This file is the original description of the Tk port by Tim Baker. It is now fairly out of date.

Using The Tk Port Interface

This file is meant to be a very quick summary of the major features of the interface. Make sure you read "The Mouse" section at least.

Game Windows

Note: Currently the game recognizes two screen sizes: (1) width greater or equal to 800, and (2) anything less than 800. Some of the windows support dynamic resizing and some don't. If you want to move the windows around, be sure to choose the "Save Window Positions" option from the "Window" menu.

Note: In general, clicking the close box on a window has the same effect as typing Escape. Windows that shouldn't be closed in this way just beep at you.

Message Window

The Message Window displays messages to you. You can click the Message Window once to display the previous message. Double-click it to see a list of previous messages. If the "-more-" prompt is displayed then clicking clears the prompt.
Note: The Message Window is used throughout the game. You should ensure that it does not become obscurred or you may get confused.

Main Window

The Main Window displays the cave, status messages, the Monster Health Bar, player depth, and an information line. Click the depth display to toggle the "depth_in_feet" option. The "Map (M)" command displays a small-scale map in the Main Window, with scroll bars. Pointing to a location in the dungeon map shows what is at that location, displaying the surrounding grids in the Micro Map Window. Click the dungeon map to hide it again. Right-Click the dungeon map to bring up a popup menu that allows you to change the map's scale. Click-drag to scroll the map. Click the "C" in the status bar to recenter the display at the character location.

Micro Map Window

The Micro Map Window displays a miniature version of the cave. Pointing to a location displays (in the Main Window) what is at that location, and displays a description of the location, as is done in the Main Window. Click the Micro Map Window to display the full cave map. Right-Click the Micro Map Window to bring up a popup menu of resolutions. Click-drag to scroll the map. Shift-click to fix the Main Window at the location.

Inventory Window

The Inventory Window displays the inventory and equipment your character has. When the game is asking you to choose an item, simply double-click the item to choose it. When an item is highlighted, the item memory is displayed in the Recall Window. Right-click on an item to pop up a menu of commands. To change some options related to the display of the inventory, click the down-arrow button in the toolbar.

Recall Window

The Recall Window displays your character's memory about artifacts, monsters and objects. When the game is asking the user to select something, such as an inventory item or spell, a list of choices is displayed. When the pointer is over a row it is highlighted: click the item or spell to choose it. When the pointer is inside the Recall Window, the window automatically grows to reveal all of its content. When the pointer leaves the Recall Window, the window shrinks back to its regular size. When the Choice Window is visible, then all choices are displayed in the Choice Window instead.

Misc Window

The Misc Window displays a few of the more important attributes for your character. Click the character icon to see the Character Window. The 9 buttons at the top of the Misc Window give you quick access to various functions. Click the "EXP" label to toggle between total experience points and points needed to advance. Click the "AC" label to toggle between total armor class and base,bonus. Right-click to pop up a menu to choose Text Labels versus graphical labels.

Character Window

The Character Window displays information about the character. Menu commands allow the user to change the character icon, character name, and to write a character record to a text file.

Character Window (Flags)

The Flags page of the Character Window displays a table of properties affecting the current character. Along the top of the table is one icon for each equipment item and one icon for the character. Each row in the table displays, under each icon, what properties the item gives the character, or what the character's intrinsic abilities are. Pointing to one of the icons displays a description of the item, (or the character's name, race and class) and the item memory is displayed in the Recall Window.

Book Window

The Book Window shows the spells in a given book. You can double-click a spell to select it when prompted.

Store Window

When the game is waiting for a command, double-click an item to initiate a purchase (or take an item in the Home). Or, when the game is asking you to select an item to purchase double-click one. When an item is selected the memory is displayed in the Recall Window, and the quantity field is reset to 1. To buy a number of items, type in a number type ENTER.

Options Window

The options window allows you to change the multitude of options available to you. There are a couple of slider controls, but most of the options are boolean on/off options that you can toggle by clicking the checkbox beside the description of each option. Options from the non-Tk version of the game can be displayed, but these options have no effect.

Knowledge Window

The "Knowledge (~)" command brings up this window. On the left is a list of groups of related monsters. Click a group to see a list of monsters in that group. Click a monster on the right and the monster memory is displayed. The menu allows you to see groups of artifacts as well. You can search for known artifacts and monsters by name.

Macros Window

The Macros Window displays a list of all currently defined macros. On the left is a string representing the trigger keypress. On the right is the associated action for the macro.

Type 'n' to create a new macro. Point the mouse over the Trigger Entry and then type a new keypress to invoke the selected macro.

Type an encoded action into the Action Entry and hit Enter. Keep in mind the following representations: 

    \e -- Escape
    \s -- Space
    \\ -- Backslash
Macros are not the same as in the original Angband. They use X Windows symbols for keypress names, which are human-readable. This means most of your old macros won't work with AngbandTk.

You can read an existing preferences file by choosing "Load Pref File" from the menu. You can append all the currently defined macros to a new or exising file by choosing "Dump Macros" from the menu. Even though the system asks you to confirm replacing an existing file, the macros are actually appended to the file you choose.

Keymap Window

The Keymap Window displays a keyboard and shows you which keys have keymaps assigned to them. A keymap is just like a macro only it applies to "normal" keys. Click the left mouse button in the displayed keyboard to select a key, enter an action in the Action entry, and hit Enter. Entering an empty string deletes the keymap for the selected key.

Progress Window

The Progress Window displays the character's hitpoints (HP), spell points (also called mana) (SP), and food level (FD). The appearance of the window can be changed using a context menu (right-click to access the menu).

Choice Window

The Choice Window displays a list of choices whenever the game is asking the user to select something, such as an inventory item or spell. A single click chooses the item or spell. When the game is not asking the user to choose, the character's inventory or equipment is displayed (type / to toggle). A context menu of actions is available by right-clicking in a row. The default action is invoked by double-clicking an item. The Choice Window can be closed by clicking the close box in the title bar, and can be shown by selecting the menu entry in the Window Menu. When the Choice Window is not visible, then all choices are displayed in the Recall Window instead. Clicking outside any item pops up a menu of options which control the appearance and behaviour of the Choice Window.

Messages Window

The Messages Window displays the most recent messages. The Messages Window can be closed by clicking the close box in the title bar, and can be displayed by selecting the menu entry in the Window Menu.

The Mouse

These notes apply to mouse events in the Main Window.

1. Click the left mouse button (ButtonPress-1) to move the character one step in the corresponding direction. Pressing and holding the left mouse button moves the character continuously, but is not the same as running (see below).

Note: No game turns are consumed by moving the character into a wall or on-the-spot, except for the initial mouse click.
2. Click the right mouse button (ButtonPress-3) to make the character run in the corresponding direction. Alternatively, shift-click the left mouse button (Shift-ButtonPress-1) to make the character run.

3. Control-click the left mouse button (Control-ButtonPress-1) to invoke the "Alter (+)" command. See "commands.txt" for what that does.

4. Simply pointing the cursor at a given cave location provides a description of what is seen, similar to the "Look (l)" command. When the cursor is over a visible monster, the monster health bar is shown and monster memory is displayed.

5. When the game is asking you to choose an inventory item, press the right mouse button (ButtonPress-3) and a popup menu pops up. Select an item from this menu to choose it; otherwise type ESACPE twice. You can also choose spells to cast and study in this way.

6. When the game is asking you to enter a direction (as when firing an arrow or aiming a wand), simply click the mouse in the desired direction. Or right-click to target the monster or location under the mouse.

7. When the "-more-" prompt is displayed, and the "quick_messages" option is set, click the mouse to skip past the message. It also works if the mouse button is held down (as when fighting a monster).

8. When a repeated command is in progress (running, resting, tunneling, etc), simply click the left mouse button (ButtonPress-1) to interrupt the command.

9. Control-right-click (Control-ButtonPress-3) pops up a cascading menu of items in the character's inventory. Seleting an item uses the item.

10. When the game is asking you to target a monster or location, left-click to set the target. If a targettable monster is at the location, it is targetted. Otherwise the location is targetted.

Performance Issues

From a fast, portable, terminal-based game to a single-system multimedia monster, the performance of AngbandTk may leave you wanting more. Here are some tips for a faster gaming experience.