Fixation 2.0 Preferences

Selecting Preferences from the Edit menu displays the Preferences dialog window:

Preferences window

The preferences are divided into the following seven topics:

A topic can be selected either by choosing it from the popup menu or by clicking on the up and down arrows to the right of the popup menu. The up arrow is disabled if the first topic is currently displayed. The down arrow is disabled if the last topic is currently displayed.

Your preferences are stored in the "Fixation PPC Prefs" file in the Preferences folder within the System Folder.


General Options

This topic contains the general options that do not currently fit into the other topics. topics list

OptionDescription
On Program startup This option allows you to specify what initially happens when Fixation is started. On "Automatic Connect", Fixation will automatically connect to the server last connected to when Fixation was previously run. On "Show connection window", the 'Connect to Server' window is displayed.
Ask before quitting If checked, Fixation verifies a quit operation. Fixation will always ask if you really want to quit if you're in the middle of a game, whether this option is selected or not.
Smart windows Probably one of the most confusing options. If you experience the problem of typing "observe roman", then FICS or whatever saying "You are now observing game 3.", but no window appears, try turning this option off. That shouldn't happen, though. Smart windows tells the server to stop observing a game when you close a window locally, and vice versa.
Smart text The server sends a prompt after every move -- this can quickly clutter up your text window. Selecting this option tells Fixation to try and eliminate these extra prompts.
Slow + smooth text When selected, Fixation scrolls the text window after every line. This slows things down when printing out big blocks, like who's and fingers.
Moves in text window If checked, moves are displayed in the text window.
Bughouse teams If checked, you will see a message when bughouse partnerships are formed or dissolved. NOTE: This option only works on ICC servers.

Server Variables

This topic contains options that control the settings of certain variables on the chess server. topics list

OptionDescription
Server prompt Selecting "no prompt" will disable the server prompt on the ICC. For non-ICC servers, this acts the same as "server prompt". Selecting "server prompt" will use the default server prompt. Selecting "custom prompt" will set the prompt to the prompt specified in the following entry field. A custom prompt is not supported on ICC servers (this is a limitation of the server not Fixation).
Set only on guest login If checked, the server variables are only set on guest login. However, the server prompt is not affected by this option.
Open to challenges If checked, you will be open to match challenges. When selected, the open variable is set to 1 on logon.
Show game results If checked, you will see the results of all the games played on the server as the games end. When selected, the gin variable is set to 1 on logon.
Show shouts If checked, you will see shouts from other users. When selected, the shout variable is set to 1 on logon.
Show s-shouts/cshouts If checked, you will see sshouts (ICC) or cshouts (FICS/USCL) from other users. When selected, the cshout variable is set to 1 on logon to FICS or USCL. For ICC servers, the sshout variable is set to 1.
Show guest tells If checked, you will see tells from guests. When selected, the tell variable is set to 1 on logon.
Auto examine If checked, you will automatically enter examine mode at the end of your games. When selected, the examine variable is set to 1 on logon. NOTE: This feature is only available on ICC servers.
No escape If checked, the noescape variable will be set to 1 on logon. NOTE: This feature is only available on ICC servers.

Game Playing Options

This topic contains options that control game playing on the servers. topics list

OptionDescription
Auto-open bughouse partner's game If checked, a game window will be automatically opened for your partner's game when you start a bughouse game.
Close finished games on new game If checked, any game windows currently open for finished games will be automatically closed when a new game is started.
Flash when time running low If checked, a red box flashes around the time when time gets below 10 seconds for either player. Flashing stops when time exceeds negative 10 seconds (this usually indicates player is lagged out).
Give background time on drag If checked, piece dragging may be noticeably less smooth. Leave this option unchecked unless you know what you are doing. If selected, Fixation will give processing time to other applications running in the background. You should not need this, but it might be useful for running a bughouse simulation or something.
Minimalist turn marker If checked, the player who's turn it is will only be indicated by a red circle, instead of a circle + lines.
Put black on bottom when playing When checked, black pieces will be placed on the bottom of the game window when you play a game.
Show promotion options If checked, a popup window will appear so you can choose what you want to promote to. You can either hit the relative key (e.g. 'b' for bishop) or click on the desired piece. Press the space bar for queenie. When not checked, Fixation will automatically promote to queen. If you play a lot of bullet/lightning games, leaving this unchecked would probably be best.
Highlight last move If checked, the last move made will be highlighted with a colored border. The highlighting color can be set in Color Options II.
Log games played If checked, all the games you play on chess servers will be automatically logged. Games will be stored in PGN format in the Game Logs folder inside the Fixation folder.
Separate game logs If checked, logged games will be saved as separate files. The file names will be based on the date and time and the player names, truncated to 31 characters if need be (HFS+ 255 character file names are not currently supported). For example, "20011227_0342_IceFog-Traini.pgn". In this case, the game was between IceFog and TrainingBot, played on Dec 27, 2001 at 3:42 am. If left unchecked, logged games will be saved (appended) to a single file whose name is based on the handle and server (e.g. "Icefog (ICC).pgn").

Color Options

This topic contains options that control color. topics list

OptionDescription
Colored text If checked, text will be colored.
Admin colors If checked, tells containing profanity will be colored in green. This help administrators to quickly spot such tells in order to take the appropriate action.
Background text Sets the background color and styles for the text in the console window.
Foreground text Sets the foreground color and styles for the server output displayed in the console window.
user command Sets the color and styles for the user commands displayed in the console.
kibitzSets the color and styles for kibitzes.
whisperSets the color and styles for whispers.
shout/sshoutSets the color and styles for shouts and sshouts.

Color Options II

This topic contains options that control color. topics list

OptionDescription
channel tellSets the color and styles for channel tells.
private tellSets the color and styles for private tells.
game challengeSets the color and styles for game challenges from other players.
opponent saySets the color and styles for says from your opponent.
notificationSets the color and styles for player and game notifications.
new messageSets the color and styles for new message notifications.
highlight last moveSets the highlight color of the last move made.

Sound Options

This topic contains options that control sound output. topics list

OptionDescription
Enable sounds If checked, sounds will be played.
private tellsIf checked, a sound will be played for private tells.
Tells when playingIf checked, a sound will be played for tells while you are playing a game. Some find sounds played for tells distracting when playing so disabling this option lowers the distraction level.
Moves when playingIf checked, a sound will be played for moves while you are playing a game.
Moves when observingIf checked, a sound will be played for moves while you are observing a game.
Moves when examiningIf checked, a sound will be played for moves while you are examining a game.
Move capturesIf checked, a sound will be played when a pawn or piece is captured on a move. This sound is played instead of the normal move sound.
My game startsIf checked, a sound will be played when you start playing a game.
Player notificationsIf checked, a sound will be played when a player on your notification list arrives or departs.
New messagesIf checked, a sound will be played when you receive a new message.
Illegal movesIf checked, a sound will be played when you make an illegal move.

Seek Graph Filters

This topic contains options that control the filtering of ads shown in the Seek Graph. topics list

OptionDescription
Show unplayable ads If checked, unplayable ads will be shown. Unplayable ads are shown in cyan in the Seek Graph. An ad is unplayable if you not meet the rating range for the ad.
Show computer ads If checked, seek ads issued by computers will be shown. Computer ads are shown as squares in the seek graph.
Show guest ads If checked, seek ads issued by guests will be shown.

Revised: January 1, 2002