Customizing Probe

You can create your own piece sets, game boards and backgrounds by following these directions:

Piece Sets

To create a custom piece set:
  1. Launch Probe.
  2. Click Tools | Explore Data Files. This opens Windows Explorer and displays your data folders.
  3. Close Probe.
  4. In Windows Explorer, open the Piece Sets folder.
  5. Create a new folder within the Piece Sets folder. Choose any name you wish for the new folder.
  6. Using one of the existing piece set folders for reference, create each of the 64x64 bitmaps needed for your piece set. You must use exactly the same names as the files in the reference folder.
  7. Launch Probe. Open Display Options and select the folder you created from the Piece set drop down list.
  8. Probe will display the pieces using your new bitmaps.

Game Boards

To create a custom game board:
  1. Launch Probe.
  2. Click Tools | Explore Data Files. This opens Windows Explorer and displays your data folders.
  3. Close Probe.
  4. In Windows Explorer, open the Game Boards folder.
  5. Create a new folder within the Game Boards folder. Choose any name you wish for the new folder.
  6. Using one of the existing game board folders for reference, create each of the bitmaps needed for your game board. You must use exactly the same names as the files in the reference folder. Don't draw grid lines, Power Squares or barriers on the board: Probe automatically generates them during runtime.
  7. Launch Probe.
  8. Open Display Options and select the folder you created from the Game board drop down list.
  9. Probe will display the game board using your new bitmaps.

Backgrounds

To create a custom background beneath the game board and piece trays:
  1. Find or draw the JPEG image you want to use. The dimensions of the image are not important.
  2. Launch Probe.
  3. Click Tools | Explore Data Files. This opens Windows Explorer and displays your data folders.
  4. Close Probe.
  5. In Windows Explorer, open the Backgrounds folder.
  6. Drag your JPEG image into the Backgrounds folder.
  7. Launch Probe.
  8. Open Display Options and select the file you created from the Background drop down list.
  9. Probe will display the background using your new image.