BridgeComposer

What's New?

See Also What's New in ScorePost?

[2011-12-07] Bug fix in 5.29.1:

• Fix: Board→Delete causes a crash.

[2011-11-22] Key features and bug fixes in 5.29:

• File→Page Layout: New "Curtain card" layout: Each player's cards are shown in a separate column.
• Double Dummy Solver (courtesy of Bo Haglund): Support version 2. Continue support for version 1 for older Windows XP computers that may require it. Update to DDS DLL versions 1.1.12 and 2.1.2. Also, show the solve time in the status bar.
• Tools→Double Dummy All Boards: Shift key will recompute the DDA for all boards.
• New commands: View→Source and View→New PBN.
• Show a popup tooltip for comments in the Play section. (The same as has been done for the Auction section for some time.)
• Board Edit dialog: Show tooltips for the more esoteric controls.
• Notes dialog: Allow resizing; add a Help button.
• File→Open: Remember and re-use the last file extension filter used.
• Page footer: Additional option to insert Hand Record Title Box Text.
• Format→Board Layout, General tab: New option "All commentary preformatted"
• Fix: Process PBN input files that use the semicolon character to introduce comments.
• Fix: Format→Preformatted: Handle newlines in non-BridgeComposer input files correctly.
• Fix: File→Open dialog was not resizable on Windows XP.  Remember size and position.
• Fix: Double Dummy: Disable if the deal field is not valid.
• Fix: .lin files: Single space the commentary.
• Fix: Board→Paste was resetting some Format→Board Layout settings.
• Fix: Board→Validate: Accept N as an abbreviation for NT.
• Fix: Board→Edit was not immediately diagnosing duplicate cards when a hand had less than 13 cards.
• Fix: Other PBN programs could possibly overwrite the BridgeComposer flags that were kept in the PBN "Application" tag. Move the flags to a new, non-standard "BCFlags" tag.
• Fix: The Diagram, Auction and Play were stretched horizontally for some newer fonts such as Calibri and Cambria.
• Fix: Convert PBN "suffixes" in the Auction and Play sections to PBN "NAGs" in the PBN file, for conformance with the PBN standard EXPORT format. (The NAG is still displayed as a suffix, however.)
• Fix: Resize the Auction and Play columns, if necessary, to accommodate their content.
• Fix: HTML: Ensure that anchor names for boards are syntactically correct HTML names.

[2011-09-09] Key features and bug fixes in 5.28:

• For consistency, change all occurrences of "suit symbols" to "pips" in the user interface and the help topics.
• Support the ITC Souvenir bridge font (analogously to the Gill Sans bridge font).
• Format→Board Layout: HTML tab: New "Native" pip rendering mode.
• Format→Board Layout: Card Table tab: Show what the card table looks like.
• Format→Board Layout: Pips tab: Show what the pips look like.
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Place "Result" values (number of tricks taken by declarer) into the score tables.
• Score tables: Display the "Result" column (number of tricks taken by declarer) when present.
• HTML score tables: Make the columns a little bit wider to improve readability.
• File→Page Layout: Auto-select the "fit" radio button when the number of columns is changed.
• Fix: When a PBN file specifies [Vulnerable "Both"] (rather than the Export-format [Vulnerable "All"]), BridgeComposer erroneously showed "None vul".
• Fix: Help→License: Uninstall with option to remove all user settings nonetheless retained a few entries in the registry.
• Fix: Help→License: Uninstall with option to keep all user settings nonetheless lost the current window position.
• Fix: Board→Check Spelling: Sometimes, unknown words with accented letters were not recognized as a single word.
• Fix: File→Page Layout: Rearrange the dialog slightly to save some screen space.
• Fix: Multi-board layouts: When clicking between boards, sometimes an unexpected board was selected. Fix to select the board nearest to the click point.
• Fix: Board→New: The "Previous board" control was not working correctly.
• Fix: View→Next To Play: Update the screen properly after using Board→Edit.
• Fix: Board→Validate: Improve diagnosis of plays out of turn.
• Fix: View→Hand Record Page Layout might cause the hand record titles to be unintentionally set to the previously used values.
• Fix: The page footer might incorrectly show a previously-used value for the Event field.
• Workaround: Pasting into Microsoft Word in HTML format did not result in the correct font for the hand diagram. To workaround, we re-specify the font for each diagram element.

[2011-08-08] Key features and bug fixes in 5.27:

• File→Page Layout: New layouts: As many as will fit, 3 and 4 columns.  Added Portrait/Landscape selection.
• New menu command: Tools→Delete All Boards Following.
• Board→Edit: Deal fields: Use a fixed-pitch font; show a count of cards entered.
• Board→Edit: New controls: Edit Next Board and Edit Previous Board.
• Board→Edit: Disable the Autofill buttons when the deal is already full.
• File→Open: Importing .lin, .dup and .dlm files: Show the original filename in the BridgeComposer window title bar, but still prompt for a new filename if File→Save is invoked.
• New command line parameter: /htbp for HTML boilerplate file path.
• HTML code: Tweak "id" and "class" attributes to facilitate use of website style sheets.
• Help topics: Document technical details regarding Tools→Generate Random Boards.
• Fix: Page footer right pane was mispositioned for multi-column layouts.
• Fix: Board→Edit: Make a change, Apply, then hit OK: Sometimes we got redundant Edit→Undo entries.
• Fix: Hand Record Titles with Title Box text: When the Event ends in a newline (\n), suppress the " - " between the Event and the Date.
• Fix: Makeable Contracts: Translate NESW according to the Format→Board Layout: Translate tab.
• Fix: .lin files: Convert cards played to upper case.
• Fix: .dup files: Be a little more tolerant of non-standard files.
• Fix: HTML: Handle \ escape codes in the Event field when formatting the <title> text.
• Fix: HTML: When the diagram was float left but hidden, a blank square appeared in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
• Fix: Help→License: Uninstall button: User settings were being removed even when "keep" was requested.
• Fix: Help→License: Uninstall button: Do more to avoid necessitating a system reboot.

[2011-06-12] Bug fixes in 5.26.3:

• Keyboard escapes for suit symbols were not working in 1-column page layout with diagram float left.
• A double-quote character in an Auction or Play Note would cause the note to be truncated at that point after saving and reloading. Also fixed similar problem with Event, Board, Site and player name fields.

[2011-06-04] Bug fixes in 5.26.2:

• Keyboard and suit-symbol entry was not working correctly for two-column layouts (2 boards per page, 4 boards per page, as many as will fit 2 columns).
• Window was not drawn correctly after Board→Copy.
• Show/Hide boxes were being clipped.

[2011-06-03] Bug fixes in 5.26.1:

• Setting the default page layout to "hand record" (using Format→Layout→Save As Default) was causing problems, including an application crash when quitting.
• After Format→Page Footer, Edit→Undo was not working.

[2011-05-30] Key features and bug fixes in 5.26:

• New command: Format→Page footer. Page footers may contain arbitrary text, page numbers, date, etc.
• New command: Tools→Validate All Boards.
• New command: Board→Rotate Hands: Similar to Board→Rotate, but doesn't alter the dealer, vulnerability or player names.
• Hand record page layout: Taking the title box and last page arbitrary text messages from the Board 1 commentary sections was causing problems with Board→Delete and other things. The arbitrary text  messages are now kept in the file header, separate from any boards. They now must be edited using Format→Hand Record Titles.
• Format→Hand Record Titles: Options to center title box and last page arbitrary text.
• Format→Board Layout: Score Table tab: Additional option to sort by score.
• Board→Copy Partial: Add a checkbox for Makeable Contracts.
• View→Toggle Hand Record Page Layout: Remove the word "Toggle" from the menu command and place a check mark by the command when in hand record page layout.
• HTML: Optional floating board navigation bar (Format→Board Layout: NavBar tab).
• HTML: Whitespace above boards is now set as per the File→Page Layout horizontal gutter size.
• HTML: When using Format→Board Layout: General tab and checking "Use Event text for page headers", we used to show the Event text over the first board only. Now we don't show the Event text at all (except in the hand record title box and optionally in the NavBar).
• Format→Board Layout: HTML tab: New fields: Float Left Width: Diagram and Labels. These can be used to vertically align the left edges of Score Tables in web pages.
• HTML: Some things are rendered differently in Internet Explorer 9. Add a header that requests Internet Explorer 7 compatibility mode for rendering.
• New command line parameters: /copies and /collate for printing multiple copies.
• At installation time, ask only once (at most) about taking over the .pbn file type.
• Help→License: Uninstall button: Options to preserve the license key and other user settings.
• Fix: Tools→Sort All Boards By Number was clearing an existing document-modified flag.
• Fix: In HTML hand records, if the site and event are blank, the date was not centered.
• Fix: HTML: The card table N and S were left-aligned under some external CSS style sheets.
• Fix: When the diagram is float left and both the labels and the West hand are hidden, the commentary text overlaid the East hand.
• Fix: When the diagram is float left but hidden, a blank square appeared in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
• Fix: Update the board number in the dropdown control when hitting Apply in Board→Edit.
• Fix: Board→Rotate was not updating the vulnerability.
• Fix: Tools→Import From ACBLscore: When switching out of hand record page layout, the margins were not being restored.
• Fix: BridgeComposer was generating a non-conforming PBN tag of [Note ""] for blank lines in the auction/play footnotes. These are now accommodated in a way conforming to the PBN standard.
• Help topics: Document the Player Name fields.
• Help topics: Document how to place suit symbols in auction/play footnotes.

[2011-03-27] Key features and bug fixes in 5.25:

• Rename the Tools→Copy All Boards command to Tools→Copy All Boards As HTML Code. This more accurately describes the function of the command, which itself has not changed.
• Board→Edit (and Enter Hands): Move the "Enter New Board" controls from the lower left corner to the lower right corner. This is because the OK button should be the leftmost control at the bottom of a dialog.
• New command: View→Toggle Hand Record Page Layout (Shift+F5), a shortcut for File→Page Layout....
• Restore the previous margins and gutter flags when switching in and out of Hand Record Page Layout.
• Hand Record Titles dialog: Add buttons to enter/edit arbitrary text messages for the title box and last page. Provide a button to restore the last message used.
• Improve the placement of the hand record last page text message on the page.
• Tools→Sort All Boards By Number: (1) Display a message if any boards are missing. (2) Preserve hand record titles.
• Board→Edit: Hide the "Enter New Board" controls when the document is OLE embedded or linked.
• Tools→Split Score Table Sections: (1) Copy double dummy analysis to replicated boards. (2) Sort unplayed boards to the end of the document rather than the beginning.
• Look for hand record titles in the second board only if the first board has the "recap" flag set, that is, it was created by Tools→Import From ACBLscore.
• Board→Copy Partial: Fix enabling/disabling the "Copy" button when the "Labels" box is checked/unchecked.
• Fix a crash when an invalid path follows /pdf on the command line.
• Fix unknown % comment lines in a .pbn file being duplicated, potentially leading to very large file sizes and noticeably slow keyboarding.
• Fix the dropdown control sometimes showing an incorrect board number.
• Board→Correct Spelling: Do not spell-check the player names.
• Balloon tooltips: Fix being non-responsive while the system notification sound is playing.
• Fix the Format→Board Layout Translate tab disappearing.
• Double Dummy Solver: Update to dds.dll 1.1.11.
• Avoid additional dialog boxes when running in /noui mode.
• Provide categories for BridgeComposer entries in the Windows Application Event Log. (Note: When you install BridgeComposer 5.25, existing event log entries issued by a previous version of BridgeComposer may not display correctly in the Windows Event Viewer.)

[2011-02-12] Key features and bug fixes in 5.24:

• Paragraph indent option (Format→Board Layout General tab).
• "Enter New Board" control in Board Edit and Enter Hands dialogs.
• Rename menu command "Board→Copy As HTML" to "Board→Copy As HTML Code" to express function more clearly.
• Board→Copy Partial: Add a "Labels" checkbox.
• Hand Record page layout: Allow arbitrary text additions to the title box and last page. See the help topic "hand record titles" for details.
• Printing: Improve diagnostics regarding clipped text.
• Option to customize the date format in the hand record title box (Format→Board Layout Translate tab).
• Date in the hand record title box: Suppress leading zeros in the day of the month (in the default format).
• PDF: Render pips correctly when Bold Diagram font has been selected.
• Help file: Clarify that suit symbols are entered using consecutive key strokes (rather than simultaneous).
• Fix crash trying to recover a file on a floppy that has been removed.
• Fix incorrect selected text highlighting in Hand Record page layout.
• Fix characters shifting left/right on-screen while typing in Justify mode.
• Fix crash if incorrect Date in .pbn file.
• Fix deleting board 1 hosing the hand record titles.
• Fix Generate Random Boards displaying the new boards improperly when they are inserted rather than appended.

[2010-11-17] Key features and bug fixes in 5.23:

• Hand record titles: Keep the game date as an additional data field. (See Gallery no. 10)
• Optionally display the date in the hand record titles box.
• Keep the date value in the [Date] tag of board 1 (or 2).
• New Date field in the Hand Record Titles dialog.
• Format→Board Layout: General tab: Explicit show/hide of the board labels.
• Format→Board Layout: Card Table tab: Explicit show/hide of the card table.
• OLE Support:
  • Add "Recent Layouts" to the OLE Format→Layout submenu.
  • Fixed: Changing the pip font did not update the window.
  • Layout→Load Default/Load Factory Default: Use the OLE default margins.
• Fixed: Uninstall was sometimes leaving behind the five hard links to the dds.dll file.
• Fixed: Layout→Load (and Undo of same) was not resetting the translation that was in effect.
• Document when the command line interface variable ERRORLEVEL may not get set.

[2010-11-06] Key features and bug fixes in 5.22:

• HTML: Better centering of N and S in the card table.
• HTML: Explicitly left-justify notes, contract, lead, etc. (IE was showing them centered.)
• Fixed: The commentary in some .pbn files created by other programs was not being shown.
• Add "Recent Layout Files" to the Format→Layout submenu.
• Format→Layout→Save: Check that the file being saved to doesn't contain any boards that will get lost.
• Support the "Cards" font for pips.
• Copy unknown % escape lines from the input pbn to the output pbn so that they are not lost.
• Document that DM Pro not computing double-dummy analysis for five- or fewer-card fits is a DM Pro decision, not a Deep Finesse one.
• Fixed: Tools→Generate Random Boards: If you added an auction, you got the message "No dealer tag".
• Create 30-day trial license during install, not at first user run.
• New command line parameter: /random count to generate count random boards.
• PDF: Improve compatibility with 3rd party readers, particularly Mac and Linux.
• PDF: Support shaded scoretables.
• PDF: Creation date did not take daylight savings into account.
• Fixed: Sometimes you would get "Encountered an improper argument" when double-clicking text.

[2010-08-16] Key features and bug fixes in 5.21:

• New Format→Board Layout tab: Translate. Permits reformatting BridgeComposer diagrams and translating into other languages. See sample here.
• File→Page Layout: Margins: New drop-down list of convenient margin settings.
• In hand record page layout, statistics about the deals are now shown (page space permitting).
• Pasting HTML into WordPress and the like often did not look good. So, BridgeComposer HTML code now provides explicit style for <table>, <td> etc. to override the environment CSS.
• New command: Board→Copy As HTML. Permits pasting into a website editor's code view.
• New command line options:
  • /quiet: Suppresses the Tools→Import From ACBLscore message "No TS score data found".
  • /event, /site: Set the labels for the hand record title boxes.
  • /pdf: Writes the current document as a PDF file.
• Hand record page layout: Could not click the show/hide control if it was over a title box.
• Board→Score Table was not hiding empty diagrams when the dealer was not North.
• Formatting commands (Bold, Italic, Underline, etc.) were not working if the selection was created right-to-left.
• Suppress showing tooltips if they would obscure the Help window.
• Fix problems with leading empty lines in commentary sections.
• Fix incorrect default margins for PBN files downloaded and opened using Internet Explorer.
• Renumber the messages issued to the Windows Application event log. This frees up low message numbers for use as message categories in a future release.

[2010-07-02] Key bug fixes in 5.20:

• Fix for card table font size in HTML output.
• Not all the bug fixes listed for 5.19 below actually made it into the release build. They are all now included in 5.20.

[2010-07-01] Key bug fixes in 5.19:

• Allow reading some .dup files that are not strictly conforming to the standard.
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Switch to 1 board per page layout if in hand record page layout.
• Allow Edit→Undo after Format→Hand Record Titles.
• Tools→Generate Random Boards: Disable the "Switch to hand record page layout" checkbox during board generation.
• /noui command line option: Suppress additional message boxes.  Provide additional message box details in the Windows Application log.  Return the default button rather than always "Cancel".
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Treat a doubled-letter section (e.g. MM) like a single-letter section for purposes of reading the .bws file.

[2010-06-08] Key features and bug fixes in 5.18:

• File→Page Layout: As many as will fit (one or two columns): Draw a horizontal gutter line at the bottom of each column (when horizontal gutter lines are enabled).
• Tools→Copy All Boards: Include HTML comment lines showing program version and options.
• Gutter lines too faint: Increase width to 1/300" regardless of printer resolution.
• Tools→Split Score Table Sections: New command to create a separate diagram for each section.
• /split command line parameter: Do the above from the command line.
• Tools→Sort All Boards By Number: Now sorts first by Section tag (if set).
• Format→Board Layout→Score Table: Provide three score sort orders to override the default.
• Wireless data not found dialog: The "Don't show this again" checkbox was not working.
• /noui command line parameter: For running on a server, suppresses most message boxes.

[2010-05-15] Feature in 5.17:

• Read Windows Duplimate (.dlm) files.

[2010-05-07] Bug fixes in 5.16.3:

• Command line interface: Skip the loading of the spell-check wordlists; skip the restoring of the main window position; document that there is never a "save changes" prompt.
• User wordlist folder: Use SHGetFolderPath rather than SHGetSpecialFolderPath; log failures in the system Application log rather than showing a message box.

[2010-05-05] Bug fixes in 5.16.2:

• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Pick section letter correctly from Howell movement .txt file.
• Repair "Help" button on View→Next To Play message box (broken in 5.15.3).

[2010-04-30] Key feature in 5.16.1:

• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Accept opening lead data from .bws file in either correct order (suit, rank) or reverse order (rank, suit).

[2010-04-27] Key features and bug fixes in 5.16:

• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Collect opening lead data from the wireless device database (Bridgemate or BridgePad), when present.
• Board→Score Table:
  • Allow manual entry of opening lead data.
  • Sort by clicking on pair number column was not working for multiple-section games.
  • Restore correct sort order on closing, for a multiple-section game.
• Score Tables: Display a "Lead" column, if opening lead data is present.
• Allow manual entry of Contract, Declarer and Lead data either before or after doing the Tools→Import From ACBLscore.  IMPORTANT: Due to the changes required for this feature, users of Import From ACBLscore should be sure to see the updated help topic section "Repeating An Import" near the bottom of the help topic "Import From ACBLscore command".
• New command, Tools→Remove Recap And All Score Tables, to facilitate repeating an Import in some cases.
• Board→Validate: Additional checks: "Score" tag, "ScoreTable" tag.  Scores are numerically validated, taking into account the Contract, Vulnerability and Result tags, if they are filled in.
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore:
  • The "board number" of the inserted recap/leader board listing is now "Recap".
  • Alert if wireless data not found: "file not found" now issues an information-level message; other errors such as "access denied" now issue an error-level message.
  • Handle .bws contract value of "N P".
• Text double-click and drag to the left was not working right.
• Double Dummy Solver: Update to DDS.dll 1.1.10.
• Disable certain additional commands when there are zero boards in the document.

[2010-04-12] Bug fixes in 5.15.3:

• Fixes for running as a web server subprocess:
• Avoid putting up dialogs and alert boxes (they don't appear anywhere and can't be dismissed, and thus the program is hung waiting).
• Log to the Windows Application Log:
  • If opening the document file fails.
  • If opening an Import From ACBLscore .txt file fails.
  • If an Import From ACBLscore .bws file is not found or cannot be accessed.
  • If a message box was suppressed.
  • If the software license has expired.

[2010-04-06] Bug fixes in 5.15.2:

• Copy Partial: Diagram: Was empty or single-suited.
• Copy Partial: Auction but not Diagram: Notes were squished at left.
• Spelling check squiggly line: Was mispositioned for Auction or Play Notes line two and following.
• Import From ACBLscore: Contracts incorrect or missing for last board (multiple sections with no hand records).

[2010-04-03] Bug fix in 5.15.1:

• Sometimes, while backspacing using the keyboard, an error message box would pop up.

[2010-03-15] Key features and bug fixes in 5.15:

• File→Page Layout: New "Hand record" layout (18 boards per page).
• New commands: Format→Hand Record Font; Format→Hand Record Titles.
• Format→Fixed-pitch font: Default to 10-point rather than 12-point (consistent with popular web browsers).
• Printing: Display a diagnostic if a page header will not print properly.
• File→Page Layout: Check that margins are not too small for selected printer and paper size.
• HTML: Improve page title: Use board 2 Event if present; if not, use filename as before but remove file extension.
• Add "% EXPORT" to our PBN files (improves compatibility with other bridge programs).
• New command line option: /save filename.pbn
• .lin file: Fix line break within a note being shown as a space.
• OLE In-place editing: Fix F10 key not working.
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore:
  • Hide unplayed boards.
  • Pick up section letter properly from "List" report.
  • Help: Document repeating an import.
• Fix paste into email or Word getting a little yellow box at the bottom.
• Fix writing recovery file promptly after GIB finishes (or is stopped).
• Fix updating cursor and tooltips after a scroll via the mouse wheel.

[2010-02-03] Bug fixes in 5.14.1:

• Tools→Import From ACBLscore: Two-section game: No scores for boards played in second section only.
• Edit→Complete Word: Completion via the keyboard was broken in 5.14.

[2010-01-29] Key features and bug fixes in 5.14:

• Commentary text selection (using keyboard and/or mouse) has been reworked:
• Additional standard keyboard combinations that are used to extend the selection are now supported: Shift + left/right/up/down arrow; Shift + Home; Shift + End.  Also, you can extend the selection to include the next or previous word using Shift + Ctrl + right/left arrow.
• Selections are now directional (left-to-right and top-to-bottom, or right-to-left and bottom-to-top).  When you extend the selection using the shift key, it is extended from the previous stopping point (left-top or bottom-right).
• When you select a word by double-clicking or using Ctrl + left or right arrow, the space or spaces following the word (if any) are included in the selection.  This may facilitate cut and paste, and is the way many other word processing applications work.
• When selecting words, a "word" is now a sequence of alphanumerics bounded by one or more spaces or a non-alphanumeric (such as punctuation), or  a sequence of non-alphanumerics bounded by one or more spaces or an alphanumeric.
• Shift + double-click now selects the whole word you double-clicked and extends the selection to it.
• The version 5.9 feature "Format→Board Layout: Card Table tab, Font button" had the side effect that the card table NESW lettering was no longer automatically resized when you used Format→Diagram Font.  We have added a new Card Table tab checkbox, "Use specified font size".  When unchecked, the card table font size automatically resizes to the Diagram font size minus one (as was done prior to 5.9, except now your specified font face and style are used); when checked, whatever size you select using the Font button is used and automatic resizing does not occur.
• Fix: Sometimes Undo was unavailable after Format→Board Layout.
• HTML: Optional links ("Valid XHTML" and "Prepared using BridgeComposer") are now aligned at the left rather than the right (where the user sometimes had to scroll to see them).
• Tools→Import From ACBLscore:
• Edit→Options: Advanced tab: A new "Do Not Set Document Modified Flag" option. You can use this to avoid getting "Save changes?" prompts after doing an Import and File→Save As HTML.
• Fix: The "Contract" column was missing on boards played in only one section of a multiple-section game.
• The semantics of "partial deal" are changed slightly.  Previously, when the dealer had less than 13 cards, it was a "partial deal".  The problem was that this included new boards in which everyone had zero cards.  Now, a "partial deal" is a board containing at least one but less than 52 cards.  This can affect the display of board labels (board number, dealer, and vulnerability) and the operation of the "Set Default Board Number" button in the Board Edit dialog.  See Help→Help Topics for more information (look in the index for "partial deals").
• Edit→Complete Word: Fix: When the document was scrolled down, the pop-up window was positioned incorrectly (and even may have been off-screen!).  Also, holding the Ctrl key will now make the pop-up window translucent.

[2009-11-30] Bug fix in 5.12.1:

• In 5.12, the font commands would say "no fonts installed" in Windows XP.

[2009-11-29] Key changes in 5.12:

• Additional Wine support:
• Font dialog: Scale font sizes correctly
• Font dialog: Disable the Apply button until Wine supports the required interface
• Display In Web Browser, etc: Open web pages using "winebrowser"

[2009-11-12] Key features and bug fixes in 5.11:

• Import From ACBLscore: If an imported board does not exist, create an empty board to hold the Score Table. This allows the feature to be used even when hand records do not exist.
• Score Tables: Option to sort by North/South pair number (rather than North/South score).
• Fix a few things to allow installing and running under Wine.  (Wine runs Windows applications on Linux, BSD, Solaris and Mac OS X). Note: There are still some program features that do not work correctly when running under Wine.

[2009-10-20] Bug fixes in 5.10.1:

• Import From ACBLscore: Repair import of single-section games.

[2009-10-20] Key features and bug fixes in 5.10:

• HTML options are now kept with each individual document.  HTML options tab has been moved from Edit→Options to Format→Board Layout.  (Use Format→Layout submenu to save document options as application defaults.)
• Ability to Open Duplimate (.dup) file format.
• Import From ACBLscore: Improved handling of multiple-section games.
• New command: Board→Score Table: Allows manual entry of Contract and Declarer data into an existing Score Table.
• Blank the "BC" status bar area on startup.
• New /sort command line option.
• Window size on first startup after installation is now based on the printer paper size.  (Subsequent startups continue to restore the window size to what it was when you last quit.)
• Updated help file Table of Contents.
• Hide tooltips when opening a program dialog panel.
• Fix lines beginning with 80 or more spaces being shifted left.
• Find Dialog: "What's this?" help was not working in Vista+.

[2009-09-23] Key features and bug fixes in 5.9:

• Edit→Options: New tab Colors to adjust user interface colors.
• Edit→Options: Score Table tab moved to Format→Board Layout, since Score Table formatting options are now kept with each document.
• The option "Alert If Wireless Data Not Found" has been moved from the Score Table options to the Edit→Options Advanced tab.
• Format→Board Layout: two new tabs: Pip Colors and Card Table to adjust colors and font used in hand diagrams.
• New command: Edit→Complete Word to auto-finish a word you're typing.
• New option: Justify Commentary Text on the Format→Board Layout General tab.
• New command: Format→Fixed-Pitch Font.
• New commands: Format→Layout→Save As Default, Save, Save As..., Load Default, Load Factory Default, Load...  These allow you to maintain different settings files for different tasks. The former "Save Current Settings As Default" button in the Edit→Options General tab has been removed.
• New command line interface option: "/layout file" to load a layout settings file.
• Paper size (as set by File→Print Setup) is now one of the layout settings. Among other things, when you Undo a Print Setup, the paper size is restored.
• Tools menu: Show the commands in alphabetical order.
• Fix keyboard entry into a commentary section that has the Preformatted flag set.
• After clicking Undo or Redo on the toolbar, pop up a new tooltip (showing what the next click will do).
• Fix GIB play ending early if the auction was incomplete and the play section was non-empty.
• New command: Tools→GIB Bid and Play In Commentary.
• While GIB is running, continue to show tooltips for hand evaluation and call interpretation.
• Show both the Result/Score line and the Score Table, if both are present.
• Import From ACBLscore: Clarify that it is a .txt file report that is imported.
• Import From ACBLscore: Diagnose problems with the text file before attempting to open the wireless database file.
• Command line interface: Don't show any windows unless necessary.
• Fix vertical gutter line overdrawing the page header text.
• Fixes for the Windows Search filter.
• Fix selecting the final commentary section of the last board when you click below the board.
• Clarify messages 501 (incorrect opening leader) and 504 (incorrect play token).
• Enable use of Windows security options: Data Execution Prevention and Address Space Layout Randomization.
• Avoid reading the registry excessively while idle.

[2009-07-07] Bug fixes in 5.8:

• Undo Autofill: Restores deal to contents just before the Autofill (as in version 5.4 and previous); Undo Autofill and Undo Clear no longer do an automatic Apply.
• Format→Font commands: Avoid creating redundant Undo entries.
• Import From ACBLscore: Import from wireless data: Use data from the correct table section only.
• Fix a couple of dialogs hogging the CPU while waiting for input.
• HTML: Fix not showing the Results field (other than ScoreTable results).  (Broken in 5.6.)
• Check license key validity when running in command-line mode.
• Board→Double Dummy: Fix the error message when the DDS DLL cannot be loaded.
• Board→Correct Spelling: Ensure the screen layout data is current so that selections are correct.

[2009-06-20] Key features in 5.7:

• Windows Search: Make card holdings findable.
• Double Dummy: Document that it may show more makeable contracts than Deep Finesse Dealmaster Pro.
• ScoreTable: Option to show ScoreTable as in versions 5.4-5.5 (fixed-pitch font, no border or shading).
• New command: Tools→Copy All Boards for pasting HTML code into web design apps.
• HTML: Place JavaScript code at bottom of page for faster page display during loading, tweak JavaScript code.
• HTML: Put comments in <body> giving BridgeComposer version and options in use.
• Import From ACBLscore: Sort equal scores by N-S pair number.

[2009-05-19] Key features and bug fixes in 5.6:

• Add code to display the "ScoreTable", a standard structure in PBN files that records board results when played at multiple tables (as in a duplicate bridge session).
• New Edit→Options tab for ScoreTable.
• Enhance Tools→Import From ACBLscore:
• Put scores in a ScoreTable rather than in commentary.
• Sort scores by descending North-South matchpoints.
• Import contract and declarer from the wireless scoring database (Bridgemate, BridgePad), if present.
• New command line parameters to support using BridgeComposer in a script (.bat file, etc.).
• Always use a monospace font (Courier New) to display commentary with the "Preformatted" flag set. This allows you to set the commentary font as desired for non-preformatted text.
• Undo/Redo: In the toolbar tooltip, show what will be undone or redone (like the menu has always done).
• Suppress the splash screen when starting up as an OLE server.

[2009-05-07] Key features and bug fixes in 5.5:

• Board→New: Show a warning message if you enter a board number that has been entered previously in the same document.
• Windows Search "IFilter": Allows Windows Search to find BridgeComposer files containing specific words in the text. Support for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.
• Board→Validate enhancements:
• A new Help topic page for each board validation message.
• You can double-click board validation messages to open the relevant Help topic.
• A new button on the validation report dialog to open the Board→Edit dialog.
• HTML: Popup windows to show hand evaluation and auction call comments on web pages (similar to the BridgeComposer application window tooltips). Note: Viewers have to allow JavaScript for the popups to work. Click here for a sample.
• Completed the implementation of Format→Board Layout→Float Left. Text, if long enough, will now wrap under the diagram. See at right.
• Board→Double Dummy: Now computes each strain in a separate thread. Up to 2x faster on a Core 2 Duo; up to 4x faster on a Core 2 Quad.
• New command: Tools→Double Dummy All Boards.
• New command: File→Validate HTML. Generates HTML code and submits it to the W3C validator. Results show in your web browser. (This does what the Edit→Options "Valid XHTML" link has always done, but it works without having to upload the HTML file to a server first.)
• HTML: Use the W3C logo image for the "Valid XHTML" link.
• HTML: Improved comments in the generated code.
• Recognize PBN standard "supplemental sections".  Import double dummy analysis from OptimumResultTable if present.  Record DDA (if it has been calculated and saved) in an OptimumResultTable when saving.
• Fix OLE in-place editing to update the screen when text changes.
• Board→New, Board→Paste, Tools→Generate Random Boards: Fix to more reliably avoid leaving an empty board at the beginning of the document.
• Edit→Find: Fix to be sure the found board is rendered correctly.
• Clean up the AppData folders during uninstall.
• PBN: Omit the extra newline in .pbn files at the start of each comment section.
• Fix sometimes showing the wait cursor while idle.
• Correctly handle & and < in auction call comments (screen and HTML).
• Document that the install option "Create Quick-Launch Toolbar Shortcut" won't work on Windows 7.  (It's a Win7 feature!)

[2009-04-06] Bug fixes in 5.4.1:

• Import From ACBLscore: Process a recap or leader board listing at the beginning of the text file.
• HTML Options: Boilerplate: Browse button: open to correct directory; filter both .htm and .html (by default).
• Document that user HTML boilerplate may cause validation errors when using the "Valid XHTML" link.
• If the user HTML boilerplate has a <title> tag, omit generating another one.
• Fix loading the user-specified default layout making a new document appear to be modified.
• Fix clearing/setting the "float left" flag when parsing files created by older versions of BC and for Board Paste.
• GIB Play: Record score in PBN standard format ("NS" rather than "N/S").

[2009-04-02] Key features and bug fixes in 5.4:

• A new "diagram position" option (in addition to Justify Left and Center) in Format→Board Layout: Float Left.  The commentary text will appear to the right of the hand diagram, auction, etc.
• New command: Tools→Import From ACBLscore to add "TS" score data to boards. (Click here for sample.)
• "Preformatted" flag for Commentary sections to suppress word wrapping (and to preserve white space in HTML output).
• Extend Edit→Options, General tab, "Save Current Settings As Default", to include all layout settings.
• HTML: Properly render < and & characters that appear in commentary text.
• HTML: Interpret the "Use Event text for page headers" flag so as to suppress Event text for all boards after the first.
• HTML: Specify that browsers should not wrap diagram lines when window is narrow.
• HTML: Provide for user-specified boilerplate code (Edit→Options, HTML tab).
• View→Next To Play: Show message box in case of difficulties.
• Hand evaluation tooltips: Align North tooltip with top of hand, if space permits.
• Auction call comments: Keep tooltips on-screen by shifting left if necessary.
• Spelling wordlist addition: "slammish".
• Help file updates.

[2009-03-17] Key features and bug fixes in 5.3:

• New command: Board→Exchange Hands
• Make the description of BCUpdate.exe (which downloads program updates) more explicit: may help in identifying the program to firewalls.
• Fix toolbar tooltips showing obscure accelerator keys: always show the same accelerator as the menu command.
• Show the GIB update alert for additional back-level versions of GIB.
• Fix clearing the makeable contracts unnecessarily when the dealer is changed.
• Fix HTML showing the auction column headers sometimes when there was no auction present.
• Fix updating the screen when adding empty lines to non-final commentary (broken in 5.2).

[2009-03-05] Key features and bug fixes in 5.2:

• Improved WYSIWYG: The screen more accurately depicts what will be printed.
• Extend spelling checking and correcting to the Event and Notes fields.
• Notes (Auction and Play section footnotes) validation:
• Check for one-to-one correspondence between note references and note definitions.
• Check that note numbers are in sequence.
• Check the syntax of note references (between = signs).
• Alert the user to problems sooner if possible.
• Edit→Find: Search the Notes fields.
• Tools→Generate Random Boards: A new menu command.
• Insert menu: Show keyboard equivalents in the standard position.
• Help→Check For Updates: Provide a link to the What's New page (this page).
• Help→License: Provide an Uninstall button.
• Help: Split the Board→Edit help page into separate sub-pages for each field.
• Provide an alert if GIB should be updated (6.2.0 is recommended for Windows Vista).
• Use a more robust pseudo-random number generator for Autofill and random deals.
• The wrong font was sometimes being used for the Event field.
• The Makeable Contracts may have been word-wrapped incorrectly.
• The full-screen display would flicker when going to the next board (version 5.0 to 5.1.3).
• After starting a new session, Find→Next (F3) would not work right away.
• File→Save As PDF: Certain diagram font sizes could lead to "Font not supported for PDF".

[2009-02-04] Bug fixes in 5.1.3:

• When installing a new version, automatically reset the menu and tool bar to their default states.  This ensures that enhancements to the menu and toolbar are visible.
• Minor help file updates.
• Insert menu: show keyboard equivalents for suit symbols.
• Fixes for Notes (Auction and Play section footnotes):
• Allow blank lines (for vertical spacing).
• Diagnose incorrect format and order (in Board Validate command).
• Use all the available horizontal space when laying out the text.
• HTML: Fix using ordered-list markup when both notes sections are present.

[2009-01-19] Demos/Tutorials

• This website now contains a Demos/Tutorials page showing BridgeComposer in action.  The first demo/tutorial is now online.

[2009-01-11] Bug fixes in 5.1.2:

• Revised Sort ordering
• Fix BridgeComposer not restarting itself after a program update
• Fix temp file being created that never got deleted

[2009-01-10] Key features and bug fixes in 5.1.1:

• Not all of the help topic updates intended for 5.1 were included; now they are.
• Renamed the GIB menu to the Tools menu.
• Added a new command: Tools→Sort All Boards By Number.

[2009-01-09] Key features and bug fixes in 5.1:

• Automatic work saver: If a crash occurs, you can recover your work.
• Self-updater: If a BridgeComposer update is available, one click starts the download & install sequence.
• Board Edit dialog: Don't declare an error if all hands are empty.
• Board Edit dialog: Define shortcut keys for some fields and buttons that were lacking them.
• Board→New in a fresh new file: Just edit the existing empty board rather than creating a new board and leaving the empty board lying around at the start of the file.
• Auto-scroll: When a different board is selected, version 5.0 implemented an automatic scroll to the top of the newly selected board.  Version 5.1 includes several improvements to this feature.
• Copy Partial: Handle "\n" (new line) in Event field properly.
• Copy Partial: Do not copy contract & declarer unless the auction is selected.
• Full Screen: Fix double-dummy analysis being cut off.
• GIB→Bid And Play: Fix incorrect hand outlining (single suit vs. whole hand); fix an intermittent crash.
• In an update install, preserve the existing user preference for automatic update checks, irrespective of what is selected on the install options panel (because install cannot currently inspect and display the existing user preferences).
• "Automatically check website for program updates" checkbox is now on the Check For Updates dialog (in addition to Edit→Options).
• Format→Board Layout: Space below Event text: do not show the error prompt if the field is blanked.
• Fix crash when started with a non-existent file on the command line.
• Add "Visit website" link on the Help→About box.
• When a board shows the North hand only (the other three hidden), suppress the NESW square.  (This restores existing behavior that was accidentally disabled in version 5.0.)
• Help topic updates for Board→Copy, Play section formatting, page headers, OLE support.

[2008-12-13] Bug fix in 5.0.1:

• Fix crash using new Enter Hands dialog when fourth hand has a void.

[2008-11-27] Key features in 5.0:

• License key check: BridgeComposer will now remind you to purchase (or uninstall) after the 30-day free trial is up.  Entering a license key will avoid these reminders.  Previous purchasers (and other authorized users) may obtain a license key at no additional charge by sending email to support@bridgecomposer.com.
• Modernized menu and toolbar.
• Undo, Redo and Print Preview on the toolbar.
• Check for updates online.
• Page headers.
• Enter Hands dialog to fill hands using point-and-click.

[2008-09-27] Key features and bug fixes in 4.4:

• OLE support (for placing BridgeComposer boards into other applications such as MS Word) was seriously broken, probably since version 4.0, and is now repaired.
• A new Board→Copy Partial command is implemented.  Should help with OLE and some other things.
• Pasting as HTML into MS Word is fixed.
• Print Preview: fix suit symbol in line of text shifting baseline up.
• Fix text selection highlight crossing into second column of a two-column page layout.
• Add contract and tricks won by each side to the board validation report (for information only).
• Fix spelling check sometimes not being performed at the correct time.
• Fix GIB→Bid and Play: first hand to play did not show optimum plays.
• Provide references for hand evaluation calculations.
• View→Next To Play: make the gray color of cards already played easier to distinguish.
• 64-bit OS: Look for GIB in "Program Files (x86)" folder.
• Document the handling of question marks and other punctuation.
• Correct full-screen display of several hand types.
• 4 boards per page: allow text to run into the gutters without clipping unnecessarily.
• Overrunning the margins: provide improved diagnostics and specialized help.
• Updated to Double Dummy Solver DLL 1.1.9 by Bo Haglund.  Reportedly another 10-15% faster.

[2008-03-18] Key features in 4.3:

• Updated to Double Dummy Solver DLL 1.1.8 by Bo Haglund.  Reportedly 10-15% faster.
• Slightly faster screen drawing due to caching font character widths.

[2008-03-02] Key features in 4.2:

• Now includes the Double Dummy Solver DLL 1.1.7 by Bo Haglund. This permits calculating the "makeable contracts" for boards without the need to purchase any additional software. The Double Dummy command has been moved from the GIB menu to the Board menu.
• View Next To Play mode now shows "optimum plays" (as calculated by the double-dummy solver) in green.
• XHTML compatibility extended to commentary text markup (bold, italic and underline).

[2008-02-14] Dealer (on the Bonus Software page) has been upgraded to version 2.0:

• Dealer now includes the Double Dummy Solver DLL by Bo Haglund. This permits calculating the "makeable contracts" for boards without the need to purchase any additional software.
• Dealer "makeable contracts" may now be displayed in text form (the older grid form is still available as an option).
• Dealer board numbers are rendered in a large font size.

[2008-02-09] Bug fixes in 4.1.1:

• Play column headers sometimes appeared when there was no play section
• Card drag and drop was broken in 4.1 release
• View Next To Play dimmed all cards when declarer was not known

[2008-01-16] Key features and fixes in 4.1:

• When mouse is over a hand, a new tooltip gives hand evaluation
• When entering hands, the fourth hand auto-autofills
• File→Save As HTML:
  • Now includes font selections (but as with all web pages, rendering may vary depending on a particular viewer's browser and installed fonts)
  • Greater control over HTML generation (new HTML tab in Edit→Options)
  • HTML is now valid XHTML code
• Double Dummy: Result now saved, and "makeable contracts" displayed with the board
• Fixes for reading BridgeBase files (.lin files)
• Fix minor problems with Insert→Character
• Installer now runs as Admin (for Windows Vista UAC)

[2007-10-28] Key features and fixes in 4.0:

• Save As PDF command to create Adobe Portable Document Format files
• Insert Character command to easily access all characters and symbols in the current font
• Allow ? (in addition to x) as a spot-card place-holder in diagrams
• Splash screen displayed during startup
• Moved Clear Play and Clear Auction and Play commands from GIB menu to Board menu
• Fixed full-screen sometimes showing very small text
• Fixed minor Find command highlighting issues
• Fixed issue with OLE linked documents
• Install options for Desktop and Quick Launch Toolbar shortcuts
• UNICODE character set support
• Windows 98/ME/2000 are not supported in version 4.0 or later (but version 3.8.3 is still available)

[2007-08-25] Key feature added in 3.8.3:

• A new advanced option regarding Save As HTML: Render suit symbols as UTF-8.  This additional encoding option may improve compatibility with some publishing software.

Bug fixes in 3.8.2:

• The show/hide controls (+/- boxes in the margin) were not always shown correctly
• In the play section, trumps were not always recognized as winners when appropriate
• The program might start up as a tiny window in the upper-left of the screen
• Spelling: add "redoubler", "redoubler's"
• Show the "wait" cursor while the system is preparing the first screen of a print preview
• Undo of a spelling "Add" could cause a crash
• In printing a subrange of pages, the specified "To" page was not honored by the system
• Improve wording in the helpfile Introduction page

[2006-04-12] Key features added in 3.8:

• Improved multiple-board-per-page support, including:
• Multiple board screen display
• Option for "as many as will fit", one or two columns
• Gutter controls
• Conformance with Richard Pavlicek's Bridge Writing Style Guide, including:
  • Color board area (NESW table)
  • Bid and card spacing
  • Alternate play section formatting
  • Superscripts for footnotes
• Ability to read Bridge Base .lin files
• Improved web page formatting
• Edit→Find command to search files for text strings
• Card combination diagrams
• "File Modified" flag in status bar
• Consolidation of options into new File→Page Layout and Format→Board Layout dialogs

[2005-12-07] Key features added in 3.7:

• Improved formatting for:
  • Full-screen
  • Hidden hands
  • Labels (Board, Dealer, Vul, Contract, Lead)
  • Auction (West calls appear at left, underneath West cards)
• File→Display in Web Browser menu command
• Paste and drag/drop from Windows Character Map (for accented letters in text)

[2005-07-04] Key features added in 3.6:

• Full-screen display mode
• Paste bridge hands into email
• Automatic hand generation by HCP and distribution
• HTML formatting improvements
• Fixed problem with opening files saved on a CD-ROM
• OLE support (beta test)
• Compatibility note: When started (other than by opening an existing document), previous versions of BridgeComposer displayed an empty gray workspace. Beginning with version 3.6, an empty bridge deal (four hands with four voids each) is displayed instead.

DISCLAIMER: Software from this site is provided "as is". In no event shall the author be liable to you or any third party for any damages of any kind arising out of or relating to the software or the use thereof.