Display Settings - [RBP Help Contents]

Many aspects of the main RBP display can be adjusted to suit your preferences. From the File menu, choose Display Settings. You can adjust:

the map's background bitmap image

drawing thickness of RR lines

drawing style of RR lines

color of RR lines

RR names used (abbreviations, short or full)

map text font and sizing factor (% of normal)

information box text font and size

and more

BACKGROUND IMAGE

The background image is that displayed on the map behind the RRs, dots and cities. If you find the image distracting, or if you receive a "StretchBlt failed" message from Windows, try disabling the background image. Also, note that some maps come with alternate background images; if so, you can select the image of your choice from the nearby dropdown list.

USE INVERSE BGND COLOR

Enable this option to inverse (reverse) the map's background color. Try this if you have trouble seeing the RRs because of limited contrast with the normal background. Enable "Color reverse infoboxes" to do similar with the Game History box.

TRAIN ANIMATION

Step-by-step animation of train movement can be toggled off/on via the Fast animation checkbox.

THUMBNAIL

Choose your preferred location for the Thumbnail mini-map, or hide it entirely. If you select a map corner, RBP will prompt you to specify the Thumbnail's desired size.

ARRIVAL NOTIFICATION

When you arrive at your destination, RBP displays a message box with this information. To turn off this message box, disable the Arrival Notification checkbox. Disabling this message box is recommended only for experienced RBP players.

OPPONENT PURCHASE NOTIFICATION

When an opponent buys a RR or upgrades his engine, RBP display a message box with this information. To turn off this message box, uncheck the Opponent Purchase Notification checkbox. Turning off this message box is recommended only for experienced RBP players.

HELP SYSTEM

RBP's in-game help is offered in a variety of formats. Choose from:

No help - turns off RBP's help system; not recommended

(removed) - formerly WinHelp

Browser - to have RBP invoke your browser and display RBP's .htm help topics within it

Internal - RBP's own built-in help display system; the default option

RGFHelp - requires ICI's rgfhelp.exe program installed in the same directory with rbp.exe; good for those who want to leave the help window open while the game proceeds

If RBP detects a problem with the option you choose, it will try to switch to a different help display method.

The adjacent dropdown lets you choose the display color of hyperlinks in the Internal help system.

PLAY BY EMAIL / WEB

NOTE: If you do not know what to enter for the following fields, contact tech support at your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or your Email Service Provider (ESP).

If you do not wish to employ Pbem or Web capability, you need not fill in these fields.

My Email Address(es): enter your email address in the form abc@xyz.com This will be the outbound email address displayed to others as well as the default one at which you receive Play by Email matches from your opponents. If your receipt address for email is different than your sending address, the person setting up a Pbem match should enter your receipt address when prompted by RBP for your email address.


Server: enter the name of your Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server for outgoing (sending) email. This is usually the name of your ISP prefixed by smtp, for example smtp.comcast.net, but sometimes varies, for example outgoing.verizon.net. Even if the address you enter in the email field contains an ESP like Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo, in the server field most people enter the server name of their ISP. If that fails, then switch to the ESP. As of this writing, a list of common mail server names appears at https://www.realifewebdesigns.com/web-resources/pop3-smtp.html. When using a manual mode, you can leave this field empty.

Username: leave this field empty unless your ISP requires email authentication or SSL, in which case fill in your login or mail user name (often something like myname@myisp.com). To employ email authentication with RBP, your provider must offer outbound email via Auth Login or SSL. For the latest info, see the FAQ at RailGameFans.com. When using a manual mode, you can leave this field empty.

Password: leave this field empty unless your ISP requires email authentication, in which case fill in your mail user password. RBP will save this password in encrypted form between sessions; if you prefer RBP not do that, leave this field empty and RBP will instead prompt you for the password each session you send Pbem. When using a manual mode, you can leave this field empty.

SMTP Port # or manual mode: enter your service provider's port number for outgoing email, or a manual mode. Many use 587 if they require authentication, 465 if they employ SSL, or 25 if neither. If you do not have access to a game-compatible, automatic email sending system, you can still pbem by choosing one of these manual modes:

tbird - (semi-automatic) If you use Thunderbird (or compatible) for email, choose tbird to tell RBP to employ it. During pbem, RBP will invoke that program, and compose an outgoing email for the match, at which point you will simply need to click Send within it. If you have multiple email identities in Thunderbird, RBP uses the default one for sending; if you wish to change that default, search for instructions online. When you choose tbird, RBP will prompt you for the Thunderbird folder and program file name, which you can find by right clicking on Thunderbird's desktop icon and choosing Properties, it should resemble C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird . To employ a compatible program, include .exe, for example, C:\EmailClone\birdmail.exe . To work with RBP, compatible programs need to employ Thunderbird's command line -compose format.

mailto - (semi-automatic) Choose this to tell RBP to prepare an outgoing email for the match, plus invoke your email program as if you had clicked a mailto link on a Web page. A drawback to mailto is it does not support setting a file attachment, so you must do that step manually. Once RBP has prepped an outgoing email, before you send that email, remember to attach the pbem saved game file otherwise the next player will not be able to take their turn! RBP puts the name of that file in your Clipboard, so you can paste it into the email's attachment field via Ctrl+V, then send the email. To set or change the program that is invoked by mailto, search online for how to "change default mailto" of your operating system.

manual - (full manual) If you do not have a local email program (i.e. if tbird and mailto do not work), choose manual. When it is the next player's turn, RBP will display the Pbem Control Window and populate it with the information you need to send the match to the next player. That information is the outgoing email's To address, Subject, Attachment, and Body. Click on those one by one to copy them to the Clipboard, then paste (Ctrl+V) them into whatever email sending system you wish. Though not as convenient as the other sending options, this full manual mode has the benefit of functioning with all known email systems.

Use SSL: enable this if your service provider employs Secure Sockets Layer for email. With SSL, you must also enter a Username and Password. Note that this SSL capability operates via Microsoft's Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) which are usually found on devices with Windows XP and later, or can be added (search online if details needed). When using a manual mode, you can ignore this field.

Turn notify: enable the Turn notify checkbox if you want to receive emailed notice that another player in the match has completed his turn and sent the match to yet another player. Via notification, you can track the progress of your opponents, and know whose turn is pending. No notices are sent unless there are at least three humans participating in the match. If you change the setting while a Pbem match is in progress, it will take effect after you complete your (next) turn. The notify feature is not available from players who use one of the manual email modes.

Avatar URL: for Pbem and Web matches, to display an avatar with your locomotive, enter the full URL (starting with http://) of the desired JPG, non-animated GIF or BMP picture file online. You are welcome to use any of the images at http://www.railgamefans.com/avatars/ . Avoid using images that are a large file size as they are slow to load. To paste text (such as a copied URL) from your clipboard into the field, move the cursor to the field and press Ctrl+V. For non-Web or Pbem matches, you can also employ an image file stored on your local device.

Avatars: Avatars are images displayed in the player list. Toggle off this checkbox to turn off the loading and display of such avatars.

PLAY BY EMAIL EXAMPLE

Note: some email systems require you to enable a checkbox at your email account to allow RBP to send email. If you do not do so, you may see "Problem 530 detected during Pbem test" or similar messages from RBP.

Here are example settings that as of this writing work with Yahoo:

....My Email Address(es): [YourEmailName]@yahoo.com

....SMTP Mail Server: smtp.mail.yahoo.com

....Username: [YourEmailName]@yahoo.com

....Password: [YourPassword]

....SMTP Port Number: 465

....Use SSL: (enable this checkbox)

For [YourEmailName] substitute your Yahoo account name, and omit the [ ]. Do similar for [YourPassword].

Though Gmail's 2022 service reduction rendered it incompatible for sending Pbem, you can still receive Pbem email there. Use your Gmail address as the player's email address when setting up a Pbem match, but for Pbem email sending purposes use a different address in the fields here, one that passes the email self-test .