ChessFlash

Update 4/17/2009: Before trying the instructions below, try our new simplified standalone publisher at http://chessflash.com/chessflash.html. It has the power of the previous publishing methods but is easier to use.

This topic describes how to use the new Basic Publishing Dialog and how to publish your chess games here or to your Blogger site or to an external web site using the ChessFlash PGN Viewer.

To get started you will need two things:

1. An account here, and,
2. A chess game stored on your computer as a PGN file.

The PGN file should have just one game in it. It is a very good idea to name your PGN files with names that are meaningful for both you and your readers. If you do not know what PGN is please see the FAQ.

The process we will follow to publish our first game with the ChessFlash Viewer is:

1. First, read this entire post,
2. Start a blog entry here at ChessFlash,
3. Upload your PGN file,
4. Select other publishing options,
5. View the result,
6. Copy the code to Blogger.

First, read this entire post

Then go through the steps to publish your first game.

Start a blog entry here

In the Navigation panel under your name click Create Content and then Blog Entry. This takes you to the ChessFlash Create Blog Entry screen. This page gives you access to the tools you will need to publish games here or at your own external blog or website.

You may want to browse our Gallery to get an idea of the effect of different publishing options.

The first icon under Body: is the ChessFlash icon. Click it and you get the Insert ChessFlash PGN Viewer dialog:

Upload your PGN file

Click the Browse button and you will be taken to the dialog where you can upload PGN files from your computer to ChessFlash and select the PGN files that you want to publish with the ChessFlash PGN Viewer:

Upload the PGN file(s) from your computer by clicking the Upload link or select a PGN file that you have previously uploaded. Then click the Send to BUEditor link. This will return you to the Insert ChessFlash PGN Viewer dialog with the PGN url filled in.

Select other publishing options

Complete the form with the orientation and leave the other fields as they are for your first time. The orientation you choose will depend on the layout of the website you will ultimately want to publish this game on. Horizontal (wide) works well here on ChessFlash. If your blog columns are narrow you will get a better result by selecting Vertical (narrow). Click the OK button.

View the result

This fills in the required html to embed the viewer with the selected game and options. You can now Save this post and see how it looks!

Copy the code to Blogger

Select Edit to get back to the html text and cut-n-paste this entry into a Blogger post to publish the selected game(s) on your blog. Do not add any spaces or new lines to the code copied to Blogger (but new lines before and after the code are fine). When using the Blogger preview it will not show the ChessFlash viewer; you will need to publish the post to see how it will look on your blog.

Once you've mastered these basic steps, if you want to know more, read Tips and Tricks.