Version 1.8   (Apr 97) 
===========

	About time we had a new version number<G>.
   
	There is a new version of DEUTSCH.HLP on my Homepage.  It contains 
two new topics, so if you continue to use the old version you will get "topic 
not found" on occasions.  Please let me know if you need the German version and 
cannot get it from the Homepage - I'll send it direct in that event.

	All the function keys are now assigned ...

	F4 = New Game.

	F5 = Shortcut from SHORTCUT.TXT comments.  This file in the root 
directory of DBSCHESS is a simple text file of "standard" comments - you can 
edit it either with DBSCHESS or a text editor.  The idea is that if you are 
forever needing comments such as "Oh dear, I hadn't seen that coming", you can 
insert it into the comment area without having to type it out in full.  (Thanks - 
Brother Richard!).  You may prefer to use the PGN standard NAG comments - in 
which case a suitable file is available from my Homepage.

	F6 = Email window.  (Thanks Shea).  With the exception of an optional 
bit in F12, everything that makes the program set the clipboard also adds the 
text to an area you can edit within the program.  It makes the composition of 
an email reply a good bit easier.
	
	The "Hits" display not only gives the results of games from the similar 
games, but the final totals are also shown.  You need to build a library with 
version 1.7c or 1.8.

	The F12 display shows the previous date information for the player 
making the move.  This is to help people who include time elapsed together with 
the dates (e.g. "12 Apr : 37") (Thanks Andrew).  There is a wider column in 
analysis display to allow such formats to be visible.

	"Edit | Copy to Clipboard" has an additional "Moves with Variations" 
option.  Any comments welcome on this, I'm regarding this as "subject to change". 
If you can find a bug of the "mismatched brackets" variety I'll be most upset<G>.
It has options so that you can also include game move comments and/or number 
the White variation moves.

Version 1.8a (June 97)
================

	There is a new version of DEUTSCH.HLP available from my homepage.  It has 
new topics for 1.8a.  Many thanks Martin.

	View | Win 95 may solve problems for some of you in the Win 95 environment 
who have a configuration that sorts on 7 bits rather than 8.  The problem is that 
I use a psuedo-space rather than a true space in the list of valid moves for the 
first character.  This sorts the ones that are neither game nor variation nicely to 
the end in a Win 3.1 environment, but doesn't always work for Win 95.  This new 
option puts an underline character for untried moves - it doesn't look as nice, but 
sorts to the intended order.

	The menu structure is altered in 2 places.  The Edit | Comments no longer 
has a sub-menu, but the 2 items appear as Edit | Game details and Edit | Move details.  
More important the File menu now has Import and Export with sub-menus.  

	File | Export | Copy to Clipboard has the same effect as 
Edit | Copy to Clipboard.  The new bits are the Import and Export of files in "Genius" 
program format.  I've started with with Genius as it's a chess playing program that 
I bought some years ago.  If you want me to repeat the exercise for other 
formats, then I'm asking for volunteers - ideally to give me specifications of the format, 
or offers to help me by sending me "alien" format files and the equivalent games (it 
can't be any harder than reverse engineering the Genius format<G>).  Fritz uses Chessbase 
formats, so you should already be able to import those games using the CBASCII 
mentioned on my homepage.

	A side effect of the Genius exercise is that Library creation is slightly faster 
now.  

	A minor (but user-friendly) change has been made to the F6 Email window 
- the Email window is cleared when you copy it to the clipboard (much more 
convenient if you are going to reply to another opponent next) - thanks Heie.

	There is a FAQ & TIPS file giving a few bits of advice for new users of the 
program, but you might also find something there of interest<G>.

	File compression (not in the 1.8a beta).  The program will compress all the files 
in a directory/folder and still be capable of reading the compressed format directly.  The 
new help file describes when it is worth doing.

	No-one apart from me (I hope<G>) found the minor bug in the brackets that 
sometimes happened in the 1.8 "Edit | Copy to Clipboard"  "Moves with Variations" option.  
It is now cured.


==================================

	Alan Cowderoy has provided a freeware chess font - We've done a TRA file for 
using it in DBSCHESS.  The font & the TRA can be downloaded via my homepage - 
follow the links in the "Download the program" page.  See also Annex J of the 
manual.

==================================

	Any comments welcome, please tell me of any problems (they won't 
go away otherwise<g>).  If you want some more example games in DBS 
format, you can get them from my homepage (see below).  

	Don't forget, I'll happily send registered users a new version of the manual in 
Word 2 and/or RTF format whenever your old one is getting a bit out of date!  The one 
you get is liable to describe features in the next version that I have already implemented.  

	All the best - David

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/DBSugden
