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KGS User's Guide
    Keywords: Clubs & Places

Since KGS is a rapidly developing server, the documentation seems to lag well behind the supported features. This page is here so that KGS users have a place to share tips and information about the client.

General Tips

Pictures

  • To upload a picture to KGS, it must be a 141-pixel (width) by 200-pixel (height) JPEG-format or GIF-format image which fits in 7kB (seven kilobytes) or less. An animated GIF will be accepted, but only the first frame will be used (credit to Phelan for this tip).
Fhayashi: But one need not worry about the exact pixel dimensions - during the upload attempt, CGoban2 will crop the file, and show you what it would look like if you accept the automated cropping. It's been very good for the handful of pictures I've uploaded. Also, in order to upload a picture, you must be using the separate client program, not the browser-based client.
falstaff: PNG also works although wms said it wasn't officially supported. Also -- pictures don't appear immediately. Apparently one of the admins has to look at it and OK it first.

Clock (Timer)

  • glibber: As of CGoban 2.4.61 (Kiseido Go Server Client), and probably many earlier versions, if your opponent has run out of time and has not yet tried to make another move, then you may optionally add time for your opponent, which will restart the game. (See game board "Options" menu, second button down in the row of buttons near the top right). If your opponent has already tried to make another move, then this possibility will not be allowed, and the game will be permanently finished.
(Credit to Thing for helping to figure this out once and for all).
aussiemate: If, however, your opponent has claimed a win then the option for more time is gone.
Thing: It seems to me that the honourable thing to do, when you run out of time, is to play another move straight away.
  • JasonD: If you agree to an absolute timer, it's fair game to win by time. Both players are capable of managing their remaining time.

Tips for the Board Window

  • If you press Ctrl-L during a game you can turn the lettering around the board on and off. When the lettering is off, the board becomes slightly larger.
  • Holding in Ctrl and clicking on an intersection pastes the coordinates of that intersection into your chat box.
  • When observing, Shift and left (or right) arrow key shows you the previous (or next) move. Ctrl and left (or right) arrow key takes you to the previous (or next) comment made by observers.
  • When editing a game, if you hold in Shift and click on a stone it will bring you to the point when that stone was played. i.e First occurence, searching backwards. If the game record includes variations, only the current variation is searched.
  • When editing a game, if you press Shift and click on an empty point, it will bring you to the next part of the game when that point was occupied. i.e First occurence, searching forwards. If the game record includes variations, only the current variation is searched.
  • On an IBM PC clone at least, the shift and control keys with the arrow keys will navigate through moves on the board. (Credit to minismurf).

Observing Players Games

  • If you see a player waiting for an opponent and you want to watch the game they play, bring up the game request window and just wait. Do NOT propose a game to the player. Once that player does start a game with someone you will join the game as an observer automatically.

Tips for All Windows

  • Warp: If you click on the text of a chat window, an invisible cursor is put there and it will work as text fields normally with regard to selecting text. For example if you want to select all, press ctrl-a. Also press shift and then cursor keys for selecting (eg. shift+ctrl+right selects the next word). ctrl-c copies the text to the clipboard.
Naturally you can also select text with the mouse.

Player Courtesy

  • glibber: An intentional escaper almost invariably will suddenly disappear, but a player who has been simply disconnected (whether or not by design rather than accident) will appear to "hang" and do nothing, after which the nickname for that player may eventually grey out before disappearing. One should not be too quick to call out the bloodhounds. Many people live in countries with poorly run ISP's (Internet Service Providers), or suffer from bad connections on overloaded trans-Atlantic cables.
A computer crash may also cause such a sudden disappearance, so it is best to extend the benefit of the doubt, especially in the absence of odd timing such as just having lost a major group.
A common courtesy is to add more time if and when a disconnected player returns after five to ten minutes, so that he or she will not suffer from hasty play. (See the "Options" menu in a game board, second button from the top in the row near the top right). If the missing player doesn't return within ten minutes, then one may with a clear conscience close the game board for later continuation.
The server will automatically save nearly all unfinished and finished games up to six months old for easy viewing within the client, and permanently archives nearly all unfinished and finished games at [ext] http://kgs.kiseido.com/en_US/archives.html.
  • glibber: "The Wiggley" is really a "tilde" which is "~". It looks like a worm! It looks funny! But it is sad. It means that player is mean to weaker or new players, by not playing them very much. A funny equation is used. If games played against weaker or new players times three, plus five, is less than the total of finished games, then it's "Wiggley Time"! Ahhh!!!
Please note that it's counterproductive and silly to refuse to play a player who has been given "The Wiggley" if he or she is of higher rank than yourself.
lavalyn: Math terms: "~" if ( 2 * #games of equal rank or "?" rank + 5 ) < (#games against players of higher rank). So, asymptotically, if you play stronger players about twice as often as other players, then you get branded.
falstaff: Here are links to recent rec.games.go discussions about this feature: [ext] Patrick's explaination and [ext] Bill's clarification

Key List

  • glibber: "(R)ated, (F)ree, (T)eaching, (D)emonstration, (S)imultaneous, (P)rivate". Also, "(Ob)servers".
Witness that "W+Time" means white won when the clock ran out for black, and that "B+Res." means black won when white resigned.

Viewing Japanese fonts on KGS

Richard Hunter Some people want to be able to see Japanese characters, but all they see is little boxes. The problem is not having the right font. Instructions are given in the [ext] KGS FAQ. I sent wms the instructions for Mac OS based on advice I got from voldemort. I repeat them here, slightly modified, because I can edit this page easily and other people can add comments or questions.

Mac OS X

This procedure will enable a Mac OS X user to use KGS in English mode but also read and write Japanese. It works for the downloaded client but not for the JavaStart version, so you have to repeat the process every time the client is updated, but it only takes 20 seconds.

  1. Japanese is included in the OS X easy installation. Set your system preferences. International: keyboard: check Kotoeri (third from the end; the flag with the round red spot) for Japanese input in addition to US English. Download the KGS client. It should appear on your desktop. Modify it as follows before moving it to anywhere else, such as the Applications Folder.
  2. Control-click on CGoban icon. Choose "Show Package Contents".
  3. Double-click "Contents".
  4. In "Contents", double-click "Info.plist". A dialog box asks for an application to open it. Choose TextEdit in Applications.
  5. Find the line that reads "<string>English</string>. Double-click the word "English" and type "Japanese". It should now read "<string>Japanese</string>".
  6. Close and save.

Alternative methods are to:

  1. Use the OS 9 client, which seems to handle Japanese ok. Different font architecture.
  2. Set the CGoban preferences to Japanese, which gives you Japanese menus.
  3. Set the Mac OS X Finder to Japanese by dragging Japanese above English in the International System preferences.

Bugs

Be sure that you report any bugs to [email] admin@igoweb.org before posting them here. All the bugs listed here should be ones that the admin already knows about.

Simul Games

  • If you play a simultaneous game and then edit one of the games, you must re-finish all of the games or else they will show up as unfinished in your game list.
  • Simultaneous games are like teaching games to the server, so the players can see any comments made during the game by observers, in addition to their own comments.

Wishlist

The following are features/requests KGS users dream about with the hope that wms will one day have time to implement/grant them:
  • Source code (yes we know, fat chance). How about an API?
  • Port to other languages besides Java.
  • Server user list. This includes monitoring rooms for members.
  • Right click feature on open games to get users info.
  • Hitting the forward key after creating variations should follow the main tree, not the new variation.
  • Edit window to become a permanent part of the main board window, switching back and forth is cumbersome.

Credits

  • glibber: Thanks to Truc, Tsumu, aburry, minismurf, Rakshasa, Warp, eon, Thing, markspace, aussiemate, Phelan and JasonD at KGS for corrections, suggestions and general help. Also, thanks to wms for graciously devoting much of his limited time and energy to perfecting a very good Go client for the Kiseido Go Server, and thanks to the unknown originator of this page and subsequent anonymous contributors to it.

(As a point of clarification, wms wrote both the client and the server. The specs on the server haven't been released, but that allows wms to make changes to the server without breaking various clients, and vice versa. - Fhayashi)

:; Or rather, that when changes to the server *do* break the client, it is wms who must fix the client as well, and vice versa.



This is a copy of the living page "KGS User's Guide" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2003 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.