FTS: FAQs and Troubleshooting

Guide to FAQs and Troubleshooting

  1. Important Notes
  2. Is FT Shortcuts legal to use on Full Tilt Poker?
  3. Can I temporarily disable FT Shortcuts?
  4. Installation Problems
  5. Commands not working
  6. Second Installations: Installing on second or new computer
  7. My software has become unregistered
  8. Windows Vista
  9. Registration Problems
  10. Table Modifications
  11. Some features are not working, and I have two versions of Shortcuts installed on my computer
  12. Manual Reload not working
  13. OSD 1 & 2 not working
  14. OSD 3, 4 or 5 not working
  15. Custom OSD (displays) are not working correctly
  16. Heads Up or 6-Max Issues
  17. Slow Response
  18. Missed Mouse Clicks
  19. Active Keys and Mouse Clicks
  20. SnG Tables are not closing when I finish
  21. Tooltips showing my opponents notes are not visible when I mouse over their player's box
  22. Bet/Raise values are not what you expect
  23. Overlapped Tables (Cascaded Tables)
  24. Problem with overlapped tables (cascaded tables)
  25. Text is too big to read it on the program
  26. Will the software unregister me from a SnG is a shark sits down?
  27. Chat Problems
  28. Sharklist Problems
  29. Deal Me Mode is not working

1. Important Notes

Please read all of the notes and warnings throughout this documentation!

Note: If you are having any problems, PLEASE try disabling any table modifications that you may have made to your Full Tilt table. This software uses image recognition to detect many features on the table, and many table modifications are not compatible with this software.

There is a debug mode that is often useful to debug a problem. To enable it, go to the Misc tab and set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled". Then when a Full Tilt table is active you will see a tooltip displaying information about your table. If you see anything unusual, send me an email and that may help me to debug your problem.

2. Is FT Shortcuts legal to use on Full Tilt Poker?

Yes, we have received confirmation from Full Tilt Poker that Shortcuts is perfectly legal. We will continue to stay in close contact with FT to make sure that Shortcuts stays that way.

3. Can I temporarily disable FT Shortcuts?

Yes, there are several keys that you can use to disable features in Shortcuts:

4. Installation Problems

If you see a dialog box that pops that says you have an Installation problem, this means that the software was not installed correctly. This can occur if you save store the software on your desktop or some other location, besides in c:\Program Files\FullTiltShortcuts

It can also occur if you are not logged in as an "Administrator" on your computer (especially if running Windows Vista).

To solve this error, I recommend that you do a search for FullTiltShortcuts.exe using Windows Explorer, and delete all instances that you find for this program. Then download and install the software again using the Installation Instructions.

5. Commands not working

Windows Vista Users: You must run the program as an administrator. Right Click on the program name or icon and select "Run as Administrator". To always run as administrator, Right Click on the program name, select properties, Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator". If you don't have a desktop icon for this program, open WIndows explorer (Win key + E), navigate to the folder that contains this software, and right click on the program name (FullTiltShortcuts.exe), click properties, compatibility tab, and check "Run this program as an administrator".

This software requires that the Language that you use on Full Tilt be set to English. To change the language setting, go to the Full Tilt Main lobby and click on the menu item "Languages"... click on "Open Language Options... verify that "English" is checked in the column "Game Software Language Selection". Poker Shortcuts reads the title bar and buttons on the table, and English is the only language that is supported. The selection for Email does not matter.

If you find some hotkey commands do not work, make sure that you do not have the same key code assigned to more than one command. Check carefully on the Actions1, Actions2, Street Bet, Fixed Bet, and Inc/Dec Bet tabs for duplicate use of the same keys or mouse buttons. For any features that you do not use, simply erase the keycode for that feature. Do not use the Left Mouse Button (LButton) in any of the FTS boxes.

If you are using keys on the numeric keypad you need to use special numeric keypad commands. For example the '+' key on the numeric keypad needs to use 'NumpadAdd' instead of '+'. This is because the numeric keypad keys are different from the keys on the normal part of the keyboard. See the complete key list here.

Your mouse must be over a Full Tilt Table for most commands to work. Also make sure that you mouse is not over any "overlayed text", like a tooltip, on screen display, or text from some other program (like PAHud). This can block some commands from working. Simply move you mouse to a part of the table that does not have an overlay.

Make sure your mouse is over a table and the table is active. Also, be sure your mouse is not over the Chat box area of the table.

6. Second Installations: Installing on a second computer or a new computer

You may install the software on two of your own computers. To install on a second computer:

  1. Download and install the software on your new computer.
  2. Go to the Reg tab and follow the instructions there. You will need your Software Order Code in order to unlock the software. See the detailed registration instructions for complete registration details.
  3. If you had already installed the software on two computers you will be asked to fill out a form that will be emailed to us and we will email instructions back to you.

7. My software has become unregistered

This is usually a problem (for Windows Vista users) if you didn't set the program to always run as administrator. See the instructions in the Vista section below to set the software to always run as administrator.

If you continue to have a problem with the software unregistering, try this test:

  1. Exit the program and restart the program 10 times. Each time you start the software, go to the REG Tab and see if the "Software Id Code" ever changes. It should remain the same each time you start the program
  2. If the "Software Id Code" ever DOES change, then send us an email telling us that you have run this test and you have your software set to run as administrator.
  3. If the "Software Id Code" DOES NOT change, then click on "Get Unlock Code" and request a new unlock code. The normal registration process should work ok.

8. Windows Vista

If you see a dialog box that says "No serial number returned from GetDiskSerial.dll", this almost always means that you are not running this software as an administrator.

If you software becomes unregistered, this is usually because you are not running the software as an administrator.

You must run the program as an administrator. Right Click on the program name or icon and select "Run as Administrator". To always run as administrator, Right Click on the program name, select properties, Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator". If you don't have a desktop icon for this program, open WIndows explorer (Win key + E), navigate to the folder that contains this software, and right click on the program name (FullTiltShortcuts.exe), click properties, compatibility tab, and check "Run this program as an administrator".

FTS is not compatible with the Vista Aero theme (it slows down many programs and interferes with others, including FTS). To turn off Aero theme:

  1. Right-click the Windows desktop and select Personalize > Window Color and Appearance.
  2. Click Open classic appearance properties for more color options.
  3. In the Color scheme drop-down box, choose Windows Classic, Windows Vista Basic or Windows Vista Standard, and click OK. Aero will now be turned off.

9. Registration Problems

Software unlocking and registration instructions are here.

The procedure for installing on a second computer is the same as installing on the first computer. Registration instructions are here.

If you encounter problems on the Reg tab trying to unlock your software:

  1. Be sure that you copy the Software Order Code from the email we sent you correctly and that it is 32 characters long. Then click on "Get Unlock Code". Copy the unlock code to the reg tab. Then Click on "Unlock Software".
  2. If you get an error when you click on the "Get Unlock Code" button, it usually means that the software is not able to open a browser on your computer. Go to http://www.windyhilltech.com/php/reg.php to manually get your unlock code.
  3. Your Software Id Code and your Software Unlock code should both be 16 characters long.
  4. Don't forget to click on the "Unlock Software" button after you enter the codes.
  5. If these suggestions don't help, send us and email to our support address listed on the support page.

10. Table Modifications

Many (but not all) table mods will work correctly with this program (especially cards and table felt color, as the program can be calibrated to the felt color). This program does a lot of image recognition, and in these areas the table will need to be standard. The following is a list of items on the table that should not be modified:

This script looks at the color of the table felt to determine the presence of cards to determine what street the hand is at. YOU MUST CONFIGURE THIS SOFTWARE WHEN YOU FIRST START USING IT, AND ANYTIME THAT YOU CHANGE THE TABLE FELT COLOR. See the instructions for Table Color Configuration.

11. Some features are not working, and I have two version of Shortcuts installed on my computer

Shortcuts uses a settings file and these settings can get lost if you have more than one version of the software installed on your computer. If you want to keep an old version, keep the installation file in case you want it again. I recommend that you install all new versions "on top of" older versions, in the same folder.

If you do have two versions installed, I recommend that you uninstall all versions of Shortcuts on your computer, including any icons on your desktop. You will have to search around in windows explorer to find where you installed them. From the control panel use "add and remove programs" or Programs and Features" to remove any versions of FT Shortcuts. If that only gets rid of one of them, then go to the location where you installed the other one, and manually delete it (in windows explorer).

Then download and install the program again. Instructions are on the download page.

12. Manual Reload not working

  1. The software must be able to read your stack size. To test this, set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled" on the Misc tab. Check to see if your stack size shows up correctly in the tooltip. If it doesn't, the problem is usually one of the items in this section.
  2. "Auto Center" must be checked in the Full TIlt Lobby under the menu item Options.
  3. Make sure your table is not overlayed with another table, as the software needs to be able to "see" the hero's stack amount and the "Sit Out Next Hand" checkbox ON EACH TABLE to work correctly.
  4. If using Windows Vista, make sure you are not using the Windows Aero theme (see note below for Vista users).
  5. On the Misc tab, set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled". When you have a table active, a tooltip will appear with information about the table. If the image folders are not visible, you may have an installation problem, where you are probably not running the program from the folder where these image folders are located. Try uninstalling all copies of the program, and follow the Installation section above.
  6. See the notes about Table Modifications above.
  7. Set your computer's Display Settings to Colors = Highest (32 bit). Right click on your desktop, select Properties (or Personalize if using Vista), Select Display settings, then set Colors to Highest (32 bit).
  8. If none of these help solve your problem, send me an email with the following:
    • Report the results of the above steps, in particular step 1.
    • What size table (e.g. 802, 691-849, 802-929) you are using and all of the table settings (from the Tables tab).
    • What type of game are you playing (e.g. NL25, 9 man)?
    • If possible email me a screen capture of your table, the debug window, your Chips tab settings and your Tables tab settings.
    • Email me the .ini file from your c:\Program Files\FullTiltShortcuts\Settings folder.

13. OSD 1 & 2 not working

  1. If using Windows Vista, make sure you are not using the Windows Aero theme (see section above for Vista users).
  2. If using Windows Vista, make sure that you are running Shortcuts as an Administrator. See Vista section above.

Example of Preflop % of pot calculation:

Let's say that the blinds are 15/30 and you are first to act preflop. A 100% pot raise is calculated like this:

there 45 in pot now
plus 30 to call the bet, means there is 75 after you call the bet.
To make a 100 percent raise, you need to raise it 75 more.
So the total you have to put in the pot is 105 (75 + 30) to make a 100 % raise preflop.
Note that this is 3.5 times the big blind.

If you were to set the bet size to $60, what percentage of a pot size raise would this be?
It still takes $30 to call, so your raise is an additional $30 more.
Since there is $75 in the pot after you call, your raise % would be 30/75 = 40% of a pot size raise.

14. OSD 3, 4 or 5 not working

  1. The software must be able to read your stack size. To test this, set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled" on the Misc tab. Check to see if your stack size shows up correctly in the tooltip. If it doesn't, the problem is usually one of the items in this section.
  2. Shortcuts supports reading the hero's stack size for table sizes up to 849 pixels wide. If you are using a larger table size, try reducing the the size of your table so that it is less than 849 pixels wide.
  3. "Auto Center" must be checked in the Full TIlt Lobby under the menu item Options.
  4. Make sure your table is not overlayed with another table, as the software needs to be able to "see" the hero's stack amount and the "Sit Out Next Hand" checkbox ON EACH TABLE to work correctly.
  5. If using Windows Vista, make sure you are not using the Windows Aero theme (see note above for Vista users).
  6. If using Windows Vista, make sure that you are running Shortcuts as an Administrator. See Vista section above.
  7. On the Misc tab, set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled". When you have a table active, a tooltip will appear with information about the table. If the image folders are not visible, you may have an installation problem, where you are probably not running the program from the folder where these image folders are located. Try uninstalling all copies of the program, and follow the instructions in the Installation section.
  8. See the notes about Table Modifications above. The player's box (both the colors and the fonts) need to be un-modified so that Shortcuts can read your stack size.
  9. Set your computer's Display Settings to Colors = Highest (32 bit). Right click on your desktop, select Properties (or Personalize if using Vista), Select Display settings, then set Colors to Highest (32 bit).
  10. If the software is not able to read you stack size correctly AND you are using a table size (on the Table 2 tab) that specifies a Width and a Height (e.g. 640x400), then it may be Full Tilt is using a different font size for your table than the software expects. Read the information on the Table 2 tab regarding the "Table Width" and "Use this Stack Font Image" columns. Generally, we do not recommend using tables sizes where you specify both the width and the height.
  11. If you are only having the problem on the very small tables sizes (with widths of less than 500) then the problem may be that you have a lower case "y" in your screen name. The descending part of the y descends into the stack size digits. Since Shortcuts uses image recognition to recognize the digits of your stack size, the "y" interferes with this process. The solution is to use table sizes with widths greater than 500.
  12. If none of these help solve your problem, send me an email with the following:
    • Report the results of the above steps, in particular step 1.
    • What size table you are using.
    • What type of game are you playing (e.g. NL25, 9 man)?
    • If possible email me a screen capture of your table, the debug window, your Display tab settings and your Tables tab settings.

15. Custom OSD (displays) are not working correctly

If you are having problems getting the custom displays to display what you want, start out by putting some word like "HELLO" in the Custom Text box. If that is not showing up, then make sure that you are seated at the table, and the fold button must be visible for OSD 1 and 2 to show up. Try putting 0 in for the X and Y position. Erase the values in the Color, Font Size, and Font boxes. Default values will be used. Also note that the Custom box is not very wide, and some of text may be further to the right or left in the box. You may have to use the arrow keys to scroll to the ends to see all of the text in the boxes.

16. Heads Up or 6-Max issues

If you play Heads Up or 6-Max tournaments (or Sit-N-Goes), then you need to enable the checkbox "Use Image Recog" on the Calib tab. The software uses a different method for detecting the number of seats at the table for these games. It slows the software slightly to use this method, so if you don't play these games, leave this checkbox unchecked. If you only play ring games, you do not need to check this checkbox. More information is available here.

17. Slow Response

Most features of this software operate very quickly, but there are a few features that use a little extra cpu time. If you want to see if and of these features are causing a slow response on your computer, you can disable them. They are

  1. Uncheck "Preset the Bet Window with the Amount Above" on the Street Bet Ring and Street Bet Trny tabs.
  2. Uncheck OSD1 and OSD2 on the Displays tab.
  3. Uncheck "Enable OSD3 for all tables" on the Displays tab.
  4. Uncheck "Enable OSD4 for all tables" on the Displays tab.
Note: The above items (1-4) have been improved significantly (in terms of speed) in recent versions of the software, and in most cases you should not need to disable these features if you want to use them. You probably will not see a speed improvement by disabling these items.

More info regarding items 1 and 2: If you have the OSD 1 or 2 betting displays enabled or the "street betting preset" option enabled (on the street bet tabs), the software has to read some information from your table and make some calculations. Your mouse will be disabled for about one-half second whenever the betting box first appears (when you move to a new table). If you happen to click you mouse during this short time, your mouse click may be delayed slightly. Try disabling OSD1 and OSD2. Also try unchecking the option "Preset bet Window to 1 Click Amount Above" on each of the Street Bet tabs. If you are seeing a delay for more than 1/2 second, the problem is usually one of the issues below.

  1. On the Misc tab, you can set the process priority for Shortcuts and the Full Tilt client software. Setting these the "High" will give these programs a higher priority over other programs on your computer.
  2. You may want to turn off "animations" on the Full Tilt client, as these use more processor time. You can turn this off on the Full Tilt main lobby, select Options, select Animation, and select Off.
  3. If you run Task Manager on your computer and select the Processes tab, you can see which programs are using the most cpu time (under the CPU column). You can sort the display by cpu time if you click on the cpu column. This may give you a clue as to which programs are using the most CPU time.
  4. Some programs that run in the background on your computer may be causing interference with FT Shortcuts. Snoop Free is one program that is not compatible with FT Shortcuts. Some virus checkers (and other types of protection programs) use a lot of system resources and slow down performance (and interfere with FTS trying to read and write to the Full Tilt table. Try disabling any programs that might be interfering. You can check how much CPU time a program is using in Task Manager (open task manager: control-alt-del, click on the processes tab, click on the CPU column heading, and check for what programs are using a lot cpu time. Typically, FTS uses less than 10% of cpu time, even if a lot of tables are open.
  5. The Full Tilt lag issue has been discussed on other 2+2 forums. Here is one that may be helpful to you.
  6. Slow internet connections (such as dialup and Satellite Internet connections) are very slow and will often are not fast enough for running poker applications, especially if you have many tables open.
  7. If you are using Windows Vista, do not use the display theme called Aero. It is very slow. See the Vista section above.

18. Missed Mouse Clicks

You mouse must be over a Full Tilt Table for most commands to work. Also make sure that you mouse is not over any "overlayed text", like a tooltip, on screen display, or text from some other program (like PAHud). This can block some commands from working. Simply move you mouse to a part of the table that does not have an overlay.

It is possible, but infrequent, that when you click on a button on a Full Tilt table the mouse click will be lost. When OSD1 or 2 is enabled or if the "street betting preset" option enabled (on the street bet tabs) the software has to do some difficult operations for about one-half second when the betting box on the table first appears. If you are a very fast player and are playing multiple tables you may run into this. It just requires you to click the mouse a second time if it occurs. If you want to completely avoid this, you can disable OSD1 and OSD2, and uncheck the option "Preset bet Window to 1 Click Amount Above" on each of the Street Bet tabs.

19. Active Keys and Mouse Clicks

A Full Tilt Table must be an active window in order for any of the keystrokes or mouse clicks to be recognized. This prevents these keys from interfering with other programs running on your system. For easy table activation, check the option "Activate Table on MouseOver". Whenever your mouse is over a Full Tilt Table, that table will be activated (highlighted). In order for any of the keys/mouse buttons to work, your mouse must be over a Full Tilt Table that you want to act on. Additionally, a Full Tilt Table must be active (but it doesn't have to be the one your mouse is over). These requirements prevent confusion as to which table your actions will take place on. Just make sure you mouse is over the table that you want to act on.

20. SnG Tables are not closing when I finish

If the SnG tables are not closing when you bust out or win them then:

  1. Check these two checkboxes on the Dialogs tab:
    Close "You Finished the Tournament" Dialog Box" AND
    Also Check the "close Completed Tournament" checkbox
  2. Be sure the tables are not covered with any other tables or windows. The software uses image recognition to see when you are no longer seated at the table. Table will not be closed if you are using cascaded tables (that overlap one another).
  3. You may also have to check the checkbox in the lower right hand corner of the Dialogs tab called "Close These Dialog Boxes using Image Recognition". Try it without checking this checkbox first, as the software will be slightly faster without this checked.

21. Tooltips showing my opponents notes are not visible when I mouse over their player's box

When you move your mouse over a player's box on the table, you should see a tooltip popup that shows the player's notes, their name, and their country. If you do not see these tooltips, then go to the Displays tab and Uncheck the "Chat Warning Tooltip". The Full Tilt software sometimes does not allow several tooltips to visible at one time. Be sure that you understand the purpose of the Chat warning tooltip by reading the information in the documentation about this feature.

22. Bet/Raise values are not what you expect

In the Full Tilt Lobby, check in the Options menu and verify that "Highlight Bet Amount" is UNCHECKED. If this option is checked then it is easy to make an improper bet amount. Pressing the "Enter" when you are typing in notes for a player AND the "Save and Exit" button is highlighted results in placing a bet. I have notified Full Tilt of this, but they haven't changed their software yet.

Be sure that you have the software calibrated to your table felt colors. The software uses this information to determine what street you are on. If your table is not calibrated, then you will get the incorrect street bet value. If you switch from Racetrack to Classic tables (or vice versa), you will need to recalibrate the software to your felt colors (on the Calib tab).

For Street bets: If the software is not calibrated to the table's felt colors, it will not be able to tell what street you are on. If you enable the Debug Tooltip (on the Misc tab) you can see if the software is detecting the street correctly. If not, calibrate the software to the felt colors on the Calib tab.

For Street bets: If the software puts a preset bet in the bet window on the active table, and then you leave the table and go to another table, when you come back to the first table, the software may not be able to put in the correct street bet when you return. This is because the software needs the min raise/bet value that Full Tilt initially puts in the betting box when it is your turn to act. If this value is changed, and you come back, the value is no longer a min bet/raise and the software is not able to determine all the parameters that it needs to calculate the street bet.

NL25 Ring Games: In 10 cent/25 cent ring games, the small blind is not exactly half of the big blind. Try setting the rounding amount (at the bottom of the betting tabs) to be .5 times the Small Blind.

When you are in the Small Blind or the Small Blind is missing: The software is not able to detect when you are in the small blind or if that player is missing. Consequently, on the preflop street, your bet size is off by one small blind amount. If you are set to put in a 4xBB bet, the software will put in a 3.5xBB bet instead. I recommend using you mouse wheel in increment your bet size (set up on the Inc/Dec Bet tab) and increase your bet size for this one condition.

When you have unique bet/raise percentages defined: The software rounds all of your bet sizes to be in increments of the small blind (if you have the rounding bet option checked). If the pot is $10 and you are playing at a NL200 table, and your bet is set to 66%, the software will bet $7 for you, instead of $6.66 (rounded to the nearest $1, which is the small blind).

There are some rare cases where the value of the pot can not be determined accurately. This can happen when there is a bet and a raise (or re-raise) in front of your action. Shortcuts reads the value of the pot by clicking on the Pot button and calculating the value of the pot from that information. In these rare cases the actual value of the pot can not be determined from this information. Consequently, you should always evaluate the size of the bet you are making to see if it is what you desire.

When rake has been taken out of the pot: Full Tilt takes money out of the pot for their rake. This amount is still considered to be in the pot for all pot calculations (and all bet/raise amounts), but the amount of the rake doesn't show up on your screen when you look at the amount in the pot. So a 100% pot will be slightly higher than what appears to be in the pot, because this bet also includes the amount of the rake.

Example of Preflop % of pot calculation:

Let's say that the blinds are 15/30 and you are first to act preflop. A 100% pot raise is calculated like this:

there 45 in pot now
plus 30 to call the bet, means there is 75 after you call the bet.
To make a 100 percent raise, you need to raise it 75 more.
So the total you have to put in the pot is 105 (75 + 30) to make a 100 % raise preflop.
Note that this is 3.5 times the big blind.

If you were to set the bet size to $60, what percentage of a pot size raise would this be?
It still takes $30 to call, so your raise is an additional $30 more.
Since there is $75 in the pot after you call, your raise % would be 30/75 = 40% of a pot size raise.

23. Overlapped Tables (Cascaded tables)

Since the software uses image recognition for several things (reading buttons, reading the stack size, checking some checkboxes, and counting the number of players), the software needs to "see" your table. If it can't see everything, then some features will be delayed until the table is completely visible to the software.

If some feature does not seem to be working correctly (when you have overlapped tables), check the trouble shooting tips on this page for that feature to see if that feature uses image recognition.

24. Problem with overlapped tables (cascaded tables)

One customer reported a problem when his tables were cascaded (all layered on top of one another). His top table was not being activated, even thought there were buttons indicating that he action was needed (like the Fold, Call, and Bet buttons). We tried many different settings within Shortcuts but we couldn't solve the problem. He contacted Full Tilt Poker and they were able to help him solve this problem. This is what he did to solve it:

"I contacted FTP technology, they got me to send them a directx diagnostic report and then told me to update my video card driver and install DirectX 9 which got it going fine- thought I'd let you know in case anyone else has this problem."

25. Text is too big to read it on the program

If the font size of the text on the program's main window is too large to be readable, you may need to adjust your dpi setting. This program requires that you use 96dpi video setting, which is the standard windows setting. You can set this by going to:

Windows XP users:
Control Panel...Display...Settings...Advanced...select 96dpi

Vista Users:
Control Panel...Personalize...Adjust Font Size (DPI) on the left side of dialog box...select 96 dpi

26. Will the software unregister me from a SnG if a shark sits down?

No, it won't unregister you once you are registered. But, set the "Min # or Registered Players" to 7 and "Max # of sharks" to 0 on the SnG A tab. Then the software will not register you at the table until there are 7 players registered at the table and no more than 0 sharks at the table. Full details are on the SnG A tab documentation.

27. Chat Problems

Your mouse must be outside the chat area of the screen for any keystrokes or mouse clicks to work. When you put your mouse in the chat area, you can then type chat messages and all keys will be typed in the chat box (even if they are assigned to controls used in this script).

If you are having problems with typing in the chat box, there are a few things to keep in mind. When you have the checkbox "Automatically Activate the next table with Pending Action" checked on the Tables tab, the software will automatically jump you to the next table so you can take action there.

Whenever you want to type in the chat box, just move your mouse to the chat area, and that will prevent the "jump" from happening, and you can continue typing. When done typing, move your mouse out again. There is also a key command on the Actions2 tab to move your mouse in and out of the chat area (if you are trying to play without touching your mouse). If you have keys defined for Fold, Call, Bet, etc., you want to make sure that you do move your mouse to the chat area while chatting, else you might type these keys inadvertently while chatting, and instead the software may fold, call, or bet your hand.

28. SharkList Problems

Vista users: If you try to manually edit the Sharkslist.txt file in the settings folder and then save it, Vista will sometimes give you an error when saving the file. This is due to their "protection" features.

To solve this:
  1. Close FT Shortcuts.
  2. Copy the Sharkslist.txt file to your My Documents folder.
  3. Edit this file and save it.
  4. Copy the file back to the Settings folder.

29. Deal Me Mode is not working

Deal Me Mode uses image recognition to detect the presence of the "Post Big Blind", "Post Small Blind", "Wait for Big Blind", and "Deal Me In" buttons. The software also uses image recognition to check the state of the "Auto Post Blinds" and "Sit Out Next Hand" checkboxes. If the software can not detect these buttons and checkboxes, then Deal Me Mode will not work correctly.

  1. There is a simple test to see if the software can detect your buttons and checkboxes:
    • Sit down at a ring game table.
    • Check the "Sit out Next hand" checkbox on the table. The "Deal Me In" button should appear on the table.
    • Enable the "Debug Tooltip" on the Misc tab.
    • A debug tooltip will appear when your mouse is on the table. Near the bottom is the "Deal Me In Button Visible" line, and it will be "= 1" if the software is detecting the "Deal Me In" button. If it shows "= 0", then the problem is usually one of the items in this section.
    • If the software can "see" the "Deal Me In" button, it usually will be able to see all the buttons related to posting the blinds. If you want to verify that all the buttons are being seen, check the debug tooltip when the blinds related buttons are visible on the table.
    • The debug tooltip will also show whether the software is detecting the "Auto Post Blinds" and "Sit Out Next Hand" checkboxes correctly.
  2. Your tables should NOT be overlapped so that the Post Blind buttons and the "Auto Post Blinds" and "Sit Out Next Hand" checkboxes are visible to the software whenever they appear.
  3. These same buttons and checkboxes should not be modified from the standard Full Tilt buttons and checkboxes. See the notes about table modifications above.
  4. The Images folders must be in the same folder as the location of this software. To confirm this: Go to the Misc tab, set Debug Tooltip to "Enabled". When you have a table open, a tooltip will appear with information about your table. All of the files and folders should show as visible. If the image folders are not visible, you may have an installation problem, where you are probably not running the program from the folder where these image folders are located. I recommend erasing all copies of the software, and then following the instructions in the Installation section above.
    • Set your computer's Display Settings to Colors = Highest (32 bit). Right click on your desktop, select Properties (or Personalize if using Vista), Select Display settings, then set Colors to Highest (32 bit).
  5. If your buttons are not visible to the software on the smaller table sizes (table widths from approximately 480 to 600), then you may be missing a font that is needed on your computer. You need to have these four fonts in your Control Panel...Fonts. Check there, and if these fonts are missing, you can download them by clicking on the link below. Copy these fonts to your computer and put them in the folder: c:/Windows/Fonts. You will need to reboot your computer after adding these fonts (or at least restart the Full Tilt Software).
  6. If the buttons are not visible to the software, then there may be some changes to your display properties that has changed the way fonts are displayed on your computer. Deal Me mode uses image recognition to detect the presence of the Post Big Blind buttons, and if the fonts are altered then the image recognition will not be successful in detecting the buttons. Check the following items to remedy this situation:
    • If using Win XP AND if you are using ClearType font smoothing (go to Display Properties...Advanced tab...smooth edges on screen fonts enabled), AND if you have used some utility to modify the ClearType characteristics (perhaps using Microsoft's "ClearType tuning" program that can be installed into your control panel... download here if desired), THEN you will need to restore your ClearType settings to default. These defaults are shown here in the snapshot from the ClearType tuning program:

clear type settings