README.TXT Chess FileMate for Windows, 4.0 Copyright (c) 1994-1996 William H. Dyche All documentation for FileMate is contained in the following files... - README.TXT - program overview, getting-started instructions 1: Purpose and Capabilities 1.1: FileMate 4.0 features. 2: System Requirements 3: Installation from diskette 4: Getting Started 4.1: Scenario 1: Open a file and view a game. 4.2: Scenario 2: Create a game 4.3: Scenario 3: Update a game-in-progress 5: Program Capacity and Performance. 6: Miscellaneous 6.1: filemate.ini 6.2 Contacting the author - FMNEW.TXT - history of changes - FMGUIDE.TXT - detailed description of the program and how to use it - FMDATA.TXT - data requirements, PGN and FEN - DEMO1.TXT, DEMO2.CBI, DEMO2.CBF - data files for demonstration 1: Purpose and Capabilities FileMate is a games-file viewer and recorder. It facilitates the viewing, creation, and maintenance of ASCII text files containing recorded chess games. Such files can be found in the libraries of the CompuServe Chess Forum, and at many chess-related computer network sites. FileMate is an entry-level study-aid program for chess players. Much effort has gone into making the program easy to use. It is designed to be usable with little or no technical knowledge. And it is low cost for those who want to try out chess software before committing to a complicated and expensive chess database system. The Shareware Version of this product is intended for demonstration and evaluation purposes. It is constrained to read no more than the first 200 games of a file. Otherwise, it is fully functional. The constraint can be removed by entering a valid combination of a name and registration code. See the program's AboutBox for registration instructions. 1.1: In brief, FileMate 4.0 has these features. - MDI interface Child windows can be created, moved, and resized. Window sizes and locations are remembered. - File support The File window lists games in a file and enables you to select games for viewing and/or editing. Games can be added, edited, and deleted, and moved around within a file. File backups are created during file saves. - Boards Three sizes, and various styles. Two piece sets. Autoplay and speed controls. Pieces can be moved using mouse drag- and-drop. Piece movement is clarified when playing forward by floating the piece to its destination. - Data editing Edit game data by double-clicking text displayed in the Board Data window to invoke an edit dialog. - Formats: The program reads games in formats PGN, NTR, and NIC. Games are displayed and saved in standard PGN format. - Notation: Algebraic, Descriptive, and coordinate move notations are supported. Language translation is supported for displayed output. - Keyboard: Most functions can be accessed from the keyboard. - Clipboard: Games can be imported from, or exported to, the Clipboard. Selected data, such as the last n moves, can be copied with the Post function. A bitmap picture of the board can be copied to the Clipboard. - .INI File: Your preferred option settings are retained from one run to the next. The sizes and positions of windows are remembered. - Error handling Advanced error handling techniques enable the program to detect, report, and recover from, a large number of data error conditions. 2: System Requirements - Windows 3.1 or higher. - color VGA. The program is specifically designed to work in regular and super VGA. If you are using regular VGA (640x480x16) resolution, be aware that the program looks better and displays more data in the SVGA (800x600x16) resolution. The largest board size is a little to big for regular VGA. - 720K of disk space is required for version 4.0. A basic working knowledge of standard Windows controls is assumed. Knowledge of how to play chess is assumed. 3: Installation from diskette Use the install program. It will let you choose a directory for the files. Tell the Program Manager to run program INSTALL on the diskette. ( In the Program Manager window, select menu item "File / Run". Then enter the drive letter, colon, and program name (e.g. B:INSTALL). ) Start the program by double-clicking the FileMate icon, or run C:\FILEMT\FILEMATE.EXE Contents of the diskette: install.exe, install.ini, filemate.exe, fm40d1.dll, filemate.ini sqv5.dll readme.txt, fmnew.txt, guide.txt, demo1.txt, demo2.cbi, demo2.cbf Un-installing the product: All Chess FileMate files are located in C:FILEMT and its subdirectories, if any. Aside from the group definition, no files outside of C:FILEMT are modified. 1. Delete directory C:FILEMT (or wherever you put it) 2. Delete group FileMate (or delete the FileMate icon) 4: Getting Started Clicking down on buttons and menu items will display a brief explanation in the main window's status area. For detailed how-to information, please refer to fmguide.txt. Demonstration data files will appear in the MRU file list - click the MRU button in the File window, then doubleclick one of the files listed. Creating variations and comments is extremely easy, but it may not be obvious how to do it since no buttons or menu items are involved. - Create a variation: Go to the desired play/position and start entering moves on the board. - Add or change comments: Double-click a play in the text display. A specialized edit dialog will pop-up. 4.1: Scenario 1: Open a file and view a game. - Click the Open button in the File window, and open a chess data file. As the file is read, games are listed in File window in the order they are found. You can begin viewing games as soon as they show up in the list, even while the file is still being read. - Double-click any game in the list. The game's data will be sent to the Board (and to a Text Editor window if one exists). The program will then extract information from the text and check for errors. If any errors are found, the error reporter dialog will be displayed. In many cases, an error will result only in a warning or the non-extraction of some information from the data. Errors, especially in the game's moves, should be fixed before copying the game (Save) back to the file to prevent loss of data. - Review the game using the navigation controls to quickly go to the beginning << or end >> of the game, and to step forward > and backward < through the game. The horizontal scroll bar can be used for quick browsing. Use the auto-play button >o to start and stop automatic play of the game. You can also go directly to any position by selecting a play in the Board Data window. To quickly review a game, use the left and right arrow cursor control keys. 4.2: Scenario 2: Create a game - Click the New button on the Board Data window. - Double-click any header field to change its value. You don't actually have to enter any header information (but you should at least enter the player names). Missing information in the header will be indicated with question marks and byphens. Header information can be changed at any time. - Enter moves on the board by using the mouse to drag-and-drop pieces. If you wish, you can use the controls to go to any point in the game, and add or delete moves, and to add variations. ( Saving Changes: It may not be immediately apparent how to save changes because there are two Save buttons. Just follow the next step, and review FMGUIDE.TXT for details about this design. ) - To save data you've entered or changed, click the Add or Save button on the Board Data window. Later, you will also need to save changes to disk ("Save" in the File window). If you don't tell the program to save changes, it will prompt you to do so before overwriting the data or exiting the program. - Double-click any play or comment to edit suffix-annotations and comments. Any play can have a comment and/or an annotation symbol. It is also possible to edit a game in a text editor as follows. Create a Text Editor window if one doesn't already exist. Click the editor's Get button (to get data from the board). Make changes, and then click the Send button (send data to the board). From there, the game data can be saved to a file as in the previous step. 4.3: Scenario 3: Update a game-in-progress - Open a file. - Double-click a game to put it on the board. - Enter moves on the board - Click Save (to file) on the Board Data window. - Click Save (to disk) on the File window. While the game is on the board, you can create a correspondance reply by using the "Post selected data..." dialog. 5: Program Capacity and Performance. This information is specific to release 4.0 of FileMate and could change in future releases. These are some of the program's design limitations... - MAXGAMESIZE = 24,000. Individual games are limited to 24000 characters. - MAXPNODES = 400. This is the limit on the number of plays (i.e. plys) that a single game can have (main line plus variations). - MAXGAMES = 14,000. This is the maximum number of games that can be read from a text file. This value cannot be exceeded by file appends. = 200 in the shareware version Functional limitations: - The program has no information search capability. This would be more appropriate for a database system. - This program is designed as an interactive study-aid, not as a conversion utility. It can read and display various formats and notations. But the current design only exports/saves games in standard PGN format. 6: Miscellaneous 6.1: FILEMATE.INI is not documented. It is maintained by the program and need not be edited by the user. 6.2: Please refer to Help/About on how to contact the author of FileMate. Questions, suggestions, and problem reports are always welcome.