Its original Japanese version was started early in 2002, and it has been used by many bridge players in Japan. I am now releasing its International version with multi-lingual support for world-wide Bridge players in Yahoo!
Easy to use! No installation required. Look in and feel its appearance from the JPEG image below. §MiniHand will record bids, hands, card-plays and even duplicate-scores, for any deals you play or kibitz (watch) in Yahoo! Bridge. With the hand records provided by §MiniHand, you can do post-mortem for yourself, and brush up your skill in Bridge.
Once you try out, it will soon be your favorite.
(1) [Unzip] Pick up the INI and two EXE files into a single folder. Never try to work within the ".zip" sub-folder on Windows XP and later.
(2) [INI file] Edit the initialization file MiniHand.INI as you like. It is recommended here to register you Yahoo! ID and aliases on the last line of the INI file, which enables §MiniHand to show your cards on the bottom.
Review Bidding , Last Trick , Last Hand , and Score ,
to open automatically the four sub-windows, Bridge Bidding, Last Trick, Last Hand and Score.
(4) [work files] Once started, §MiniHand automatically builds up a heap of work files in sub-folder Work from the bidding and hands played.
(5) [you play and will see] You play bridge, as usual. You will view both Bridge and MiniHand windows in parallel, and the latter displays everything about a deal, when one is over. Score is counted in duplicate rather than rubber (Yahoo!) bridge, according to current vulnerabilities.
(6) [summary in HTML & TEXT] Having left the bridge table, just run the utility ¨MiniHandUTL.exe. It will write for you a beautiful compact HTML file in sub-folder HandRec from the heaped work files, just like a handout is passed to you after a competition is over. You will review this HTML file, and do post-mortem for yourself.
This utility may be run, even when §MiniHand itself is running.
It also generates a TEXT file (if you like), which may be readily edited, and part of which may be mailed to someone, or posted onto some board.
(7) [windows move automatically] §MiniHand moves the main (BRIDGE) and sub windows, and even minimizes one, so that they less hide themselves each other.
(8) [two bidding-windows always on top] A pleasing feature implicit in §MiniHand is that you don't have to worry about the BidBoard (so I call the sub-window titled "Bridge Bid", which appears on the screen every time you bid). I have (and many players may have) sometimes lost sight of BidBoard on the own turn of bidding and wasted some time looking it for within the task bar. §MiniHand will keep both the BidBoard and BridgeBidding windows together topmost on the screen always on your turn of bidding.
The above devices (7) and (8) enable you to bid promptly when you have jumped into a bridge table.
(9) [VB6 run-time] This software is written in Visual Basic 6.0, and will run by itself on Windows Vista. On Windows XP (and earlier down to Win 95/98), you need download/install VB6 run-time (VBrun60sp6.exe) from Microsoft Download Center(choose English or any other).
(10) [Java] §MiniHand runs with MSJVM (Microsoft) as well as with JRE (Sun Microsystems).
(11) [browser] Browser may be any you like.
(12) [uninstall] In case you need no more MiniHand, then delete the MiniHand folder entirely. The software neither overwrites your registry, nor requires (un)installation.
(13) [multi-lingual support] §MiniHand runs on many Yahoo sites in seven languages.
Notes
(1) [hand display] When you are playing on-line, §MiniHand will identify your nickname on the Last Hand window, and rotate the four hands so that your cards appear on the bottom. To achieve this off-line, click the seat label (E, S, or W) nearest to your nickname.
(2) [auto-capture, bidding] §MiniHand monitors the Bridge Bidding window every 30 seconds, and will record it when bidding is over.
Naturally, you don't have to wait for auto-capture. Simply click the Bid button if you want, when bidding is over.
(3) [auto-capture, score and hands] Having recorded the bidding sequence, §MiniHand knows two devices to auto-capture the updated score and the hands just played:
(a) When you play at a table and enter a new board, the BidBoard window will appear on your turn of bidding, which triggers §MiniHand to capture the updated score and the deal just played. This mechanism does not work when you are watching.
(b) Independent of this, §MiniHand peeps into the bridge table (the box in center) every second, and counts the number of tricks up to 13, in order to know when to start the capturing action.
(c) Naturally, you don't have to wait for any of the three mechanisms of auto-capturing. Simply click the Hand button if you want, when a deal has been played.
(4) [for frequent use] If you use this software often, then prepare shortcuts of the two EXE files, and drag/drop them into your Quick-Launch Bar, so that you can readily start them even when you are at a bridge table.