MONTREUX FAQ
Using Montreux
- Q: I try to start Montreux but it doesn't work.
A: Montreux requires Java 1.1. This means that not every browser will be able to handle Montreux. Montreux should work fine with Netscape Communicator 4.06 and up. For Netscape 4.00 - 4.05 you need a JDK patch that is available at the Netscape site. Netscape below version 4 will not work. Internet Explorer will work starting from 4.00. HotJava and Appletviewer will work from 1.1 and up. Some problems have also been reported from HP-UX and Linux based systems. If you do not have one of these browsers you might consider an update. Most updates are freely available. - Q: How can I enter variations?
A: Points at the game where variations exist are marked with "<" in the movelist. Actually the "<" indicates alternatives are available for this move. If you go to that position of the game the next list (next to the word next :-)) contains more than one option. The first option always is the main variation. By selecting another option from that list you can enter a variation. The movelist will be updated automatically accordinging to a variation by doubleclicking that variation or by selecting it and then pressing the >>Move button. - Q: What's the large empty square at the left for?
A: This is the comment window. Any comments on a move will appear here. This area remains blank for unannotated games and moves.
Configuring Montreux
- Q: Montreux can't find the montreux.cfg, or can't find (some of) the databases I included. Still I'm sure the filename is correct.
A1: Please keep everything in the same directory. Using different directories can cause a lot of trouble. Applet's in general don't like using different directories very much.
A2: If this doesn't help you out please check the case of the filenames. Many non Microsoft based servers have case sensitive filing systems. In that case MyGames.mdf won't be found if you specify mygames.mdf in montreux.cfg. Also watch the case of montreux.jar, montreux.cfg, etc.
A3: Check the presence of montreux.jar, montreux.cfg, montreux.gif and your game databases in the directory where the html file is located that launches Montreux. Try if you can run Montreux from the montreux.html file in the distribution with all distribution files kept in the same directory. - Q: How can I most easily learn how to configure Montreux?
A: First read the readme.html file in the distribution. You will learn that you have to edit the montreux.cfg file so read this one next. If you want to use different options (e.g. to change the look of Montreux) then read the options.html file. - Q: What to do with all those options. Do I really need them?
A: All options have carefully chosen defaults which will do fine in many situations. Only modify an option if you feel something could do better. Why not read config.html and try to play with some of the options? - Q: I move from one version to a later one. The look has changed but I want to keep the existing look.
A: Default settings may change in different versions. Starting from version 3.50 the PrintSettings option can print all options. This may help you to configure the old defaults with a later version. For versions prior to 3.50 and additional comments on this topic refer to the changed defaults page. - Q: Can I get a personal licence, instead of the "Anonymous licence".
A: You can apply for a personal licence if you run Montreux at your site. In that case send me a licence request by e-mail. Include your exact URL and the exact name you want to licence. I will try to send a key as soon as possible, but this may still take some time. Creating keys require manual action that may (temporarily) stop me from doing this service when many requests are received (or when I am too lazy). - Q: How can I optimize Montreux for running chess problems. Montreux shows the solution so little problems are left.
A: Use the options ShowMoveList=0 and ShowMovesInNextList=0. These will disable the display of moves in the next list (but will list variation numbers instead) and disable the display of the entire movelist, so that no indication of the next move remains. - Q: I notice no doubleclicking is required in the various windows. With a single click many things can happen: new games can be selected, new variants opened, etc. Can I disable this?
A: When setting the option SelectAction to one doubleclicking will be required in all list-like windows. Check config.html in the downloadable package. - Q: Why shoud I use MDF?
A: MDF is smaller than PGN and is much easier to process. MDF databases will be loaded much faster than PGN, which is important especially if the applet is run from slower computers. - Q: But I want to use PGN!
A: Montreux fully supports PGN databases. - Q: How do I create MDF?
A: The distribution includes a program to convert PGN to MDF v.v. To run this program you need a java 1.1 compatible java viewer like java from the JDK or the JRE. Go to the directory where montreux.jar and the source are located and execute:
jre -cp montreux.jar mdcp
You can also try jview, that comes with Windows 98. I did no severe testing on this however. In order to get things running you might need to unpack montreux.jar (see below). - Q: I want to use games from my Chessbase, Tascbase, NicBase collection. Montreux doesn't support all these databases. What to do now?
A: Many databases currently support PGN export. Simply export your games to PGN and connect these games to Montreux. You can of course also in turn convert these PGN databases to MDF and connect them to Montreux for even better performance. - Q: I changed my montreux.cfg file but nothing new seems to happen.
A: montreux.cfg is loaded at startup. In order to "see" any changes in montreux.cfg you need to restart Montreux.
Miscellaneous.
- Q: I can't find any classfile in the distribution. Java does require classes, doesn't it?
A: Sure, but the classes are "hidden" in the montreux.jar file. The browser will extract them when needed. Thus you only need montreux.jar. - Q: OK, but I still want to run Montreux "unpacked". Can I do so?
A: Yeah, if you really want to. Unpack Montreux with jar, included in the JDK. If you don't have that copy montreux.jar to montreux.zip, and extract that with Winzip or any other pkzip based extracter. The price you pay will be some decrease in startup speed. - Q: Are the program sources available?
A: No. We do not intend to publish any source here. - Q: Are any bugs or problems known?
A: We try to fix all bugs as soon as possible. In general, we advise you to download the latest version. Known problems with the latest version:
1. Internet Explorer 4 and Jview have serious problems with ItemEvents in Montreux. ItemEvents are used only when SelectAction is set to 2. Workaround: Use SelectAction=1 or SelectAction=3 unless you are sure that Microsoft based browsers will not be used. The problem appears solved in IE5.
2: When run detached or as an application, there appear to be some sizing problems under jview and IE. We are investigating a fix or workaround. No problems were reported with other browsers.
3: Some IE versions have problems making the correct backgroundcolor for the pieces. All squares appear black. This problem can probably be worked around using non transparent pieces (get them here). In Montreux 4.32 this problem has been worked around with the ImgFilterLayout option, that enables the use of the transparent graphics, but it is rendered slightly different on the screen when you use field borders. The use of this option is highly recommended for all sites with many different users.
4: The RememberWindowSize option not really remembers the correct size with Netscape Communicator. This is due to the Netscape JVM implementation and appears solved in version 4.7. The game and database windows will become smaller each time they are opened, unless they are manually resized. The best workaround is to use the ForgetWindowSize option.
5: Montreux does not seem to run with StarOffice 5.1, even while it is run with the JDK 1.2 runtime. I got it running under Linux/KDE only with heavily crippled graphics.
6: Some problems were reported on Sun Solaris/Sparc with the JRE1.2. This applies to many applications and hence is not specific to Montreux. The JRE1.1 did not cause any problem. 7: With Opera, Montreux does not run correctly when it is located locally, and when it is packed as a jar file. It runs fine if it is not packed or when it is on the web. Opera has confirmed this as a bug and tries to fix it in a new release. - Q: Which platforms were tested?
A: Windows 95/98/NT4 with Java 1.1+, Appletviewer 1.1+, Jview, Internet Explorer 4.x and 5.x, Netscape Communicator 4.x, Sun HotJava 1.1.
Linux Red Hat with Java, Appletviewer 1.1+ and Netscape Communicator 4.5.
Sun Solaris/Sparc with Java 1.1+ and Appletviewer. - Q: This FAQ doesn't answer all of my questions. What to do now?
A: Please mail us any question remaining, and we try to answer and/or add it to this FAQ. See the contact page.
