Fixation 2.0 Connection Help

To connect to an online chess server, select Connect to Server from the File menu. This displays the Connect to Server dialog window:

Connection window

If you have never used Fixation, the window will list generic defaults for connecting to the Internet Chess Club (ICC), Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) and US Chess Live (USCL). The entries in the list are called "shortcuts". Each shortcut defines a handle, password, server name, server port, server type, Timestamp/Timeseal usage and the name of the shortcut. For the "Generic FICS" and "Generic USCL" shortcuts, a random handle will be generated for you. For the ICC, the handle will be set to "guest" as the ICC only allows logins from registered handles or "guest".

These three servers allow "guest" (unregistered users) logins so double clicking one of the "Generic" entries from the list and pressing "Connect" will log you on as a guest to the selected chess server.

Adding a Shortcut

If you are a registered user on a chess server, you will want to add a new shortcut to the list. To add a new shortcut, perform the following steps:

Deleting a Shortcut

If you no longer need a shortcut, select it from the list and click the "Remove" button. You will be asked to verify this operation. When this dialog is initially displayed, the "Remove" button is disabled until an entry is selected from the list.

Modifying a Shortcut

You can modify an existing shortcut by doing the following:

List Navigation

When you select a shortcut from the list, keyboard focus is switched to the list. You can use the up and down arrows to navigate the list as well as using what is called "type selection". By entering the first characters of a shortcut name, an entry that matches what has been typed is automatically selected. For example, if you have shortcuts named "ICC", "FICS" and "USCL", entering "i" will automatically select the "ICC" shortcut. Note that type selection also has a threshold delay where the type selection is reset to empty when the threshold is exceeded. This is usually about two seconds.

Current Shortcut

The current shortcut is shown in the left side of the dialog. The current shortcut is saved when you close the dialog window. You can then use the "Reconnect" item in the File menu to reconnect using the current shortcut. Also, setting the On program startup option to Automatic Connect will also use the current shortcut. You can change the current shortcut by either adding a new one or opening an existing shortcut by either selecting a shortcut from the list and clicking the "Open" button or double-clicking a shortcut from the list.

Cancelling Changes

If you accidentially remove the wrong shortcut or wish to cancel any changes made, you can click the "Cancel" button or press the esc key. If changes have been made, you will be asked to verify that the changes be discarded.

Shortcuts File

Your connection shortcuts are stored in the "Fixation Shortcuts" file in the Preferences folder within the System Folder. This file is used by both Fixation 2.0 and Fixation 1.x. If you delete this file, Fixation 2.0 will automatically create it with the three generic shortcuts the next time you run Fixation.
Revised: Jan 1, 2002