7. Game Collections

A game collection - as the name implies - is a collection of games stored in a single file. A game collection is a convenient way of grouping large numbers of logically related games, such as the games from a match or tournament or all games by a great (or not so great) chess master. You can browse the games as you like, and you can search for specific games based on player names, results, event, rounds (if tournaments) e.t.c using the built-in filter. Sigma Chess comes with a number of small, sample collections in the Collections folder.

A Game Collection Window

Thus game collections can thus be viewed and used as a game database. Additionally game collections can be used for chess publishing purposes or online chess books. Sigma Chess supports various layout facilities, controlling headings, page breaks etc. The sample game collection "Rules of Chess" is a simple example of a small online chess book.

Opening Collections

Collections are opened via standard Open... command in the File menu. Collections can contain thousands of games (up to 32.000), and can thus in theory be very large (the Lite version is limited to 1000 games). Therefore only an index of the collection games, called the collection map, is loaded when opening a collection. The collection map remains in memory until you explicitly close the collection using the Close command.

Browsing Collections

Normally a single game is selected indicated by a hilited line. You can open this game via the Open Game command or simply by pressing the Return/Enter key. The up and down arrow keys naturally selects the previous and next game respectively. These commands are also available from the Collection menu.

When you open a game from a collection, the game is opened in a standard game window. The only difference between such a game window and a normal game window, is that collection game windows are attached to collection (indicated by a small collection icon in the right end of the game window toolbar). This means that if you change the game in anyway (e.g. edit annotations, update game info) and subsequently save the game, then these changes are stored in the collection. If you want to save the game to a normal game file, you first need to detach the game from the collection using the Detach from Collection command in the Game menu.

Similarly, games can be added (attached) to collections using the Add to Collection command in the Game menu,

If you have opened a collection game, and you want to see the next (or previous) game, you don't have to first close the game window and go back to the collection window. Instead you can simply use the the Next Game (or Previous Game) command from the Collection menu, which will open the game in the current game window. This is also the recommended way of reading an online chess book such as the "Rules of Chess".

Sorting & Filtering

The list of games can be sorted and filtered in various ways. If you click on the header of any column, the game list will be sorted on the values in that column. The little triangle icon above the vertical scrollbar additionally lets you chose if you want to sort ascending (default) or descending. Sigma Chess also supports "type ahead" searching: If you for instance sort the "Classic Games" collection shown above on "White" and then type the letters "p" and "i", Sigma Chess will automatically selected the first game played by "Pillsbury". If you had only typed the letter "p", the first game by "Paulsen" would have been selected instead. Thus sorting and "type ahead" provides a powerful and easy way of selecting games from collections.

For large collections you might prefer to use the Filter database search tool shown below, which is opened via the Edit Filter... command:

The Filter Dialog

This scans the collection for all games that match the search conditions - e.g. the games where Capablanca lost with the White pieces - and displays these games in the list. You can then sort these games as you like, and furthermore use the "type ahead" feature. You can save and later re-open commonly used filters. You can also temporarily disable the filter using the Enable Filter command, this will then show the full game list again.

PGN Import/Export

You can import all the games from a PGN file using the Import From PGN... command. The imported games will be inserted after the last collection game.

Although PGN is a well defined standard, some programs generate incompatible output. Also, some PGN games are entered manually which further complicates matters. Although Sigma Chess can cope with many of the most frequently occurring errors, you may encounter problems with some PGN files. If an error occurs during the PGN import process, you will be presented with a dialog describing the error. You will then be given the option of either continuing the import process by skipping the erroneous game, or aborting the import process.

The Export to PGN... command exports the selected games to a PGN file (a range of games can be selected by clicking on the first game and Shift-clicking on the last game to be selected). If the Collection Browser is open and a range of games have been selected, then these games only will be exported. Otherwise all games of the collection will be exported.

Printing Collections

The standard Print... command in the File menu will print the selected games.

Basic Chess Publishing

Through the use of the Annotation Editor and the various formatting options in the Collection Layout dialog, you can produce your own chess literature. The game collection Rules of Chess is a simple example of basic chess publishing that - apart from its application as an online chess book - illustrates some of the possibilities when printed. In order to view and print a game collection as chess publishing, you need to open the Collection Info dialog from the menu and "check" the "View as chess publishing" checkbox.

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