First, please check the program's FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions -- and answers) section, available in the help file.  It is also accessible directly through the "Frequently Asked Questions..." command on the program's help menu.  It will be far easier and faster than e-mailing me with a question that you already have an answer to right there!

Here are some other common questions that I routinely get asked in e-mail:

• Where can I get a copy of the freeware GIB?

Try: ftp://present.cirl.uoregon.edu/pub/users/ginsberg/bridge/gib.exe .  It might no longer be available, though.
 
• Can I play Easy Bridge with another player over a LAN or the Internet?

No, this capability is not present in Easy Bridge, and it is not planned, either.  There are commercial and shareware programs which do have this feature.  Check them out at: http://www.cbf.ca/GBL/gblSOFT/
 
• Is Easy Bridge available for the Mac, Linux, or any other platform?

Nope, and there are no plans to port the program to these or any other platforms either.
Having said that however, I have been told that Easy Bridge runs okay on Linux using Wine, the Windows emulator.  I have not tried this myself, though, so I cannot confirm it.
 
• Does Easy Bridge run on Windows XXX?

Easy Bridge runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP.
 
• Is there a version of Easy Bridge in another language?

Nope, only English.  But hey, if you know enough English to use the Internet, you should be able to use this program.
 
• How do I download you program? or,
• Okay, so I clicked on the cards icon on your web page, and it askes me for a filename.  What do I do now?  or,
• I downloaded the file onto my computer, so what do I do with it?

First of all, when you click on the download link, it asks you for a filename to save the install program under.  You can just accept the name provided.  Usually from your web browser you can also choose to have the file executed automatically when it's done downloading.  Otherwise, after the download finishes you can double-click on the filename from Explorer to run it, and the install process will begin.

Note that what you have just downloaded is the install package; it installs the Easy Bridge application and configures your system.  At this point simply follow the instructions provided by the installation program, and when the install is complete you can run Easy Bridge from the start menu.
 

• The install program won't start, or else it starts and then just hangs.

If this happens, close all other programs running on your computer (which you should do anyway before the install!).
 
• When I try to run the install, I get a message that it's not a valid Windows application.

Most likely your download stopped before the entire file was retrieved. If you look at the file (EZBSetup.exe) in Explorer, it should be approximately 4.8 megabytes (4,917 KB).  If not, you should download it again.
 
• When I try to run the program, I get a message like "Could not find Ordinal XXXX in module XXXX.dll").

Did you remember to reboot after installation?  Some files will not be updated until you reboot.  Also, if you are running Windows NT or Windows 2000, you need to have local administrator privileges.  If you do not have these rights, log out and log back in using an account with Administrator priviliges, and reinstall the program.
 
• When I run the program, I only see four cards in my hand!  Where are all my other cards?

Easy Bridge stacks the cards in each suit with a slight overlap between cards based on the size of the program window.  If you look at the screen shot in the previous web page you'll see what I mean.  Hence, if the available window space is too small, the suits may become too tightly stacked and you may not be able see all the cards in each suit.  In the worst case, you may only see just the top card of each suit stack.

This situation can arise if you have the bidding or play history windows open, which reduces the amount of display area available for the cards.  It can also happen if you shrink the size of the Easy Bridge program window.  Finally, it may happen if you have a VGA (640x480) size screen and choose to use big cards (from the Display Options dialog), which are intended for high-resolution screens.  Hence you should try (in order):

1. Maximizing the Easy Bridge program window
2. Turning off the Bidding and Play history windows to gain more room, and finally,
3. Selecting the small cards option (from the Options / Display Options menu command)

• Why did the program open a 3-card minor suit instead of a perfectly good 4-card major?, or
• Why did it open a 4-card major suit?  I thought you had to have 5 cards to open a major?

Select the Options / Bidding Options menu command, then check the setting for 4-card or 5-card majors.
 
• I'm a publisher of a shareware compilation CD-ROM.  Can I include your program on my CD?

Not if you charge anything more than distribution costs for the CD.  i.e., if you make a profit from selling the CD, or if the CD accompanies a commercial product (like a book), forget it.
 
• Can I run both Easy Bridge version 3.x and 4.0 at the same time?

No, unfortunately you cannot.  You can only run one or the other -- trying to have both versions installed can have unpredictable results.

• ¿Ayudarme, por favor?

You might think this is obvious, but questions sent to me need to be in English.  I've actually had people sending me e-mails written in Spanish, Portugese, and Italian.  Sorry folks, but my multilingual skills are limited to computer languages.

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