1.2: Getting Started

This section will show you how to start Scid and guide you around the main Scid window.

Starting Scid

After you have downloaded and extracted the right Scid package for your computer (and compiled Scid if you downloaded the source code), you should have an executable file called called scid.exe in the bin/ subdirectory if you use Windows, or scid if you use Linux/Unix. Run this program to start Scid.

When Scid starts, you will first see a window called the Startup window. It provides information about what extra files were found or databases were loaded when Scid started. You can usually ignore it and close it.

The Main Window

Next, the main window will appear; a reduced image of it is shown here. The largest part of the main window is the chessboard. You will probably want to resize the board to your monitor size and video settings; the next section explains how to do this, along with changing the board colors, fonts and other settings.

Scid follows a multi-window design that may seem unusual to Windows users at first, but it is simple and clean. Scid aims to provide powerful database features with minimal user interface complexity.

Menus

Most major functions in Scid can be accessed from the main window menu bar. Browse the menus now to see the range of features and get used to where each type of action is located in the menu hierarchy. Note that Scid uses the following graphical user interface guidelines:

1. Menus are not too long, and related commands are grouped together.
2. Commands that are not currently valid (perhaps because no database is open, for example) are disabled (shaded out).
3. Many commands have a Ctrl+key or Ctrl+Shift+key shortcut sequence.
4. As you move over a menu command, a fuller explanation of its action is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the main window.
5. Commands that produce a dialog box before they commence an operation have three dots (...) after their name. This means you can try any menu command ending in "..." confident that it will not do anything to alter your data without further interaction.

Toolbars

The main window contains a toolbar just below the menu bar, with icons for fast access to commonly used actions such as loading databases, searching for games, and opening or closing additional Scid windows. The leftmost icons should look fairly standard (they are for creating, opening and saving files) but the others will be specific to Scid. When you move the mouse over a toolbar icon, its action is explained in the status bar at the bottom of the main window. The toolbar can also be customized, as explained in the next section.

Below that toolbar is one with buttons like those shown here. This bar (called the navigation bar) contains icons for moving about in the game that Scid is currently displaying. When you start Scid, most buttons will be disabled (shaded) because the current game is empty; it does not have any moves.

The Game Information Area

The area below the chessboard is called the game information area. It has a white background and shows you information about the current game (its players, date, result, etc), and which position from the game is displayed in the chessboard. A right-mouse click in this area produces a popup menu with customization options.

The Status Bar

Finally, there is a status bar at the very bottom of the window with information about the current database. This includes whether the current game has been edited and the name of the current database (if one is open).

The leftmost symbol in the status bar deserves mention. If the current game cannot be edited (e.g. because it is from a read-only file), the symbol appears as "%%". Otherwise, it is "--" if the game is unedited or "XX" if the game has unsaved changes.

When you move over a toolbar icon or menu item, the status bar will change to show a description of that icon or menu item. Move the mouse cursor over some of the toolbar icons (and some menu items) to see what they do.