|
This page is part of the edition ring, it describes:
The next page on the ring describes analysis issues. Other related subjects are: Using the timer and board options. | ||
 |  | |
| Variations: "Go to" using hot spots | ||
 |  |
 The following railroad switch metaphor is useful to understand how variations work: The complete game tree is just like a railroad made of different paths all starting from a common root node (which is the node 0). The switches (here called variations) are in fixed positions. Therefore, when you move back and forward (one step at the time, 5 steps, to the end, etc.) you always move along the same path. To explore other paths you have to change the state of the switches. This is done by clicking on the hot spots. Look at the image to the right. This position defines a variation with two alternate paths: The current path which is defined by the black stone with a cross on it indicating that it is the last stone played. The other path is defined by a hot spot. Click on the hot spot. That has changed the railroad switch. Now, you see a black stone at the place where the hot spot was and a hot spot where the stone was. Now you can "go to" back and forward along the other path. Of course, the nodes before the "switch" are common to both paths. When a move has more than one variation, you will see many hot spots for all except the current variation and the last stone on the current. If one of the moves in a variation is a pass move, you will see its hot spot on the top left part of the board outside the playing area. |
 | |
| | |
| Variations: "Go to" using the HTML assistant | ||
| |
|
Note: This can only be used if you are editing a game tree in the main goban. (What is the main goban? was explained here.) The HTML assistant is another HTML browser window like the one you use for reading this help placed below the help browser. What the window contains is a map of the game being edited in the main goban. When you click on the stones of the game map, the main goban goes to that node. The browser gives you a global view of the game including its annotation. (What is the game map? was explained here.) The HTML assistant opens (controlled by the option "Use the HTML assistant" inside "Extended options"):
The HTML assistant closes automatically, if the option "Close the HTML assistant automatically" inside "Extended options" is selected and:
The HTML options related with cell sizes, fonts, colors, etc. used to control HTML output apply to the game maps viewed by the browser, except:
|
 | |
| | |
| Variations: Creating a new variation | ||
| |
|
A new variation is an alternative move to the last move. It defines a move played instead of that move and, therefore, it is of the same color. To create a new variation, just press <Ctrl>+<J> (or select "Start a new variation"). The cursor changes to indicate that, when you click on an empty board cell, you will place a stone and that stone will be the last of the new variation. You will also "go to" that variation automatically. To support the compatibility with strange SGF files, a variation can be a stone of the opposite color. That is not recommended at all. To do such things, you have to insert a pass move as a variation. This GoKnot "feature" is included in accordance with the idea of supporting everything. To insert a pass move as a variation, select "I pass" after selecting "Start a new variation" and while you have the "new variation" cursor. Now click on the board and you will have created a variation of the opposite color. | ||
| | |
| Variations: Erasing a complete branch | ||
| |
|
The normal "Erase a stone" function works as described here. But when you try to erase a hot spot using the same function, you will get this confirmation message box:  If you answer "Yes" to that question, the complete branch starting at that hot spot including all the branches that start at its nodes will be deleted.
| ||||
| | |
| Variations: Merging and sorting variations | ||
| |
|
There are two easy ways of isolating individual paths from a complex game tree:
Once you have the separate paths in different files or gobans, there is a function to merge them into a game tree. That function is "Include variation in gametree". It works always from a sketch goban to the main goban. All nodes already in the main goban are kept. All nodes in the sketch goban different of those of the main goban are added as variations. What was already in the main goban will be the main path and the new nodes are the variations. You can do that any number of times, with simple paths of with trees. This way, you can arbitrarily sort the variations. The simple rule: What comes first must be in the main goban, then the first added, then the 2nd, .. When nodes contain annotation: If an annotated node of a sketch goban already exists in the main goban, it will be lost and that includes its annotation. The annotation in the main goban is always kept. If the node's move if different and, therefore, it is included as a variation, a new node is created in the main goban and that node contains the annotation from the sketch goban.
| ||||
| | |
| Annotation: Reading/writing remarks | ||
| |
|
When you "go to" along a game tree, the message output area displays information on the current node. If that node has a remark, as in this image  You don't have to save, because the content of the editor is saved each time you "go to" another node, save the game, etc. You can even edit remarks to a game observed on the IGS client. You will experience that, when a new move arrives, your remark is cut in the middle of a word and continued in the next node. Its normal, of course when the game ends, you may cut and paste to finish that annotation neatly. |
 | |
| | |
| Annotation: Editing symbols | ||
| |
|
GoKnot supports the following symbols:  The first four are the only truly SGF standard, and the only (together with labels) whose use is recommended. They are the Circle, X cross, Square and Triangle in the symbols dialog box and correspond to the SGF properties: CR, MA, SQ and TR. To support the SGF reference as much as possible, other symbols were added. They do not make sense in Go and I did not find them in SGF files, but they may make sense in other games: The 5th symbol corresponds to the SGF property SL select. It should be understood as "the stone is selected". The 6th symbol corresponds to DD dim. It should be understood as the stone is "grayed out". The other two show the endpoints of arrows or lines drawn on the board. The first two can be created in GoKnot using the Select and Dim stone symbols the others can not. To create and also to delete a symbol or a label, press <Alt>+<S> (or select "Edit node symbols/labels"). That changes the cursor to the symbol operations cursor. Click on a board cell where you want to create/erase a symbol, the symbol dialog box will show up. The first option in the dialog is what symbol or text label you want to create. To delete symbols, select the option "Delete symbols". If you want to create or erase many symbols of the same type, check the option "Insert many without reprompting". If you create many labels and they are one character long, the character will increment automatically. This way, you can place labels like "A", "B", "C", .. or "1", "2", "3", .. without seeing the dialog again. Finish multiple edition by pressing <Esc>. Inside GoKnot you cannot create two symbols/labels on the same board cell. Each time you place a symbol/label any previous symbol/label on the same cell will be deleted. If you load an SGF file created by another application and do no edit the symbols of a node, the node will preserve any symbols it had, including lines or arrows and may have more than one in the same cell. If you place a symbol on the last stone, you won't see it. The last stone marker has a priority higher than any symbol and cannot be disabled. Some programs add a CR symbol to the last stone systematically, if you edit such files in GoKnot, that CR will be preserved, but not visible. If you place a symbol on a stone that has a visible number, you will see the symbol. The symbol has a priority higher than the number. If you disable the board option "Max. one symbol per cell" you will see both, and the symbol over the number. | ||
| | |
| Annotation: Standard annotation to the whole game tree | ||
| |
|
SGF files contain annotation applicable to each node (such as "bad move") and other which applies to the entire game (such as the name of the white player). To view and/or modify the annotation applicable to the whole game press <Ctrl>+<G> (or select "Game description".) All SGF properties related with game description are supported and, since they are many, the dialog is divided in two parts: first, three groups (event description, game result, players description) and then, the others properties under a "more game data" tab. The complete official reference can be found here. Unless you plan to write SGF software, you don't need to read it, just use your common sense and apply the following advice:
| ||||
| | |
| Annotation: Standard annotation to the current node | ||
| |
|
As just mentioned, some annotation properties apply to each node. No annotation is mandatory, a node has no annotation unless: you edit it, it was loaded from a file containing annotation, or, if the "annotation hints during play" option is checked, the engine created automatic annotation. Also as before, the complete official reference can be found here. And you don't need to read it unless you plan to write SGF software. Press <Ctrl>+<A> (or select "Edit node annotation".) to open the editing dialog. The node annotation is a combination of the following items:
| ||
