scidCommunity Help: PGN window

# The PGN window

scidCommunity's PGN window displays the contents of the current game in standard PGN representation. In the move text, comments appear {in braces} and variations appear (in parentheses).

### PGN format

PGN (Portable Game Notation) is a common standard for transferring chess games between computer programs. A PGN game consists of two sections. The first is the header, which contains tags such as [White "Kasparov, Gary"] and [Result "1/2-1/2"].

The second section contains the actual moves of the game, in standard algebraic notation (SAN) along with any variations, annotation symbols and comments.

### Actions in the PGN window

You can use the PGN window to navigate around the game: clicking the left mouse button on a move will jump to that move. Click the left mouse button on a comment will edit it. The arrow keys and (v and z keys for entering or leaving variations) work for game navigation just as in the main window.

### PGN display options

The PGN window menus contain options that affect the PGN window display. scidCommunity can display the game in color or plain text -- see the [Display] menu in the PGN window. The color display is easier to read, and allows you to select moves and comments using the mouse, but it is much slower to update. For very long games, you may want to select plain text display.

You can also alter the format of comments and variations, choosing to display them indented on a separate line for greater visibility.

The PGN display options, and the size of the PGN window, are saved to the options file whenever you Save Options from the [Options] menu of the main window.

(Updated: scidCommunity, February 2026)