Contents
The Chess Recorder

Version 5.0

Written by:

Eric Churchill

23241 NE 73rd St

Redmond, WA  98053

Getting Started:

Introduction

Quick Start Usage

Registration Information

New Features for version 5.0

General:

System requirements

File requirements

Setting up the Chess Recorder

Reporting problems/feature requests

Contacting the Author

Specifics:

Menus

Special features

Support for multiple Lines

Notation

Feature List

Other Products


Menus

The following will give you a brief idea of which menu item you may be looking for to provide a desired functionality.

File

New Game

Open

Save

Save As

Print

Print Label

Exit

Replay

Rewind to Start

Go to End

Back 1 Move

Forward 1 Move

GoTo Move

Options

Enter Names

Detailed Player Info

List Move dates

Confirmation

Disable Move Checking

No Warning Beeps

Paste Game to Clipboard

Import Move from Clipboard

Delete Current Line

Board

Invert Board

Row and Column Labels

Set Colors

Use Keyboard

Show Captured Pieces

Show Alternate Lines

Setup

Notation

Algebraic

Coordinate

Long Form Algebraic

Endings

White Wins

Black Wins

Draw agreed

Export

Waxman

PGN

Import

Coordinate (b1-c3)

Long Form (Nb1-c3)

PGN (Nc3)


Introduction

INTRODUCTION:

In a nutshell, the Chess Recorder was created to provide an easy to use, graphical way to store and retrieve chess games.

The hope is that you will find the Chess Recorder easier to use than what you are currently using.

The Chess Recorder runs under Windows, WfW and Windows NT.  (Contact the author if you are interested in running an NT version of the Chess Recorder.)

For those users in a hurry to start, and familiar with Windows applications, feel free to jump right in.  Type CHESS from the Windows File Run dialog.  The Chess Recorder is straight forward enough that this manual is unnecessary.

YOU SHOULD HAVE:

After expanding the .ZIP file, you should have the following files:

CHESS.EXE	The Chess Recorder

CHESS.HLP	The Chess Recorder help file

SETUP.EXE	Setup application


Registration Information

REGISTRATION:

If you find The Chess Recorder useful, please take a moment to send a $15 check to:

Eric Churchill

23241 NE 73rd St.

Redmond, WA  98053

New users will receive an unrestricted copy of the most recent version of Chess Recorder.

I will accept checks for non-US funds providing the following conditions are met:

- After the currency exchange to US dollars, I have at least $15.

- If the check is drawn from a non-US bank, it is also in non-US funds.  (ie, I will not accept a check drawn from a Berlin bank made out for US funds.)

If you are unsure of the exchange rates, email me and I will tell you the current rates to convert your currency to US dollars.

Please include the following information when registering:

Name:___________________________________________

Street Address:__________________________________

City:____________________  State:_______________  Zip:_________________

Country:___________________________________

Version Number:___________________________  Floppy Disk Size:_________

E-Mail address:_______________________________________

If you have email, and would like the new binaries emailed to you, which of the following will you accept:

UUENCODED binaries________

CompuServe attached files:_______

The post office seems to take a fiendish delight in x-raying floppies.  If at all possible, I would prefer to email binaries to you, rather than use the mail.

Comments:

Registered users of previous versions may receive an upgrade to version 5.0 for $5.  This minimal cost covers shipping and handling.

For an additional $10 you may purchase NetChess.  NetChess allows 2 people to play chess using the Recorder over any Microsoft networking product.  (ie. Windows on LanMan, Windows for Workgroups or NT)


New Features

New Features:

Whats new for 5.0:

- There is now a setup utility.  SETUP.EXE.

- Support has been added for postal play.  See the Postal Information help topic.

- Piece and square colors can be altered from the defaults.  See help for Set Colors.

- Delete Current Line option.

- Import games from text files of the following formats:

PGN (Nc3)

Coordinate (b1-c3)

Long form (Nb1-c3)

- Import moves from the Windows Clipboard.  (ie, paste an email move made by your opponent to the clipboard and then import it into the Chess Recorder.)

- The PGN Info dialog now allows you to enter player ratings.

- Added command line support.  Add a file name to the end of the path in your icon definition and Chess Recorder will start with game for you.  (ie, CHESS.EXE game1.gam)

- VCR style controls for easier game replay.

- Board setup now has a selection of pieces which can be added to the board.

- Captured Pieces became Material Advantage, and functionality changed.  This dialog now computes the strength of the pieces on the board, rather than the pieces which have been captured.

- Changed Paste function to allow an optional number of moves to be pasted to the clipboard.

- A few minor bug fixes from 4.0.

Also check out the Feature list.


Feature List
Feature list:

The biggest plus of the Chess Recorder is that is allows you to see your game on a GUI board.  In addition to this, you can:

- Support for multiple lines of play.

- Export games in Portable Game Notation (PGN)

- Support for a game comment.

- Paste a character representation of the board and a full or partial move list to the clipboard.

- Setup a board for study.

- Save games to a file to be recalled and studied later.

- Recall old games.

- Add new moves to the end of an existing game.

- Step back through an existing game and step through a new ending.

- Go to a specific move number in the current game.

- Print a listing of the moves to either a file or a printer.

- Print a character based copy of the board to either a file or printer.

- Rename existing games through the Save As dialog.

- Enter player names to be displayed on the screen and on printouts.

- Disable move validation checking.

- Disable warning beeps.

- Display or not display the algebraic symbols along the sides of the board.

- Change the notation from Algebraic to Coordinate to Long Form Algebraic notation.

- Export game file in WAXMAN notation for reading by the Waxman chess engine.

Also checkout the New Features and Other Products.


System Requirements

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Requires Windows 3.0 or later.  A mouse is recommended, but not required.

Will run on EGA, VGA or SVGA monitors.  Color is recommended, but not required.

A version of the Chess Recorder exists for all platforms of Windows NT.  Contact the author for an NT specific version.


File Requirements
FILE REQUIREMENTS:

The Chess Recorder is in the file CHESS.EXE.  The Chess Recorder help file is CHESS.HLP.  There are no other files required to run the Chess Recorder.

Recorder game files are saved with the extension .GAM.

Waxman exported files are stored as WAXMAN.POS.

Portable Game Notation (PGN) files are stored with the extension .PGN.


Setup

SETTING UP THE CHESS RECORDER:

First things, first.  Make a backup copy of the Chess Recorder, and put the original away.  Only use the copy.

There is an automated setup utility if you wish to use it.  For more information, check out the Setup Utility section of this help file.

If you are unfamiliar with the procedure for copying a diskette, insert the Chess Recorder floppy into the floppy drive.  At the command prompt (Looks like C:> if you have a hard drive.), type diskcopy a: a: and press return.  If the Chess Recorder is in your B drive, the command would be 'diskcopy b: b:', without the quotes.  DOS will take you through the diskcopy process.

Once that is taken care of, put the copy of Chess Recorder into the disk drive.  Now you have two options.  Either to run the Chess Recorder from the floppy, or to copy all files to your hard drive.  For speed reasons it is recommended that you copy the files to the hard drive.

If you choose to run the Chess Recorder from the floppy disk, skip the next indented instructions.

With the diskette in the floppy drive, type 'md C:\chessrec' and press return.  Substitute your hard drive letter for C in this command if you want the files on a hard disk other than C.

Now type 'copy a:\*.* c:\chessrec' and press return.  This will copy all of the files on the Chess Recorder disk to your hard drive.

You are ready to begin.

Start Windows, and add the Chess Recorder program item to one of your existing groups.

Double click on the Chess Recorder icon to begin.


Quick Start Usage

USING THE CHESS RECORDER:

When the Chess Recorder first starts, you will be faced with a brand new chess board, and two empty boxes to the right.

The top box to the right of the chess board will be where the Chess Recorder displays a list of the moves made in the current game.  This box is called the Move Listbox.

The bottom box to the right of the chess board is for your annotations for the current move.  If you have notes or comments to make, this is the place.  This box is called the Annotation box.

To make a move, click on a piece with the mouse.  The color of the piece will invert to show the piece has been selected.  Move the mouse pointer to another square and click on the empty square.  Providing the move is a valid one for this piece, it will be moved to the new location.  At the same time, the move will be recorded in the Move Listbox.  If there was a comment in the Annotation box, it will be recorded and cleared.

Above the Move Listbox are 3 information fields.  The top field displays which color is to move next.  The second and third fields display the names of the players.  This is very helpful if you have several games going at once.


New Game
New Game:

This will clear the chess board, the Move Listbox and the Annotation box.  All the pieces will be reset in preparation for a new game.


Open
Open:

Presents a standard Windows Open File dialog.  You may click on a game file or type a valid game name into the edit field.  Click on the OK button to open the new game.

Only files ending in the .GAM extension will be displayed in the Open dialog to make it easier for you to locate your games.


Save
Save:

Save the current game.  If the game is a new game, and has not yet been given a name, it will be saved as DEFAULT.GAM.  Once the game has been given a name, that name will always be used.


Save As
Save As:

This dialog allows you to rename an existing .GAM file, or save a new game with a name other than DEFAULT.GAM.  Type the desired name into the edit field and click the OK button.


Print
Print:

The print dialog allows you to specify what you would like to print, and where it will be printed.

You may either print a move listing, or a copy of the chess board.

You may send the output to either a printer or to a file.

If you are sending the output to a file, be sure to change the name of the file in the edit field if you want the output named something other than DEFAULT.TXT.

If the output is going to a printer, make sure to select the correct LPT port.  LPT1 is by far the most common port, but some networks use LPT2.  If you get an error with one, try the other.


Print Label
Print Label:

The Print Label dialog will display the information you have entered for the player's address in the Enter Names dialog.  If you haven't entered an address for your opponent, you may type their address into the edit control in this dialog.  When the address looks the way you want it, click the Print button to print your label.

It is assumed that you have mailing labels of some sort already loaded into your printer.


Exit
Exit:

Exit the Chess Recorder.  If you have made changes to the current game, you will be prompted to save it before exiting.


Rewind to Start
Rewind to Start:

Set the board back to the starting position for the current game.  This is useful if you want to step through a game from the very first move.

F3 will give you the same functionality as this menu item.


Go to End
Go to End:

Move to the last position in the current game.  This is useful if you have been stepping through a game, and want to get to the current position.

F4 will give you the same functionality as this menu item.


Back 1 Move
Back 1 Move:

Back the board position up 1 move.  The Move Listbox will not be altered.  It is left as is in case you want to glance at subsequent or previous moves.

The Annotation box will update as you step backward through the game to allow you to recall your thoughts given a particular board position.

F8 will give you the same functionality as this menu item.


Forward 1 Move
Forward 1 Move:

Step forward 1 move.  If you are already at the last recorded move, the Chess Recorder will beep.

F9 will give you the same functionality as this menu item.


Go to Move
GoTo Move:

This dialog allows you to jump to any move in the current game without having to step forward or backward to get to it.  If you wish to see something at move 11, simply enter 11 into the dialog and Click the OK button.  The board and Annotation box will display the 11th move of the game.


Enter Names
Enter Names:

There is a field above the Move Listbox which displays the names of the current players.  This dialog will allow you to change the names displayed, and also the correspondence address for each player.

There are 2 other pieces of information in this dialog.

The first is the Game Comment field.  If you would like to enter a comment, or reminder as to the game opening, or any other pertinent information concerning the game, enter it here.

In the bottom of this dialog is a PGN Info... button.  This button will call up a PGN Information dialog.  Use this dialog if you plan to export the game to PGN format.


Detailed Player Info
Detailed Player Info:

This menu item will display a dialog box containing the name of the current .GAM file and the full name and correspondence address for each player.


List Move Dates
List Move Dates:

As each move is made in the Chess Recorder, the time and date is recorded.  Clicking the List Move Dates menu item displays a list containing the date and time each move was made.  This is especially helpful in remembering when you made your last move.

If you click the mouse on one of the move dates and click the OK button, this dialog will clear and the board will be reset to the move you selected for the desired date.  So, if you want to see which move you made last Tuesday, click on Tuesday's date in the list and click OK.  The board will be reset for you.

The List Move Dates dialog also includes an Alter button.  This button will allow you to change the date and time a move was recorded.  This is useful if you are playing correspondence chess and didn't make the move in the Chess Recorder on the day your post card arrived.


Confirmation
Confirmation:

When you step back through a game and try a different ending, the Chess Recorder prompts you before altering the ending of the game.  If you uncheck the Confirmation menu item, this prompt will not be given.  The Confirmation menu item is checked initially, and for safety reasons,  is not remembered from one invocation to the next.

The Confirmation menu item also affects the ability to display multiple lines of play.


Disable Move Checking
Disable Move Checking:

If you wish to disable the move legality checking, click this menu item.  A checkmark next to the menu item will tell you it has been selected.  If move checking is disabled, any move is considered legal.

This menu item was originally included to allow users to bypass any bugs in the move validity checking routines.  There haven't been any reported bugs in these routines in over 2 years, but I have left this menu item just in case.


No Warning Beeps
No Warning Beeps:

Clicking this menu item will disable the warning beeps.  If you attempt an illegal move, the Chess Recorder will not allow it, but will also not beep to inform you of your error.


Paste Game to Clipboard
Paste Game to Clipboard:

This menu item will give you a choice of pasting your game to the Windows clipboard in ASCII format.  This is very useful if you are playing email chess.  You can make your move and then use Paste and shift-insert to copy the moves to your email application.

Whole Game: Paste the entire move list.

Last X full moves: Paste only the last X (where you decide what X is) full moves to the clipboard.

Replace Tabs with Spaces: You have the option of replacing tab characters with spaces when you paste.  By default, the moves are separated by tabs.  If your email application does strange things with tabs, its best to replace them with spaces.

Single space between moves: By default there are several spaces between whites and blacks moves.  This allows nice looking columns when you paste.  However, if you are selecting to wrap the line after more than 1 full move, these several spaces will look strange.  In this case, you should choose only a single space between moves.

Include board: You may include a character representation of the current board position when you paste.  This is useful for people playing opponents on the CHESS-L list, or the news group REC.GAMES.CHESS.

No wrap: Do not start a new line when pasting.  This will cause the entire move list to be placed on a single line.  Your email editor will then handle the wrapping.

Wrap after X full moves: You decide where to wrap to the next line.  If you enter 1, each full move will be on a new line.  If you enter 5, you will have the first 5 moves on a single line before a new line is started.

Header:  If you wish to have the game preceeded by text, enter it in the Header control.  This text will appear before the board, or moves when you paste into your mail program.

F1 will give you the same functionality as this menu item.


Import Move from Clipboard

Import Move from Clipboard, or the F10 key, will import a single move from the clipboard and enter that move onto the chess board.

If you have problems importing a move, check the following conditions:

- Make sure there is a move in the clipboard.  If the clipboard is empty, or contains a picture or random text, importing will not work.

- Make sure the move in the clipboard is a valid move for the given board position.

- Make sure just the move has been pasted to the clipboard.  Do not include the move number or any other random text.

- Make sure the move in the clipboard is of the same format as the game you are trying to paste into.  If you have your notation set to Coordinate, you will not be able to paste a move in PGN notation.

I created this feature for those people playing email chess.  Your opponent sends you email with his or her latest move.  Highlight their latest move.  Copy it to the clipboard either with the Edit/Copy menu item, or with CTRL+INS from the keyboard.  Task switch to the Chess Recorder and press F10.  If all the conditions above are met, the move will be made for you.


Delete Current Line

Found in the Options menu.  Use this option to delete the line of play which is currently being displayed.  This will delete all moves in the current line after the move which is displayed.


Invert Board
Invert Board:

Selecting this menu item will invert the playing board.  If the white pieces are at the bottom of the screen, selecting Invert Board will place the black pieces at the bottom of the screen.


Row and Column Labels
Row and Column Labels:

Clicking this menu item will remove the row and column labels alongside the chess board.  Clicking the menu item a second time will redraw the labels.


Set Colors
Set Colors:

This Popup menu item will give you the option to change the colors for:

White Pieces

Black Pieces

White Highlight

Black Highlight

White Squares

Black Squares

Selecting one of these menu items will give you a color dialog where you may select the color you would like to use for those pieces on the board.  These color selections will be remembered when you exit and restart the Chess Recorder.

The Highlight color is the color on the left side of each piece, toward the center which gives the 3-D effect.  If you prefer to have solid color pieces, set the color for the Piece, and Highlight to the same color.  That will cause the pieces to be drawn with one color instead of two.

If you get your colors messed up and want them back to the defaults, use the Reset to defaults menu item to reset them.


Use Keyboard
Use Keyboard:

If you check this menu item, you will be presented with a keyboard selection icon.  This is a square with red on the left and right.  This square will move as you move the arrow keys on the keyboard.  When you get to the piece you want to select, press the spacebar.  Then move to the square you want to move to, and press the spacebar again.

This menu option is remembered for each invocation of the Chess Recorder.


Show Alternate Lines
Show Alternate Lines:

Checking this menu item will present a small floating window with the available alternate lines for the current move.  If the current move does not have any optional lines of play, the list will be empty.

You can move this window to any location on the screen that you like.  As long as the Chess Recorder has input focus, the Alternate Lines window will be visible.


Show Captured Pieces
Show Material Advantage:

Checking this menu item will present a small floating window with the captured pieces displayed.  You can move this window to any location on the screen that you like.  As long as the Chess Recorder has input focus, the Captured Pieces window will be visible.


Setup
Setup:

Clicking on Setup will reset the board to the default.  You can then use the mouse to click on pieces to move them.  To move a piece, click on it, and then on the square you wish to move to.  If you want to remove the piece entirely from the board, click on the piece and then click in the region outside the playing surface.  The piece will be removed.

If you wish to add pieces to the board, click on the piece you wish to add from the selection to the right of the board.  Then click on the board to add the piece.

When you are finished setting the board up, click the Done menu item to resume play.


Algebraic

Algebraic:

This menu item is selected by default.  It causes the Move Listbox to be filled with moves in the Algebraic notation.  (ie. e4)


Coordinate
Coordinate:

This menu item causes the Move Listbox to be filled with moves in the Coordinate notation.  (ie. e2-e4)


Long Form Algebraic
Long Form Algebraic:

This menu item causes the Move Listbox to be filled with moves in the Long Form Algebraic notation.  (ie. Ra1-a5)


White Wins
White Wins:

White has won the game.

When this menu item is selected, the game is marked as completed.  1-0 will be entered at the end of the text in the Annotation window.  If you export this game to PGN, the Result will be displayed as 1-0.


Black Wins
Black Wins:

Black has won the game.

When this menu item is selected, the game is marked as completed.  0-1 will be entered at the end of the text in the Annotation window.  If you export this game to PGN, the Result will be displayed as 0-1.


Draw Agreed
Draw Agreed:

A draw has been agreed upon.

When this menu item is selected, the game is marked as completed.  1/2-1/2 will be entered at the end of the text in the Annotation window.  If you export this game to PGN, the Result will be displayed as 1/2-1/2.


Waxman
Waxman:

This menu item will create a WAXMAN.POS export file that will be readable by the Waxman chess engine.

You may then Load Game in Waxman and play against the computer from the current position in the Chess Recorder.

The Waxman chess engine is available from many sites.  It is probably available from the same place you found the Chess Recorder.


PGN Information

Portable Game Notation is a rapidly growing standard in the chess world.  PGN is a standard that will allow any program supporting the notation to view games saved in this notation.  Currently the Chess Recorder does not support importing PGN files.  It does support exporting your games so that others may view your games.

If you attempt to export a file to PGN, you may get a warning popup saying some information is missing.  In this case you will need to select the Options/Enter Names menu item.  From there, select the PGN Info... button.

In order to export a game in PGN, the following items must be filled in:

White Pieces: The name of the player playing white.

Black Pieces: The name of the player playing black.

Event: A short string listing the event name.

Site: The name of the site.

Date: Date the game was played.

Round: The round being played.

If values are filled in for the player ratings, they will be saved in the PGN file when you export it.  See the Player Ratings section for more information.


Notation
A WORD ON NOTATION:

There are several notation points to be mentioned in regards to the Move Listbox.  These points are mentioned for those not familiar with chess recording notation.

If a piece is captured during a move, an 'x' is displayed.  So, in Coordinate notation if a piece moves from square e3 to e4, and captures a piece in the process, the move is displayed as: e3xe4.

If an en passant capture is made, it is displayed as a normal piece move, but '.e.p' follows the notation.

In the case of a pawn promotion, the move notation will be followed by '=Q' if you chose to promote the pawn to a Queen.


Special Features
Special Features:

There are several features of The Chess Recorder which may not be obvious:

* If you have stepped back into an existing game, and click on a piece, the Chess Recorder will provide a New Line Confirmation popup.  If you have Options/Confirmation unchecked, you will not get this popup.

* When a pawn reaches the eighth rank, a dialog is presented for you to choose which piece it should be promoted to.  Queen is selected by default.

* There is a quick way to backup or jump to any move in the game.  Simply click the mouse on that move number in the Move Listbox.  The board will be reset to display the desired move.

* The notation displayed in the Move Listbox is remembered on a per game basis.  For example, if you choose Algebraic notation for GAME1.GAM and Coordinate notation for GAME2.GAM, then every time you load GAME1.GAM, the notation will be set to Algebraic automatically.

* To keep you from accidentally erasing the end of your game, The Chess Recorder gives you a Confirmation popup if you are reviewing a game and make a move which will change the rest of the game.  This warning popup may be removed temporarily by unselecting the Options/Confirmation menu item.  This change will be remembered only until you restart The Chess Recorder.

  Many users find the Confirmation warning annoying, and want it removed permanently.  After running The Chess Recorder the first time, there will be a section in your WIN.INI file titled [Chess Recorder].  Add the following line:

Confirmation=0

  under the [Chess Recorder] heading.


New Line Confirmation
New Line Confirmation:

This popup has 3 options: New Line, Alter this line and Cancel.

New Line:

Clicking this button will start a new line from your current board position.  Any new moves will be listed in the moves listbox.  Your previous line will also be retained.  If you press F8 to backup, or select Replay/Back 1 Move, your previous move will be listed in the Alternate Lines listbox, assuming it is visable.

The Chess Recorder will remember up to 5 previous lines.  If you attempt a new line, and already have 5 displayed in the Alternate Lines list, the 5th line in the list will be overwritten.

Alter this line:

Clicking this button will erase from the current board position to the end of the current line.  Alternate lines will not be affected, but the current line will be destroyed.  This is useful if you know the current line is not worth saving and you want to try a new line.

Cancel:

Exit the dialog without altering any of the lines.

Warning: If you have Options/Confirmation unchecked, you will not get this popup.  The Chess Recorder will automatically select Alter this line for you.


Support for Multiple Lines

New with version 4.0 is support for multiple lines of play.  To create a new line, press F8 to backup to the move in your current game where you want to start the second line.  Click on the new piece you wish to move.  You will get a New Line Confirmation popup.

Click the New Line button.  The moves listbox will be cleared from the current move through the end of the game.  Now you are set to make your new move.

To revisit a previous line, press F8 to back step through the game.  When you get to the board position at which you started the new line, you will see the alternate line listed in the Alternate Lines list, assuming it is visable.  If this window is not visable, you may check Board/Show Alternate Lines to make it visable.


Problem Reporting
Problem Reporting:

The Chess Recorder has been in use since 1991.  It was heavily Beta tested for several months prior to that.  It is believed to be stable and bug free.  If you find a bug, please write up a brief reproduction scenario and mail it to:

Eric Churchill

23241 NE 73rd St

Redmond, WA  98053

If at all possible, please contact me via email.  Its faster, easier and cheaper.  See the Contacting the Author section of this help file for my current email addresses.

If you are reporting a problem, it would be helpful if you would save the game at the point the error occurs and mail me a copy of the game on a floppy.

I welcome new feature suggestions.  As you can see from this version of Chess Recorder, it has quite a few bells and whistles.  Many of them have come from registered users.  I do not promise to implement all suggestions, but I will consider them, and add them if it looks like many people would enjoy the new feature.


Import Coordinate

Use this option to import a game using Coordinate notation from a text file.  This import function makes the following notation specific assumptions about the text file being imported:

- ep captures are noted as a3xb2 ep or a3xb2 e.p. or a3xb2

- Moves are noted in the form e2e4 or e2-e4 or e2xe4

- Castles are noted in the form 0-0, O-O or e1-g1

- Due to the lack of standardization, player names will not be imported if they exist in the header information of the file.

There are general import assumptions which are made.  Importing Coordinate notation games are subject to the general constraints as well as the ones listed here.


Import Long Form

Currently there are no Long Form specific assumptions which are not also assumptions for Coordinate notation importing, or general import assumptions.


Import PGN

Use this option to import a game using PGN notation from a text file.  This import function makes the following notation specific assumptions about the text file being imported:

- The [TimeControl] variable is optional in PGN files.  If your file has it, it will be imported.

- Some PGN files are of the form:	1. e4 (0:05)	e5 (0:02)

These files must be altered before importing.  Use an editor to globally replace ( with { and ) with }.

- If rating tags are found when importing, they will be used.  If not, the ratings are left blank.  See the section on Player Ratings for more info.

There are general import assumptions which are made.  Importing PGN notation games are subject to the general constraints as well as the ones listed here.


Import Assumptions

When importing files, there are many assumptions which are made.  The following is a list of those assumptions:

- There is a maximum input line length of 80 characters.  If your lines are longer, shorten them.

- Chess Recorder will attempt to validate all the moves in the file before the import process begins.  In some cases, illegal moves can not be detected until later.  If that happens, the Chess Recorder will stop the import process at the point the illegal move occurred.  You will then get a popup displaying the move which is thought to be at fault.

- The first instance of 1.x or 1.  (where x is an alphabetical character) is perceived as the start of the moves.

- Comments must be within { and }.

- One blank line between header information and the start of the moves is recommended.

- Multiple games in a single file are supported.  You will be given a list to select the game you wish to import.

- Chess Recorder was tested with a file containing 2050 PGN games.  I do not know what the maximum number of games is, but its more than 2050.

- Promotions must be listed following the move in one of the following forms:

e7e8 = Q

e7e8 =Q

e7e8=Q


Setup Utility

There is a setup utility available for those who wish to use it.  From File Manager, run SETUP.EXE from the floppy.  This utility will prompt you for a location to copy the Chess Recorder files to.  It will create that location, copy the files, and then give you the option to automatically create a program group and 2 icons in the Program Manager.

If you are comfortable with creating directories, copying files, and creating icons in Program Manager, you dont need to use SETUP.EXE.


Player Ratings

There is currently support for 2 rating systems, either USCF or Elo.  The Chess Recorder defaults to Elo.  If you wish to have the default rating system be USCF, add the following line to the [Chess Recorder] section of WIN.INI:

Rating System=USCF

The default rating system comes into play only when exporting PGN games that you have created from scratch in the Chess Recorder.  If your default is USCF, when you export PGN games the tags WhiteUSCF and BlackUSCF will be used to display the ratings.  If the default is ELO, the tags WhiteElo and BlackElo will be used.

When importing a game from either a PGN file, or a .GAM file, the Recorder will use the rating system the file was created with.  In the case of PGN files without the rating tags given, the Recorder will default to your default setting.


Postal Information

The Postal button is found in the upper right corner of the Chess Recorder.  If you do not see a button there, uncheck the Options/Hide Postal Button menu item.

The Postal Information dialog contains a list of move dates for White and one for Black.  Each list shows Received date, Sent date and the number of reflection days, with the total number of days for each player listed at the bottom of the list.

To add an entry, select the Add New Move button.  A dialog will be presented which allows you to enter a new move.  If you wish to delete a move, and all following moves, click the Delete Move button.

You may print the postal list by clicking the Print List button.

You may edit a move after it has been entered by double clicking the mouse on the desired move.

When you are finished in this dialog, click OK to exit.


Add New Move

The Postal Date Entry dialog allows you to enter date and reflection information for a new postal move.  By default the dialog comes up with the current date in both the Received and Sent fields.  With luck, at least one of these will be correct.  Edit the dates as you wish.

If you want the Chess Recorder to calculate your ellapsed (or reflection) time, click OK after you have entered the dates.  On the other hand, if you wish to set this time yourself, click the Override automatic calculation box.  You must now enter the correct number of days into the Ellapsed time field.

This dialog assumes you are using a date format of mm/dd/yy.  If you leave off the year, it will default to the current year.  People in Europe who prefer dd/mm/yy may use that format, but you will need to check the Override box and do the ellapsed time calculation yourself.


Print List
Postal Print

The Postal Print dialog allows you to select the file or printer you wish to print your list of postal moves to.  If you enter a file name in the Print To: field, the output will go to that file.  If you enter a printer port, the output will be routed to the printer.

The Margins controls allow you to control the spacing of your output.  The Chess Recorder assumes an 8 1/2 by 11 inch page.  The 3 controls Top, Left & Bottom allow you to control the white space above, to the left of, and below your postal move listing.  These values are remembered across sessions in the Chess Recorder, so once you have them the way you want them, they never have to be altered again.


Other Products

In addition to the Chess Recorder, I also offer the following products.  These should be available where you downloaded the Chess Recorder from, but if not, send me mail and I will send you a demo copy.

NETCHESS

Allows 2 players to play interactive chess across a Microsoft network, or between 2 modems.  To play on the network, each client must be running Windows with LanManager, or Windows for Workgroups, or Windows NT.

To play using modems, the machines must be able to connect to each other using Microsoft RAS.  One machine will need to be configured as a server while the other is the client.  Once the connection is established, NETCHESS can be connected just as if it were on a network.

BIKELOG

Keep track of bicycling training/racing rides.  Room for Route information and comments about the ride.  Offers graphing of rides, time, distance or speed per month or per week.


Contacting the Author

Currently, I can be reached at the following e-mail addresses, in order of preference:

ericch@microsoft.com

75461,1640@compuserve.com

ericch@halcyon.com

I can be reached through snail mail at:

Eric Churchill

23241 NE 73rd St

Redmond, WA  98053

If at all possible, I prefer to correspond through email.