Detailed description of Chess Assistant 7.1

When you connect to ICC, a tabbed console appears, with some new tabbed toolbars at the top, and some other items on the display:

ICC tabbed toolbar – These toolbars permit you to set buttons to Seek a game by issuing different types of challenges, to set User commands such as automatic greeting when starting a game or other server commands, Personal information such as finger notes and ICC preferences, and finally an added Actions toolbar that only appears during a game to handle basic game functions. Note: Users can also add further buttons to meet their needs by clicking on the arrows next to the buttons.
Console Tabs – allow you to switch between different information windows which briefly are as follows:
Message Window – This is the main ICC room and this is where all ICC announcements as well as chatting are made (games, events, tournaments, etc.) .
Many functions are highlighted like web links and can be activated by just clicking on them. For example, to chat with someone whose name appeared on the screen, all you need to do is click on his or her name and start typing. If instead you want to finger them, hold the Ctrl key down and click on their name. This area can also be customized with colorful personalized Styles by right-clicking anywhere on the main area. Note: So that you are always able to access information, send commands, or chat, a small resizable part of the message window is visible at the bottom of the other ICC console windows at all times.
Seek List – Here you will find all the public challenges that have not been answered yet, as well as detailed information such as time control being sought, type of game, rated or unrated, etc.
Seek Diagram – Here too, you will see all the unanswered public challenges, but instead of a chart, it is organized in a graph with ratings at the side and time controls at the bottom.
Players – Here you will see a list of the players connected and what they are doing that depends on the color behind their name.
Games – This window tells you which games are currently going on and gives you extensive information without forcing you to see the game first.
Stored Games – This window allows you to search through one of the 3 types of databases that ICC provides: a player’s history, a player’s library, and ICC database.
Challenges – This will only appear if a player(s) has issued a challenge specifically to you. The presentation is identical to that of the Seek List.
Indicator – shows the status of your connection to the ICC server. For example, it appears green if you are connected and red if you aren’t.
Command entry box – allows you to type in various ICC commands.
Accelerators – These are three drop-down list boxes over the command entry box. They are designed to make it easier to work with repeated commands such as announcements or chatting with someone, as you do not have to type in commands repeatedly, and are stored during your ICC session. The first accelerator contains the most common console commands that you can select from the list or type manually. The second accelerator contains the list of players you previously spoke to. Note that if you click on a player’s name on the Message window the program will fill the two first accelerators to allow you to talk to them without any further trouble. The third accelerator is where a message being sent to someone is typed.

Fig. 2 - Accelerators

Send button – When you press this button, any command selected in the accelerators, or that typed in the command entry box, is sent. If you want to repeat a message or a command, just press send again, and to send the same message to someone else, change the name in the second box and then press send, thus getting rid of the necessity to type everything again.
Game Status indicator – These colored symbols represent different games you have open (watching, playing, and/or examining) and their status. They tell you not only what type of game is being displayed, but also whether a move has been played since you last looked at it, in which case it turns red, or whether the position remains the same but someone has commented on it via kibitz or whisper, in which case it turns yellow. In order to switch to the game quickly, you just click once directly on the colored symbol.