 Freecell Help Index

Menu Commands

File menu

Options menu

Window menu

Register

Help menu

How to Play

Rules


File menu commands

The File menu offers the following commands:

New Game	Deals a new game.
Undo	Reverse previous game step.
Save Game	Saves the current game.
Open Game	Opens a previously saved game.
Restart Game	Restarts the current game from the original deal.
Chose Game #	Allows user to choose the game number that is played.
Exit	Exits Freecell.


Options menu commands

The Options menu offers the following commands:

Auto Throw	Automatically moves cards onto the FOUNDATION that are available to be moved and do not have other cards dependent on them left in the STOCK or TABLAEU.
Sound Effects	Toggles Sound Effects on or off.
Large Pips	Places larger card markings in the upper left corner for better visibility.
Drag Cards	Toggles between “Drag and Drop” play or “Click to Select”.
MIDI Options	Allows user to set preferences for MIDI music playback.
CD Options	Allows user to control their CD drive’s audio playback features.
Normal Move/Expert Move	Allows user to control the intelligence of card movement.
Choose Card	Allows user to choose a built-in card deck or load one from disk or CD.     (NOTE:  You may also use external decks downloaded from www.wyvern.com.)


Window menu commands

The Window menu offers the following commands:

Minimize	Allows you to minimize the window.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+M


Register command

The Register command displays the information needed and how to register your product.


Help menu commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Help Topics	Offers you an index to topics on which you can get help.
About	Displays the version number and credits for Freecell.
Catalog	Displays the Wyvern Studios catalog.
License Agreement	Displays the License Agreement for Freecell.


File New command
New Game command (File menu)

Use this command to deal a new game.

You can open a previously saved game with the Open Game command.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+N

F2


File Open command
Open Game command (File menu)

Use this command to open a previously saved game

You can deal a new game with the New  Game command.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+O


File Close command
Restart Game command (File menu)

Use this command to play the current game from the beginning again. We suggest that you save your current game before you restart it because restarting will erase what you have done.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+R


File Save command
Save Game command (File menu)

Use this command to save the current game.  When you save a game, Freecell allows you to designate a file to save it to.  Saved files are required to have a .wsf extension on the filename.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+S


File Save As command
Undo command (File menu)

Use this command to reverse the last game step.  There are a limited number of moves that can be undone.

Shortcuts

Keys:	CTRL+Z

Backspace


Chose Game #

Use this command to change the game number of play. This allows user to play a game and tell a friend the number and see if he/she can get a faster time.

Shortcuts

Keys:	F3


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Use this command to end your Freecell session.  You can also use the Close command on the application Control menu.  You must manually save your game before quitting, if desired.

Shortcuts

Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.

Keys:	ALT+F4


MIDI options command (Options menu)

Use this dialog box to set your preferences for MIDI music playback.

Current MIDI Selection	Shows the current song selection.  Use the drop down list to select a new song.  The current selection will loop through the play list one by one as each song finishes.
Default Play List	Selecting this option will use the built-in play list included with the game.
User Play List	Selecting this option will use the user-defined play list created with the play list buttons.
New Play List	Discards the current user-defined play list and opens a browse dialog to allow a new list to be defined.  Use CTRL and/or SHIFT with the mouse to select multiple song choices at once.
Add to Play List	Appends new selections to the user-defined play list.  This feature is useful for selecting songs from different directories.
Play MIDI Music	Starts playback of MIDI music.
Stop MIDI Music	Stops playback of MIDI music.
Ok	Exits the MIDI Options dialog.
(NOTE:  User-defined play lists are not available in the shareware version of Freecell.)


CD Options command (Options menu)

You may use this dialog box to control your CD drive’s audio playback functions.

Total Time	Shows the total length of the current CD.
Current Track	Shows the current track number that the CD is queued to play or is playing.
Current Time	Shows the time index of the track that is queued to play or is playing.
Stop	Stops the CD playback and resets to the start of the first track.
Play	Starts the CD playback from the currently queued position.
Pause	Stops the CD playback without changing the playback position.
Resume	Resumes playback from the last queued position.
Previous	Advances to the next track on the CD.
Next	Returns to the previous track on the CD.
Ok	Exits the CD Options dialog.
(NOTE:  The CD Option is not available in the shareware version of Freecell.)


Normal Move/Expert Move

Use this command to modify the complexity of the auto movement of cards by the computer. Normal Move will move groups of cards for as many empty areas as in the DEPOSIT and TABLAEU. The Expert Move will find TABLAEU groups that would allow part of the original TABLAEU group, that you are attempting to move, and will move that part to the TABLAEU areas that have available corresponding cards. This will allow the computer to use the available DEPOSIT and TABLAEU areas to move the rest of the TABLAEU group, which you are attempting to move, to the TABLAEU area that you are moving to.

Shortcuts

Key:	F4


Help Topics command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help.  From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using Freecell and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can click the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.


About command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of Freecell.


License Agreement command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the License Agreement for your copy of Freecell.


howto_rules
Rules (HowTo)

The Game Area

A game consists of three areas of cards:

•	DEPOSIT: Located in the upper left corner. The DEPOSIT is where you can store a single card in four areas. This is to aid in arranging the cards in the TABLAEU.

•	FOUNDATION:  Located in the upper right corner. The FOUNDATION is built up from ACE to KING by suit and in sequence.

•	TABLAEU:  Located across the middle of the window is the eight stacks across.  You can place cards on these stacks in descending order, with alternating colors.  Any card may be moved into an empty TABLAEU.

Movement Restrictions

•	Movement can only be made in single card steps. This produces the challenge of the game. The number of available DEPOSIT areas and empty TABLAEU areas determines the number of cards that you are able to move.

Object

Move all cards to the foundation while obtaining the quickest time possible.