base as tree</menu>: Offers a list of recently
opened bases to get their tree window.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Maintenance</menu>: Database <a Maintenance>maintenance</a>
functions.</li>
<ul>
<li><menu>Maintenance window</menu>: Opens/closes the database maintenance
window.</li>
<li><menu>Delete twin games</menu>: Finds <a Maintenance Twins>twin</a>
games in the database.</li>
<li><menu>ECO-Classify games</menu>: Recomputes the
<a ECO>ECO code</a> for all games in the database. </li>
<li><menu>Name editor</menu>: Replaces all occurrences of a player,
event site or round name.</li>
</ul>
<li><menu>Read-Only</menu>: Makes the current database read-only.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Switch to Database</menu>: These commands let you switch between
the 8 available database slots and the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a>
database.</li>
<li>1/2/3/4/5/...</li> Offers a list of recently used databases for
easy recall.</li>
<li><menu>Exit</menu>: Exits Scid. </li>
</ul>
<h3><name Edit>Edit</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>Add Variation</menu>: Adds a new empty variation for the
next move, or for the previous move if there is no next move yet.</li>
<li><menu>Delete Variation</menu>: Provides a submenu of variations for
the current move, so one can be deleted.</li>
<li><menu>Make First Variation</menu>: Promotes a variation to be the
first variation of the current move.</li>
<li><menu>Promote Variation to Main line</menu>: Promotes a variation
to be the main line, swapping it with its parent.</li>
<li><menu>Try Variation</menu>: Enters <a Moves Trial>trial mode</a> for
testing a temporary variation without altering the current game.</li>
<li><menu>Strip</menu>: Strips all comments or variations from the current
game.</li>
<li><menu>Undo</menu>: Allows to undo up to 10 recent changes.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Empty Clipbase</menu>: Empties the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a>
so it contains no games.</li>
<li><menu>Copy this game to clipbase</menu>: Copies the current game
to the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a> database. Additionally, the games
current <term>PGN notation</term> is added to the system clipboard.</li>
<li><menu>Paste last clipbase game</menu>: Pastes the active game of
the <a Clipbase>clipbase</a> to be the active game of the current
database.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Setup start board</menu>: Sets the starting position for the
current game.</li>
<li><menu>Copy position</menu>: Copies the current position as
<term>FEN notation</term> to the system clipboard.</li>
<li><menu>Paste start board</menu>: Sets the start board from the current
text selection (clipboard). This selection has to be a valid
<term>FEN</term> notation.</li>
</ul>
<h3><name Game>Game</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>New Game</menu>: Resets the active game to an empty state,
discarding any unsaved changes.</li>
<li><menu>Load First/Previous/Next/Last Game</menu>: These load the first,
previous, next or last game in the <a Searches Filter>filter</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Reload this game</menu>: Reloads the current game, discarding
any changes made.</li>
<li><menu>Load Game Number</menu>: Loads the game given its game number
in the current database.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Save: Replace game</menu>: Saves the current game, replacing
its original version in the database.</li>
<li><menu>Save: Add new game</menu>: Saves the current game as a new
game, appending to the end of the database.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Identify opening</menu>: Finds the deepest
position in the current game that is in the ECO file.</li>
<li><menu>Goto move number</menu>: Goes to the specified move number in
the current game.</li>
<li><menu>Find novelty</menu>: Finds the first move of the current game
that has not been played before in the current base.</li>
</ul>
<h3><name Search>Search</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>Reset Filter</menu>: Resets the <a Searches Filter>filter</a>
so all games are included. This does not affect a filter created by
an eventually opened <a Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Negate filter</menu>: Inverts the filter criteria that are
not set by an eventually opened <a Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Current board</menu>: Searches for the
<a Searches Board>current board</a> position.</li>
<li><menu>Header</menu>: Searches by <a Searches Header>header</a>
information such as player names. This filter is cumulative to
a filter eventually set by an open <a Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Material/Pattern</menu>: Searches by
<a Searches Material>material</a> or chessboard patterns</a>. This
filter is cumulative to a filter eventually set by an open <a
Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Using search file</menu>: Searches using
<a Searches Settings>settings</a> from a SearchOptions file. This
filter is cumulative to a filter eventually set by an open <a
Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h3><name Windows>Windows</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>Comment Editor</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a Comment>Comment Editor</a> window.</li>
<li><menu>Game List window</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a GameList>Game List window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>PGN window</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a PGN>PGN window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Tournament Finder</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a Tmt>Tournament Finder</a> window.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Database switcher</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a Switcher>Database Switcher</a> window, which lets you switch to
another database or copy games between databases easily.</li>
<li><menu>Maintenance window</menu>: Opens/closes the database
<a Maintenance>maintenance</a> window.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>ECO Browser</menu>: Opens/closes the
<a ECO browser>ECO Browser</a> window.</li>
<li><menu>Statistics window</menu>: Opens/closes the
<term>Filter statistics window</term> which gives a win/loss summary
of the games in the <a Searches Filter>filter.</a></li>
<li><menu>Tree window</menu>: Opens/closes the <a Tree>tree window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Endgame Tablebase window</menu>: Opens/closes the window that
displays <a TB>tablebase</a> information.</li>
<li><menu>Correspondence window</menu>: Opens/closes the window for
for handling correspondence chess games.</li>
</ul>
<h3><name Play>Play</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>Serious game</menu>: Allows to play an installed
<term>UCI</term> chess engine in a serious game, ie. in tournament
conditions.</li>
<li><menu>Tactical game</menu>: Allows to play the Phalanx chess
engine at an adjustable level.</li>
<li><menu>Play on FICS</menu>: Gives access to the Free Internet
Chess Server (FICS) to play games of chess against human opponents
or chess engines, observe games, or take part in trainings
sessions.</li>
<li><menu>Training</menu>: access various trainings modes available
in Scid.</li>
<li><menu>Correspondence Chess</menu>: access the functions for
<a CCSetupDialog>correspondence chess configuration</a> and <a
Correspondence>game play</a></li>
<ul>
<li><menu>Configure</menu>: allows <a
CCSetupDialog>configuration</a> of the <a
Correspondence>correspondence chess</a> subsystem.
</li>
<li><menu>Observe games</menu>: allows to observe games by
fetching them from a website.
</li>
<li><menu>Open database</menu>: opens the default correspondence
chess database (cf. <a CCSetupDialog>configuration</a>)
</li>
<li><menu>Retrieve games</menu>: Fetch games form a server using
the <a CCXfcc>Xfcc</a> protocol.
</li>
<li><menu>Process inbox</menu>: Processes the correspondence
chess <a CCWorkflow>inbox to work in new games and moves</a> into
the current database.
</li>
<li><menu>Send move</menu>: Transmits to a server a move using
the <a CCXfcc>Xfcc</a> protocol.
</li>
<li><menu>Resign</menu>: resigns the current game (requires <a
CCXfcc>Xfcc</a>.)
</li>
<li><menu>Claim draw</menu>: claim a draw in the current game (requires <a
CCXfcc>Xfcc</a>.)
</li>
<li><menu>Offer draw</menu>: offer a draw in the current game
(requires <a CCXfcc>Xfcc</a>.)
</li>
<li><menu>Accept draw</menu>: accept the draw offer from the
opponent (requires <a CCXfcc>Xfcc</a>.)
</li>
<li><menu>Game page</menu>: opens the web page associated with a
<a CCXfcc>Xfcc</a> game.
</li>
<li><menu>New eMail Game</menu>: starts a new eMail based game.
</li>
<li><menu>Mail move</menu>: mails the move to the opponent in an
email based game.
</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h3><name Tools>Tools</name></h3>
<ul>
<li><menu>Analysis engine</menu>: Displays a list of all installed
chess engines available for analysis to select and start one of
them as analysis engine 1.</li>
<li><menu>Analysis engine #2</menu>: Displays a list of all installed
chess engines available for analysis to select and start one of
them as analysis engine 2.
</li>
<li><menu>Start engine 1</menu>: Starts/stops the chess analysis
engine, displaying the evaluation of the current position
in the <a Analysis>analysis window</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Start engine #2</menu>: Starts/stops a second analysis
engine.</li>
<li><menu>Crosstable</menu>: Constructs a tournament
<a Crosstable>crosstable</a> for the current game. </li>
<li><menu>Email manager</menu>: Opens/closes the <a Email>email manager</a>
window, for managing email correspondence games.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Rel. filter graph</menu>: Generates a <a
FilterGraph>relative filter graph</a> e.g. to investigate popularity
of the current opening by comparison of the current position against
the whole database.
</li>
<li><menu>Abs. filter graph</menu>: Generates a <a
FilterGraph>absolute filter graph</a>
</li>
<li><menu>Opening report</menu>: Generates an
<a Reports Opening>opening report</a> for the current position.</li>
<li><menu>Piece Tracker</menu>: Opens the <a PTracker>piece tracker</a>
window.</li>
<li><menu>Book tuning</menu>: allows to adjust the probability
values of a moved played in a selectable <a Book>opening book</a>).
</li>
<li><menu>Connect hardware</menu>: Allows external hardware to be
used to enter moves. (E.g. DGT electronic chessboard, Novag
Citrine)
<ul>
<li><menu>Configure</menu>: allows <a HardwareConfig>basic
parameters</a> to be set for usage of external hardware
</li>
<li><menu>Connect Input Engine</menu>: hooks up with hardware
that supplies an Input Engine compatible driver (e.g. <url
http://dgtdrv.sourceforge.net>dgtdrv website</url>.)
</li>
<li><menu>Connect Novag Citrine</menu>: hooks up with a Novag
Citrine board.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Player information</menu>: Displays <a PInfo>player information</a>
for one of the two players of the current game.</li>
<ul>
<li><menu>White</menu>: use the White player of the current game.</li>
<li><menu>Black</menu>: use the Black player of the current game.</li>
</ul>
<li><menu>Player report</menu>: generates a <a Reports Player>player
report</a>
<li><menu>Rating graph</menu>: Displays the
<a Graphs Rating>rating graph</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Score graph</menu>: Displays the
<a Graphs Score>score graph</a>.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Export current game</menu>: Saves the current game to a text
file in PGN, HTML or LaTeX format. See the <a Export>export</a> help
page.</li>
<li><menu>Export all filter games</menu>: Saves all games in the
search <a Searches Filter>filter</a> to a text file in PGN, HTML or
LaTeX format. See the <a Export>export</a> help page.</li>
<br>
<li><menu>Import <a PGN>PGN</a> game</menu>: Opens the <a Import>Import window</a>
for entering a game by typing or pasting its text in
<a PGN>PGN format</a>.</li>
<li><menu>Import file of <a PGN>PGN</a> games</menu>: Imports a whole file containing
games in <a PGN>PGN</a> format to the current database. Note, that several PGN
files can be selected in this dialogue at once.</li>
</ul>
<h3><name Options>Options</name></h3>
<p>
This menu provides entries for setting most of Scid's configurable
options.
The <menu>Save options</menu> entry saves the current options to the
file "<b>~/.scid/config/options.dat</b>" (or "<b>options.dat</b>" in the
sub directory "<b>config</b>" of the Scid executable programs for Windows
users); this file is loaded each time you start up Scid.
</p>
<h3><name Help>Help</name></h3>
<p>
This menu contains help functions, and access to the tip of the day
window or the startup window which provides information about the
files Scid loaded when it started.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Entering moves help:
set helpTitle(Moves) "Entering moves"
set helpText(Moves) {<h1>Entering chess moves</h1>
<p>
In Scid, you can enter the moves for a game using the
mouse or the keyboard. As you move the mouse over a square,
it and one other square will change color if there is a legal
move to or from that square. This is the <term>suggested move</term>.
To make this move simply click the <term>left</term> mouse button.
You can turn off move suggestion using the Options menu if it annoys you.
</p>
<p>
To make any move other than the suggested move, you can use
the <term>left</term> mouse button: just press the button over one square,
and release it over the other square.
</p>
<p>
If you want to enter a variation without being asked for a
confirmation, use the middle mouse button of the mouse to enter the
move.
</p>
<p>
Depending on <menu>Options / Moves / Highlight last moves</menu> and
the settings made there, Scid will mark the last move by a coloured
frame around the involved fields.
</p>
<h4>Retracting a move</h4>
<p>
To take back a move, press the right mouse button, Control + Delete
or Control + Backspace. This goes back one move, and deletes the
move if it is the last in the game or variation.
</p>
<h4>Replacing old moves</h4>
<p>
When you enter a move at a point in the game where a move already exists,
Scid will present a dialog box asking if you really want to replace the
old move (the old move and all moves after it will be lost), or want
to add the new move as a variation instead. Some people may find this
dialog box annoying and always want to replace old moves, so it can be
turned off with the <menu>Options: Moves</menu> menu option
"<i>Ask before replacing moves</i>".
</p>
<h4>Marking fields and directions</h4>
<p>
colored squares and arrows can be entered directly on the board
without the use of the <a Comment>Comment editor</a> by using the mouse
buttons. For colored squares one can Shift-click on the square in
question. Shift-Left button marks the square in green, the middle
button in yellow, the right button in red. To draw arrows one can
Ctrl-click on the source and target squares. The left mouse button
again results in a green, the middle in a yellow and the right mouse
button in a red arrow.
</p>
<h4><name Trial>Trial mode</name></h4>
<p>
If you are studying a game and reach a position where you want to try
an alternative variation on the board without altering the game, select
<b>Try variation</b> from the <menu>Edit</menu> menu to enter trial
mode. In this mode, you can make temporary moves and changes to the
game, then return to the original position when you exit trial mode.
</p>
<h3><name Mistakes>Correcting mistakes</name></h3>
<p>
If you are entering a game and suddenly see an incorrect move several
moves earlier, it is possible to correct it without losing the extra
moves you have added. The only way is to edit the <a PGN>PGN</a> representation
of the game: open the <a Import>Import</a> window, select "Paste current
game", correct the incorrect move, then select "Import".
</p>
<h3>Keyboard move entry</h3>
<p>
To enter moves at the keyboard, simply press letter and digit
keys. Note that accepted moves should be in <term>SAN notation</term>,
<i>without</i> the capture symbol (x) or the promotion symbol (=).
Moves are matched case-insensitively, so you can type
[n][f][3] instead of Nf3, for example -- but see the note below
about conflicts with pawn moves.
</p>
<p>
To ensure that no move is a prefix of any other move, the notation
for kingside and queenside castling is [O][K] and
[O][Q] respectively, instead of the usual O-O and O-O-O.
</p>
<p>
As you enter a move, the status bar will show the list of matching moves.
You can press the [space] bar at any time to choose the first
matching move in the list and add it to the game.
To delete a character, press [Backspace] or [Delete].
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> that a lower-case letter matches to a pawn first, so a
[b] can match to a pawn or Bishop, but if there is a conflict
you must use a capital [B] for the Bishop move.
</p>
<h4>Auto-Completion</h4>
<p>
In the Options menu, you can turn on or off <term>Auto-Completion</term>
of moves.
With auto-completion, a move is made as soon as you have typed enough
to distinguish it from any other legal move. For example, with
auto-completion, you would only need to type [n][f] instead
of [n][f][3] for <b>Nf3</b> in the starting position.
</p>
<h3><name Null>Entering null moves</name></h3>
<p>
<a Annotating Null>Null</a> (empty) moves can be useful in variations, where
you want to skip a move for one side. You can enter a null move with the
mouse by capturing one king with the other king, or with the keyboard by
typing "<b>--</b>" (that is, pressing the minus key twice).
</p>
<h3><name Informant>Entering common annotation symbols</h3>
<p>
You can also add common <a NAGs>annotation symbols</a> using the keyboard
in the main window, without needing to use the <a Comment>comment editor</a>
window. The following list shows which symbols you can add, and their
keyboard shortcuts:
<ul>
<li> ! : [!][Return] </li>
<li> ? : [?][Return] </li>
<li> !? : [!][?][Return] </li>
<li> ?! : [?][!][Return] </li>
<li> !! : [!][!][Return] </li>
<li> ?? : [?][?][Return] </li>
<li> </li>
<li> +- : [+][-] </li>
<li> +/-: [+][/] </li>
<li> += : [+][=] </li>
<li> = : [=][Return] </li>
<li> -+ : [-][+] </li>
<li> -/+: [-][/] </li>
<li> =+ : [=][+] </li>
</ul>
<b>Note</b> Scid uses some of these symbols for automatic
annotations, also. To this end, these symbols have to be associated
with a certain pawn value. These pawn values can be set via Options
/ Game information / Configure Informant values. Note that since
Scid 4.0 many NAGs can be displayed symbolically if your system
supports UTF-8 properly. The connection between a NAGs numeric value
and its symbolic representation within Scid is given on the page <a
NAGs>Standard NAG values</a> which can be accessed e.g. by Ctrl-N
from the <a Comment>Comment editor</a>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
########################################
### Searches help screen:
set helpTitle(Searches) "Searches"
set helpText(Searches) {<h1>Searches in Scid</h1>
<p>
Scid can perform many different types of search on a database.
The three main types of search are:
<ul>
<li><b>1)</b> for the current board, </li>
<li><b>2)</b> for specified material and piece patterns, and </li>
<li><b>3)</b> by header information such as players, result, date. </li>
</ul>
<p>
In addition to these, there is also an automatic search mode called the
<a Tree>Tree window</a> which is explained separately.
</p>
<h3><name Filter>The Search Filter</name></h3>
<p>
Searches in Scid are based on the concept of a <term>filter</term>.
The filter represents a subset of the current database; at any time,
each game is either included in or excluded from the filter.
</p>
<p>
With each type of search, you can choose to restrict the existing
filter, add to it, or ignore it and search the whole database.
This choice permits complex searches to be built up incrementally.
</p>
<p>
You can also copy all games in the filter of one database to another,
using the <a Switcher>database switcher</a> window.
</p>
<p>
With exact position, <a Tree>tree</a> or material/pattern searches, the
move number of the first matching position of each matching game is
remembered, so when you load each game it will show the matching position
automatically.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> that searches only apply to the main line moves of a game,
not to any moves in variations.
</p>
<h3><name Board>Search: Current Board</name></h3>
<p>
This search finds games that contain the current displayed position,
ignoring castling and <i>en passant</i> rights.
</p>
<p>
There are four board search types available. All four require a position
to have the same exact material and side to move for a match.
The types are:
<ul>
<li> [1] exact (the two positions must match on every square), </li>
<li> [2] pawns (the pawn structure must match exactly, but other pieces
can be anywhere), </li>
<li> [3] files (the number of white and black pawns on each file must match
exactly, but other pieces can be anywhere), and </li>
<li> [4] material (pawns and pieces can be anywhere). </li>
</ul>
<p>
The pawns search is useful for studying openings by pawn structure, and
the files and material searches are useful for finding similar positions
in an endgame.
</p>
<p>
To search for an arbitrary position, you can set the position first
(from the <menu>Edit: Setup Start Board</menu> menu) and then
start the search.
</p>
<p>
You can request that the search look in variations (instead of only
examining actual game moves) by selecting the <b>Look in variations</b>
checkbox, but this may make the search much slower if your database
is large and has many games with variations.
</p>
<h3><name Material>Search: Material/Pattern</name></h3>
<p>
This search is useful for finding endgame or middlegame themes.
You can specify minimum and maximum amounts of each type of material,
and find patterns such as a Bishop on f7, or a pawn on the f-file.
</p>
<p>
A number of common material and pattern settings are provided, such
as Rook vs. Pawn endings, or isolated Queens pawns.
</p>
<p>
<b>Hints:</b><br>
The speed of pattern searches can vary widely. You can reduce the time
needed for a search by setting restrictions intelligently. For example,
if you set the minimum move number to 20 for an ending, all games that
end in under 20 moves can be skipped.
</p>
<h3><name Header>Search: Header</name></h3>
<p>
This search can be used to find aspects of the game that are stored
in the header (such as date, result, names, flags and ratings), so
it does not require any moves to be decoded.
</p>
<p>
For a game to match a Header search, <b>all</b> fields that you
specify must match.
</p>
<p>
The name fields (White, Black, Event, Site and Round) match on any text
inside the name, case-insensitive and ignoring spaces.
</p>
<p>
You can do case-sensitive wildcard searches for the White, Black, Event,
Site and Round fields (with <b>?</b> representing one character and
<b>*</b> representing zero or more characters) by putting the
search text in double quotes. For example a search for the site <b>USA</b>
will find American cities and also <b>Lausanne SUI</b>, which is probably
not what you wanted! A search for the site <b>"*USA"</b> (remember to
use the double-quotes) will only match cities in the United States.
</p>
<p>
If you are searching for a particular player (or pair of opponents) as White
or Black and it does not matter what color they played, select the
<b>Ignore Colors</b> option.
</p>
<p>
Additionally, an Annotator may be searched case insensitively. Note
that this function requires the <b>Annotator</b> header field to be
set properly. The checkbox <menu>annotated games only</menu> acts as
a logical OR filter for the flags <b>Comments, Variations,
Annotations</b>, that is can be used to select only those games that
got any type of annotations.
</p>
<p>
Finally, the Header search can be used to find any text
(case-sensitive and without wildcards) in the <a PGN>PGN</a> representation of
each game. You may enter up to three text phrases, and they must
all appear in a game for it to be a match. This search is very
useful for searching in the comments or extra tags of a game (such
as <b>lost on time</b> or <b>Annotator</b>), or for a move sequence
like <b>Bxh7+</b> and <b>Kxh7</b> for a bishop sacrifice on h7 that
was accepted. However, this type of search can be <i>very</i> slow
since all the games that match other criteria must be decoded and
scanned for the text phrases. So it is a good idea to limit these
searches as much as possible. Here are some examples. To find
games with under-promotions to a rook, search for <b>=R</b> and also
set the <b>Promotions</b> flag to Yes. When searching for text that
would appear in comments, set the <b>Comments</b> flag to Yes. If
you are searching for the moves <b>Bxh7+</b> and <b>Kxh7</b>, you
may want to restrict the search to games with a 1-0 result and at
least 40 half-moves, for example, or do a material/pattern search
first to find games where a white bishop moves to h7.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> If a search by <a ECO>ECO</a> code is performed, games
that have no ECO code attached are ignored.
</p>
<h3><name Settings>Saving search settings</name></h3>
<p>
The Material/Pattern and Header search windows provide a
<term>Save settings</term> button. This lets you save the current
search settings for later use, to a <term>SearchOptions</term> file
(suffix .sso).
To search using a previously saved SearchOptions (.sso) file, select
<menu>Open</menu> from the <menu>Search</menu> menu.
</p>
<h3>Search times and skipped games</h3>
<p>
Most searches produce a message indicating the time taken and the number
of games that were <term>skipped</term>. A skipped game is one that can
be excluded from the search without decoding any of its moves, based on
information stored in the index. See the help page on
<a Formats>file formats</a> for more information.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
#################
### Clipbase help:
set helpTitle(Clipbase) "The Clipbase"
set helpText(Clipbase) {<h1>The Clipbase database</h1>
<p>
In addition to the databases you have open, Scid provides
a <term>clipbase</term> database, which is just like any other database
except that it exists in memory only and has no files for permanent storage.
</p>
<p>
The clipbase is useful as a temporary database, for merging
the results of searches on more than one database or for treating the
results of a search as a separate database.
</p>
<p>
For example, assume you want to prepare for an opponent and have searched
a database so the <a Searches Filter>filter</a> contains only games where
the opponent played White.
You can copy these games to the clipbase (by dragging from their database
to the clipbase in the <a Switcher>database switcher</a> window),
switch to the clipbase database, and then open
the <a Tree>Tree window</a> to examine that players repertoire.
</p>
<p>
Note that you can copy games in the filter of one database directly to another
opened database (without needing the clipbase as an intermediary
location) using the <a Switcher>database switcher</a> window.
</p>
<p>
Note that the clipbase <i>cannot</i> be closed; selecting the
<menu>File: Close</menu> command while in the clipbase is equivalent
to <menu>Edit: Reset Clipbase</menu> which empties the clipbase.
</p>
<p>
The clipbase has a limit of 100,000 games at any time, since it exists in
memory only.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.8,March 2007)</footer></p>
}
#################################
### Variations and comments help:
set helpTitle(Annotating) "Annotating games"
set helpText(Annotating) {<h1>Annotating games</h1>
<p>
Scid lets you add notes to games. There are three types of
annotation you can add after a move: symbols, a comment, and
variations. This section describes manual annotations, see the <a
Analysis Annotating>Analysis</a> for engine supported analysis.
</p>
<h3>Symbols and comments</h3>
<p>
Symbols are used to indicate an evaluation of the position (such as
"+-" or "=") or point out good ("!") and bad ("?") moves, while
comments can be any text. To add symbols and comments to a game, use
the <a Comment>Comment editor</a> window.
There is also a help page listing <a NAGs>standard symbol values</a>.
</p>
<p>
Note that each move can have more than one annotation symbol, but only
one comment. A comment before the first move of the game is printed as text
before the start of the game.
</p>
<h3><name Vars>Variations</name></h3>
<p>
A <term>variation</term> of a move is an alternative sequence of
moves at a particular point in a game. Variations can contain
comments and even recursively have sub-variations. The buttons
above the board with a "<b>V</b>" symbol, and commands in the
<menu>Edit</menu> menu, can be used to create, navigate and edit
variations.
</p>
<h4>Keyboard shortcuts</h4>
<p>
When a move has variations, they are shown in the game information
area. The first will be named <b>v1</b>, the second <b>v2</b>, etc.
You can click on a variation to enter it, or press "<b>v</b>". In
the latter case the <term>Variation</term> window will pop up
allowing to select a variation using the cursor keys. Setting
Options / Moves / Show variation window will pop up this window
automatically every time a move with a variation is found while
navigating through the game using the cursor keys. In the variation
window one can enter the variation by selecting it with the up/down
cursor keys and hitting enter or clicking on it with the mouse. This
allows for navigation through the game with the cursor keys only.
To leave a variation, you can use the "<b>z</b>" shortcut key. At
the beginning of the variation, the up arrow can be used
alternatively.
</p>
<p>
Note that in case a game has variations you can also enter the
variation by just playing the move of the variation in question. To
explicitly add a new variation starting with the same move (e.g. to
simplify deeply nested variation trees) press Ctrl-A to explicitly
add a variation and only then play the move.
</p>
<p>
Setting Options / Moves / Show arrows for variations may be set to
display the existing variations on the main board. This can be
especially helpful on computers with small displays (Netbooks)
and/or in conjunction with disabling both PGN window and game
information area (Options / Windows / Show game information).
</p>
<h3><name Null>Null moves</name></h3>
<p>
Sometimes, you may find it useful in a variation to skip over a move
for one side. For example, you may want to add the move 14.Bd3 to
a variation and point out that it threatens 15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Ng5+
with an attack. You can do this by making a <term>null move</term>
between 14.Bd3 and 15.Bxh7+, in the above example. A null move is
displayed as "<b>--</b>" and can be inserted using the mouse by making
an illegal move of capturing one king with the other, or from the
keyboard by typing "<b>--</b>" (two minus signs).
</p>
<p>
Note that null moves are not a part of the <a PGN>PGN</a> standard, so if you
export games with null moves to a <a PGN>PGN</a> file, Scid will provide (among
other export options) an option to preserve null moves or convert them
to comments for compatibility with other software.
See the <a Export>Exporting</a> help page for more details.
</p>
<p>
Also note, that Scid is capable of handling the move <term>Z0</term>
as a null move, a notation that is common in some commercial chess
applications.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
###############################
### Comment editor window help:
set helpTitle(Comment) "Comment Editor window"
set helpText(Comment) {<h1>The Comment Editor window</h1>
<p>
The Comment Editor window lets you add or edit comments and symbolic
annotation symbols for moves in the active chess game.
</p>
<h3>Annotation symbols</h3>
<p>
Scid uses the <a Author Related>PGN standard</a> for annotation
symbols, accepting <a NAGs>NAG (numeric annotation glyph)</a> values
for annotations. Some of the most common symbols (such as "!" or
"+-") are displayed as symbols, and have a button in the comment
editor window for fast entry. For other symbols, you can enter the
appropriate numeric NAG value which is a number from 1 to 255. For
example, the NAG value 36 means "White has the initiative" and will
be displayed as "$36" in the <a PGN>PGN text</a> of the game. If
your system properly supports UTF-8 character sets many of the NAG
symbols can be displayed by their <a NAGs>glyphs</a>.
</p>
<p>
See the help page of <a NAGs>NAG values</a> for NAG values defined
by the <a PGN>PGN</a> standard. This page can be accessed from the
Comment editor by pressing Ctrl-N.
</p>
<p>
<b>Hint:</b> You can add the common move evaluation symbols (!, ?,
!!, ??, !? and ?!) while in the main window, without needing to use
the comment editor window, by typing the symbol followed by the
[Return] key. This is especially useful if you are <a
Moves>entering chess moves</a> using the keyboard. Also note that
the <a PGN>PGN window's</a> context menu offers many of the most
common symbols for direct annotation.
</p>
<h3>Comments</h3>
<p>
You can edit comments by typing in the text area provided and using
the Clear, Revert and Store buttons. You do not need to press the
Store button to update a comment; it is automatically updated
whenever you leave the comment editor window e.g. by activating
another window or tab.
</p>
<p>
You can move through the moves of a game directly from within the
comment editor by pressing Alt and the left/right cursor keys. To
jump from the NAG entry and the free text entry Alt-N may be used
for speedy navigation.
</p>
<p>
<b>Hint:</b> To add a comment before the first move in a variation,
go to the first move and hit the left arrow key once and then insert
the comment. Also note that by pressing Ctrl-A a variation can be
added right from within the comment editor. This eases creation
of a pre move comment for the first move of a variation.
</p>
<h3>Coloring squares</h3>
<p>
Colored markers may be added to the chess board by drawing them on
the little helper board that can be expanded left of the comment
window. The display of this board is toggled by <button tb_coords>.
Scid will remember the state of this board if options are saved.
Once the little helper board is expanded, select the marker to use
from the buttons below the board, and the color from the color
palette above and just click on the square to mark.
</p>
<p>
A square may also be colored by using a special embedded command
which can appear anywhere in a comment. The command format is:
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>[%draw marker,square,color]</b><li>
</ul>
<p>
where <b>square</b> is a square name like d4 and <b>color</b> is any
recognized color name (such as red, blue4, darkGreen, lightSteelBlue, etc)
or RGB code (a <b>#</b> followed by six hexadecimal digits, such as #a0b0c8).
If the color is omitted, it defaults to <red>red</red>.
<b>marker</b< may be full,circle,disk,x,+,-,?,!,= or the numbers
1..9.
</p>
<p>
A comment may contain any number of color commands, but each must have
in its own <b>[%draw...]</b> tag.
For example, the comment text</p>
<p>
Now d6 [%draw full,d6,red] is weak and the knight can attack it
from b5. [%draw circle,b5,#000070]
</p>
<p>
will color d6 <red>red</red> and b5 with the dark-blue color
<darkblue>#000070</darkblue>.
</p>
<h3>Drawing arrows</h3>
<p>
You can draw an arrow from one square to another using a special
comment command similar to the for coloring squares described above.
The format is:
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>[%arrow fromSquare toSquare color]</b><li>
</ul>
<p>
where <b>fromSquare</b> and <b>toSquare</b> are square names like d4
and <b>color</b> is any recognized color name (such as red, blue4, etc)
or RGB code (like #a0b0c0).
If the color is omitted, it defaults to <red>red</red>.
</p>
<p>
For example, the comment text
</p>
<p>
The c3-knight and c4-bishop control the weak d5 square.
[%arrow c3 d5 red] [%arrow c4 d5 blue]
</p>
<p>
will draw a red arrow from c3 to d5 and a blue one from c4 to d5.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>
Colored squares and arrows can be entered directly on the board
without the use of the Comment editor by using the mouse
buttons. For colored squares one can Shift-click on the square in
question. Shift-Left button marks the square in green, the middle
button in yellow, the right button in red. To draw arrows one can
Ctrl-click on the source and target squares. The left mouse button
again results in a green, the middle in a yellow and the right mouse
button in a red arrow.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Crosstable window help:
set helpTitle(Crosstable) "Crosstable window"
set helpText(Crosstable) {<h1>The Crosstable window</h1>
<p>
The crosstable window shows the tournament crosstable for the
current game. Each time you refresh the crosstable window (by
pressing its Refresh button, by pressing the <b>Return</b> key in the
crosstable window, or by typing <b>Control+Shift+X</b> in the
<a MainWindow>main</a> or <a GameList>game list</a> windows), Scid
searches for all games in the same tournament as the current game.
</p>
<p>
Any game played up to <b>twelve months before or after</b> the current game,
with the <b>exact same Event and Site tags</b>, is considered to be in
the tournament.
</p>
<p>
A single left-mouse button click on any result in the crosstable
loads the corresponding game.
You can add all the games in the tournament to the
<a Searches Filter>filter</a>
with the <b>Add to filter</b> button in the crosstable window.
</p>
<h4>Crosstable window menus</h4>
<p>
The <menu>File</menu> menu lets you print the current table to a file
in plain text, LaTeX or HTML table format.
</p>
<p>
The <menu>Display</menu> menu allows you to choose the table format:
<b>All-play-all</b>, <b>Swiss</b> or <b>Knockout</b> or <b>Auto</b>.
</p>
<p>
The all-play-all format (for round-robin-type events) has a limit of 30
players, but the Swiss format (for tournaments with many players) can
display up to 200 players and up to 20 rounds. <b>Auto</b>, which chooses
the best format automatically for each tournament, is the default.
</p>
<p>
Note that Scid uses the <b>Round</b> tag of each game to produce a Swiss
crosstable, so you will not see any games in the Swiss table for a tournament
if its games do not have numeric round values: 1, 2, 3, etc.
</p>
<p>
The Display menu also lets you customize the data presented to
include or exclude ratings, countries and player titles. You can also
choose whether color allocations in Swiss tables are displayed.
</p>
<p>
The <b>Separate score groups</b> option only affects the layout of the table
when the players are sorted by score: it causes a blank line to be inserted
between each group of players with the same score.
</p>
<p>
The <menu>Sort</menu> menu allows you to sort the players by name, rating
or score; by score is the default.
</p>
<p>
The <menu>Color</menu> menu lets you turn color (hypertext) display on or off.
Since it can take a long time to format and display large crosstables in
hypertext, selecting <b>Plain text</b> for large events will save a
lot of time.
However, in plain text mode you cannot click on players or games.
</p>
<h4>Duplicate games in crosstables</h4>
<p>
To get good results with the crosstable, you should mark duplicate games
for deletion and your games should have consistent spelling of player,
site and event names.
See the <a Maintenance>database maintenance</a> page for help on
deleting duplicate games and editing (or spellchecking)
player/event/site names.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.15, May 2007)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Database switcher help:
set helpTitle(Switcher) "Database Switcher"
set helpText(Switcher) {<h1>The Database Switcher window</h1>
<p>
The Database Switcher window provides a view which makes it easy to
switch between databases or copy games between databases.
The name, <a Searches Filter>filter</a> state and graphic type icon
of each database is displayed, and the active database is highlighted
with a yellow background.
</p>
<p>
You can open the database switcher window from the <menu>Windows</menu> menu,
or by its shortcut key: <b>Control+D</b>.
</p>
<p>
To copy all the filtered games in one database to another, drag with the
left mouse button from the source base to the target base. You will then
see a confirmation dialog (if the target database is not the
<a Clipbase>clipbase</a>) if the games can be copied, or an error message
if the games cannot be copied (for example, if a selected database is not
open).
</p>
<p>
Pressing right mouse button over a database produces a popup menu applying
to that database, from which you can change the database type icon or
reset its <a Searches Filter>filter</a>. You can also use this menu to
change the orientation of the window (to arrange the database slots
vertically or horizontally) which is useful for smaller screens.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### File Finder window help:
set helpTitle(Finder) "File Finder window"
set helpText(Finder) {<h1>The File Finder window</h1>
<p>
The <term>File Finder</term> helps you find files of any type you can
use in Scid: databases, <a PGN>PGN</a> files, <a EPD>EPD</a> files,
and <a Repertoire>repertoire</a> files.
</p>
<p>
The Finder shows useful information about each file, such as its size
(see below) and date of last modification. You can open any displayed
file by selecting it with a single left mouse button click.
</p>
<h3>Looking in subdirectories</h3>
<p>
When you want to find all files in all subdirectories of the current
directory, turn on the <b>Look in subdirectories</b> checkbox. This
will make Scid recursively examine every subdirectory for files that
can be opened in Scid. This can take a long time if there are many
subdirectories, so you may not want to do it for a directory near the
root of the file system. You can interrupt the file search by pressing
the <b>Stop</b> button.
</p>
<h3>File sizes</h3>
<p>
The meaning of a file size displayed by the Finder depends on the file
type. For Scid databases, it is the number of games. For
all other files, it is the size in kilobyte.
</p>
<p>
For easy manipulation of Scid databases, the Finder offers a context
menu. From this menu, accessible by a right mouse click as usual,
the following functions can be performed
<ul>
<li><term>Open</term> will open the file in question, this is
the same as just clicking on the file with the left mouse
button.</li>
<li><term>Backup</term> copies the file to its original name
appended by the current date and time.</li>
<li><term>Copy</term> copies the selected database to a new
location.</li>
<li><term>Move</term> moves the selected database to a new
location.</li>
<li><term>Delete</term> deletes the selected database.</li>
</ul>
These functions are especially helpful for Scid databases as these
consist of several files.
</p>
}
####################
### Tournament Finder window help:
set helpTitle(Tmt) "Tournament Finder window"
set helpText(Tmt) {<h1>The Tournament Finder window</h1>
<p>
The <term>Tournament Finder</term> lets you find tournaments in the
current database. It scans all the database games and collates data
about the tournaments found. Note that two games are considered to
be in the same tournament if they have the same Event tag, same Site
tag and were played within three months of each other.
</p>
<p>
You can limit the list of tournaments by the number of players and
games, date, mean Elo rating and country, by editing the fields below
the tournament list and then pressing the <b>Update</b> button.
</p>
<p>
The displayed list can be sorted by date, number of players, number
of games, mean Elo rating, site, event or the surname of the winner.
Select the category from the <menu>Sort</menu> menu or click on a
column title to change the sort field.
</p>
<p>
To load the first game of any displayed tournament, just click the
left mouse button when its line is highlighted. This will also
update the <a Crosstable>Crosstable</a> window if it is open.
If you press the right mouse button instead, the game will be loaded
and the Crosstable window will be opened even if it is closed.
</p>
<p>
To speed up the tournament searching process, it is a good idea to
set a fairly small date range (like a few years at most) or select
a particular country (by its three-letter standard code). Doing
these will greatly reduce the number of games Scid has to consider
when trying to form tournaments out of the games in the database.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### GameList window help:
set helpTitle(GameList) "Game List window"
set helpText(GameList) {<h1>The Game List window</h1>
<p>
The Game List window displays a one-line summary for each game included
in the current <term>filter</term>.
</p>
<h3>Navigating the game list</h3>
<p>
You can scroll the game list using the slider bar or the four
buttons under the list.
You can also use the [Home], [End],
[Page Up], [Page Down] and arrow keys to scroll
using the keyboard.
</p>
<p>
You can find the next game in the list which has certain text in its
White, Black, Event or Site field, using the <b>Find text</b> box.
</p>
<h3>Actions on games in the list</h3>
<p>
To load a game from the game list, double-click the left mouse button
on the game.
Clicking the middle mouse button shows the initial moves of a game;
this can be useful for checking a games opening before loading it.
</p>
<p>
The right mouse button produces a menu for the selected game, in which
you can browse or merge the game (see below), delete (or undelete) the
game, or exclude it from the filter.
Note that deleting a game only turns on its delete flag; it will remain in
the database until you <a Compact>compact</a> it.
</p>
<h3>Configuring the game list</h3>
<p>
Click the left or right mouse button on a column title to configure the
game list. You can alter widths, add or remove columns, and change
the color for each column.
</p>
<p>
If you only want to change the width of a column, there is a shortcut:
while pressing the <b>Control</b> (or <b>Shift</b>) key, pressing
the left mouse button on the column title will make it narrower
and pressing the right mouse button will make it wider.
</p>
<h3>Altering the size of the game list</h3>
<p>
The size of the game list window is stored in the options file
whenever you save options.
So if you want the game list to show 10 games by default, just resize
the game list window and then select <menu>Save options</menu>
from the <menu>Options</menu> menu.
</p>
<h3><name Browsing>Browsing and merging games</name></h3>
<p>
The game list right-mouse menu (and some other windows, such as the
<a Reports Opening>opening report</a> window and the
<a Tree Best>best games list</a> of the <a Tree>tree</a> window)
provide the choice of loading, browsing or merging a game.
</p>
<p>
When <term>Browse game</term> is selected, the moves of the selected
game (without comments or variations) will be displayed in a separate
window. This is a useful way of previewing another game without
affecting the currently loaded game. The size of this window may be
changes by +/- keys or Ctrl-Mousewheel.
</p>
<p>
The <term>Merge game</term> feature provides a way to include the
selected game as a variation of the current game. Scid finds the
deepest point where the selected game differs from the current
game (taking transpositions into account) and adds a variation
for the selected game at that position. The selected game can also be merged
with the current game of another opened base (this base must not be set read only).
You can change the number
of moves of the selected game to be shown, depending on whether you
are interested in adding the whole game or just its opening phase.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.7.2, april 2009)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Import window help:
set helpTitle(Import) "Import window"
set helpText(Import) {<h1>The Import window</h1>
<p>
Scid's Import window provides an easy way for you to paste a game
in <a PGN>PGN format</a> into Scid from some other application or window.
</p>
<p>
The large white frame in the window is where you type or paste
the text of the game in <a PGN>PGN</a> format, and the gray frame below it
provides feedback of any errors or warnings.
</p>
<h3>Editing the current game with the Import window</h3>
<p>
The Import window also doubles as a convenient way to make a few changes
to the current game: you can paste the current game into the
Import window (with the <b>Paste current game</b> button), edit the
text, and click <b>Import</b> when done.
</p>
<h3>PGN tags in the Import window</h3>
<p>
Scid expects to see <a PGN>PGN</a> header tags such as
<ul>
<li> <b>[Result "*"]</b> </li>
</ul>
before any moves, but you can just paste in a game fragment like
<ul>
<li> <b>1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5?! Nf6?? 4.Qxf7# 1-0</b> </li>
</ul>
without any header tags and Scid will import it.
</p>
<h3>Using <a PGN>PGN</a> files in Scid</h3>
<p>
If you want to use a <a PGN>PGN</a> format file in Scid but do not
want to convert it with <a Pgnscid>pgnscid</a> first, there are two
possible ways.
</p>
<p>
First, you can import the games in the file to an existing database
with the <menu>Tools: Import file of <a PGN>PGN</a> games...</menu> menu command.
</p>
<p>
The alternative is to open the <a PGN>PGN</a> file directly in Scid. However, PGN
format files are opened read-only and consume more memory than a
comparable Scid database, so this is only recommended for relatively
small <a PGN>PGN</a> files.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Exporting help:
set helpTitle(Export) "Exporting games"
set helpText(Export) {<h1>Exporting games</h1>
<p>
You can use commands under the <menu>Tools</menu> menu to export the
current game or all games in the current filter to a text file.
</p>
<p>
Four text file formats are available: <a PGN>PGN</a> (portable game
notation), HTML (for web pages), HTML and JavaScript (for
interactive web pages) and LaTeX (a popular typesetting system).
</p>
<p>
When exporting, you can choose to create a new file, or add the
games to an existing file of games exported by Scid.
</p>
<h3>Diagrams</h3>
<p>
When exporting in HTML or LaTeX format, Scid will automatically add
a diagram wherever a diagram <a NAGs>nag</a> ("D") or a <a
Comment>comment</a> that starts with the character "#" appears in
the game.
</p>
<h3><name Null>Null moves in <a PGN>PGN</a> Export</name></h3>
<p>
Scid allows <a Annotating Null>null (empty) moves</a> to be stored
in games, as they can be helpful when annotating games using
variations. However, the <a PGN>PGN</a> standard has no null move concept. So
if you export Scid games with null moves to a <a PGN>PGN</a> file, other
PGN-reading software will not be able to read the null moves.
</p>
<p>
To solve this problem, Scid provides an extra option,
<b>Convert null moves to comments</b>, when exporting games in <a PGN>PGN</a> format.
If you want to create a <a PGN>PGN</a> file that other software can use, turn this
option on and variations containing null moves will be converted to
comments. However, if you want to create a <a PGN>PGN</a> file that can be imported
back into Scid later with null moves preserved, leave the option off.
</p>
<h3>HTML Export</h3>
<p>
Scid can export games to an HTML file. For diagrams to appear, you
will need the diagram images (distributed with Scid in the directory
"<b>bitmaps/</b>") to be in a subdirectory <b>bitmaps/</b> under the
directory the HTML file is in.
</p>
<h3>HTML with JavaScript Export</h3>
<p>
While the HTML export generates a static file that may contain
static board diagrams, this format offers dynamic HTML, that allows
to move through the game interactively with the mouse.
</p>
<p>
This format consists of several files that need to be stored in a
specific structure. Therefore, it is advisable to first generate a
empty folder that will contain these files. The name of the main
file can be specified and it will get the extension html (e.g.
mygame.html). This file should be loaded by the web browser. The
other files are required to exist in exactly the position the export
filter places them. However, the whole folder can easily be uploaded
to some web server.
</p>
<h3>LaTeX Export</h3>
<p>
Scid can export games to a LaTeX file. Games be printed two columns
to a page and moves are in figurine algebraic notation with proper
translation of the NAG symbols. Diagrams are added whenever a
<term>D</term> comment is found.
</p>
<p>
See the <a LaTeX>Using LaTeX with Scid</a> help page for more information.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### LaTeX help:
set helpTitle(LaTeX) "Scid and LaTeX"
set helpText(LaTeX) {<h1>Using LaTeX with Scid</h1>
<p>
Scid can save games and opening reports to files in LaTeX format.
LaTeX is an extension to TeX, a popular typesetting system.
</p>
<p>
To typeset the LaTeX files produced by Scid, you must have
LaTeX (of course) and have the "chess12" chess font package installed.
This font package is usually not part of standard LaTeX installations,
so even if you have LaTeX, you may not have the chess font.
</p>
<p>
For information about downloading and installing the LaTeX chess font,
visit the
<url http://scid.sourceforge.net/latex.html>Using LaTeX with Scid</url>
page at the <url http://scid.sourceforge.net/>Scid website</url>.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### <a PGN>PGN</a> window help:
set helpTitle(PGN) "PGN window"
set helpText(PGN) {<h1>The <a PGN>PGN</a> window</h1>
<p>
Scid's <a PGN>PGN</a> window displays the contents of the current game in
standard <a PGN>PGN</a> representation. In the move text, comments appear {in
braces} and variations appear (in parentheses).
</p>
<h3>PGN format</h3>
<p>
<a PGN>PGN</a> (Portable Game Notation) is a common standard for transferring
chess games between computer programs. A <a PGN>PGN</a> game consists of two
sections. The first is the header, which contains tags such as
<b>[White "Kasparov, Gary"]</b>
and
<b>[Result "1/2-1/2"]</b>.
</p>
<p>
The second section contains the actual moves of the game, in
standard algebraic notation (SAN) along with any variations,
<a NAGs>annotation symbols</a> and <a Comment>comments</a>.
</p>
<h3>Actions in the <a PGN>PGN</a> window</h3>
<p>
You can use the <a PGN>PGN</a> window to navigate around the game: clicking the
left mouse button on a move will jump to that move. Click the left
mouse button on a comment will edit it. The arrow keys and
(<b>v</b> and <b>z</b> keys for entering or leaving variations) work
for game navigation just as in the main window. As in the main
window, hitting v will cause the <term>Variation</term> window to
pop up allowing to select a variation using the cursor keys. Setting
Options / Moves / Show variation window will pop up this window
automatically every time a move with a variation is found while
navigating through the game using the cursor keys. In the variation
window one can enter the variation by selecting it with the up/down
cursor keys and hitting enter or clicking on it with the mouse. This
allows for navigation through the game with the cursor keys only.
Clicking on a move with middle mouse button will display a small
board. Clicking on right mouse button will popup a contextual menu.
</p>
<p>
From the context menu the following functions are available
<ul>
<li><term>Delete Variation:</term>
Deletes the current variation
</li>
<li><term>Make First Variation:</term>
Moves the current variation to the first position of all
variations on that level
</li>
<li><term>Promote Variation to Mainline</term>
Promotes the current variation to the mainline and demotes the
current mainline to a variation.
</li>
<li><term>Strip:Moves from the beginning</term>
</li>
<li><term>Strip:Moves to the End</term>
</li>
<li><term>Strip:Comments</term>
Removes all comments
</li>
<li><term>Strip:Variations</term>
Removes all variations
</li>
</ul>
</p>
<h3>PGN display options</h3>
<p>
The <a PGN>PGN</a> window menus contain options that affect the <a PGN>PGN</a> window display.
Scid can display the game in color or plain text -- see the
<menu>Display</menu> menu in the <a PGN>PGN</a> window.
The color display is easier to read, and allows you to select moves and
comments using the mouse, but it is much slower to update. For very long
games, you may want to select plain text display.
</p>
<p>
You can also alter the format of comments and variations, choosing
to display them indented on a separate line for greater visibility.
</p>
<p>
The <a PGN>PGN</a> display options, and the size of the <a PGN>PGN</a> window, are saved to the
options file whenever you <b>Save Options</b> from the <menu>Options</menu>
menu of the main window.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Piece Tracker help:
set helpTitle(PTracker) "Piece tracker"
set helpText(PTracker) {<h1>The Piece Tracker window</h1>
<p>
The <term>Piece Tracker</term> is a tool that tracks the movements
of a particular piece in all games in the current filter, and
generates a "footprint" showing how often each square has been
visited by the piece.
</p>
<p>
To use the Piece Tracker, first make sure the filter contains the
games you are interested in, such as games reaching a particular
opening position or all games where a certain player had the white pieces.
Then, select the piece to track and set other tracking options; these are
explained below. Then press the <b>Update</b> button.
</p>
<p>
The tracked piece movement information is displayed in two ways: a
graphical "footprint", and a text list with one line of data per square.
</p>
<h3>Selecting the tracked piece</h3>
<p>
The chess pieces are displayed as in the standard chess starting position
below the footprint chart. A single piece (such as the White b1 knight or
the Black d7 pawn) can be selected with the left mouse button, and all
pieces of the same type and color (such as all White pawns or both Black
rooks) can be selected using the right mouse button.
</p>
<h3>Other piece tracker settings</h3>
<p>
The move number range controls when tracking should start and stop in
each game. The default range of 1-20 (meaning tracking should stop after
Black's 20th move) is appropriate for examining opening themes, but (for
example) a range like 15-35 would be better when looking for middlegame
trends.
</p>
<p>
There are two types of statistic the tracker can generate:
<ul>
<li> <b>% games with move to square</b>: shows what proportion of filter
games contain a move by the tracked piece to each square. This is
the default setting and usually the most suitable choice.
<li> <b>% time in each square</b>: shows the proportion of time the
tracked piece has spent on each square.
</ul>
</p>
<h3>Hints</h3>
<p>
There are (at least) three good uses for the Piece Tracker: opening
preparation, middlegame themes, and player preparation.
</p>
<p>
For opening preparation, use the piece tracker with the <a Tree>Tree</a>
opened. By tracking pieces you can see trends in the current opening
such as common pawn pushes, knight outposts, and where the bishops are
most often placed. You may find it useful to set the move number range
to start after the current move in the game, so the moves made to reach
the current position are not included in the statistics.
</p>
<p>
For middlegame themes, the piece tracker can be useful when the filter
has been set to contain a certain ECO range (using a
<a Searches Header>Header search</a>) or perhaps a pattern such as a
White IQP (using a <a Searches Material>Material/pattern search</a>).
Set the move range to something suitable (such as 20-40), and track
pieces to see pawn pushes in the late middlegame or early endgame,
for example.
</p>
<p>
For player preparation, use a <a Searches Header>Header search</a> or
the <a PInfo>Player information</a> window to find all games by a
certain player with one color. The Piece Tracker can then be used to
discover how likely the player is to fianchetto bishops, castle
queenside, or set up a d5 or e5 pawn wedge, for example.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Tree window help:
set helpTitle(Tree) "Tree window"
set helpText(Tree) {<h1>The Tree window</h1>
<p>
The <term>Tree</term> window displays information on all the
moves made from the current position in games in the database.
In tree mode, the tree window is updated automatically whenever the
main windows board changes. This can be slow for large databases and
can therefore be disabled using the <button tb_search_on>. To visualise
that a tree is not automatically refreshed this button changes to
<button tb_search_off>.
</p>
<p>To open the <term>Tree</term> window one can either first open a
database and then choose Windows / Tree Window (Ctrl-T) from the
menu, or open the base as tree right from the file menu.
<p>
Note that whenever the tree window is updated, the <a Searches
Filter>filter</a> is reset and only the games that contain the
current position will be included. This is also the case if e.g. a
header search was done: once the next move is entered, the tree
window updates and the filter is set to the games matching the tree
window.
</p>
<p>
Clicking the left mouse button on a move in the tree window adds
that move to the game.
</p>
<h3>Tree window contents</h3>
<p>
The tree window shows the <a ECO>ECO code</a> (if any), frequency
(both as number of games, and a percentage) and score of each move.
The <term>score</term> is always computed from the <b>White</b>
perspective, so 100% means all White wins and 0% means all Black
wins. Scores are highlighted for moves that have good (green) or bad
(red) results. On average a move should score 53.8% for white,
highlighting appears if a move scores more than 3% better or worse
than this average and if at least 15 games are contained in the
database. The <term>AvElo</term> (average Elo) corresponds to the
player's on move and <term>Perf</term> (performance) represents the
opponent's strength. Additionally, <term>AvYear</term> shows the
average year of games played in this move and <term>%Draws</term>
gives the percentage of draws for the line displayed. All these
values are calculated for the database displayed in the tree, and
therefore depend of course on the games in this database.
</p>
<p>
Additional information is displayed if a <term>Mask</term> has been
opened. For the use of <term>Masks</term> see below.
<p>
The moves in the tree window can be sorted by move (alphabetically),
ECO code, frequency, or score. You can change the sort method using
the <menu>Sort</menu> menu.
</p>
<h3><name Best>Best games window</name></h3>
<p>
The tree window has a File menu command and button for opening the
<term>Best games</term> window, which shows a list of the
highest-rated games in the currently displayed tree branch.
(Equivalently, one can use the <button tb_list> button). The games
are listed in order of average rating, and you can restrict the list
to show games with a particular result and also limit the number of
games shown in this list. Additionally, up to 4 flags of the games
in the list show up in the best games list. The special flag
<b>A</b> marks a game as <b>Annotated</a>, ie. these games contain
either comments, variations or NAGs (or any combination of those).
Note that if a header search was ran against the database, the best
games list is restricted to the results of this header search.
</p>
<h3><name Graph>Tree graph window</name></h3>
<p>
The tree window buttons include a button marked <term>Graph</term>
(<button tb_bargraph>) which produces a graphical display of the
relative performance of each move from the current position. All
moves that have been played at least 1% of the time, and at least 5
times, are displayed. Percentage scores are always from White's
perspective even when it is Black to move. The graphs can be saved
in PostScript format via the file menu.
</p>
<p>
In the tree graph, a red line is plotted showing the mean over all games
from the current position, and the area between 50 and 55% (where most
standard openings are expected to score) is colored blue
to assist comparison of moves. Note that white usually scores around 55%
in master level chess.
</p>
<h3><name Lock>Locking the tree window</name></h3>
<p>
Each tree window is associated with a specific base, that is, if
several bases are opened simultaneously, several tree windows may
exist. If the <term>Lock</term> button in the tree window is
enabled, closing the tree window will also close the database
associated with this specific tree. Additionally, this also closes
associated graph or best games windows. If the <term>Lock</term>
button is not checked closing the tree will leave all these windows
opened and just close the tree view of the base.
</p>
<p>
Note that opening a base as tree from the file menu will
automatically lock the database by default.
</p>
<h3><name Training>Training</name></h3>
<p>
When the <term>Training</term> checkbox in the tree window is selected,
Scid will randomly make a move every time you add a move to the game.
The move Scid chooses depends on database statistics, so a move played
in 80% of database games will be chosen by Scid with 80% probability.
Turning on this feature, then hiding (or iconifying) the Tree window and
playing openings against a large database, is a great way to test your
knowledge of your opening repertoire. Another option to train an
opening offers <a OpeningTrainer>Training / Openings</a>.
</p>
<h3>Caching for faster results</h3>
<p>
Scid maintains a cache of tree search results for the positions with the
most matching games. If you move forward and back in a game in tree mode,
you will see the tree window update almost instantly when the position
being searched for is in the cache.
</p>
<p>
The tree window has a file menu command named <term>Save Cache</term>.
When you select this, the current contents of the tree cache in memory
are written to a file (with the suffix <b>.stc</b>) to speed up future
use of Tree mode with this database.
</p>
<p>
The <term>Fill cache file</term> command in the file menu of the tree
window fills the cache file with data for many opening positions.
It does a tree search for about 100 of the most common opening positions,
then saves the cache file.
</p>
<p>
The maximum number of lines in the Cache can be configured by File /
Cache size. The default are up to 1000 lines.
</p>
<p>
Alternatively, one can fill the cache also with the content of a
base or a game by choosing File / Fill Cache with base and File /
Fill Cache with game, respectively. The cache will be filled with
the contents of these including all variations. This is most helpful
if one has one or more repertoire bases that can serve as input. (See
also <a OpeningTrainer> about this type of bases.)
<p>
Tree refresh can be dramatically enhanced if the database is sorted
by ECO code then compacted (see the <a Maintenance>maintenance</a>
window). Once this is achieved (the whole process can last several
hours), turn on the option <term>Fast mode</term>. The refresh of
the Tree window will be 20 times faster in average at the cost of
some inaccuracies (games not in current filter will not be taken
into account). By turning off the <term>Fast mode</term> option you
will see the difference in the number of games when all the
transpositions are taken into account. If you want to get a preview
of statistics then get a precise Tree, use the option <term>Fast and
slow mode</term>
</p>
<p>
Note that a tree cache (.stc) file is completely redundant; you can remove
it without affecting the database, and in fact it is removed by Scid
whenever an action occurs that could leave it out of date -- for example,
adding or replacing a game, or sorting the database.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, November 2010)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(TreeMasks) "Masks for Trees"
set helpText(TreeMasks) {<h1>Masks for Trees</h1>
<h3>Basics</h3>
<p>
The <term>Tree</term> window displays information on all the moves
made from the current position in games in the database. See also <a
Tree>The Tree window</a> for more details.
</p>
<p>
To add additional information beyond pure statistical data a
<term>Mask</term> can be defined. One can imagine a
<term>Mask</term> as a transparent layer above the current tree, that
holds additional data e.g. commentaries for moves or positions, own
evaluations and ones own opening repertoire. <term>Masks</term> are
stored in a Mask file (.stm) and thus are independent of the
databases to be used with. That is, one can define a
<term>Mask</term> once and use it with various databases by just
loading it from the <term>Tree</term> windows menu.
</p>
<p>
As soon as a <term>Mask</term> file is opened, the displays of
the <term>Tree</term> window change. First of all, all moves from
the current position that are present in the mask are highlighted.
Additionally, NAGs and markers may show up in front of a move or
commentaries concerning the move will show up at the end of its
line. Finally, the current position may also hold a comment.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: The independence of <term>Masks</term> from a database
make them a very powerful tool to handle opening repertoires.
Contrary to the traditional way of opening lines, <term>Masks</term>
have the advantage to handle transpositions transparently, simply
cause they are based on the current positions instead of a line
leading to it.
</p>
<h3>Using a Masks</h3>
<p>
As <term>Masks</term> operate on the tree view of a given database,
first of all the tree view has to be opened either by <menu>Window /
Tree window</menu> or the shortcut <b>ctrl-t</b>. For starting out
it makes sense to open a larger reference database as this
simplifies the addition of moves to a <term>Mask</term>. However,
Masks work with every database, even the <term>Clipbase</term>, that
is one could also import a collection of games from a <a PGN>PGN</a> file to
the Clipbase to set up a <term>Mask</term>.
</p>
<p>
Now, a mask file has to be created or loaded. These files use the
extension .stm. To create a new mask file select <menu>Mask /
New</menu> from the <term>Tree</term> windows menu. Similarly, an
existing mask can be opened using <menu>Mask / Open</menu>. Finally,
<menu>Mask / Open recent</menu> is a shortcut to the recently used
<term>Mask</term> files.
</p>
<p>
Once a Mask file is opened new commentary can be added to this
specific mask. Note again, that the Mask is independent of database
used for its creation. It can later applied to any database of ones
liking. For an opening repertoire it might thus make sense to
generate two masks, one for the White and one for the Black
openings.
</p>
<p>
To add markers or comments to moves, first add the move
to the mask by choosing <term>Add to mask</term> from the context
menu available by clicking on the line with the right mouse button.
After a line was added, it is highlighted in <blue>blue</blue>
within the tree window. Similarly, a move can be removed from the
mask by <menu>Remove from mask</menu> from the context menu.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: If the move to be added is not displayed in the tree
window Scid offers a list of all possible moves by means of the
context menu. As this might be quite a bunch of moves, they are
split into several context menu items at the end of the available
choices. All are labeled by <menu>Add this move to mask</menu> and in
case necessary numbered. Just select a move from one of those lists
if it does not show up in the tree anyway.
<p>
After a move was added to the <term>Mask</term> and one can select
the following markers from the context menu. These markers will show
up left to the move annotated:
<ul>
<li><term>NAG</term> symbols are the simplest annotation symbol. The
menu displays only those nags sensible for a move (not a position)
which results in the following symbols possible <term>!!, !, !?, ?!,
?, ??, ~</term>
</li>
<li>By selecting <menu>Marker 1</menu> and <menu>Marker 2</menu> up
to two additional graphical markers can be attached to a move. They
are mainly meant to handle opening repertoires. The available options
are:
<ul>
<li> <img tb_tick> Include line in repertoire</li>
<li> <img tb_cross> Exclude line from repertoire</li>
<li> <img tb_mainline> Main Line</li>
<li> <img tb_bkm> Bookmark</li>
<li> <img tb_white> White</li>
<li> <img tb_black> Black</li>
<li> <img tb_new> New line</li>
<li> <img tb_rfilter> To be verified by further analysis</li>
<li> <img tb_msearch> To train</li>
<li> <img tb_help_small> Dubious line</li>
<li> <img tb_cut> To remove</li>
</ul>
To remove a marker just select the item <menu>No marker</menu>.
</li>
<li><term>Color</term> Allows to add a little colored square in
front of the move for ones own highlighting. To remove it again
select <menu>White</menu></li>
<li><term>Comment move</term> allows to add a textual comment for
the line. This comment is shown right to the line it is
associated. Note that only a part of the first line shows up there
to give some visual feedback that commentary exists. The whole
comment shows up in a tooltip once the mouse is moved over the line
in question.
</li>
<li><term>Comment position</term> can be used to add a comment for the
current position. This comment is shown on top of <term>Tree</term>
window once the commented position is reached. Note that Scid
displays only the first line of the comment to save space in the
<term>Tree</term> window. However, if the mouse is moved over that
line the whole commentary shows up in a tooltip.
</li>
</ul>
Don't forget to save the Mask! You will be prompted to do it
if you close a Mask that has been modified or if a <term>Tree</term>
window is closed.
</p>
<p>
To search for commentary, symbols etc. use <menu>Masks /
Search</menu>. Here one can select various check boxes that use the
selected search option as criterion. After selecting
<button>Search</button> a list of all positions found is displayed
in <term>FEN</term> notation followed by the move in question and
the commentary if any.
</p>
<p>
<menu>Display mask</menu> will display the current Mask in a line
style. Stating at the current position all subsequent moves are
sorted into some unfoldable tree to give an overview of the current
lines of play similar to what is found in many repertoire books.
Note that not all information are displayed (e.g. comments are
shorted to fit the display). Additionally, as <term>Masks</term>
work on positions rather than move sequences they may contain loops
(ie. transpositions) which can not be unfolded in a line wise
display perfectly. That is, this display may be cut at a certain
point.
</p>
<h3>Conversion to Masks</h3>
<p>
Setting up a mask can be a tedious task especially for complex
opening repertoires. However, if such a repertoire is available as a
Scid database or a number of <a PGN>PGN</a> games, or lines stored in usual
chess games, Scid can use that information to set up suitable
<term>Masks</term> automatically.
</p>
<p>
First of all one has to load the information into a Scid database.
In case the information is already available as a Scid database this
is as easy as opening it. In case a <a PGN>PGN</a> file is use it should be
either imported into a Scid database or one can use the
<term>Clipbase</term> to import it temporarily. In that case one
should make sure that the <term>Clipbase</term> is empty before
importing. (<menu>Edit / Empty Clipbase</menu>).
</p>
<p>
The next step is to open the tree for the just opened Scid database.
Then a new <term>Mask</term> should be created or an existing one
opened. <b>Note</b> that this function may be used to consolidate
several bases into a single <term>Mask</term>.
</p>
<p>
Now, the <term>Mask</term> can be filled automatically with the game
content of the database. In this process, comments within the games
will be converted to move comments (appending to those existing
eventually) in the <term>Mask</term>. <term>NAG</term> symbols will
be added as well. To initiate this process one can chose either
<menu>Masks / Fill with game</menu> to fill the <term>Mask</term>
with the contents of a single game, or <menu>Fill with
Database</menu> to loop over all games in the database.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: especially filling a <term>Mask</term> with an entire
base can be quite time consuming.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: The <term>mask</term> is filled with all moves till the
end of the game including all variations within a game. Therefore,
it is sensible to use only bases for this procedure that end the
games as soon as the middle game is reached.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, November 2010)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Compaction help:
set helpTitle(Compact) "Database compaction"
set helpText(Compact) {<h1>Database compaction</h1>
<p>
Database <term>compaction</term> is a specific type of
<a Maintenance>maintenance</a> that keeps a database as small and
efficient as possible.
Compacting a database means removing any unused space in its files.
There are two types: name file and game file compaction.
</p>
<h3>Name file compaction</h3>
<p>
Over time, you may find a database starts to contain a number of player,
event, site or round names that are no longer used in any game. This will
often happen after you spellcheck names. The unused names waste space in
the name file, and can slow down name searches.
Name file compaction removes all names that are not used in any games.
</p>
<h3>Game file compaction</h3>
<p>
Whenever a game is replaced or deleted, wasted space is left in the game
file (the largest of the three files in a Scid database). Game file
compaction removes all wasted space, leaving no deleted games in the
database. Note that this operation is irreversible: after compaction,
the deleted games are gone forever!
</p>
<p>
Game file compaction is also recommended after <a Sorting>sorting</a> a
database, to keep the order of the game file consistent with the sorted
index file.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Database maintenance tools help:
set helpTitle(Maintenance) "Database maintenance"
set helpText(Maintenance) {<h1>Database maintenance</h1>
<p>
Scid provides a number of tools for maintaining databases,
available from the Scid <a Menus File>File</a> menu. The
database <a Compact>compaction</a> and <a Sorting>sorting</a>
functions are explained in separate help pages.
</p>
<h3>Maintenance window</h3>
<p>
Most Scid database maintenance can be done from the Maintenance
window, which can be opened from the <menu>File: Maintenance</menu>
or <menu>Windows</menu> menus or the shortcut key <b>Ctrl+M</b>.
</p>
<p>
You can use this window to maintain <a Flags>game flags</a>,
spellcheck names, <a Compact>compact</a> or <a Sorting>sort</a>
a database. Note that any operations that are not available
for the current database (for example, because it may be read-only
or a <a PGN>PGN</a> file) will be grayed out.
</p>
<h3><name Twins>Deleting twin games</name></h3>
<p>
The <menu>File: Maintenance</menu> menu has a command
<menu>Delete twin games...</menu> for detecting extra copies
(twins) of games in the database.
This command finds all pairs of games that are twins and, for each pair,
flags the shorter game deleted leaving the longer game undeleted.
Two games are considered to be twins if their players
(and any other tags that you can optionally specify) match exactly.
</p>
<p>
If you specify the "same moves" option, each pair of games must have the
same actual moves up to the length of the shorter game (or up to move 60,
whichever comes first) to be twins.
</p>
<p>
When you have deleted twins, it is a good idea to check that each
game deleted really is a copy of another game.
You can do this easily if you selected the
"<b>Set filter to all deleted games</b>" option in the
delete twins dialog box. The filter will now contain all deleted games.
You can browse through them (using the <b>p</b> and <b>n</b> keys) with
the <term>twins checker</term> window (available from the maintenance
menu, or the shortcut key <b>Ctrl+Shift+T</b>) to verify that each game is
deleted because it actually is a twin of another game.
</p>
<h3><name Editing>Editing player, event, site and round names</name></h3>
<p>
You may find mis-spelt names in your databases and want to correct them.
You can do this in Scid with the <term>Name editor</term> window
(shortcut key: <b>Control+Shift+N</b>),
available from the <menu>File: Maintenance</menu> submenu.
</p>
<p>
Each unique name is only stored once in the name file, so changing a name
actually changes all occurrences of it.
</p>
<h3><name Spellcheck>Spellchecking names</name></h3>
<p>
Scid comes with a <term>spellcheck</term> file named <b>spelling.ssp</b>,
for correction of player, event, site and round names.
Scid will try to load the spellcheck file whenever it starts up; if it
does not load, you can load it from the <menu>Options</menu> menu.
</p>
<p>
Once the spellcheck file is loaded, you can use it on a
a Scid database using the spellcheck commands in the
<menu>File: Maintenance</menu> menu, or from the maintenance window.
</p>
<p>
When you spellcheck a database, Scid produces a list of corrections that you
can edit before actually making any corrections, so you can remove any
corrections you do not want to make.
</p>
<p>
Spellchecking is especially useful for standardizing a database so all
instances of a particular player are spelt the same way.
For example, with the standard spellcheck file, the names "Kramnik,V.",
"Vladimir Kramnik", and "V. Kramnik" would all be corrected
to "Kramnik, Vladimir".
</p>
<p>
The spellcheck file has one
additional use: when it is loaded, its player data is
used to enhance the <a PInfo>player information</a> window and the
<a Crosstable>crosstable</a> window:
you will see FIDE master title
(<b>gm</b> = International Grandmaster, <b>im</b> = International Master, etc)
and country information for any player that is
listed in the spellcheck file. Over 6500 strong players of the past and
present are listed in the <b>spelling.ssp</b> file that comes with Scid.
</p>
<h3><name Ratings>Adding Elo ratings to games</name></h3>
<p>
The "Add Elo ratings..." button in the Maintenance window causes Scid
to search the current database for games where a player does not have
a rating, but the spellcheck file has an Elo rating listed for that
player at the date of the game. Scid will add all such ratings
automatically. This is very useful for a database of master-level games
which has few ratings.
</p>
<p>
The spellcheck file "spelling.ssp" that comes with Scid does not contain
the Elo rating information needed for this function, but a larger version
of it called "ratings.ssp" is available from the <url
http://scid.sourceforge.net/>Scid website</url>.
</p>
<h3><name Cleaner>The Cleaner</name></h3>
<p>
The Scid <term>Cleaner</term> (available from the Maintenance window) is
a tool for doing a number of maintenance tasks on a database in one
action. You can choose which tasks you want to do, and Scid will
perform them on the current database without requiring user interaction.
This is especially useful for maintenance of large databases.
</p>
<h3>Setting the database autoload game</h3>
<p>
The <term>autoload</term> game of a database is the game automatically
loaded whenever that database is opened. To change the autoload game of
a database, use the "Autoload game number..." button. If you always want
the last game of a database to be opened (regardless of the actual number
of games in the database), just set it to a very high number such as
9999999.
</p>
<h3>Repair a base</h3>
<p>
In the rare cases that a Scid database is corrupted one might try to
repair it using File / Maintenance / Repair base. For this to work,
the base in question must not be opened (which is not possible in
most cases anyway). Scid will then try its best to get the database
back in a consistent and usable state.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Sorting help:
set helpTitle(Sorting) "Sorting a database"
set helpText(Sorting) {<h1>Sorting a database</h1>
<p>
The <term>sorting</term> function sorts all games in a database.
You can select a number of sort criteria.
When two games are equal according to the the first criteria, they
are sorted using the second criteria, and so on.
</p>
<h3>Sort criteria</h3>
<p>
The available sorting criteria are:
</p>
<ul>
<li> Date (oldest games first)
<li> Year (same as date, but using the year only)
<li> Event name
<li> Site name
<li> Country (last 3 letters of Site name)
<li> Round name
<li> White name
<li> Rating (average of White and Black ratings, highest first)
<li> Black name
<li> Result (White wins, then draws, then Black wins)
<li> Length (number of full moves in the game)
<li> ECO (the <a ECO>Encyclopedia of Chess Openings code</a>)
</ul>
<h3>Sort results</h3>
<p>
When you sort a Scid database that is not read-only, the sort
results are saved so the order of games in the database is
permanently changed. If you want to the sort results to be
temporary, make the database read-only first using the <b>File:
Read-only</b> menu command.
</p>
<p>
When you sort a database that is read-only or is actually a PGN
file, the sort results cannot be saved so the sorted order of games
will be lost when the file is closed.
</p>
<p>
Note that sorting a database resets the <a Searches Filter>search
filter</a> to contain all games.
</p>
<h3>Important note about sorting databases:</h3>
<p>
When a database is sorted, the index file is altered but the game file
is not changed. This means sorting a database will leave the game file
records in a scrambled order relative to the index file. This can
really <b>slow down</b> <a Tree>tree</a>, position and material/pattern
<a Searches>searches</a>, so you should reorder the game file by
<a Compact>compacting</a> it after sorting the database to maintain
good search performance.
</p>
<p>
Note that only a database sorted by <a ECO>ECO</a> codes can use the fast
tree search modes. This however, also requires to compact the
database after the sort procedure!
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Flags help:
set helpTitle(Flags) "Game Flags"
set helpText(Flags) {<h1>Game Flags</h1>
<p>
A <term>flag</term> is an indicator of some chess characteristic
that can be turned on or off for each game in the database.
There are 13 user-settable flags that you can directly set for
each game. Of these, only the Delete flag has any special
significance: games with the Delete flag turned on are marked
for deletion and will removed when the database is
<a Compact>compacted</a>.
</p>
<p>
The other 12 user-settable flags and their symbols are:
</p>
<ul>
<li>White opening (W)</li>
<li>Black opening (B)</li>
<li>Middlegame (M)</li>
<li>Endgame (E)</li>
<li>Novelty (N)</li>
<li>Pawn structure (P)</li>
<li>Tactics (T)</li>
<li>Queenside play (Q)</li>
<li>Kingside play (K)</li>
<li>Brilliancy (!)</li>
<li>Blunder (?)</li>
<li>User-defined (U)</li>
</ul>
<p>
Since Scid 4.0 additional 6 custom flags are available for
individual use. These flags are specific for each base and their
textual description can be set via the <a Maintenance>maintenance
window</a>. In the games list, game info area and so on they display
as the numbers (1) .. (6). For <a Searches Header>header
searches</a> they behave exactly like the predefined flags above.
</p>
<p>
A flag can be set for the current game, all filter games, or all
database games using the <a Maintenance>maintenance</a> window.
</p>
<p>
You can use a <a Searches Header>header search</a> to find all
games in a database that have a particular flag turned on or off,
or use flags as part of more complex searches.
</p>
<p>
Since all the user-settable flags (except the Delete flag) have
no significance to Scid, you can use them for any purpose that
suits your needs. For example, you could use the Kingside (K)
flag for kingside pawn storms, or kingside heavy piece attacks,
or even for endgames with all pawns on the kingside. Depending on
usage, however a custom flag might be more suitable.
</p>
<p>
Note, that sensible handling of flags can speed up searches
significantly!
</p>
<p>
The following functions of Scid set or require flags:
<ul>
<li><a OpeningTrainer>Opening Trainer</a>: can evaluate the (B) and (W) flags
<li><a Analysis Annotate>Find best move</a>: evaluates the (T) flag
<li><a Analysis Annotate>Find tactical exercise</a>: sets the (T) flag
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Analysis window help:
set helpTitle(Analysis) "Analysis window"
set helpText(Analysis) {<h1>The Analysis window</h1>
<p>
The Scid analysis window shows the analysis by a chess program
(known as an <term>engine</term>) of the current board position.
Whenever the board changes, Scid sends the new position to the
engine and it shows its assessment of that position.
Currently, up to two engines can be run simultaneously. To start the
first analysis engine, the short cut <term>F2</term> can be used,
for the second engine <term>F3</term>. To quickly close the engine
window just hit <term>ESC</term>.
</p>
<p>
The principal information of the current analysis is shown on
top of the window. The first number signifies the evaluation value
in pawn units. The score shown in the analysis window is always
from the perspective of White, so a negative score indicates Black
is better. <b>Depth:</b> shows the search depth already reached by
the engines calculations in half moves. The number after
<b>Nodes:</b> gives the number of positions analysed for the current
result while the number of positions per second (kn/s) is shown in
brackets. <b>Time:</b> finally shows the amount of time spent for
the current analysis.
</p>
<p>
Additional information can be accessed using the <button
tb_engineinfo> button. A new line will be added to the status area
showing the current move analysed, the number of tablebase hits, a
more exact number of nodes analysed per second, the watermark of the
engines hash and the current cpu load. Usually, this information is
hidden to save space for the analysis.
</p>
<p>
If the engine only analyses the line it considers the main
continuation, the lower frame in the window (with the scrollbar)
shows the history of evaluations produced by the engine for the
current position, so you can see how the assessment has changed.
</p>
<p>
Many recent <term>UCI</term> engines however allow to analyse
several lines at once. Using this <term>Multi-PV</term> feature, the
user can also see what the engine thinks is the second or third best
continuation. The best line is always on top and highlighted to
ease reading. If an engine allows for <term>Multi-PV
analysis</term>, the spin box below the analysis lines can be used
to set the number of principal variations that should be calculated
and shown. In this case, instead of the calculation history, only
the resulting principal lines are shown. However, if the number of
principal lines is set to 1, one can again observe the evaluation
history. The spin box is disabled, if an engine does offer this
feature.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> the output of the current analysis can be hidden/shown
by clicking with the right mouse button into the analysis window. In
this mode only the current evaluation is shown in the status line.
<p>
To add the best move chosen by the engine as a new move in the current
game, press the <b>Add move</b> button <button tb_addmove>. If the
whole main line of the engine should be added just use the <b>Add
Variation</b> button <button tb_addvar>. In case an engine offers
the <term>Multi-PV</term> mode, using the <b>Add all Variations</b>
button (<button tb_addallvars>) can be used to add all principal
variations to the game. The insertion of variations from the
analysis window will also add the name of the engine as a comment to
the game.
</p>
<p>
To temporarily interrupt the calculation process one can use the
stop engine button (<button tb_eng_off>). Once pressed, this button
changes to the start engine button (<button tb_eng_on>) which will
restart the engines analysis. Note, however, that most engines will
restart the whole analysis again, forgetting all results that where
achieved in an earlier run. Only few engines are able to reuse the
results they have calculated till the analysis was stopped. For the
first analysis engine toggling start/stop engine is mapped to the
hotkey <term>F4</term> while for the second engine <term>F5</term>
can be used.
</p>
<p>
To set an engine to analyse a position in the background while
other functions of Scid are used one can <term>lock the
position</term> using the <button tb_lockengine> button. Scid now
stops to send any changes of the main board to the engine, and the
engine stays calculating the position.
</p>
<p>
To finish the current game by the engine ("shoot out" or "demo" mode)
one can use the finish game button <button tb_finish_off>. To indicate
the shootout mode this button turns to <button tb_finish_on>. This
function is only available for the first analysis engine.
</p>
<h3><name List>The Analysis Engines List</name></h3>
<p>
Scid maintains a list of the engines you have used, along with an
estimated Elo rating (if you guess one; additionally some pages on
the Internet offer these values as results from large engine-engine
tournaments) and the date when each engine was last used. You can
sort the engine list by name, Elo rating, or date.
Select the <b>New</b> or <b>Edit</b> buttons to add a new engine to
the list or edit the details for an existing entry.
</p>
<h3><name Start>Engine commands and directories</name></h3>
<p>
For each engine, you must specify the executable file to run and
which directory Scid should run it in.
</p>
<p>
The most likely cause of engine starting problems is the choice of
which directory the engine should run in. Some engines require an
initialization or opening book file in their start directory to run
properly. Other engines (like Crafty) write log files to the
directory they start in, so you will need to run them in a directory
where you have write access. If the directory setting for an engine
is ".", Scid will just start the engine in the current directory.
</p>
<p>
So if an engine that should work fine in Scid does not start, try
changing its directory setting. To avoid engines creating log files
in many different directories, I recommend starting engines in
the directory of the Scid User files (this is where the <b>scid.exe</b>
file is located on Windows, or <b>~/.scid/</b> on Unix); there is a
button in the dialog box for editing engine details marked
<b>scid.exe dir</b> on Windows or <b>~/.scid</b> on Unix that lets
you set the engine to start in this directory.
</p>
<p>
If an engine needs additional parameters for startup (e.g. a
specific opening book) they can be specified in the
<term>Parameters</term> field. Please refer to the engines
documentation about the parameters required, if any.
</p>
<p><term>URL</term> allows you to set the engines homepage. This
comes in handy to check for updates e.g. or to have a look at recent
developments. Pressing the <term>Open...</term> button will open
this page in the web browser.
</p>
<p>
If the engine uses the <term>UCI</term> protocol please mark the
associated checkbox. Generally, there are two major engine protocols
available today: xboard sometimes referred to as winboard (UCI must
not be checked) which many, especially older engines use, and the
UCI protocol that can be found in most of the modern chess engines.
The main advantage of an <term>UCI</term> engine is, that this
protocol allows the user to configure the engines parameters from
within his preferred chess GUI like Scid, while for the other
engines usually configuration files are used that have to be edited.
Therefore, if the engine is an <term>UCI</term> engine, pressing the
<term>Configure UCI engine</term> button offers a graphical dialogue
where all engine parameters can be tuned to the users liking. This
dialogue will look different for each engine as each engine has
other parameters that can be set. Most of them will influence the
playing style of the engine. Please refer to the engines
documentation.
</p>
<h3>Training</h3>
<p>
With the <b>Training</b> button, you can play moves against the analysis
engine. The time for each move is fixed, and the analysis results are
not shown when training mode is on.
</p>
<h3><a Annotate>Annotating a game</h3>
<p>
The <b>Add variation</b> button (<button tb_addvar> or <button
tb_addallvars>)in the analysis window adds the current score and
best line of play as a new variation in the game.
</p>
<p>
You can do this automatically for a number of moves (annotating the
game) by pressing the <b>Annotate</b> button, <button tb_annotate>.
Besides, the engines best lines also <a Moves Informant>Informant</a>
style evaluation symbols are added in this process. First, the
parameters for automatic annotations have to be set:
<ul>
<li><term>Set the time between moves in seconds:</term> this
gives the time, the engine can spend on analysis before moving on
to the next move.</li>
<li><term>Add variations</term>: here, one has the choice if
moves for both sides or only one color should be added, if all
moves should get an annotation or only if the game move is not
the best move according to the engines evaluation. Additionally,
one can add an annotation only if the game move is a blunder. The
threshold defines the drop of the evaluation necessary to signify
a blunder, the number is given in units of pawns (i.e. 0.2 means
that if the evaluation drops by more than 2 centi pawns, the game
move is a blunder).
</li>
<li><term>Annotate variations</term> will include variations
within the game in the analysis by the engine.</li>
<li><term>Short annotations<term> will only add minimal
annotations, that is the pure lines and NAG codes without the
engines names and usually without the current scores.</li>
<li><term>Add score to annotations</term> will add the engines
evaluation in pawn units to the annotations. This information can
be used later on to draw a <a Score>Score Graph</a> of the game
as a visualisation of the positions reached.
</li>
<li><term>Add annotator tag</term> will add an "Annotator" tag to
the game header. This is meant for the <term>Short
annotations</term> mode which does not signify which engine was
used to gain the current evaluations and lines.
</li>
<li><term>Use book</term> allows the specification of an opening
book. Moves that are contained in this opening book are skipped
in the annotation process, that is the annotation starts
automatically in the middle game.</li>
<li><term>Annotate several games</term> Scid will first annotate
the current game with the settings specified, store the results,
then automatically load the next game and annotate that as well.
This is repeated till the game loaded reaches the number given in
the spin box. By this procedure, many games can be annotated
automatically without any user intervention.
</li>
<li><term>Find opening errors</term> will check the opening phase
up to the move specified for blunders. Additionally, the
Annotator-tag gets an entry "opBlunder X" where X is the move the
blunder occurred.
</li>
<li><term>Mark tactical exercises</term> This can be used to
generate exercises for the training function <a FindBestMove>Find
best move</a>. This option is only available for <term>UCI</term>
engines.
</li>
</ul>
After pressing the Ok button, autoplay mode is enabled and the
engine starts to analyse the game. When autoplay mode is used and
the analysis window is open, a variation containing the score and
best line of play is automatically added for each position as
autoplay mode moves through the game. Only positions from the
current position until the end of the game (or until you exit
autoplay mode) are annotated, so you can skip annotation of opening
moves by moving to a middlegame position before starting autoplay.
</p>
<p>
To cancel annotation at any time, just turn off autoplay mode, for example by
pressing the <b>Escape</b> key in the main window.
</p>
<p>
Note that for simplicity, the <b>Annotate</b> button is only available
in the window opened as analysis engine 1. If you open an engine as
analysis engine 2, you cannot use it to annotate the game.
</p>
<h3>Analysis board</h3>
<p>
Pressing the button <button tb_coords> in an analysis window will
show or hide the analysis board, which shows the position at the end
of the current best line of play found by the engine. This works for
most Scid-compatible engines but may not work for all; it depends on
the move notation an engine uses.
</p>
<h3>Engine priority</h3>
<p>
If an engine is using too much CPU time and affecting the use of Scid
or other applications, turning on the <b>Low CPU priority</b> button
<button tb_cpu> may help; it gives the engine a low priority for CPU
scheduling. On Windows, engines are run on low priority by default.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> that on Unix systems the engines priority can not be set
back to normal.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Calvar window help:
set helpTitle(CalVar) "Calculation of variation"
set helpText(CalVar) {<h1>The calculation of variation window</h1>
<p>
This training exercise is also known as the Stoyko exercise. Its
purpose is to analyse a complex position and evaluate as many sound
lines as possible, and give a correct evaluation for each of them.
</p>
<h3>Configuration</h3></p>
<p>
Three parameters are set :
<ul>
<li>The UCI engine that will analyse various lines</li>
<li>The time, in seconds, the engine will use to analyse the position</li>
<li>The time, in seconds, the engine will use to analyse each line entered by the user</li>
</ul>
</p>
<h3>Entering lines</h3></p>
<p>
Moves are entered as usual with mouse clicks on the board but they
will not be displayed. At the end of a line the user needs to provide
an evaluation by clicking on one of the buttons with NAG codes.
</p>
<h3>Evaluation verification</h3>
<p>
Each time an evaluation is given to a line the engine calculates its
value and append the line and score just below the user ones.
</p>
<h3>Done with position</h3>
<p>
When the user thinks he found all best lines, pressing <term>Done with
position</term> will append to the game (with the comment <term>Missed
line</term>), the lines that have a score higher than the best line
entered by the user.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.21, December 2007)</footer></p>
}
####################
### EPD files help:
set helpTitle(EPD) "EPD files"
set helpText(EPD) {<h1>EPD files</h1>
<p>
An EPD (extended position description) file is a collection of positions,
where each position has some associated text. Like <a PGN>PGN</a>, it
is a common standard for chess information.
</p>
<p>
An EPD file has a number of defined <term>opcodes</term> (fields)
which are stored separated by semicolons (<b>;</b>) in the file
but are shown on separate lines in a Scid EPD window to make editing easier.
A semicolon within an EPD field is stored as "<b>\s</b>" by Scid to
distinguish it from an end-of-field marker.
Each position and its associated opcodes are stored on one single line
in the EPD file.
</p>
<p>
Standard EPD opcodes include:
<ul>
<li> <b>acd</b> Analysis count: depth searched.</li>
<li> <b>acn</b> Analysis count: number of nodes searched.</li>
<li> <b>acs</b> Analysis count: search time in seconds.</li>
<li> <b>bm</b> Best moves: move(s) judged best for some reason.</li>
<li> <b>ce</b> Centipawn evaluation: evaluation in hundredths of a
pawn from the perspective of the <b>side to move</b> -- note this
differs from the Analysis window which shows evaluations in pawns from
Whites perspective. </li>
<li> <b>cX</b> Comment (where <b>X</b> is a digit, 0-9).</li>
<li> <b>eco</b> <a ECO>ECO</a> system opening code.</li>
<li> <b>id</b> Unique Identification for this position.</li>
<li> <b>nic</b> <i>New In Chess</i> system opening code.</li>
<li> <b>pm</b> Predicted move: the first move of the PV.</li>
<li> <b>pv</b> Predicted variation: the line of best play.</li>
</ul>
<p>
EPD files have a number of uses: Scid uses an EPD file to classify
games according to the <a ECO>Encyclopedia of Chess Openings</a> (ECO)
system, and you can create an EPD file for your opening repertoire,
adding comments for positions you regularly reach in games.
</p>
<p>
You can create a new EPD file or open an existing one, from the
<menu>New</menu> and <menu>Open</menu> commands of the
<menu>File</menu> menu. At most four EPD files can be open at any time.
</p>
<h3>EPD windows</h3>
<p>
For each open EPD file, you will see a window which shows the text for
the current position. You do not have to press the Store button to store
any changes you make to a positions text; the text will be stored whenever
you move to a different position in the game.
</p>
<h3>Navigating EPD files</h3>
<p>
To browse through the positions in a EPD file, use the
<menu>Next position</menu> and <menu>Previous position</menu> commands
from the EPD window <menu>Tools</menu> menu, or use the shortcut
keys <b>Ctrl+DownArrow</b> and <b>Ctrl+UpArrow</b>.
These commands move to the next/previous position in the file, clearing
the current game and setting its start position.
</p>
<h3>Annotating</h3>
<p>
EPD-files can be automatically annotated by selecting Tools /
Annotate position. The upcoming dialogue asks for the time that
should be used for the analysis, then the <a Analysis List>engine
list</a> is opened for selection of an engine to be used. <b>Note</b> If an
analysis window is already opened, the analysis is done using this
engine without asking the user beforehand. Then the engine is
started and the result added to the EPD. The EPD tags used are :
acd, acn, ce and pv.
</p>
<p>
<h3>Stripping out EPD fields</h3>
<p>
EPD files you find on the Internet may contain fields that do not
interest you, and they can waste a lot of space in the file.
For example, an EPD file of computer evaluations might have ce, acd,
acn, pm, pv and id fields but you may only need the ce and pv fields.
</p>
<p>
You can strip out an EPD opcode from all positions in the EPD file using
the <menu>Strip out EPD field</menu> from the EPD window <menu>Tools</menu>
menu.
</p>
<h3>The EPD window status bar</h3>
<p>
The status bar of each EPD window shows:
<ul>
<li>- the file status (<b>--</b> means unchanged, <b>XX</b> means
changed, and <b>%%</b> means read-only); </li>
<li>- the file name; </li>
<li>- the number of positions in the file; </li>
<li>- legal moves from the current position reach another position
in this EPD file.</li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Email window help:
set helpTitle(Email) "Email window"
set helpText(Email) {<h1>The Email window</h1>
<p>
Scid's email manager window provides a way for you to manage correspondence
chess games played by email.
If you do not play email chess, this will be of no interest to you.
But if you play correspondence chess by email, you can send your email
messages directly from Scid!
</p>
<p>
To use the email manager:
<ul>
<li><b>1)</b> Create the game(s) for your opponent in the
database. </li>
<li><b>2)</b> In the email manager window, select <b>Add</b> and enter
your opponents details: name, email address, and the game numbers in the
database. </li>
<li><b>3)</b> Select <b>Send email</b> in the email window each time you
have added moves to the game(s) and want to send a message. </li>
</ul>
<p>
When you send an email message, Scid generates the message with the games
in <a PGN>PGN</a> format <b>without</b> any comments, annotations or variations, since
you would not usually want your opponent to see your analysis.
You can edit the message before sending it to add conditional moves or
other text.
</p>
<p>
For each opponent, you may have any number of games; one or two is most
common. Note that Scid does not check if game numbers change, so after
setting up the details of your opponents, be careful to avoid deleting games
or sorting your database of email games, since this will rearrange games
and the game numbers for each opponent will be incorrect.
</p>
<h3>Limitations</h3>
<p>
Scid does not have any capability to check your email folder yet, so you
still need to add your opponents moves to the games manually.
</p>
<h3>Configuration</h3>
<p>
A copy of each email message sent by Scid is stored in the file
<b>~/.scid/scidmail.log</b>. If you want them to be stored
in a different file, you will need to edit the file <b>tcl/start.tcl</b>
and recompile Scid.
</p>
<p>
Scid can send email messages using an SMTP server or sendmail.
User the <b>Settings</b> button in the Email Manager to specify which
you want to use.
</p>
<p>
Scid stores the opponent details for a database in a file
with the same name as the database and the suffix "<b>.sem</b>".
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Reports help:
set helpTitle(Reports) "Reports"
set helpText(Reports) {<h1>Reports</h1>
<p>
A <term>Report</term> in Scid is a document containing information about
a particular position and/or player. There are two types of report Scid can
generate: Opening Reports and Player Reports.
</p>
<h3><name Opening>Opening Reports</name></h3>
<p>
Scid can produce an <term>opening report</term> that displays interesting
facts about an opening position. To generate an opening report, first make
sure the displayed position is the one you want a report for, then select
<b>Opening Report</b> from the <b>Tools</b> menu.
</p>
<p>
The <term>Opening Report</term> window displays the results of the report
Scid generated. The <b>File</b> menu has commands to save the report
to a file in plain text, HTML or <a LaTeX>LaTeX</a> format.
</p>
<p>
The first sections of the report present information on the games that
reach the report position, and moves played from the position. You can
see if the opening is becoming more popular, if it has many short draws,
and what move orders (transpositions) are used to reach it.
</p>
<p>
The Positional Themes section reports the frequency of certain common
positional themes in the report games. For this, the first 20 moves of
each game (hence the first 40 positions of each game after the starting
position) are examined. To be counted as containing a theme, a game must
contain that particular theme in at least 4 positions of its first 20
moves. This avoids the brief occurrence of a theme (such as an isolated
Queen pawn which is quickly captured) distorting results.
</p>
<p>
The final and largest part of the report is the theory table. When saving
the report to a file, you can choose to save just the theory table, a compact
report without the theory table, or the whole report.
</p>
<p>
Almost all the report sections can be turned on or off or adjusted in
the opening report options, so you can customize a report to only show
the information that interests you.
</p>
<p>
Most items of information in the report window that are shown in color,
invoke some action when selected with the left mouse button. For example,
you can click on a game reference to load that game, or click on a
positional theme to set the filter to contain only the report games where
that theme occurred.
</p>
<p>
Choosing <term>Merge Games</term> will merge the games from the
opening report into the currently displayed game. This merges in
the whole games as variations to the game, including the full
reference.
</p>
<h4>Favorites</h4>
<p>
The <menu>Favorites</menu> menu in the report window lets you maintain a
collection of favorite opening report positions and generate the opening
reports for all those positions easily. Selecting "Add Report..." from
the Favorites menu will add the current position as a favorite report
position; you will be prompted to enter a name that will be used as
the filename when favorite reports are generated.
</p>
<p>
Select "Generate Reports..." from the Favorites menu to generate a report
for each of your favorite reports using the current database. A dialog
box will appear allowing you to specify the report type and format, and
a directory where report files will be saved. A suitable suffix for the
format you selected (e.g. ".html" for HTML format) will be added to each
report file name.
</p>
<h3><name Player>Player Reports</name></h3>
<p>
A <term>Player Report</term> is very similar to an opening report, but it
contains information about the games of a single player with the white or
black pieces. You can generate a player report from the Tools menu, or from
the <a PInfo>Player Info</a> window.
</p>
<p>
A player report can be generated either for all games by the specified player
with the specified pieces, or for only the subset of those games which reach
the current position on the main window chessboard.
</p>
<h3>Limits</h3>
<p>
There is a limit of 2000 games for most data generated by reports, so
if the report position occurs in more than 2000 games, some results may
be slightly incorrect.
</p>
<p>
Also, there is a limit of 500 games for the theory table. If the report
position occurs in more than 500 games, only the 500 games with the highest
average Elo rating are used to generate the theory table. You can adjust the
number of games used to generate the theory table in the Report options.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Player List help:
set helpTitle(PList) "Player Finder window"
set helpText(PList) {<h1>The Player Finder window</h1>
<p>
The <term>Player Finder</term> window displays a list of names of
players in the current database. Selecting a player will open the
<a PInfo>Player Info</a> window to display more detailed information
about that player.
</p>
<p>
Five columns are displayed showing each player's name, peak Elo
rating, number of games played and the year of their oldest and
newest game.
Click on any column title at the top of the list to sort the
list by that column.
</p>
<p>
The controls below the list allow you to filter the list contents.
You can alter the maximum list size, enter a case-insensitive player
name prefix (such as "ada" to search for "Adams"), and restrict the
ranges of Elo rating and number of games played.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Player Info help:
set helpTitle(PInfo) "Player Info window"
set helpText(PInfo) {<h1>The Player Info window</h1>
<p>
The <term>Player Information</term> window is produced or updated whenever
you click the left mouse button on a player name in the game information
area (below the chessboard) or in the <a Crosstable>crosstable</a> window.
</p>
<p>
It displays (hopefully) useful information about the player, including their
success with White and Black, favorite openings (by <a ECO>ECO code</a>),
and rating history.<br>
The data for the Elo history can optionally be taken from the current database
or from the spelling file/rating file. If you use a actual rating file the time
periods can also be displayed, for which there are no games in the database.<br>
Download a rating file with over 300.000 registered FIDE player with their
ELO ratings from <url https://sourceforge.net/projects/scid/files/Player Data/>
https://sourceforge.net/projects/scid/files/Player Data/</url>.
</p>
<p>
All percentages displayed are an expected score (success rate), from the
player's perspective -- so higher is always better for the player, whether they
are White or Black.
</p>
<p>
You can see the player's rating history in a graph by pressing the
<a Graphs Rating>Rating graph</a> button.
</p>
<p>
Any number printed in red can be clicked with the left mouse button to set
the <a Searches Filter>filter</a> to the games it represents.
</p>
<p>
If a current version of the ratings file (cf. <url
http://scid.sourceforge.net/>Scid website</url>) is online links to
additional resources may be present that will be accessible by the
users web browser provided Internet access is available. These infos
can be accessed by the following symbols in the player information
window (note that not all symbols may be present!):
<ul>
<li><button fidelnk> Go to the players FIDE profile page</li>
<li><button iccflnk> Go to the players ICCF profile page</li>
<li><button dsblnk> Go to the players profile at the Deutscher
Schachbund.</li>
<li><button bcflnk> Go to the players profile at the British Chess
Federation.</li>
<li><button smlnk> Go to te players profile at SchemingMind.</li>
<li><button wikiplnk> Call up the players Wikipedia profile page.
Scid will try to use the language set for Scid itself. If no page is
available, it will resort to German (for pure technical reasons).</li>
<li><button dnblnk> Call up the German national library for books by
or about the player.</li>
<li><button seealsolnk> An alternative way to access Wikipedia.</li>
<li><button viaflnk> Call up player information at the Virtual
Authority File (VIAF). This could be used to call up books of/by this
player in the contributing national libraries.</li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.7, November 2018)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Graphs help:
set helpTitle(Graphs) "Graph windows"
set helpText(Graphs) {<h1>Graph windows</h1>
<p>
Scid has a number of windows which display information graphically.
They are explained below.
</p>
<h3><name FilterGraph>Relative and absolute Filter Graph windows</name></h3>
<p>
The <term>relative Filter Graph</term> window shows trends by date or by
Elo rating for the games in the current filter, compared to the
entire database. For example, it is useful when the <a Tree>tree</a>
is open as a tool showing how the current opening position has changed
in popularity in recent years or decades, or whether it is especially
popular among higher-rated players such as grandmasters.
Each point on the graph represents the number of games in the filter
per 1000 games in the entire database, for a particular date or Elo
rating range.
</p>
<p>
The second Filter graph window is the <term>absolute Filter
Graph</term> window. This graph shows the absolute quantity of games
in the filter according the selected criteria. It is possible to select
the criteria: Decade, Year, Rating and Moves.<br>
The small button near the Close-Button opens the dialog to configure
the graph. You can select the range (from, to) and the size of
interval for the x-axes. The "decade"-criteria can't be configured,
use Year instead. If "Estimate" selected a missing rating will be
estimate like described below. In other case no estimation is done
and missing ratings are count as zero. This matches the Min. Elo
evaluation in the statistic-window. Use "Update" to start a new
evaluation with the actual value without closing the dialog.
</p>
<p>
Please note: The calculation can be need some time on large ranges and
small intervals, in addition the readability decreases.
</p>
<p>
When plotting the Filter graph by rating, Scid uses the average (mean)
rating for each game. Estimate ratings (such as those in the spelling file)
are not used. If one player in a game has a rating but the opponent
does not, the opponent is presumed to have the same up to a limit of 2200.
For example, if one player is rated 2500 and the opponent has no rating,
the mean rating is (2500+2200)/2=2350.
</p>
<h3><name Rating>Rating Graph window</name></h3>
<p>
The <term>Rating Graph</term> window shows the rating history of one
player or the two players of the current game.
You can produce the graph for a single player by pressing the
<b>Rating graph</b> button in the <a PInfo>player information</a>
window, or produce it for the two players of the current game by
selecting <b>Rating graph</b> from the <menu>Tools</menu> menu.
</p>
<h3><name Score>Score Graph window</name></h3>
<p>
The <term>Score Graph</term> window shows the numeric evaluations (scores)
stored in the comments of the current game as a graph.
You can click the left mouse button anywhere in the score graph to go to the
corresponding position in the game.
</p>
<p>
Two types of evaluation comment are recognized:
<ul>
All comments that contain a signed number, for example
<li><b>+1.23, -0.23</b></li>
</ul>
<ul>
Tags with the name [%eval .. ]
<li><b>[%emt 0:00:19][%eval -6.64/23]</b></li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Some scores are are only shown from whites perspective. You can invert the score for White or Black
from the options menu to correct this. Select White and/or Black.
</p>
<p>
In a <term>Time diagram</term> the time for the time consumption per move or the time remaining on the clock can also be displayed. For the evaluation of the time the tags[%clk 0:01:19] and [%emt 0:00:19] must be contained in the comment.
The values are always displayed in minutes.
Via the menu you can select which combination of the diagrams should be shown:
<li><b>Both:</b> The game evaluation and time are displayed.</li>
<li><b>Time:</b> Only the time graph is displayed ("Both" must be deselected!)</li>
<li><b>Sum:</b> In the time display, the sum of the time consumed is displayed if the time is available as [%emt 00:12].</li>
</p>
<h3><name Tree>Tree Graph window</name></h3>
<p>
The <term>Tree Graph</term> window is available from the tree
window. It shows the performance of the most popular moves from the
current position. More information is available from the
<a Tree Graph>Tree</a> help page.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.7, June 2018)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Tablebases help:
set helpTitle(TB) "Tablebases"
set helpText(TB) {<h1>Tablebases</h1>
<p>
A <term>tablebase</term> is a file containing the perfect result
information about all positions of a particular material setup,
such as King and Rook versus King and Pawn. Tablebases for all
material situations up to five men (including the Kings) have been
generated, and some simple 6-men tablebases are also available.
</p>
<p>
Scid can use Nalimov-format tablebases that are used by many modern
chess engines. These often end with the file suffix <b>.nbw.emd</b>
or <b>.nbb.emd</b>. All 3-, 4- and 5-men Nalimov tablebases can be
used in Scid.
</p>
<h3>Using tablebases in Scid</h3>
<p>
To use tablebase files in Scid, simply set their directories by
selecting <b>Tablebase directory...</b> from the <menu>Options</menu> menu.
You can select up to 4 directories where your tablebase files are stored.
You can press a <b>...</b> button to the right of an entry to choose a
file, to specify that the directory of that file should be used.
</p>
<p>
When a position found in a tablebase file is reached, the game information
area (below the chessboard) will show tablebase information. You can
configure the amount of information shown by clicking the right-mouse
button in that area or selecting <b>Game information</b> from the
<menu>Options</menu> menu. Selecting the "result and best moves" option
gives the most useful information, but is much often slower than
the "result only" option.
</p>
<h3>The Tablebase window</h3>
<p>
You can get even more tablebase information about the current position
by opening the <term>Tablebase window</term> (<menu>Windows</menu> menu,
shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+=). This window shows the result with perfect play
of all legal moves from the current position.
</p>
<p>
The window has two main parts. The summary frame (on the left) shows
which tablebases Scid found on your computer and a summary for each
tablebase. The results frame (on the right) shows optimal results for
all moves from the current position displayed in the main window.
</p>
<h4>The summary frame</h4>
<p>
The top part of the summary frame lets you select a particular
tablebase. Those you have available are shown in blue and unavailable
tablebases are shown in gray, but you can select any tablebase.
The lower part of the summary frame shows summary information for the
selected tablebase. (Not all tablebases have a summary recorded in
Scid yet.)
</p>
<p>
The summary includes the frequency (how many games per million reach a
position with this material, computed from a database of more than
600,000 master-level games), a longest mate for either side, and the
number of mutual (or "reciprocal") zugzwangs. A mutual zugzwang is a
position where white to move draws and black to move loses, or where
white to move loses and black to move draws, or where whoever moves
loses.
</p>
<p>
For some tablebases with mutual zugzwangs, the summary also includes
a list of all of the zugzwang positions or a selection of them. A full
list for every tablebase is not feasible since some tablebases have
thousands of mutual zugzwangs.
</p>
<p>
You can set up a random position from the selected tablebase by pressing
the <b>Random</b> button.
</p>
<h4>The results frame</h4>
<p>
The results frame is updated whenever the chessboard in the main window
changes. The first line shows how many moves win (+), draw (=), lose (-),
or have an unknown result (?). The rest of the frame gives a more detailed
list of results, ranking them from shortest to longest mates, then draws,
then longest to shortest losses. All distances are to checkmate.
</p>
<h4>The results board</h4>
<p>
In a tablebase position, it is often useful what the tablebase results
would be if all the pieces in the current position were on their
current squares but one particular piece was moved somewhere else.
For example, you may want to determine how close a king has to be to
a passed pawn to win or draw a particular position. In endgame books
this information is often called the <i>winning zone</i> or
<i>drawing zone</i> of a piece in a position.
</p>
<p>
You can find this information in Scid by pressing the button with an
image of a chessboard, to show the <term>results board</term> in the
tablebase window.
When you press the left mouse button on any piece in this board, a
symbol is drawn in each empty square showing what the tablebase result
would be (with the same side to move as the current main window position)
if the selected piece was on that square.
</p>
<p>
There are five different symbols a square can have:
a white <b>#</b> means White wins;
a black <b>#</b> means Black wins;
a blue <b>=</b> means the position is drawn;
a red <b>X</b> means the position is illegal (because the kings are
adjacent or the side to move is giving check); and
a red <b>?</b> means the result is unknown because the necessary
tablebase file is not available.
</p>
<h3>Obtaining Tablebase files</h3>
<p>
See the <a Author Related>related links</a> section for help on finding
tablebase files on the Internet.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Bookmarks help:
set helpTitle(Bookmarks) "Bookmarks"
set helpText(Bookmarks) {<h1>Bookmarks</h1>
<p>
Scid allows you to <term>bookmark</term> important games for easy
future reference. The bookmarks menu is available from the
<menu>File</menu> menu, the toolbar, or the <B>Ctrl+B</b> shortcut key.
</p>
<p>
When you select a bookmarked game from the Bookmarks menu, Scid will
open its database if necessary, find that game, and move to the game
position at which it was bookmarked.
</p>
<p>
Only games in a Scid format database (not a <a PGN>PGN</a> file or the clipbase)
can be bookmarked.
</p>
<p>
If the database of a bookmarked game is sorted or compacted, the bookmark
details may become out of date. When that happens, Scid will search the
database for the best matching game (comparing player names, site, etc)
when the bookmark is selected, so the bookmarked game should still be
loaded. However, if details of the bookmarked game change, it is possible
that a different game will match the bookmark details better and be
loaded instead. So it is a good idea to re-bookmark a game if you edit
its players, site, result, round or year.
</p>
<h3>Editing bookmarks</h3>
<p>
With the bookmark editor, you can change the menu text displayed for
each bookmarked game and add folders to categorize bookmarks.
</p>
<h3>Hints</h3>
<p>
You can use bookmarks for fast access to databases you use often
by bookmarking a game from each database. Another good use for
bookmarks is to add important games you find when studying a
particular chess opening.
</p>
<p>
The bookmarks menu contains an entry for controlling the display of
bookmark folders: they can be shown as submenus (useful when there are
many bookmarks), or as a single list.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Command-line options help:
set helpTitle(Cmdline) "Command-line options"
set helpText(Cmdline) {<h1>Command-line options</h1>
<p>
When you start Scid from a shell or console, there are command-line
options you can specify. Scid-format databases (with or without a
file suffix such as ".si3") and <a PGN>PGN</a> files to be opened can be given,
for example:
<ul>
<li>scid mybase newgames.pgn</li>
</ul>
will start Scid and open the Scid database called mybase and the
<a PGN>PGN</a> file named newgames.pgn.
</p>
<p>
There are also optional arguments to control which files Scid should
search for and use when it starts. You can turn off the use of
<a TB>tablebases</a> with the <b>-xtb</b> (or <b>-xt</b>) option,
avoid loading the <a ECO>ECO openings classification</a> file with
<b>-xeco</b> or <b>-xe</b>, and avoid loading the
<a Maintenance Spellcheck>spelling</a> file
with <b>-xspell</b> or <b>-xs</b>. Also, the option <b>-fast</b>
or <b>-f</b> does all three, so <b>scid -f</b> is equivalent
to <b>scid -xeco -xspell -xtb</b>.
</p>
<p>
Additionally, a filter file (.sso) can be used on the command line.
<ul>
<li>scid mybase myfilter</li>
</ul>
will open mybase and run myfilter immediately against it to select a
set of games. This can e.g. be used to select a list of unfinished
games in a pgn file.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Pgnscid help:
set helpTitle(Pgnscid) "Pgnscid"
set helpText(Pgnscid) {<h1>Pgnscid</h1>
<p>
<term>Pgnscid</term> is the separate program that you need to use to
convert <a PGN>PGN</a> (portable game notation) files into Scid databases.
</p>
<p>
To convert a file named <i>myfile.pgn</i>, simply type:
<ul>
<li> <b>pgnscid myfile.pgn</b> </li>
</ul>
and the scid database (consisting of <i>myfile.si3</i>, <i>myfile.sg3</i>
and <i>myfile.sn3</i>) will be created.
Any errors or warnings will be written to the file <i>myfile.err</i>.
</p>
<p>
If you want the database to be created in a different directory or have
a different name, you can add the database name to the command line,
for example:
<ul>
<li> <b>pgnscid myfile.pgn mybase</b> </li>
</ul>
will create a database consisting of the files <i>mybase.si3</i>,
<i>mybase.sg3</i> and <i>mybase.sn3</i>.
</p>
<p>
Note that pgnscid (and scid) can read Gzipped <a PGN>PGN</a> files
(e.g. <b>mybase.pgn.gz</b>)
directly, so if you have a large <a PGN>PGN</a> file compressed with Gzip to save
disk space, you do not have to un-gzip it first.
</p>
<h3>Options</h3>
<p>
There are two optional arguments pgnscid can accept before the filename:
<b>-f</b> and <b>-x</b>.
</p>
<p>
The <b>-f</b> option forces overwriting of an existing database; by
default, pgnscid will not convert to a database that already exists.
</p>
<p>
The <b>-x</b> option causes pgnscid to ignore all text between games.
By default, text between games is stored as a pre-game comment of the
game that follows. This option only affects text between games; standard
comments inside each game are still converted and stored.
</p>
<h3>Formatting player names</h3>
<p>
To reduce the number of multiple spellings of names that refer to the
same player, some basic formatting of player names is done by pgnscid.
For example, the number of spaces after each comma is standardized to one,
any spaces at the start and end of a name are removed, and a dot at the
end of a name is removed.
Dutch prefixes such as "van den" and "Van Der" are also normalized to have
a capital V and small d.
</p>
<p>
You can edit (and even spellcheck) player, event, site and round names in
Scid; see the <a Maintenance Editing>Maintenance</a> help page for details.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### File formats help:
set helpTitle(Formats) "File Formats"
set helpText(Formats) {<h1>Scid File Formats</h1>
<p>
Scid databases consist of three essential files: an Index file, a Name
file and a Game file. All have a three-letter suffix starting with "s":
".si3" for index files, ".sn3" for name files, and ".sg3" for game files.
</p>
<h3>The Index (.si3) file</h3>
<p>
This file contains a description for the database and a small fixed-size
entry for each game. The current size is 41 bytes per game.
Of this, about 28 bytes is essential information such as the result,
date, player/event/site name ID numbers (the actual names are in the
Name file), etc.
</p>
<p>
The remaining 13 bytes contain redundant but useful information about the
game that is used to speed up position, material and pattern searches.
See the section <a Formats Fast>Fast searches</a> below for more information.
</p>
<h3>The Name (.sn3) file</h3>
<p>
This file contains all player, event, site and round names used in the
database. Each name is stored only once even if it occurs in many games.
The name file is usually the smallest of the three essential files in a
database.
</p>
<h3>The Game (.sg3) file</h3>
<p>
This file contains the actual moves, variations and comments of each game.
The move encoding format is very compact: most moves take only one byte
of storage.
</p>
<p>
When a game is replaced, its new version is saved to the <i>end</i> of
the game file, so wasted space can accumulate over time. You can restore
a database to its minimal size by <a Compact>compacting</a> it.
</p>
<h3>Other Scid files</h3>
<p>
An <a EPD>EPD</a> file (suffix: ".epd")
contains a number of chess positions, each with a text comment.
The EPD file format is described in the <a Author Related>PGN standard</a>.
</p>
<p>
An email (suffix: ".sem") file for a database stores details of the opponents
you send email messages to.
</p>
<p>
A SearchOptions (suffix: ".sso") file contains Scid
<a Searches Header>header</a> or
<a Searches Material>material/pattern</a> search settings.
</p>
<h3><name Fast>Fast searches in Scid</name></h3>
<p>
As mentioned above, the index file stores some redundant but useful
information about each game to speed up position or material searches.
</p>
<p>
For example, the material of the final position is stored. If you search
for rook and pawn endings, then all games that end with a queen, bishop
or knight on the board (and have no pawn promotions) will be quickly
skipped over.
</p>
<p>
Another useful piece of information stored is the order in which pawns
leave their home squares (by moving, or by being captured). This is used
to speed up tree or exact position searches, especially for opening
positions. For example, when searching for the starting position of the
French defence (1.e4 e6), every game starts with 1.e4 c5, or 1.d4, etc, will
be skipped, but games starting with 1.e4 e5 will still need to be searched.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Options and Fonts help:
set helpTitle(Options) "Options"
set helpText(Options) {<h1>Options and preferences</h1>
<p>
Many Scid options and preferences (such as the board size, colors, fonts,
and default settings) are adjustable from the <menu>Options</menu> menu.
All these (and more, such as the last directory you loaded a database from
and the sizes of some windows) are saved to an options file when
you select <b>Save Options</b> from the Options menu.
The options file is loaded whenever you start Scid.
</p>
<p>
If you use Windows, the options file is <b>scid.opt</b> in the directory
where the Scid program file <b>scid.exe</b> is located. For users of Unix
operating systems (such as Solaris or Linux) the file
is <b>~/.scid/scidrc</b>.
</p>
<h3><name MyPlayerNames>Setting your player names</name></h3>
<p>
There may be a player name (or several names) for whom, whenever a game
is loaded, you would like the main window chessboard to be displayed from
the perspective of that player. You can configure a list of such names
using <b>My Player Names...</b> from the <menu>Options/Chessboard</menu>
menu. In the dialog box that appears, enter one player name on each line.
Wildcard characters ("<b>?</b>" for exactly one character and "<b>*</b>"
for a sequence of zero or more characters) can be used.
</p>
<h3><name Fonts>Setting Fonts</name></h3>
<p>
Scid has three basic fonts it uses in most of its windows, and you can
customize all of them. They are called <b>regular</b>, <b>small</b> and
<b>fixed</b>.
</p>
<p>
The fixed font should be a fixed-width (not proportional) font. It is used
for the <a Tree>tree</a> and <a Crosstable>crosstable</a> windows.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
####################
### NAG values help:
set helpTitle(NAGs) "NAG values"
set helpText(NAGs) {<h1>Standard NAG values</h1>
<p>
Standard NAG (Numeric Annotation Symbol) values defined in the
<a Author Related>PGN standard</a> are:
</p>
<cyan>
<ul>
<li> 1 Good move : ! </li>
<li> 2 Poor move : ? </li>
<li> 3 Excellent move : !! </li>
<li> 4 Blunder : ?? </li>
<li> 5 Interesting move : !? </li>
<li> 6 Dubious move : ?! </li>
<li> 7 Forced move : forced </li>
<li> 8 Singular move; no reasonable alternatives : □ </li>
<li> 9 Worst move : worst </li>
<li> 10 Drawish position : = </li>
<li> 11 Equal chances, quiet position : =, quiet</li>
<li> 12 Equal chances, active position : ↹ </li>
<li> 13 Unclear position : ~ </li>
<li> 14 White has a slight advantage : += </li>
<li> 15 Black has a slight advantage : =+ </li>
<li> 16 White has a moderate advantage : +/- </li>
<li> 17 Black has a moderate advantage : -/+ </li>
<li> 18 White has a decisive advantage : +- </li>
<li> 19 Black has a decisive advantage : -+ </li>
<li> 20 White has a crushing advantage : +-- </li>
<li> 21 Black has a crushing advantage : --+ </li>
<li> 22 White is in zugzwang : ⊙ </li>
<li> 23 Black is in zugzwang : ⊙ </li>
<li> 24 White has a slight space advantage : ◯ </li>
<li> 25 Black has a slight space advantage : ◯ </li>
<li> 26 White has a moderate space advantage : ◯◯ </li>
<li> 27 Black has a moderate space advantage : ◯◯ </li>
<li> 28 White has a decisive space advantage : ◯◯◯ </li>
<li> 29 Black has a decisive space advantage : ◯◯◯ </li>
<li> 30 White has a slight time (development) advantage : ↻ </li>
<li> 31 Black has a slight time (development) advantage : ↺ </li>
<li> 32 White has a moderate time (development) advantage : ↻↻ </li>
<li> 33 Black has a moderate time (development) advantage : ↺↺ </li>
<li> 34 White has a decisive time (development) advantage : ↻↻↻ </li>
<li> 35 Black has a decisive time (development) advantage : ↺↺↺ </li>
<li> 36 White has the initiative : ↑ </li>
<li> 37 Black has the initiative : ↓ </li>
<li> 38 White has a lasting initiative : ⇑ </li>
<li> 39 Black has a lasting initiative : ⇓ </li>
<li> 40 White has the attack : → </li>
<li> 41 Black has the attack : ← </li>
<li> 42 White has insufficient compensation for material deficit : &/- </li>
<li> 43 Black has insufficient compensation for material deficit : &/+ </li>
<li> 44 White has sufficient compensation for material deficit : =/& </li>
<li> 45 Black has sufficient compensation for material deficit : =/& </li>
<li> 46 White has more than adequate compensation for material deficit : +/& </li>
<li> 47 Black has more than adequate compensation for material deficit : -/& </li>
<li> 48 White has a slight center control advantage : ⊞ </li>
<li> 49 Black has a slight center control advantage : ⊞ </li>
<li> 50 White has a moderate center control advantage : ⊞⊞ </li>
<li> 51 Black has a moderate center control advantage : ⊞⊞ </li>
<li> 52 White has a decisive center control advantage : ⊞⊞⊞ </li>
<li> 53 Black has a decisive center control advantage : ⊞⊞⊞ </li>
<li> 54 White has a slight kingside control advantage : ⟩ </li>
<li> 55 Black has a slight kingside control advantage : ⟩ </li>
<li> 56 White has a moderate kingside control advantage : ⟫ </li>
<li> 57 Black has a moderate kingside control advantage : ⟫ </li>
<li> 58 White has a decisive kingside control advantage : ⋙ </li>
<li> 59 Black has a decisive kingside control advantage : ⋙ </li>
<li> 60 White has a slight queenside control advantage : ⟨ </li>
<li> 61 Black has a slight queenside control advantage : ⟨ </li>
<li> 62 White has a moderate queenside control advantage : ⟪ </li>
<li> 63 Black has a moderate queenside control advantage : ⟪ </li>
<li> 64 White has a decisive queenside control advantage : ⋘ </li>
<li> 65 Black has a decisive queenside control advantage : ⋘ </li>
<li> 66 White has a vulnerable first rank : </li>
<li> 67 Black has a vulnerable first rank : </li>
<li> 68 White has a well protected first rank : </li>
<li> 69 Black has a well protected first rank : </li>
<li> 70 White has a poorly protected king : </li>
<li> 71 Black has a poorly protected king : </li>
<li> 72 White has a well protected king : </li>
<li> 73 Black has a well protected king : </li>
<li> 74 White has a poorly placed king : </li>
<li> 75 Black has a poorly placed king : </li>
<li> 76 White has a well placed king : </li>
<li> 77 Black has a well placed king : </li>
<li> 78 White has a very weak pawn structure : </li>
<li> 79 Black has a very weak pawn structure : </li>
<li> 80 White has a moderately weak pawn structure : </li>
<li> 81 Black has a moderately weak pawn structure : </li>
<li> 82 White has a moderately strong pawn structure : </li>
<li> 83 Black has a moderately strong pawn structure : </li>
<li> 84 White has a very strong pawn structure : </li>
<li> 85 Black has a very strong pawn structure : </li>
<li> 86 White has poor knight placement : </li>
<li> 87 Black has poor knight placement : </li>
<li> 88 White has good knight placement : </li>
<li> 89 Black has good knight placement : </li>
<li> 90 White has poor bishop placement : </li>
<li> 91 Black has poor bishop placement : </li>
<li> 92 White has good bishop placement : ↗ </li>
<li> 93 Black has good bishop placement : ↖ </li>
<li> 94 White has poor rook placement : </li>
<li> 95 Black has poor rook placement : </li>
<li> 96 White has good rook placement : ⇈ </li>
<li> 97 Black has good rook placement : ⇊ </li>
<li> 98 White has poor queen placement : </li>
<li> 99 Black has poor queen placement : </li>
<li>100 White has good queen placement : </li>
<li>101 Black has good queen placement : </li>
<li>102 White has poor piece coordination : </li>
<li>103 Black has poor piece coordination : </li>
<li>104 White has good piece coordination : </li>
<li>105 Black has good piece coordination : </li>
<li>106 White has played the opening very poorly : </li>
<li>107 Black has played the opening very poorly : </li>
<li>108 White has played the opening poorly : </li>
<li>109 Black has played the opening poorly : </li>
<li>110 White has played the opening well : </li>
<li>111 Black has played the opening well : </li>
<li>112 White has played the opening very well : </li>
<li>113 Black has played the opening very well : </li>
<li>114 White has played the middlegame very poorly : </li>
<li>115 Black has played the middlegame very poorly : </li>
<li>116 White has played the middlegame poorly : </li>
<li>117 Black has played the middlegame poorly : </li>
<li>118 White has played the middlegame well : </li>
<li>119 Black has played the middlegame well : </li>
<li>120 White has played the middlegame very well : </li>
<li>121 Black has played the middlegame very well : </li>
<li>122 White has played the ending very poorly : </li>
<li>123 Black has played the ending very poorly : </li>
<li>124 White has played the ending poorly : </li>
<li>125 Black has played the ending poorly : </li>
<li>126 White has played the ending well : </li>
<li>127 Black has played the ending well : </li>
<li>128 White has played the ending very well : </li>
<li>129 Black has played the ending very well : </li>
<li>130 White has slight counterplay : ⇄ </li>
<li>131 Black has slight counterplay : ⇆ </li>
<li>132 White has moderate counterplay : ⇄⇄ </li>
<li>133 Black has moderate counterplay : ⇆⇆ </li>
<li>134 White has decisive counterplay : ⇄⇄⇄ </li>
<li>135 Black has decisive counterplay : ⇆⇆⇆ </li>
<li>136 White has moderate time control pressure : ⊕ </li>
<li>137 Black has moderate time control pressure : ⊖ </li>
<li>138 White has severe time control pressure : ⊕⊕ </li>
<li>139 Black has severe time control pressure : ⊖⊖ </li>
</ul>
</cyan>
<p>
Other proposed NAG values for Chess Informant publication symbols include:
</p>
<cyan>
<ul>
<li>140 With the idea ... : △ </li>
<li>141 Aimed against ... : </li>
<li>142 Better move : ⌓ </li>
<li>143 Worse move : </li>
<li>144 Equivalent move : R </li>
<li>145 Editor's Remark : RR </li>
<li>146 Novelty : N </li>
<li>147 Weak point : × </li>
<li>148 Endgame : ⊥ </li>
<li>149 Line : ⟺ </li>
<li>150 Diagonal : ⇗ </li>
<li>151 White has a pair of Bishops : ◫ </li>
<li>152 Black has a pair of Bishops : </li>
<li>153 Bishops of opposite color : ◨ </li>
<li>154 Bishops of same color : ⊶ </li>
</ul>
</cyan>
<p>
Other suggested values are:
</p>
<cyan>
<ul>
<li>190 Etc. : ǁ </li>
<li>191 Doubled pawns : ⡁ </li>
<li>192 Isolated pawn : ⚯ </li>
<li>193 Connected pawns : ⚮ </li>
<li>194 Hanging pawns : </li>
<li>195 Backwards pawn : </li>
</ul>
</cyan>
<p>
Symbols defined by Scid for its own use are:
</p>
<cyan>
<ul>
<li>201 Diagram : D or #</li>
<li>210 see : — </li>
<li>211 mate : # </li>
<li>212 passed pawn : ⚨ </li>
<li>213 more pawns : </li>
<li>214 with : ⌊ </li>
<li>215 without : ⌋ </li>
</ul>
</cyan>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.2.2, January 2010)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(ECO) "ECO guide"
set helpText(ECO) {<h1>ECO openings classification</h1>
<p>
Scid can classify chess games according to the <b>ECO</b>
(Encyclopedia of Chess Openings) chess openings classification.
An standard ECO code consists of a letter (A..E) followed by two
digits, so there are 500 distinct standard ECO codes.
</p>
<h3>Scid extensions to the ECO system</h3>
<p>
The ECO system is very limited and not sufficient for modern games:
some of the 500 codes are almost never seen any more, while some
are seen very often. To improve this situation, Scid allows an optional
extension to the basic ECO codes: each code can be extended with a
letter (a..z), with a further extension (another digit, 1..4) being
possible but not used in the standard Scid ECO file yet.
So an extended Scid ECO code looks like "<b>A41e</b>" or "<b>E99b2</b>".
Many of the most common ECO codes found in modern master-level games have
extensions defined in the Scid ECO file.
</p>
<h3><name Browser>The ECO Browser window</name></h3>
<p>
The <term>ECO Browser</term> window shows you the positions that are
used to classify each ECO code, and the frequency and performance of
ECO codes in the current database.
</p>
<p>
The upper pane shows the frequency of each ECO code in the current
database. The bars in the graph have three sections: the lowest
(lightest color) is the number of White wins, the middle is the
number of draws, and the highest (darkest) is the number of Black wins.
This lets you see at a glance the characteristics of an opening: for
example, if White is scoring very well, or if draws are very common.
</p>
<p>
To go to a deeper ECO level, click the left mouse button
on a bar in the graph (or type the
letter or digit it corresponds to). To go back to the higher level,
click the right mouse button anywhere in the graph, or press the left
arrow (or delete or backspace) key.
</p>
<p>
The lower pane shows the positions that comprise a particular ECO code,
according to the ECO file you have loaded.
</p>
<h3>Loading the Scid ECO file</h3>
<p>
The ECO file that comes with Scid is called <b>scid.eco</b>,
and Scid tries to load this when it starts up.
If Scid cannot find it, you will need to do the following to enable ECO
classification:
<ul>
<li>(a) In Scid, use the menu command
<menu>Options: Load ECO file</menu>
and select the file <b>scid.eco</b>. </li>
<li>(b) Save options (from the <menu>Options</menu> menu). </li>
</ul>
After you do this, the ECO file will be loaded every time you start Scid.
</p>
<h3><name Codes>ECO code system</name></h3>
<p>
The basic structure of the ECO system is:
</p>
<p>
<b><blue><run ::windows::eco::Refresh A>A</run></blue></b>
1.d4 Nf6 2...; 1.d4 ...; 1.c4; 1.various
<ul>
<li> <b>A0</b> 1.<i>various</i>
(<b>A02-A03</b> 1.f4: <i>Bird's Opening</i>,
<b>A04-A09</b> 1.Nf3: <i>Reti, King's Indian Attack</i>) </li>
<li> <b>A1</b> 1.c4 ...: <i>English</i> </li>
<li> <b>A2</b> 1.c4 e5: <i>King's English</i> </li>
<li> <b>A3</b> 1.c4 c5: <i>English, Symmetrical </i> </li>
<li> <b>A4</b> 1.d4 ...: <i>Queen's Pawn</i> </li>
<li> <b>A5</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 ..: <i>Indian Defence </i> </li>
<li> <b>A6</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6: <i>Modern Benoni</i> </li>
<li> <b>A7</b> A6 + 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Nf3 </li>
<li> <b>A8</b> 1.d4 f5: <i>Dutch Defence</i> </li>
<li> <b>A9</b> 1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6: <i>Dutch Defence</i> </li>
</ul>
<p>
<b><blue><run ::windows::eco::Refresh B>B</run></blue></b>
1.e4 c5; 1.e4 c6; 1.e4 d6; 1.e4 <i>various</i>
<ul>
<li> <b>B0</b> 1.e4 ...
(<b>B02-B05</b> 1.e4 Nf6: <i>Alekhine Defence</i>;
<b>B07-B09</b> 1.e4 d6: <i>Pirc</i>) </li>
<li> <b>B1</b> 1.e4 c6: <i>Caro-Kann</i> </li>
<li> <b>B2</b> 1.e4 c5: <i>Sicilian Defence </i> </li>
<li> <b>B3</b> 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6: <i>Sicilian</i> </li>
<li> <b>B4</b> 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6: <i>Sicilian</i> </li>
<li> <b>B5</b> 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6: <i>Sicilian</i> </li>
<li> <b>B6</b> B5 + 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 </li>
<li> <b>B7</b> B5 + 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6: <i>Sicilian Dragon</i> </li>
<li> <b>B8</b> B5 + 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6: <i>Sicilian Scheveningen</i> </li>
<li> <b>B9</b> B5 + 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6: <i>Sicilian Najdorf</i> </li>
</ul>
<p>
<b><blue><run ::windows::eco::Refresh C>C</run></blue></b>
1.e4 e5; 1.e4 e6
<ul>
<li> <b>C0</b> 1.e4 e6: <i>French Defence</i> </li>
<li> <b>C1</b> 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3: <i>French, Winawer/Classical</i> </li>
<li> <b>C2</b> 1.e4 e5: <i>Open Game</i> </li>
<li> <b>C3</b> 1.e4 e5 2.f4: <i>King's Gambit</i> </li>
<li> <b>C4</b> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3: <i>Open Game</i> </li>
<li> <b>C5</b> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4: <i>Italian; Two Knights</i> </li>
<li> <b>C6</b> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5: <i>Spanish (Ruy Lopez)</i> </li>
<li> <b>C7</b> 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4: <i>Spanish</i> </li>
<li> <b>C8</b> C7 + 4...Nf6 5.O-O: <i>Spanish, Closed and Open</i>
(<b>C80-C83</b> 5.O-O Nxe4: <i>Spanish, Open System</i>;
<b>C84-C89</b> 5.O-O Be7: <i>Spanish, Closed System</i>) </li>
<li> <b>C9</b> C8 + 5...Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6: <i>Spanish, Closed</i> </li>
</ul>
<p>
<b><blue><run ::windows::eco::Refresh D>D</run></blue></b>
1.d4 d5; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 with 3...d5
<ul>
<li> <b>D0</b> 1.d4 d5: <i>Queen's Pawn</i> </li>
<li> <b>D1</b> 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6: <i>Slav Defence</i> </li>
<li> <b>D2</b> 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4: <i>Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA)</i> </li>
<li> <b>D3</b> 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6: <i>Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD)</i> </li>
<li> <b>D4</b> D3 + 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5/c6: <i>Semi-Tarrasch; Semi-Slav</i> </li>
<li> <b>D5</b> D3 + 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5: <i>QGD Classical</i> </li>
<li> <b>D6</b> D5 + 4...Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7: <i>QGD Orthodox</i> </li>
<li> <b>D7</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 with 3...d5: <i>Grunfeld</i> </li>
<li> <b>D8</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5: <i>Grunfeld</i> </li>
<li> <b>D9</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3: <i>Grunfeld</i> </li>
</ul>
<p>
<b><blue><run ::windows::eco::Refresh E>E</run></blue></b>
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 </li>
<ul>
<li> <b>E0</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6: <i>Catalan, etc</i> </li>
<li> <b>E1</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 (b6): <i>Queen's Indian, etc</i> </li>
<li> <b>E2</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 (Bb4): <i>Nimzo-Indian, etc</i> </li>
<li> <b>E3</b> E2 + 4.Bg5 or 4.Qc2: <i>Nimzo-Indian</i> </li>
<li> <b>E4</b> E2 + 4.e3: <i>Nimzo-Indian, Rubinstein</i> </li>
<li> <b>E5</b> E4 + 4...O-O 5.Nf3: <i>Nimzo-Indian, main line</i> </li>
<li> <b>E6</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6: <i>King's Indian</i> </li>
<li> <b>E7</b> 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4: <i>King's Indian</i> </li>
<li> <b>E8</b> E7 + 4...d6 5.f3: <i>King's Indian, Samisch</i> </li>
<li> <b>E9</b> E7 + 4...d6 5.Nf3: <i>King's Indian, main lines</i> </li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.2, December 2006)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(Author) "Contact information"
set helpText(Author) {<h1>Contact Information</h1>
<p>
The Scid web page is located at: <br>
<b><url http://scid.sourceforge.net/>http://scid.sourceforge.net/</url></b>
</p>
<p>
It has downloads of the latest version of Scid and any extra
files that are available.
</p>
<p>
Please send any comments, questions, suggestions or bug reports to
the Scid mailinglist <b>scid-users@lists.sourceforge.net</b>.
</p>
<h3><name Related>Related Links</name></h3>
<p>
If you enjoy using Scid, you may find the following websites interesting:
</p>
<ul>
<li><url http://scid.sourceforge.net/>http://scid.sourceforge.net</url>--
The program upon which Scid is heavily based. Scid was written by
Shane Hudson, with help from others.</li>
<li><url http://www.tim-mann.org/chess.html>http://www.tim_mann.org/chess.html</url> --
Home page of Tim Mann's <b>xboard & winboard</b> program which is a PGN
reader and an interface for Internet chess servers. His site also has
good information on Crafty, GNUchess and other free chess programs.</li>
<li><url http://theweekinchess.com/twic>http://theweekinchess.com/twic</url> --
TWIC (the week in chess), an excellent weekly bulletin of international
chess games in available in <a PGN>PGN</a> format.</li>
<li><url http://www.saremba.de/chessgml/standards/pgn/pgn-complete.htm>http://www.saremba.de/chessgml/standards/pgn/pgn-complete.htm</url> --
the <b>PGN Standard</b>, created by Steven J. Edwards in 1994.
This file explains the <a PGN>PGN</a> and EPD formats in detail.</li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.7, August 2018)</footer></p>
}
# Book window help
set helpTitle(Book) "Book Window"
set helpText(Book) {<h1>Book window</h1>
<p>
A list of all book files present in Scid's books directory is
presented in the drop down list on top of the window. To specify the
directory where Scid should search for opening books select Options /
Books directory from the menu. The active book can be selected
easily from that list.
</p>
<p>
The format of books is the one used by Polyglot and the engines like
Fruit and Toga, their usual extension is .bin. Currently, to build
new books one has to use <term>polyglot</term> on the command line.
Please refer to polyglots documentation about how to create a book.
</p>
<p>
For each position, the book window displays all possible moves it
contains and their relative weights in percent. When a move is
entered, the book window is updated. Clicking on a move in the book
window will play that move in current position.
</p>
<p>
At the bottom of the book window, the button <i>Other moves</i> displays the moves
that are not present in the book but part of lines that are present later on in the book.
This allows an engine to play the best moves, and to have book replies available in the
book if the opponent chooses moves that are not in the book. The display of those <i>Other moves</i>
shows where there are holes in a book.
</p>
<p>
The book in use can be selected from the drop down list in the
book window.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Tactical game window help
set helpTitle(TacticalGame) "Tactical Game Window"
set helpText(TacticalGame) {<h1>Tactical game window</h1>
<p>
Play a tactical game against an engine simulating an opponent with a
given Elo rating. The opponent is played by Phalanx and the coach
by Toga or an UCI-Engine. The right engines are automatically selected by their
names, and should be correctly configured (this is the default when
Scid is installed).
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> that a special version of the Phalanx engine is
required. This special version comes with the Scid package.
</p>
<p>
The following parameters must be configured :
<ul>
<li><term>Fixed level</term>: sets a fixed Elo rating for the opponent</li>
<li><term>Random level</term>: chooses a random level between the
minimum and maximum level specified by the left and right slider
respectively.
</li>
<li><term>Opening:</term>
<ul>
<li><term>Start new game</term>: starts a new game choosing a
random opening.</li>
<li><term>Start from current position</term>: let the game begin
with the current board position.</li>
<li><term>Specific opening</term>: the opponent will play a
specific opening, that can be chosen from the list below. This is
useful for opening training.</li>
</ul>
<li><term>Limit engine analysis time</term> allows to limit the time used by the
coach to check the players moves for errors. If this time is not
limited the coach is allowed to think in the background.</li>
</ul>
<p>Tip: If you switch on the <a Graphs>score graph</a>, you can see the use of time and the rating of the position during the game.</p>
<p>To start a tactical game press <term>Play</term></p>
<p><b>Note</b> a similar function can be achieved by playing a
<a SeriousGame>serious game</a> against any UCI engine that allows
for limiting its strength.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.7, August 2018)</footer></p>
}
# Opening Trainer window help
set helpTitle(OpeningTrainer) "Opening Trainer"
set helpText(OpeningTrainer) {<h1>Opening Trainer</h1>
<p>
A Scid database can be used as a repertoire, each game representing
an opening line. The games can contain variations and may also
contain NAG values to specify values for each line, and thus
allowing to mark preferred or dubious lines. To be a valid database
for the opening trainer it is also required to be of proper type.
That is, if openings for white are to be trained, the database has
to be of type <term>Openings for White</term> (similar for Black and
both colors). The type can be set via the <a Maintenance>Maintenance
window</a> by selecting the icon or via the database switchers
context menu.
</p>
<p>
<h2>Creating a repertoire base</h2>
Before running the opening trainer, please be aware that the entire
repertoire database will be loaded into the trainer. For this
reason, it is good to use a smaller database. It is a good idea to
first assemble a large database of quality games, then filter the
database for a specific opening (e.g. the Ruy Lopez). These filtered
games could then be copied to a new database for that specific
opening you had in mind (please name it intelligently, so you can
easily understand which opening it is for). Then instead of an
entire 2 million or so game database, you have a much smaller
repertoire database that will be loaded quickly into the opening
trainer.
</p>
<p>
You could also buy or download special databases that cover
particular openings, although we cannot point you in the direction
of any possible sources in this help file.
</p>
<p>
Once you have a smaller database aimed at just the opening you
require, set the type as mentioned using the <a
Maintenance>Maintenance window</a>. You will need to restart Scid
to use the opening trainer with this new repertoire database.
</p>
<p>
If you choose, for the opening trainer to work better, you may flag
certain games as "White opening" or "Black opening". An exhaustive
way of doing this would be to go through the entire database 'by
hand' and assign the flags individually. A quicker way, may be to
filter your database for white openings, then set the flag for all
those filtered games, and similarly for black openings. Remember you
can have a repertoire for both white and black in the same database.
You can set the flags in this way via the <a Maintenance>Maintenance
window</a>. How you choose to filter the games for flagging is
entirely up to the user. One possible way is to filter 1-0 games for
white openings, and 0-1 for black openings. This way is not the best
however, and it is left to the user to find the system they feel
most comfortable with.
</p>
<p>
Finally, to work best, the Opening Trainer can use NAG values to understand
how a move in the opening is to be rated. Please refer to the <a NAGs>NAG
annotation help</a> for more information.
</p>
<p>
<h2>Using the opening trainer</h2>
To use the opening trainer first of all open the repertoire database you
created, or one of the proper type. Then choose Play / Training / Opening Trainer.
The upcoming dialogue offers some choices about the next training
session
<ul>
<li><term>white</term>/<term>black</term>/<term>both</term> is
used to select the side of the opening to train
</li>
<li><term>Allow only best moves</term> will treat lower rated moves
as error. The rating of a line is given by NAG values.</li>
<li><term>Opponent plays best moves</term> Scid will always play
the best continuation according to the repertoire database. If
unchecked Scid is allowed to choose also lower rated
continuations. This is helpful to learn the refutations as well.
</li>
<li><term>Only flagged lines</term> Scid will only play lines
from games flagged as <term>Opening for White</term> or
<term>Opening for Black</term>.
</li>
<li><term>Reset statistics</term> will reset the statistics
before the training session.</li>
</ul>
Press the <term>Continue</term> button to proceed with the training.
</p>
<p>
The actual opening trainer will show up. Here one can display
possible candidate moves (hidden by default) and also display their
values by just enabling these functions. If <term>Show
statistics</term> is enabled, the current statistics is shown in the
color coded fields below the checkbox. Otherwise the overall
statistics can be accessed by the button <term>Show report</term>
<h3>Opening trainer statistics</h3>
<p>
Four numbers are displayed showing statistics for current position:
<ul>
<li><term>Green</term> the number of moves played by the user that
are good moves</li>
<li><term>Yellow</term> the number of dubious moves played that are
in the repertoire</li>
<li><term>Red</term> the number of moves played that are not in the
repertoire</li>
<li><term>White</term> the number of times the position was
encountered</li>
</ul>
</p>
<h3>The report</h3>
<p>
The report shows statistics for the whole repertoire and gives
information about user's knowledge :
<ul>
<li><term>Positions in repertoire</term> the total number of
positions in the repertoire (all lines in database)</li>
<li><term>Positions not played</term> the positions that were never
encountered</li>
<li><term>Positions played</term> the positions that were played and
the sum of the number of times they were encountered. Note that this
figure represents the sum of occurrences of a position in all
opening lines: this number can quickly become big for positions
that are close to the start position</li>
<li><term>Success</term> the number of good moves made by the player</li>
<li><term>Dubious moves</term> the number of weak moves made by the
player</li>
<li><term>Out of repertoire</term> the number of moves made by the
player that were not in repertoire</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
####################
### Correspondence Chess help:
set helpTitle(Correspondence) "Correspondence Chess"
set helpText(Correspondence) {<h1>Correspondence Chess</h1>
<p>
Scid offers currently two main functionalities for correspondence
chess.
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>eMail Chess</b> proceeds by sending the current game via eMail
to your opponent once you made your move. To this end an eMail message
is created in your preferred email program with the current game
attached to it in <a PGN>PGN</a> format. Of course all comments and
variations are stripped off before.
</li>
<li><b>Correspondence Chess Servers</b> are supported by means of the
Xfcc protocol. Here external tools are used to fetch the games from
your account(s) and deliver them to Scid for synchronisation. After
you made your move this move is sent to your opponent also by means of
Xfcc. The fetch and send tool are implemented as external tools for
easy extension if other protocols arise.
</li>
<li><b>Postal play</b>: Scid allows support for postal play by
adding a PGN file with the proper header information to its Inbox
directory. If the additional header field <b>Mode</b> is set to
<b>Postal</b> those games get their proper icon displayed. Note
that also the header fields <b>CmailGamename</b> and <b>Gameid</b>
should be present.
---TODO---: Printing of postcards is on the todo, this function
will require the additional header fields WhiteAddress/BlackAddress
to contain the postal address of both players.
</li>
<li><b>Observation of games</b> is supported by just adding the URL
for the <a PGN>PGN</a> file to the list offered by <menu>Play / Correspondence
Chess / Observe Game</menu>. For this function to work a connector
for the site in question is required. (See below)
</li>
</ul>
<p>
If any of the correspondence chess functions are accessed from the
menu a new window opens up. It can be opened manually from the window
menu or one can use the keyboard shortcut F12. There are two
additional shortcuts:
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Ctrl-F12</b>
This will open the correspondence chess window and the default
database. It will also process your current Inbox.
</li>
<li><b>Alt-F12</b>
This will open the correspondence chess window, the default
database and also initiate the fetch of Xfcc games in one go.
</li
</ul>
<p>
Please see below for further details.
</p>
<p>
This window contains the necessary buttons to navigate through
ongoing games, shortcut keys to fetch games by means of the Xfcc
protocol and sync in eMail based games as well as a console stating
which messages where sent or retrieved. Additionally this window
contains a list of ongoing games retrieved from your Inbox directory.
</p>
<p>
To use the correspondence chess features a database of the type
"Correspondence chess" has to be opened before calling any
correspondence chess functions. If you do not have such a database
yet, just create a new database and set its type to "Correspondence
chess" by means of the <a Maintenance>Maintenance</a> function.
Setting the type is important as Scid will recognise the database for
synchronisation by this type. As this database is empty after the
creation Scid will treat all correspondence chess games it receives at
first synchronisation as new games and append them to this database.
</p>
<p>
If no database of the type "Correspondence chess" is currently opened
Scid will remind you of doing so. However, do not open more than one
database of this type as Scid then can not recognise the one to use.
</p>
<h3><name CCWorkflow>Basic functionality</name></h3>
<p>
If everything is set up correctly the usage of the correspondence
chess functions can easily accessed by the following buttons:
<ul>
<li><button tb_CC_Retrieve> Retrieve the correspondence chess games.
To this end the external fetch tool is called and all games retrieved
via that way as well as all other games that are stored in Scid's Inbox
(see below) are synchronised into the current correspondence chess
database.
</li>
<li><button tb_CC_Send> Sends your move to the opponent by either
creating a new eMail message in your preferred mail program or by
sending the move to a chess server in case of Xfcc.
</li>
<li><button tb_CC_delete> empties your In- and Outbox directories.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_online> is shown if the game list was refreshed
from the server within the current Scid session. The tool tip for
this icon shows date and time of the last refresh.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_offline> indicates, that Xfcc status icons are
restored from saved results. No update has taken place in the
current Scid session. The tool tip for this icon shows date and
time of the last refresh.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_pluginactive> indicates, that Correspondence Chess
plugin(s) were loaded and activated upon startup.
</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
See also the list of <a CCIcons>Icons and Status Indicators</a>.
</p>
<h3>Configuration</h3>
<p>
Correspondence Chess within Scid is based upon a normal Scid
database that holds the games and some helpers external to Scid that
handle the "non-chess-parts". These tools and parameters must be set
up once, and are stored afterwards for future use.
</p>
<p>
To access the configuration dialog choose <menu>Play</menu>
<menu>Correspondence Chess</menu><menu>Configure</menu> from the
menu. The details are described in <a CCSetupDialog>Correspondence
Chess Setup</a>. Quitting this dialog by the <b>[Ok]</b> button will
automatically store your options.
</p>
<h3>Retrieving the games</h3>
<p>
Depending whether you play correspondence chess via eMail or via a
chess server the actual retrieval process differs slightly. Generally
it results in a set of games in <a PGN>PGN</a> format located in Scid's Inbox
directory. This offers also the possibility of automatic retrieval via
external software.
</p>
<p>
Once the games are in Scid's Inbox invoking <menu>Process Inbox</menu>
from the menu will work though the Inbox and add new moves to the
games already in the database. Additionally it will add games not
found in the current correspondence chess database as new games.
</p>
<p><a CCeMailChess>Correspondence Chess via eMail</a> describes the
details for the usage of eMail, while in <a CCXfcc>Correspondence
Chess via Chess Servers</a> describes the same for correspondence
chess servers.
</p>
<h3>Stepping through games</h3>
<p>
After games are retrieved they are loaded to Scid's clipboard database
and new moves are added and stored in the correspondence chess
database opened. The difference to
the functions from the <menu>Games</menu> menu is, that these two
buttons scroll only between the games in Scid's Inbox which are
supposed to be your actually ongoing games. Of course the
Correspondence Chess database might contain much more games, but
normally you do not want to go through all these to find out what your
opponent moved in a current game.
</p>
<p>
Note that a header search is required incorporating some fields that
are not indexed by Scid. Hence, storing your correspondence chess
games in a huge reference database might not be advisable as the
search times may be quite long. If you play a lot and your own
database gets quite large, search times can be reduced by moving
finished games to an archive database, or by just creating a new
database for the ongoing games. Scid will treat all games not existing
in the correspondence chess database already as new games and add them
automatically. Hence, it is sufficient to open an empty database of
type "Correspondence chess" and call <menu>Process Inbox</menu> to
import all currently ongoing games.
</p>
<p>
Equivalent to the two buttons mentioned are the items <menu>Previous
Game</menu> and <menu>Next Game</menu> from the <menu>Correspondence
Chess</menu> menu.
</p>
<p>
An alternate way to jump to a specific game is by double clicking on
it within the game list.
</p>
<p>
Note that if you set up your player names correctly (by means of
<menu>My Player Names</menu>) Scid will rotate the board for you to
play always upwards. You can have multiple player names. See also <a
Options MyPlayerNames>My Player Names</a> for details.
</p>
<h3>Analyse and make a move</h3>
<p>
All analysis features can be used for correspondence chess games.
Variations, annotations etc. can be added just like in normal game
analysis. Once finished, Scid will take the last half move added to
the game and treat it as the current move to send. No checking whether
only one half a move was added or which side to move is done here,
hence, only one half move to the mainline must be added! In case a
chess server is used Scid also sends the last comment added to the
server which might be useful for communication with the opponent. In
eMail chess this can be done by the normal mail message, so there all
comments are stripped off.
</p>
<p>
Pressing the Send button <button tb_CC_Send> will have Scid to
determine the type of the correspondence chess game displayed (eMail or
a server game) and call either your eMail program or the external send
tool to submit your move. Calling <menu>Send move</menu> is equivalent
to this button. Alternatively, <menu>Mail move</menu> can be used to
send the current game via eMail. In case of an eMail game this
function is equivalent to <menu>Send move</menu>. In case of a server
based game an eMail message is generated. Note however, that it will
not necessarily contain a proper recipient as eMail addresses are not
exchanged in server based correspondence chess.
</p>
<h3>Observing Correspondence Games</h3>
Observing a game of correspondence chess is technically done by
retrieving the games <a PGN>PGN</a> notation from the webserver.
These games are then fed into the usual workflow of the
Correspondence Chess functions and show up there as usual games. For
this function to work a file named "connector.xml" has to be available
in ~/.scid/data. If this file does not exist Scid will try to generate
one suitable for observation of games from ICCF Webchess. Additional
servers can be added to this file by appending additional
server-blocks.
To observe a game on ICCF Webchess point your web browser to the page
where the notation an the chess board gets displayed. Copy the URL of
that page to the clipboard and add it to the list displayed by
choosing <menu>Play / Correspondence Chess / Observe Game</menu>. Use
a new line for each game to be observed.
Close the dialogue by selecting Ok and refetch the correspondence
chess games. Now the newly added observed games should show up in the
Correspondence Chess games list.
<h3>Additional features of the Correspondence Chess Window</h3>
<p>
The Correspondence Chess window offers additional functions by means
of its own menu, which is identical to Play / Correspondence Chess. It
is also possible to use the usual scrolling features of Scid, like
jumping to the next (previous) game by Ctrl-Down (Ctrl-Up). Hovering
with the mouse over certain fields in the game list will also give
additional information as provided by the server. If
you want to copy the current game list to the clipboard one can use
the usual shortcuts Ctrl-Ins (or Ctrl-C).
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, Jan 2011)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(CCIcons) "Correspondence Chess Icons and Status Indicators"
set helpText(CCIcons) {
<h1>Icons and Status Indicators</h1>
<p>
To shorten the display, a set of icons is used in the game list. Some
of them are only present in certain circumstances, some are only valid
for Xfcc based games, some for eMail based games. These indicators are
stored internally and are restored to the last update from the server
if no interet connection is available.
</p>
<ul>
<li><img tb_CC_online> is shown if the game list was refreshed
from the server within the current Scid session. The tool tip for
this icon shows date and time of the last refresh.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_offline> indicates, that Xfcc status icons are
restored from saved results. No update has taken place in the
current Scid session. The tool tip for this icon shows date and
time of the last refresh.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_pluginactive> indicates, that Correspondence Chess
plugin(s) were loaded and activated upon startup.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_envelope> This is an eMail based game. In those
games many of the status flags used in Xfcc-based games are not
available due to the limitation of the medium.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_relay> This is a observed game, ie. you're just
fetching it and you will not make any move in those games.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_postal> The mode of this game is set to
<i>postal</i> (ie. real classical correspondence play via postal
service). Scid will show those games but ignore them in the update
process as no <a PGN>PGN</a> game file will exist in postal play.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_yourmove>
Its your move.<br>
<b>Note 1:</b> this status is only updated if you
synchronise your games with the server, that is, it always refers
to the servers status at last synchronisation.
<br>
<b>Note 2:</b>Hovering over this icon with the mouse will display
the opponents last move.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_oppmove>
Its the opponents move. Note: this status is only updated if you
synchronise your games with the server, that is, it always refers
to the servers status at last synchronisation.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_draw>
Peace was agreed by a draw.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_book>
The use of opening books is allowed for this game.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_database>
The use of databases is allowed for this game.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_tablebase>
The use of endgame tablebases (e.g. Nalimov tablebases etc.) is
allowed for this game.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_engine>
Chess Engines are allowed for this game. Sometimes these games are
also referred to as "Advanced Chess".
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_outoftime>
Your opponent ran out of time. You may claim a win on time.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_message>
Your opponent sent a message along with his last move. Check the
game notation.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<b>Note 1:</b> If an event (e.g. a tournament) has not yet started, but
the setup was already retrieved via Xfcc the id, event and site
columns text show up in <gray><b>dark gray</b></gray>.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note 2:</b> Hovering over the site column will show the whole site
tag, hovering over the event column will show the whole event tag and
the time control if it was sent along with the game. If no time
control was sent, Scid will denote it as <i>10 / 50d (?)</i>, that is,
guessing ICCFs official default timing of 10 moves in 50 days. (The
ICCF server itself never sends any timings.)
</p>
<p>
In Xfcc games, each opponents country may be displayed by the
associated flag, if the server provides that information. For eMail
based games this can be achieved by adding additional <a PGN>PGN</a> tags for
<i>whiteCountry</i> and <i>blackCountry</i>, each followed by the
international three letter country code according to ISO 3166-1
(e.g. "EUR" <img flag_eur>, "USA" <img flag_usa>, "GBR" <img
flag_gbr>, "FRA" <img flag_fra>, "RUS" <img flag_rus>, "CHN"
<img flag_chn>...).
</p>
<p>
To show country flags for other types of games (postal, observed) just
add WhiteCountry/BlackCountry headers to the games in your database.
Note that the header values in the Scid database overwrite the values
supplied in the games of Scid's Inbox. That is even for Xfcc games that
one can add country flags or overwrite the games mode. (The latter is
required e.g. for mixed games on ICCF where ICCFs Xfcc interface
also supplies games even if they are played by post.)
</p>
<p>
See also the chapter <a Correspondence>Correspondence Chess</a> for
general information.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, Jun 2010)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(CCXfcc) "Correspondence Chess Servers"
set helpText(CCXfcc) {<h1>Correspondence Chess Servers</h1>
<p>
There exist several correspondence chess servers throughout the
internet. Generally, they are used by means of a web browser, so no
specific software is required. However many of them also offer an
interface to specialised chess software via a protocol called Xfcc.
The integration of Xfcc is done in Scid via external helper tools set
in the <a CCSetupDialog>Configuration</a> dialog for correspondence
chess.
</p>
<h3>Start a new game</h3>
<p>
Xfcc does not allow to start a new game itself. Searching for an
opponent and starting a game is instead handled by the chess server
on their web site. Once the game is started however, Scid can be used to
retrieve the moves of the opponent, add them to the internal database,
analyse them and so on. All features of Scid are to the users disposal
though certain modes of play may not allow them (e.g. normal games
usually do not permit the usage of chess engines for analysis).
</p>
<h3>Retrieve games</h3>
<p>
Open a database that holds correspondence chess games. This database
has to be of type "Correspondence chess".
</p>
Notes:
<ul>
<li>If Scid does not find a correspondence chess database it will
inform you to open one.
</li>
<li>If the database does not hold the games that are fetched from
the server they are treated as new games and added to the database
automatically.
</li>
<li>Scid will use the first database of type "Correspondence Chess"
that is currently open. For this reason only one such DB should be
opened at a time.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Xfcc always retrieves all games hosted on a specified server for your
user ID at once. To retrieve the games just press the <button
tb_CC_Retrieve> icon or select <menu>Retrieve Games</menu> from the
<menu>Correspondence Chess</menu> menu. As a server connection is
required to fetch new games be sure that the system has network
access. Scid will call the fetch tool configured in the <a
CCSetupDialog>Configuration</a> dialog which will place the games in
PGN format in Scid's inbox. It may take some time to retrieve the
answer, so be patient. After the games are retrieved the
correspondence chess database is updated accordingly.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>By using the <button tb_CC_delete> you can empty your whole
In- and Outbox directories.
</p>
<p>
Once the games are retrieved their counterpart is searched within the
correspondence chess db and new moves are added accordingly. As Xfcc
servers may offer various ways to insert moves (via web or mobile or
other programs...) it might well be that Scid will have to add half of
the game to the db. This poses no problem. Scid will add all moves
returned in the game from the server. Scid will however not replace
the game from the beginning as then all your analysis may be lost.
Hence it is <b>important to note</b> that you must not insert moves to
the main line beyond your own last move! To add continuations please
use variations!
</p>
<p>
Xfcc base games offer extensive status display within the games list.
This information, however, is only available if Scid's internal Xfcc
support is used. The following icon are for visual display:
<ul>
<li><img tb_CC_draw> A draw was agreed with the last move.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_yourmove> You're on the move.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_oppmove> Your opponent is on the move.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_book> This game allows the use of opening books.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_database> This game allows the use of databases.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_tablebase> This game allows the use of tablebases.
</li>
<li><img tb_CC_engine> This game allows the use of chess engines.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Additionally Scid will display the clock for both parties <b>at the
time of sync</b> as well as the chess variant played. Note however
that Scid currently only supports standard chess.
</p>
<p>
Note: only if the proper icon (book, database, tablebase, engine)
is displayed, the usage of these tools is allowed. It is forbidden
otherwise. Be fair and respect these rules.
</p>
<p>
Note: if other sources have placed games in your inbox (e.g. from
your eMail correspondence chess) they are also synchronised in the
retrieval step into the database as the whole Inbox is worked through.
This allows for adding eMail games to the Inbox, then switch to Scid,
hit <button tb_CC_Retrieve> and all games are up to date. Games that are not
yet found in the database are treated as new games and appended to the
database.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>By using the <button tb_CC_delete> you can empty your whole
In- and Outbox directories.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note for programmers</b>: the fetch tool is called with the Inbox path as
parameter. It is thought to work through all server accounts and place
properly formatted <a PGN>PGN</a> files in the path passed to it. These files
should contain additional header fields as they are known by the cmail
tool. (See <a CCeMailChess>Correspondence Chess via eMail</a> for
information about the fields required.)
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.23, March 2008)</footer></p>
}
#############
# eMail Chess:
set helpTitle(CCeMailChess) "Correspondence Chess via eMail"
set helpText(CCeMailChess) {<h1>Correspondence Chess via eMail</h1>
<p>
eMail offers a very convenient way to play correspondence chess. The
standard application in the Un*x world for this till today is xboard
together with its cmail helper. As it allows for almost automatic
handling of correspondence chess eMails and additionally does not add
anything not conforming to <a PGN>PGN</a> it is also the model for Scid to handle
eMail chess. By just preserving the whole <a PGN>PGN</a> header such games can be
played with any opponent who has a tool to handle PGN.
</p>
<h3>eMail Chess</h3>
<p>
Scid can handle eMail correspondence chess games almost automatically.
The way how this is done is kept compatible to the cmail utility that
comes with xboard on Un*x systems. (Having said this implies that you
can play against an opponent using cmail/xboard.) It works by sending
the games as whole <a PGN>PGN</a> files too and fro as mail attachments, while
the header contains certain tags that allows them to be recognised and
sorted together. For this reason the user has to be careful with
editing of the header fields. Note that fields with explicit values have
to be set to exactly this value for eMail chess. Starting a game with
Scid will do this automatically, but you <b>must not</b> overwrite
or delete them!
</p>
<p>
Essential header fields are:
</p>
<ul>
<li><term>Event</term>: by default "Email correspondence game"
</li>
<li><term>Site</term>: has to be "NET"
</li>
<li><term>Mode</term>: has to be "EM"
</li>
<li><term>WhiteNA</term>: contains the eMail address of the white player. Note
that only the bare address is stored there in the form
<term>user@host.org</term>.
</li>
<li><term>BlackNA</term>: contains the eMail address of the black player
similar to WhiteNA.
</li>
<li><term>CmailGameName</term>: Contains a <b>unique</b> identifier for
the game. This is used to sort the games together.
<p>
While Scid could use some database index this is not possible for
non-DB-based tools like cmail. For this reason the
<term>CmailGameName</term> parameter is user supplied. It must be
unique! The easiest way is something of the form
<term>xx-yy-yyyymmdd</term> where xx is a shortcut for the white
player, yy one for the black player, and yyyymmdd the current date.
</p>
<p>For Xfcc-based games this field has also to be set to a unique
identifier but there the server name and the unique game number on
this server can be used, that is this identifier is of the form
<term>MyXfccServer-12345</term>.
</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
eMail based chess does not contain that extended status codes as Xfcc.
These games show the <img tb_CC_envelope> icon to notify them as
eMail based. The same applies to observed games, denoted by <img
tb_CC_relay> and postal games which show the <img tb_CC_postal> icon.
</p>
<h3>Start a new game</h3>
<p>
This opens a dialog for the input of the own and the opponents name as
they should appear in the header as well as the eMail addresses of
both parties. Additionally a <b>unique</b> game ID has to be inserted.
The easiest way for this ID is something of the form
<term>xx-yy-yyyymmdd</term> where xx is a shortcut for the white
player, yy one for the black player, and yyyymmdd the current date.
This id is a text and it is important to identify the games uniquely.
Users of cmail will also know this ID as <i>game name</i>. It must
only contain letters and numbers, the minus sign and the underscore.
Please avoid other characters.
</p>
<p>
After the dialog is quit by pressing the <b>[Ok]</b> button a new
game is appended to the currently loaded correspondence chess database
and the <a PGN>PGN</a> header is set properly. Just make your move and send it as
mentioned below.
</p>
<h3>Retrieve games</h3>
<p>
Scid does not handle your mailbox automatically. This would,
considering the wide range of possible mail setups these days, involve
a huge amount of code. For this reason Scid relies on your normal
eMail program which is far more suitable for this purpose than Scid
can ever be. To get a game into Scid just save the attached <a PGN>PGN</a> file
to Scid's inbox and process the inbox by either <menu>Retrieve
Games</menu> or the <button tb_CC_Retrieve> button or
<menu>Process Inbox</menu>. The difference between the two is that
the first one will also fetch and populate the Inbox additionally with
games from another source (say Xfcc) by either the internal Xfcc
support or an external fetch tool called. Hence <button
tb_CC_Retrieve> is the most convenient way if you use both types of
correspondence chess games.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> The <menu>Retrieve Games</menu> menu or the <button
tb_CC_Retrieve> button do <b>not</b> fetch your eMail messages! You
have to save your <a PGN>PGN</a> files to Scid's Inbox by hand. Probably this can
be automatised by your eMail program (on Un*x systems setting up a
mime handler is easy enough by means of <term>.mailcap</term>).
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>By using the <button tb_CC_delete> you can empty your whole
In- and Outbox directories.
</p>
<h3>Send the response</h3>
<p>
After making your move send it by either the <menu>Mail Move</menu>
item from the menu via <menu>Send move</menu> which is equivalent to
<button tb_CC_Send>. The latter will Scid have to recognise the game
as eMail correspondence and send it by mail while the former method
will force Scid to generate an eMail message.
</p>
<p>
Of course Scid strips the the game bare of any comments and variations
before attaching it to the outgoing eMail as you probably do not want to send
your analysis along.
</p>
<p>
If a GUI-mailer is used, its usual compose window is opened. The
address of your opponent is filled in as well as a generic subject
containing the game id for easy filtering and the bcc address if
specified in the <a CCSetupDialog>Configuration</a> dialog. The mail
body is set to contain the <term>FEN</term> of the final position and
the list of moves made so far. This way the opponent can quickly look
up your move. Finally, Scid attaches the current game including your
move in <a PGN>PGN</a> format to the mail message.
</p>
<p>
When using a mailx compatible tool no window is opened and the mail is
sent invisibly by invoking the tool specified in the background. In
this case the generated mail contains the <a PGN>PGN</a> also in the mail body.
</p>
<p>
Note that as eMail chess works by sending the whole <a PGN>PGN</a> file you must
not add more than your half move. Scid does not check here whether
more than one half move was added to the mainline, simply as Scid does
not know which move it was, when you sent yours.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.23, March 2008)</footer></p>
}
#############
# Correspondence Chess setup dialog help:
set helpTitle(CCSetupDialog) "Correspondence Chess Setup"
set helpText(CCSetupDialog) {<h1>Correspondence Chess Setup</h1>
<p>
The entries in the configuration dialog are preset to some default
parameters but those must not match the reality on your system, so
adoption will surely be necessary. All parameters are stored in the
configuration file automatically once the dialog is closed via the
<b>[Ok]</b> button. The parameters are effective immediately.
</p>
<p><b>Note</b> that Scid will use the defaults until this setup dialog
is called and quit by selecting the <term>OK</term> button. The
default values are never stored in Scid's internal config file until
then. Additionally, if Scid can not find a valid config, it will try
to set up the correspondence chess functions automatically. By default
it will store all data in the <term>data</term> subdir of Scid's
configuration. Here also a valid DB as well as the necessary
In/Outboxes are created.
</p>
<p>
<b>Default Database</b>:
This defines the default database for
correspondence chess games. It can be accessed easily via
<menu>Open Database</menu> in the <menu>Correspondence Chess</menu>
menu. The advantage of this method is, that this database does not
show up in the <i>recent databases</i> lists and that you can have a
specific file for this. This database <b>has to be</b> of type
"Correspondence chess". Opening a database of this type by any other
means is also ok, so probably you may want to ignore this setting
(e.g. if you call Scid with your correspondence chess database on
startup.)
</p>
<p>
<b>Inbox (path)</b>:
In this directory Scid will look for correspondence chess games stored
in <a PGN>PGN</a> format. These games are used for the synchronisation of the
correspondence chess database. Generally, Scid does not care how the
games come to this directory. It will just work through all <a PGN>PGN</a> files
located there. This offers the possibility to use some external tools
to fetch games to this location. Additionally, in eMail chess one
should just save the <a PGN>PGN</a> files received from the opponent in this
directory.
</p>
<p>
Scid will not read a mailbox of whatever sort, it just handles
all <a PGN>PGN</a> files placed in that directory. Also note, that it will
synchronise games with the current database. However, if a game
from this directory does not yet exist in the database it is
treated as new game and appended to the database.
</p>
<p>
For the synchronisation process to work the <a PGN>PGN</a> files must contain
some additional header information that are in perfect agreement with
the <a PGN>PGN</a> standard. Please have a look at <a CCeMailChess>Correspondence
Chess via eMail</a> if you want to create your own tool or if you are
migrating data from some other system.
</p>
<p>
<b>Outbox (path)</b>:
The inverse of the <i>Inbox</i>. Scid places here <a PGN>PGN</a> files of the
outgoing games. For eMail chess this is essential as the <a PGN>PGN</a> files have
to be attached to an eMail message. For Xfcc, where only the move is
sent, this would not be necessary, however the Outbox directory offers
a convenient way to link up to your PDA or for any other usage as the
PGN files contained in the Outbox will also contain your last move.
</p>
<p>
<b>Use internal Xfcc support</b>:
If checked Scid will not use the external tools specified as external
protocol handlers but use its internal Xfcc support to fetch games and
send moves. This will be the most convenient way to access an Xfcc
server and should be used as default.
</p>
<p>
This feature requires http and tDOM support for TCL to be installed.
Usually, these modules are distributed with your TCL installation,
however, on some systems they have to be installed explicitly. If
either one is not found this function is disabled.
</p>
<p>
<b>Xfcc Configuration</b>:
Give the path and filename of the config file for the xfcc protocol
handler. This path is also passed on to the external protocol handlers
to be used by them.
</p>
<p>
<b>Fetch Tool</b>:
This program is called to retrieve correspondence chess
games from a correspondence chess server. This helper just has to
fetch the games from whatever source it likes, generate a proper PGN
file containing the necessary <a PGN>PGN</a> header. Tools for fetching games
from Xfcc-servers exist as external programs and these are the natural
tools to set up here. For future protocols one could easily generate
an external fetch tool that handles this protocol. Also automatisation
is possible if this functionality is done externally.
</p>
<p>
Note: This tool is <b>not</b> called for retrieval of eMail chess
messages!
</p>
<p>
<b>Send Tool</b>:
This is the inverse of the fetch tool, primarily also meant for Xfcc
support or any future protocol that might come up. The send tool,
however, is called from Scid with several parameters where the call
looks like:
<term>
SendTool Outbox Name GameID MoveCount Move "Comment" resign claimDraw offerDraw acceptDraw
</term>
</p>
<p>
<b>Confirm moves</b>: Opens a confirmation dialogue after pressing the
send button for each move that is send to the server.
</p>
<p>
<b>Only games I have the move</b>: Checking this setting will shorten
the games listed in the Correspondence Chess window to only those
games where the player is to move.
</p>
<p>
<b>Sorting</b>: Allows to sort games by various criteria. This sorting
takes effect upon the next update of the games list, e.g. by reopening
the Correspondence Chess window, fetching games or processing the
Inbox.
</p>
<p>
The meaning of the parameters is as follows:
<ul>
<li><term>Outbox</term>: The Outbox path set in this dialog. The
send tool is meant to generate a correctly formatted <a PGN>PGN</a> file
there.
</li>
<li><term>Name</term>: The name of the player to move as stated
in the <a PGN>PGN</a> header. For Xfcc this would be the login name. It is
identical to the player name in the <a PGN>PGN</a> header.
</li>
<li><term>MoveCount</term>: The move number to send.
</li>
<li><term>Move</term>: The actual move in SAN.
</li>
<li><term>"Comment"</term>: A comment sent to the opponent. Scid
inserts the last comment of the game. That is these comments are
treated as comments to the opponent. Note that the comment is
quoted, so multiline comments should be possible.
</li>
<li><term>resign</term>: 0 or 1, specifying whether the user
wants to resign. Set to 1 if the user invokes
<menu>Resign</menu> from the <menu>Correspondence Chess</menu>
menu.
</li>
<li><term>claimDraw</term>: 0 or 1, specifying whether the user
wants to claim a draw. Set to 1 if the user invokes
<menu>Claim Draw</menu> from the <menu>Correspondence Chess</menu>
menu.
</li>
<li><term>offerDraw</term>: 0 or 1, specifying whether the user
wants to offer a draw. Set to 1 if the user invokes <menu>Offer
Draw</menu> from the <menu>Correspondence Chess</menu> menu.
</li>
<li><term>acceptDraw</term>: 0 or 1, specifying whether the user
wants to accept a draw offered by the opponent. Set to 1 if the
user invokes <menu>Accept Draw</menu> from the
<menu>Correspondence Chess</menu>
menu.
</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Note: This tool is <b>not</b> called for eMail chess!
</p>
<p>
<b>Mail program</b>:
This gives the path to your preferred eMail program. This program is
called for eMail chess to compose the message to the opponent.
</p>
<p>
<b>(B)CC Address</b>:
A copy of the outgoing message is sent to this address as blind copy.
Note however, that if a GUI mailer is used it has normally its own
outgoing mail handling. Hence, setting this address might duplicate
messages. It can be used to transfer a game to another address though.
</p>
<p>
<b>Mode</b>:
Unfortunately there exists a wide range of mail clients and they use
very different calling conventions. Some common conventions, and
examples of programs that use them, are listed here. The mailprogram
will be called with the convention selected. In case it is not known
which convention is used one of those offered might match and do the
trick. Note however that quite a number of mail programs are not
capable of sending attachments when called from another program. In
this case you will have to either change your mail client or add the
attachment placed in Scid's Outbox by hand.
</p>
<p>Hint: mailx or one of its many clones should be available as a
command line application on almost any platform as an easy to set up
tool. In case none of the conventions work with your preferred
client or this client can not handle mails with attachments by calls
from the command line, installing mailx would be an option.
</p>
<p>Hint: mutt uses the systems mail transport (aka
sendmail/exim/postfix). To hook up with those (arguably) not easy to
set up tools mutt is a perfect option. On a decent Un*x with a proper
setup it should be the most painless way to handle eMail chess.
(Though not many properly set up systems exist, especially in the
Linux world.)
</p>
<p>
<b>Attachment parameter</b>:
This parameter is used to specify an attachment. It is <b>only</b>
used in <term>mailx</term> mode.
</p>
<p>
<b>Subject parameter</b>:
This parameter is used to specify the subject of the mail message. It
is <b>only</b> used in <term>mailx</term> mode.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.24, March 2008)</footer></p>
}
#############
# Correspondence Chess setup dialog help:
set helpTitle(CCXfccSetupDialog) "Xfcc Server Setup"
set helpText(CCXfccSetupDialog) {<h1>Xfcc Server Setup</h1>
<p>
The Xfcc Server Setup dialog reads in the currently specified xfcc
configuration and displays all servers specified in the config file.
The dialog is separated in two parts: the upper half lists all server
names defined, while the lower part lists all currently set
configuration values for these files.
</p>
<h2>Necessary entries</h2>
<ul>
<li><term>Server name</term>: This specifies the name used for this specific
server and to generate unique game IDs. The name should consist of a
single word containing only characters (a-z and A-Z), numbers and the
characters "-" and "_". It is treated case sensitive.
</li>
<li><term>Login name</term>: specifies the name used to log into a
specific server. It is a wise custom to use only characters, numbers
and "-" as well as "_" in this name.
</li>
<li><term>Password</term>: defines the password used for login. The
same rules apply as for the Login name. <b>Note</b> Scid currently
stores your passwords on the hard disk in unencrypted form. For this
reason keep the directory safe.
</li>
<li><term>URL</term>: This is the base URL for the Xfcc interface of the
correspondence chess server. It can be found at the servers homepage.
Some examples for common servers are:
<ul>
<li>SchemingMind: <url
http://www.schemingmind.com/xfcc/xfccbasic.asmx>
http://www.schemingmind.com/xfcc/xfccbasic.asmx</url>
</li>
<li>ICCF:
<url https://www.iccf.com/XfccBasic.asmx>
https://www.webchess.com/XfccBasic.asmx</url>
</li>
<li>MeinSchach.de / MyChess.de:
<url http://www.myChess.de/xfcc/xfccbasic.php4>
http://www.myChess.de/xfcc/xfccbasic.php4</url>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
To switch between the individual server settings just select the
server to change from the upper listbox. Its current values will then
be displayed in the entry fields and can be adopted. Clicking on
another server in the list will activate the new settings.
</p>
<p>
To add a new server, just hit the <term>Add</term> button. A new entry
will be created that is prefilled with some text to replace. Please
keep in mind that the server name has to be unique in your setup.
</p>
<p>
To delete a server select it from the list and press the
<term>Delete</term> button. All values for this specific server will
be prepended by a hash mark (#) marking this entry as deleted.
Therefore, if a server was deleted by accident, just remove the hash
marks in front of the entries.
</p>
<p>
Hitting <term>OK</term> will Scid have to store your current setup. At
this point all servers marked as deleted are deleted, all new servers
are added to the setup. By pressing <term>Cancel</term> all changes
are lost, the old setup stays in place.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.24, May 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Serious game window help
set helpTitle(SeriousGame) "Serious Game Window"
set helpText(SeriousGame) {<h1>Serious game window</h1>
<p>
Serious games can be played against any <term>UCI</term> engine set
up for the usage with Scid. A list of all possible opponents is
given on top of the <term>Game configuration</term> window. The
button <term>Configure UCI engine</term> additionally gives access
to the engines parameters. By default, they are set such as in the
<a Analysis List>engine configuration</a>.
</p>
<p>
Next, the book that should be used can be chosen from those opening
books available to Scid. Unchecking the <term>Use book</term> box
will disable the use of an opening book and the engine will start
calculating moves right from the beginning.
</p>
<p>
The section <term>Time mode</term> allows to set the timing used for
the engine. Various settings are possible here:
<ul>
<li><term>Time + bonus</term> specifies the time for the whole
game and a possible increment per move (Fisher clock). The
default is set to 5 minutes per game and 10 seconds increment per
move which is a usual setting for Blitz games. Note, that the
times for Black and White can be set independently. This allows
to set a short amount of time for the engine and give a longer
time of thinking to the player, and thus strengthening the
players analysing possibilities while weakening the engines
abilities in case of <term>Permanent thinking</term> is off (see
below).
</li>
<li><term>Fixed depth</term> does not set the time per game but
the depth the engine will calculate in half moves. As this
disables the ability to calculate deeper if necessary, the
computer will not see certain mates and combinations, the engine
may play weaker and thus offer a better partner for training
purposes.
<p>
<b>Note</b>: some, especially commercial, engines also offer to
weaken their strength in Elo units. Most likely this will offer a
more suitable algorithm than limiting the search depth. In Scid,
such games are also offered as <a TacticalGame>Tactical games</a>
against the free Phalanx engine.
</p>
</li>
<li><term>Nodes</term> is similar to limiting the search depth,
but here the engine has to move after the evaluation of a certain
number of positions. (The default is 10,000.)
</li>
<li><term>Seconds per move</term> allows the engine to spend a
certain amount of time at maximum for a given position. Some
engines will move faster in certain circumstances, but they will
not exceed the time limit set here. As <term>Fixed depth</term>
and <term>Nodes</term> this also limits the engines playing
strength, but also gives a pretty responsive game play.
</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p>
Serious games can start from the current board position if the box
<term>Start from current position</term> is checked. This allows
e.g. to play out defined middle game positions that arise from an
opening.
</p>
<p>
<term>Permanent thinking</term> (sometimes also called ponder)
allows the engine to calculate on the players time. If unchecked, the
engine will stop analysing the position if the player has the move.
If the game is set for a fixed time per move, this will weaken the
engine. On the other hand, the engine might move immediately, if the
player made the move it was analysing on the players time.
</p>
<p>
<term>Coach is watching</term> will open a dialogue offering to take
back a move if the player made a blunder (due to the engines
evaluation of his last move).
</p>
<p>
For training of openings <term>Specific opening</term> can be
checked. In the list below one can choose the opening to play. The
player then should follow the line chosen, otherwise Scid will ask
if the move should be taken back.
</p>
<p>
After setting all parameters of the game and hitting the Play
button, Scid will set up the opponent engine show the clocks and
start the game. The player must not make a move till the clocks
appear. Note that it might take some time for the chess engine to
start up and initialise properly.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Tactics Trainer
set helpTitle(TacticsTrainer) "Training: Tactics"
set helpText(TacticsTrainer) {<h1>Training: Tactics</h1>
<p>
Scid offers the possibility to solve chess puzzles. For this feature
special databases containing the puzzles are required. These
databases are searched in the <term>Bases</term> directory, that can
be specified via the menu Options / Bases directory. Unlike other
bases these bases usually do not contain full games but just a
starting position as is well known from the usual tactics puzzle
books. In fact, every puzzle book can easily be converted to such a
training base by just setting up the positions and storing them in
the <term>Bases</term> directory. Additionally, one has to set the
type of the base to <term>Tactics</term> by means of the <a
Maintenance>Maintenance</a> window.
</p>
<p>
After choosing Play / Training / Tactics a dialogue pops up that
allows to choose a training base. There, the name of the base is
displayed, followed by the number of solved puzzles and the total
number of puzzles in the base in brackets. That is, Scid stores the
puzzles the user already solved with the base. Choosing a base an
clicking the <term>Reset scores</term> button will reset this
information marking all puzzles as unsolved.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> it is advisable to close the <a PGN>PGN</a> window and check
<term>hide next move</term> in the context menu of the information
area of Scid's main window. Otherwise cheating is pretty simple.
<p>
To get a solution for the puzzles in a base the positions are
analysed by the Toga chess engine (included with Scid). The
<term>Limit engine analysis time</term> slider allows to limit the
time the engine has to solve the position. Several seconds should be
enough for most cases as usually tactical puzzles contain a
forced continuation which will be found very quickly by almost all
chess engines.
</p>
<p>
Clicking the <term>Continue</term> button will start the exercise,
displaying the first unsolved puzzle. That is, it is possible to
continue to work through a base. Also if some puzzle was skipped in
the first session or unsolved, it will be redisplayed. A new window
will pop up containing a clock and several buttons. The clock is
only for the user to check how long he thought about the position at
hand. No evaluation is done on the time required to solve a problem.
</p>
<p>
Some tactical exercises do not end in a mate, but the correct
solution gives a clear advantage. If one wants to play out these
scenarios and only count the exercise solved in case of a win, just
check the <term>Win won game</term> option. (This option has no
meaning in case of a clear mate solution.)
</p>
<p>
If a problem can not be solved, one can check the
<term>Show solution</term> checkbox. The solution is then displayed
underneath in the dark gray field.
</p>
<p>
Clicking the <term>Next</term> button allows the user to skip a
puzzle and move on, the <term>Abort</term> button will end tactical
training and close the database. Besides the <term>Next</term>
button, the user can choose an exercise by whatever means one can
select a game within a database in Scid, e.g. by choosing a random
game via Ctrl-? or jumping to some bookmark or simply by the <a
GameList>game list</a>.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Find best move
set helpTitle(FindBestMove) "Training: Find best move"
set helpText(FindBestMove) {<h1>Training: Find best move</h1>
<p>
When annotating games with a chess engine, the engine can search for
tactical opportunities within a game. This can be achieve by setting
<term>Mark Tactical Exercise</term> in the <a
Analysis>Annotation</a> window accessible from analysis. In case a
tactical opportunity is found, Scid will then flag the game with the
<term>T</term> flag (Tactics) and add a special comment that is
evaluated in this exercise.
</p>
<p>
To use this training method, a properly prepared database is
required. This can be achieved by batch annotating a set of games or
one can just download them from the <url
http://scid.sourceforge.net/>Scid website</url>.
After opening a properly prepared database, just select Play /
Training / Find best move. Scid will then jump to the next location
of a tactical blow from the current game position. If necessary a
suitable new game will be loaded and Scid will display the critical
position. The user is now required to find the best continuation.
To jump to the next tactical position one can just right click on
the goto end of game button.
</p>
<p>
For this exercise it is advisable to close the <a PGN>PGN</a> window and set
<term>Hide next move</term> from the status areas context menu.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# FICS Login
set helpTitle(FICSLogin) "FICS Login"
set helpText(FICSLogin) {<h1>FICS Login</h1>
<p>
The Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) is a good place to play chess
online with people all over the world at various playing strengths.
One of the great advantages is, that one can play human opponents.
Additionally, FICS offers a rating system that allows to test the
own strength and monitor the own progress. Furthermore, FICS relays
international tournaments which can be observed and discussed life
on the server and there exist several training options. For a
detailed description of the services offered, on how to become a
member of FICS etc. please refer to the FICS homepage at
http://www.freechess.org.
</p>
<p>
Though in principle FICS can be used with a plain telnet program
playing with a real chess program offers several advantages.
Therefore, Scid offers an interface to this server. To establish a
connection to the server one has to log in first and several
parameters are required:
<ul>
<li><term>Login:</term> This is your login name on the FICS
server. Its value is stored in Scid's configuration for later
reuse.</li>
<li><term>Password:</term> specifies your password for login.
<b>Note</b> that this password is displayed when you type,
allowing everybody to read it. Additionally, this password is
stored in plain text within Scid's configuration. If you are
using a publicly accessible system please make sure to assign
proper rights to Scid's config directory.
</li>
<li><term>Time seal</term> if checked, all connections to the
FICS server are routed through the <term>timeseal</term>
program. The purpose of <term>timeseal</term> is to cope with
network lags and keeping the clocks in correct order, that means
that you should not loose a game on time simply cause you are on
a very slow network connection. The suitable
<term>timeseal</term> program for your operating system has to
be selected in the next input line. It is available for free,
but required to be downloaded separately from
http://www.freechess.org.
</li>
<li><term>Server port</term> specifies the port on the server.
The default is 5000 and should be ok for almost all needs.</li>
<li><term>Timeseal port</term> specifies the port where the
<term>timeseal</term> program is listening. The default is 5001
and should be ok for almost all needs.</li>
</ul>
All these settings are stored with Scid's configuration and
therefore have to be entered only once.
</p>
<p>
After checking the settings you can connect to the FICS server by
clicking the <term>Connect</term> button. Alternatively, Sicd offers
an anonymous login by choosing <term>Login as guest</term>. In this
mode you can try all functions of FICS play there anonymously, but
you will not be able to play rated games or obtain a rating
yourself. For the difference between Guest account and usual account
please refer to the documentation at the FICS homepage.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b> Besides standard chess FICS also offers a bunch of chess
variants like bughouse or crazyhouse etc. Scid does not support any
of these variations, so you can not play them using Scid. If you
want to play variations you may wish to check out other interfaces.
FICS offers a bunch of graphical interfaces for download on its
homepage.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# FICS Find Opponent
set helpTitle(FICSfindOpp) "FICS Find Opponent"
set helpText(FICSfindOpp) {<h1>FICS Find Opponent</h1>
<p>
This dialogue offers a convenient way to challenge other players for
a game, in FICS speak to <term>place a seek</term>. For this several
parameters have to be set:
<ul>
<li><term>Initial time (min)</term> sets the initial time for
the game in minutes.</li>
<li><term>Increment (sec)</term> sets the increment per move,
this is equivalent to a <term>Fisher Clock</term>. Setting it to
0 will cause the game to last <term>Initial time</term> minutes.
</li>
<li><term>Rated game</term> If checked, the game will be rated,
uncheck it to play a leisure game.</li>
<li><term>color</term> If set to automatic, its up to the
opponent to choose the color he wants to play, you will accept
either he choses. If you want to play black or white explicitly,
mark either of those choices.
</li>
<li><term>Limit rating between</term> allows you to offer a game
to players in the given rating interval. Using this option can
assure you to play opponents in your rating range and thus
having a good game.
</li>
<li><term>Confirm manually</term> allows you to confirm or deny
the game, once another player accepted your challenge.</li>
<li><term>Filter with formula</term> On FICS every player can
set a formula that describes what challenges will be denied
automatically. This formula can be enabled by checking this box.
</li>
</ul>
Clicking the <term>Issue seek</term> button will place your
offer on the server.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# FICS
set helpTitle(FICS) "FICS: Play on the Internet"
set helpText(FICS) {<h1>FICS: Play on the Internet</h1>
<p>
The window is split horizontally in tow main parts. On top the
console window is shown. Here all messages sent to the server or
retrieved from the server show up. Normal messages are written in
green, game offers form other players show up in red, commands sent
to the server are prepended by a prompt.
</p>
<p>
Interaction with FICS is command driven. Therefore, below the
console window is the command line. Here the user can enter commands
sent to the server by either hitting enter or the <term>send</term>
button. Describing all commands of FICS is beyond the scope of this
document, however FICS offers an extensive online help system. To
see a list of possible commands one can issue <term>help
commands</term>. To see the detailed documentation of a specific
command just prepend its name by <term>help</term>. Note, that a
command may have several help pages. To scroll down issue the
<term>next</term> command.
</p>
<p>
Below the command line, the dialogue is split in two parts. On the
left hand side the clocks show up, one for white and one for black.
Clicking into a clock will halt it, inside the analogue clocks a
digital representation is shown.
</p>
<p>
On the right hand side of the clocks appear the command buttons:
<ul>
<li><term>Silence</term> will filter out most of the messages on
FICS that are not explicitly directed to the user. It is
equivalent to sending the FICS commands
<ul>
<li>set gin 0</li>
<li>set seek 0</li>
<li>set silence 0</li>
<li>set chanoff 1</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><term>Offers</term> will show a graphical display of the
current game offers. The y-axis shows the Elo rating of the
opponent (the higher his level, the further up the offer appears),
while x-axis of the graph shows the timing of of the games (the
further to the right, the slower the game). The first red line
marks standard <term>Blitz</term> timing (5 min., no increment)
while the second red line marks the standard <term>Rapid</term>
timing (15 min., no increment). Additionally, the offers use the
following coding:
<ul>
<li><green>Green</green>: offers from human opponents</li>
<li><blue>Blue</blue>: offers from computer opponents</li>
<li><red>Red</red>: games with a total time of more than 1 hour</li>
<li><gray>Gray</gray>: anonymous offers, i.e. offers from guest logins</li>
<li>Boxes: unrated games</li>
<li>Circles: rated games</li>
</ul>
Hovering the mouse over a specific offer shows the full details in
a textual form:
<ul>
<li>the game number</li>
<li>the players login handle</li>
<li>the rating of the player in brackets</li>
<li>the initial time / the time increment</li>
<li>the word "rated" or "unrated" depending on the offer</li>
<li>the word "[white]" or "[black]" if the opponent wants to
play the specified color only</li>
</ul>
To accept an offer just click on the symbol.
<li><term>Find opponent</term> opens a <a FICSfindOpp>dialogue</a>
that allows to place an offer.</li>
<li><term>Draw</term> offers a draw in the ongoing game</li>
<li><term>Abort</term> aborts the ongoing game</li>
<li>term>Resign</term> resigns the ongoing game</li>
<li><term>Takeback</term> takes back a half move, useful in
analysis</li>
<li><term>Takback 2</term> takes back a full move, useful in
analysis</li>
<li><term>Games</li> gives a list of ongoing games on the server.
Note that FICS console is considered to be 80 chars wide, therefore,
to get a nice table it would be necessary to resize the FICS window.
</li>
<li>
<li><term>Close</term> closes the connection to FICS</li>
</ul>
</p>
<h3><name Training>FICS Lectures</h3>
<p>
FICS offers several options for chess training. One of the more
prominent once are the lecture bots <term>LectureBot</term> and
<term>WesBot</term>. They run all the time on FICS and offer various
training sessions that can be visited using Scid. The start of each
session is announced on <term>Channel 67</term> of FICS. Therefore,
to see these announcements one should first add this channel to the
personal observation list. This can be done by <term>+channel
67</term> (it can be removed again by <term>-channel 67</term>).
Once e.g. LectureBot announces a training session, one can take part
by issuing <term>observe lecturebot</term>. Please refer to the
online documentation of FICS for additional features of the Bots and
also other bots available.
</p>
<h3><name Observe>Observe games on FICS</h3>
<p>
From time to time FICS <term>relays</term> major events in
international chess. In these cases one can observe the games life
on the server and discuss them with other users on FICS. To find out
what games are currently relayed (if any) one can ask the relay for
a list by <term>relay listgames</term>. As FICS expects the terminal
to have 80 chars width it might be necessary to resize Scid's FICS
window to get a nice table. The entries in the table are, first the
game number, colon, than the opponents, the result of the game (*
signifying an ongoing game as usual) and the <a ECO>ECO code</a> of
the opening. To observe a specific game one can just <term>observe
gamenumber</term>. Scid will then display the current board
position, the clocks will display the proper values sent by the
relay and it will fetch all moves of the game so far plus the usual
<a PGN>PGN</a> header fields. If a player moves this move is performed in Scid
as usual. For discussing the game with other observers,
<term>whisper</term> and <term>kibitz</term> can be used. Please
refer to the online help of these commands. All these conversations
can be read in the console.
</p>
<p>
Note that only one game can be observed within Scid.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Book tuning
set helpTitle(BookTuning) "Book tuning"
set helpText(BookTuning) {<h1>Book tuning</h1>
<p>
For each book move a percentage is given stating the probability
that Scid will use this move. Using <term>Book tuning</term> one
can adjust these values. First, the position where the lines should
be adopted has to be set up. After calling Tools / Book tuning one
gets a small window stating the moves in book and their percentage
in a spin box. Note, that only integer values are shown, therefore
a 0 may appear signifying that this move has a probability of "less
than 1%". (Most likely this happens in automatically generated
books from game collections.) All numbers add up to 100% of course.
</p>
<p>
To navigate through the branches of the book one can just click on
the line in the book tuning window or move around the game as usual
in Scid.
</p>
<p>
To adjust the probability, e.g. rise the probability of a certain
variation, one can just increase its value. Though the other values
stay the same, Scid will recalculate once <term>Save</term> is
pressed.
</p>
<p>
Choosing <term>Export</term> will export a branch of the book from
the current position onwards into a single game. The continuation
with the highest probability will make up the main line while all
others are stored in variations. This allows for semi manually
selecting lines to be included in a new book to be created. Note,
that Scid can handle 3000 moves in a single game, therefore it will
most likely not be possible (nor will it be very sensible) to
export a whole opening book into one game. Also note that export
can be done incrementally. That is, new lines are added to already
existing ones. This also allows to merge several books.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
# Novag Citrine
set helpTitle(Novag) "Connecting the Novag Citrine Chess board"
set helpText(Novag) {<h1>Connecting the Novag Citrine Chess board</h1>
<p>
The Novag Citrine is a wooden chess board that can be interfaced
from a PC by means of a serial connection. It can be used with Scid
to enter games, play against a computer opponent or on FICS
offering a "natural" chess interface.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: Before the board can be used, one has to <a
HardwareConfig>configure the port to use.</a>
</p>
<p>
Once the proper port is set, choose Tools / Connect Hardware /
Connect Novag Citrine to hook up the board, or just click the
hardware connection button <button tb_eng_disconnected>. This
button also shows the <a HardwareStatus> status of the
connection.</a>
###--- Detailed description needed ---###
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.26, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(HardwareConfig) "Connecting External Hardware"
set helpText(HardwareConfig) {<h1>Connecting External Hardware</h1>
There are two types of hardware that can be used with Scid to play
or input games. Select from the <term>Hardware</term> list the one
you wish to use:
<ul>
<li><term>Novag Citrine</term> (and compatible boards) use an
internal driver that was developed specifically for the Novag
Citrine board, however there may exist other boards that support
this protocol. This driver allows to enter moves, but the boards
logic does not recognise the position set up on the board nor the
pieces as such.
</li>
<li><term>Input Engine</term> drivers are meant to be a free,
open interface to hook up any hardware to some GUI like Scid. It
is modeled after the usual style of a chess engine. The
specifications of the protocol as well as a driver suitable for
the DGT Electronic Chess boards can be found at the <url
http://dgtdrv.sourceforge.net>dgtdrv website</url>. Depending on
the hardware the board may know the positions set up and the
pieces by their move. This is e.g. the case for the DGT boards.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<b>Note</b> Scid does not include any input engine by default. Input
engines are meant to be independent programs that can be used with a
variety of GUIs.
</p>
<p>
After selecting the hardware to use at least the port, this hardware
is connected to, has to be specified. Depending on the operating
system and the board to use this port varies. However, usually
external hardware is hooked up by a serial, USB or BlueTooth
connection, where the latter two are just derivatives of serial
connections. Depending on the platform usual names for the port in
question are:
</p>
<ul>
<li><term>Unix</term> (incl. <term>Linux</term>): usually a file
in the <term>/dev</term> directory is used. For serial ports the
common naming is <term>/dev/ttyS0</term>, for the first serial
port, <term>/dev/ttyS1</term>, for the second and so on. For
serial USB devices common names include <term>/dev/ttyUSB0</term>
for the first, <term>/dev/ttyUSB1</term> for the second and so on.
Other less common names are <term>/dev/usb/tts/*</term> or
<term>/dev/usbdev*</term> (where the asterisk * stands for some
additional name). BlueTooth devices commonly show up as
<term>/dev/rfcomm0</term> for the first, <term>/dev/rfcomm1</term>
for the second and so on.
</li>
<li><term>MacOS</term>:
###--- details for naming on Mac OS X required ---###
</li>
<li><term>Windows</term> follows the usual DOS convention, where
the serial ports are labeled <term>COM1:</term>,
<term>COM2:</term> and so on. This naming also applies to
converters, however they sometimes get numbers beyond 4.
</li>
<li><term>Show button</term> will enable the <a
HardwareStatus>hardware connect button</a> in the toolbar if
checked. If unchecked the button will not show up to save space.
Removal of the button needs to restart Scid.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: if a board is connected by means of an USB to serial or
BlueTooth to serial converter, these adaptors usually show up in the
above scheme as well.
</p>
<p>
If an Input Engine compatible driver should be used, the following
fields need to be filled in (for the Novag driver they are
disabled):
</p>
<ul>
<li><term>Engine command</term>: The name of the program that is
to be used as a driver engine. A fully qualified name may be
required, like in the configuration of a <name Analysis
List>chess engine</a>. (E.g. the DGT driver engine on a Linux
system is usually called <term>dgtdrv2.i686</term>.)
</li>
<li><term>Engine parameter</term>: The text given in this field
is passed along as parameters to the driver engine. The values
required here depend on the driver and should be given in its
documentation. (E.g. the DGT driver engine needs a two letter
code specifying the board orientation and the moves that should
be send to the GUI. The first letter may be <term>l</term> or
<term>r</term> depending on the clock sitting to Whites left or
right, the second letter may be <term>a</term>, <term>b</term> or
<term>w</term> depending whether all, only black or only whites
moves should be sent.)
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Hitting <term>OK</term> will store the setup in Scid's configuration
and immediately start the driver selected.
</p>
<p>
The status of the external board can be monitored by the <a
HardwareStatus>Hardware status</a> button. This button can also be
used to hook up already configured hardware immediately without
calling the <term>Configuration</term> dialogue.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.27, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(HardwareStatus) "Status of External Hardware"
set helpText(HardwareStatus) {<h1>Status of External Hardware</h1>
<p>
This button is located on the right of Scid's toolbar. Depending on
the status of the external hardware it shows different icons:
</p>
<ul>
<li><button tb_eng_disconnected>
This is the normal state after program startup and shows that no
external hardware is active at the moment. Pressing the button will
hook up the configured hardware.
</li>
<li><button tb_eng_connecting>
Scid started the communication with the external hardware,
initialisation is in progress. Depending on the driver and hardware
connected, it may take some seconds for things to settle.
</li>
<li><button tb_eng_error>
While communicating withe the external hardware some error
occurred. Usual sources of problems are e.g. another program
accessing the external hardware, the hardware is not connected to
the PC or simply is not switched on. In rare cases an external
hardware may also behave unexpected. Trying to connect again might
cure the problem as the hardware is usually reset upon disconnect.
Also unplugging and/or switching off the device is an option in
this case. Pressing the button will try again to hook up the
configured hardware.
</li>
<li><button tb_eng_ok>
The communication is established, the device is ready and can be
used for move input. Pressing the button will disconnect the
external hardware.
</li>
<li><button tb_eng_dgt>
In case a DGT Electronic Chess board is connected and ready, this
button shows up. Pressing the button will disconnect the
external hardware.
</li>
<li><button tb_eng_query>
The <a HardwareConfig</a> dialogue is open. Finish configuration
before hooking up the hardware.
</li>
</ul>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.27, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(InputEngine) "Input Engine driver console"
set helpText(InputEngine) {<h1>Input Engine driver console</h1>
<p>
On top of this window, a console shows up that monitors the
communication between Scid and the driver engine. Usually, this is
of no interest to the user, but it may provide helpful hints in
case of malfunction. All commands sent by Scid are prepended by an
arrow to the right, all answers retrieved from the driver engine by
an arrow to the left. Below the console, the actual invocation of
the driver by Scid shows up for information.
</p>
<p>
<term>Moves sent for</term> allows to limit the moves sent by the
external hardware. For game input the board should of course send
the moves for both sides. For actually playing a game however, the
moves made by the opponent should be ignored, as Scid would
otherwise notify them as "illegal moves".
</p>
<p>
The small board on the right shows the current position.
</p>
<p>
If a move is made, in the area between the buttons and the small
board the move performed (<term>move area</term>) on the external
board is shown in figurine long algebraic notation. Valid moves
show up on a <green>green</green> background while illegal moves
show up on a <red>red</red> background. Additionally, illegal moves
are announced by the alert sound, if Scid has sound enabled.
Depending on the settings, the moves are additionally announced.
</p>
<p>
The <term>Info</term> button calls up information from the driver
engine. The extend of this information depends on the engine, but
it should usually give as much as is available about the external
hardware and the driver itself. Additionally, the external driver
will return the current position on the external board as <term>FEN</term> which
is then compared to Scid's internal representation. Discrepancies
show up in the console and issue an alert.
</p>
<p>
In case Scid and the external board got out of sync, the
<term>Synchronise</term> button can be used. A new game is set up
and the start position is set to the position on the external
board. </p>
<p>
The <term>Close</term> button finally disconnects the external
hardware and closes the console.
</p>
<h2>Special Features</h2>
<p>
The following features depend on the driver engine and hardware
that is used. Their description is based on the functions available
with the <url http://www.dgt-projects.com>DGT Electronic Chess
Board</url> and specified in the
<url http://dgtdrv.sourceforge.net>Input Engine Protocol</url>
description. Some of these functions however rely on the fact that
the hardware is able to recognise the pieces on the board and their
current placement.
</p>
<h3>Position setup</h3>
<p>
The position setup mode is invoked by removing both kings from the
board. In this mode the <term>move area</term> is colored yellow
and shows the White king and the string <b>Setup</b>.
</p>
<p>
In setup mode any valid position can be set up on the external
board, however Scid's internal representation is not updated till
finished.
</p>
<p>
To end the setup mode both kings are set back to the board. Note,
that the king of the side to move is set back <b>last</b>, that is
if white should be on the move first set back the black king, then
the white king. Now, the <term>move area</term> shows the black
Queen and the string <b>OK</b>.
</p>
<h3>End a game</h3>
<p>
In game input or game play one can end the current game by setting
both kings into the center squares of the board. The result is
given as follows:
</p>
<ul>
<li><term>1-0</term> (White win): Set both kings to the squares
e4 and d5 in any order, ie. to the white centre squares.
The move area is colored in white, showing the white king and
the result.
</li>
<li><term>0-1</term> (Black win): Set both kings to the squares
e5 and d4 in any order, ie. to the black centre squares.
The move area is colored in gray, showing the black king and
the result.
</li>
<li><term>1/2-1/2</term> (Draw): Set one king on a white and one
on a black centre square in any order.
The move area is colored in black and white, showing the result.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
In either case the <term>Save / Add game</term> dialogue shows up
to allow filling in the game tags and to store the game in the
current database.
</p>
<h3>Start a new game</h3>
<p>
A new game can be stared by entering setup mode (ie. removing both
kings) and setting up the start position. To notify, that Scid has
recognised the call for a new game the <term>move area</term> is
colored in blue showing the white king and the string
<term>OK</term>.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.27, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(ReviewGame) "Game Review"
set helpText(ReviewGame) {<h1>Reviewing a game</h1>
<p>
This feature is designed to study a game, which means you should
try to guess the moves played during the match. So you first open a
game from any Scid's base, and enter this function with the command
<b>Review game</b> in the <b>Play</b> menu. As usually, to play
with Black, flip board first (you always play from the bottom of
the board).
</p>
<p>
For an effective training the following settings should be
disabled:
<ul>
<li>Show last move (Options / Moves / Highlight last move)</li>
<li>Show next move (Options / Game information / Hide next move)</li>
<li>PGN window</li>
</p>
The process is the following :
<ul>
<li>- engines ponders on the move played during the game</li>
<li>- engine ponders on the position and finds the best move</li>
<li>- user is then allowed to enter his move</li>
<li>- engine ponders on the move played by the user</li>
</ul>
If the move played by the user is either the move actually played
during the game or the move chosen by the engine or a move whose score
is close to the best move found by the engine (using the margin error
defined by the user), then the move is considered as a good one. If
the user disagrees with the engine he can use the <b>extended time</b>
button to get a confirmation of engine's analysis.
<p>
<b>Notes:</b>
<ul>
<li>- The side must be chosen before game reviewing </li>
<li>- The user always plays from the bottom of the board</li>
</ul>
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.3, January 2011)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(Metadata) "Dublin Core Metadata"
set helpText(Metadata) {<h1>Dublin Core Metadata</h1>
<p>
The <url "http://dublincore.org">Dublin Core</a> metadata element
defines a standardised and widely used way to exchange
information about electronic resources (metadata, ie. data about
data). Dublin Core was defined in 2003 by ISO Standard 15836, and
NISO Standard Z39.85-2007.
</p>
<p>
Some databases that are used with Scid may contain additional
metadata information. Such information may refer to the License of
a database, the source of the database (in case it is published on
the Web), the date of a database and so on.
</p>
<p>
This information can be viewed or appended to a database by
choosing <term>Database information</term>. A new window will open
up that shows the individual Dublin Core items and allows to edit
them.
</p>
<p>
Internally, metadata are stored in <term>sme</term> files that may
come with a database. In case no <term>sme</term> file exists
opening the <term>Database information</term> dialogue will set
default values based on the current database. This is signified by
the labels showing up in <blue>blue</blue>.
</p>
<p>
After choosing <term>OK</term> Scid stores the metadata to the
<term>sme</term> file for usage with Scid. Additionally, an
<term>XML</term> file is generated containing exactly the same
metadata, but in XML format for easy data exchange.
</p>
<p>
<b>Note</b>: Scid does not care about the XML file itself. It uses
only the <term>sme</term> file for its internal procedures.
However, other applications may well prefer the XML structure.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 3.6.27, October 2008)</footer></p>
}
set helpTitle(Appearance) "Customize Scid-GUI"
set helpText(Appearance) {<h1>Customize Scid-GUI</h1>
<p>
<p>
Scid has some options to customize the GUI.
</p>
<h3><name Themes>Configure TTK-Themes</name></h3>
<p>
Starting with version 4.7, new GUI themes can be installed and selected.
With the TTK themes, different appearances of the SCID user interface can be realized.<br>
The scid repository provides a multicolored set of themes for direct use:
<li><url https://sourceforge.net/projects/scid/files/Scid/Additional Files/>https://sourceforge.net/projects/scid/files/Scid/Additional Files</url> -- Home / Scid / Additional Files</li><br><br>
Further themes can also be downloaded from the following addresses:
<li><url https://wiki.tcl.tk/48689>https://wiki.tcl.tk/48689</url> -- wiki.tcl.tk List of ttk Themes</li>
<li><url https://github.com/RedFantom/ttkthemes/tree/master/ttkthemes/themes>https://github.com/RedFantom/ttkthemes</url> -- RedFantom Collection of ttk Topics</li><br><br>
To install the themes, proceed as follows:<br>
<li>Extract the scidthemes files to any directory.</li>
<li>Load themes: With the menu item <b>Options - Theme - Load Theme(s)</b> select the file pkgIndex.tcl from the directory,
in which the themes are stored.</li>
<li>Select theme: Using the menu item <b>Options - Theme - "Theme name"</b>, e.g. scidblue scidmint scidpurple scidpurple scidpurple scidsand scidpink,
select the theme to use.</li>
<li><b>Note:</b> pkgIndex.tcl are files that load additional tcl packages. Use only pkgIndex.tcl files that contain TTK-Themes.</li>
</p>
<h3><name MenuColors>Set menu colors</name></h3>
<p>
TTK-Themes have technically no adapted properties and colours for menus. The colors for menus must therefore be adjusted separately and matched to the colors of themes.<br>
Under <b>Options - Setup menu colors</b> you can configure the colors for the menu:<br>
<li>Background color of the main menu</li>
<li>Foreground and background color of all menus</li>
<li>Foreground and background color of the selected menu item</li>
<li>Color of a selected option in the menu</li>
<li><b>Note:</b> WINDOWS and MACOS ignore the configured colors for the main menu bar and use the system settings.</li>
</p>
<p>
After configuring the theme and menu colors, save the settings with <b>Options - Save options</b>.
</p>
<p><footer>(Updated: Scid 4.7, August 2018)</footer></p>
}
|