Features

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WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") document creation (see above).
Creates and reads portable bridge notation (".pbn") files that are interchangeable with other applications.
Also reads BridgeBase .lin files, Duplimate .dup and .dlm files, and .bri files.
Also creates .lin, .dup, .dlm, .bri, and DeepFinesse .txt files.
"Drag and drop" adjustment of card holdings.
Flexible page layouts (See the gallery for samples)—
- one, two, or four boards per page
- as many as will fit, in one to four columns
- hand records (18 boards per page)
- 2-up board preparation
- curtain cards (each player's cards in a vertical strip)
- teaching mat (cards rotated to face out toward each player)
Multiple output options—
- Printer
- HTML Web Page (Click here for samples)
- PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format)
- Presentation (full-screen slide show)
- Paste into email (see note at bottom of this page)
- Paste or Embed into MS Word, MS PowerPoint, etc.
Automatic creation of "slides" that show the bidding and play of a board call-by-call and card-by-card. (See Gallery document 17.)

Double dummy solver (engine courtesy of Bo Haglund). Runs multithreaded for extra speed on multicore CPUs.
Displays par score and par contracts based on the double dummy analysis.
Displays optimum opening leads.
Optimal play highlighting.
Suboptimal play highlighting.
Hand evaluation tooltips (Click here for details).
Page headers and footers.
Spelling checker, including common bridge terms. US-English is built-in; any Hunspell dictionary may be substituted.
Interfaces to GIB or WBridge5 (if obtained separately) for automatic computer bidding and play.
As of 2019, GIB seems to be out of stock everywhere, and is unlikely ever to be restocked.
Flexibility in font selection.
Diagram label customization and language translation (click here for sample).
Provides a Windows Search "IFilter" for .pbn files, allowing BridgeComposer documents (and other .pbn files) to be located on your PC using the standard Windows Search user interface.
Provides a Windows "preview handler" that enables File Explorer to display the first page of PBN, LIN, DLM, DUP, and BRI files in its preview pane.
Command Line Interface and Windows Automation: Supports usage from script files (.bat, JavaScript, VBScript, etc.). See also the online Scripting Library.

Provides the "Board Edit" dialog (see above) for entering and changing hand parameters.
Automatic bridge hand generation (or completion)—
- Random (single or multiple boards)
- Balanced (single board at a time)
- By HCP and distribution (single hand at a time)
- Scripting for complete flexibility (for example see CreateDealType.wsf)
Deal, auction, and play validation.
Enter card holdings by dictation (Windows Speech Recognition).

Extensive integrated "help" feature (see above).

Tools→Import Score Data and File→Save As HTML commands: Merge ACBLscore and Bridgemate or BridgePad results with hand records to create game result web pages. (Click here for a sample. See the Links page for more game result web page examples.)
These commands also create similar web pages from USEBIO XML files.
Related feature: the Tools→Check Score Data command finds potential score data entry errors.

[OFF-SITE LINK TO THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION]

Bridgemate - Wireless scoring solutions for bridge
BridgeComposer may be used to create Results web pages using data from ACBLscore and the "results" (.bws) file that is shared by Bridgemate Control Software and ACBLscore during a game. Optionally, hand records may be included.

[OFF-SITE LINK TO THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION]

Eliminate the delays and errors of traditional paper-based scoring systems by using a wireless automated scoring system. Get more information at

BridgePad™ - Wireless Bridge Scoring System

BridgeComposer merges ACBLscore reports, hand records and wireless scoring device data to produce results web pages for uploading to your club website.

See additional features on the Tutorials page and the Gallery page.

What Bridge Teachers Might Do with BridgeComposer

Quickly and easily prepare consistent and professional-looking lesson handouts
Ensure correct spelling (including bridge terms) using check & correct feature (US-English built-in; other language support available)
Enjoy automatic detection of errors such as incorrect card count, duplicate cards, insufficient bids, and many more
Rearrange cards while preparing lesson hands using drag-and-drop interface
Check your work using double-dummy analysis and optimal and suboptimal play highlighting
Prepare instructional booklets
Quickly and easily prepare hand diagrams for your website (if you have one)
Print "curtain cards" that can be cut into strips, each strip showing the cards for a single player direction
Print "teaching mats" that can be placed on tables to help students prepare their own lesson hands
Automatically generate hands based on HCP and distribution (one 13-card hand at a time)
Prepare slide shows that demonstrate the bidding and play of boards call-by-call and card-by-card
Produce LIN files for upload to Bridge Base Online
Produce PDF files for printing
Paste or Embed BridgeComposer hand diagrams into Word, PowerPoint, etc.
Connect your computer to a projector and use full-screen mode for live presentations
Find previously prepared lesson hands using standard Windows Search
Merge previously prepared lesson hands from existing BridgeComposer documents into a new document
Rearrange boards in a document using copy/paste or the All Boards drag-and-drop interface
Use scripting for advanced functions (for example CreateDealType.wsf)

What Bridge Players Might Do with BridgeComposer

Reconstruct hands you have played
Save a record of hands
Paste spiffy hand diagrams into email (see note)
Analyze hands using:
- Hand evaluation tooltips
- Double-dummy analysis
- Optimum opening leads
- Card-by-card play simulation with automatic optimal play highlighting
- "View→Suboptimal Plays" to see instantly where the play went wrong (declarer and/or defense)
- Slides that show the (previously entered) bidding and play of boards call-by-call and card-by-card
Quickly solve double-dummy problems
Have GIB or WBridge5 (obtained separately) bid and play hands on-screen
Create standard PBN files for use with other bridge computer programs
View and print existing PBN files downloaded from the web
View LIN files downloaded from Bridge Base Online
Convert LIN, DUP, DLM, and BRI files to PBN files
Display PBN files as HTML files or PDF files
Export PBN files as LIN, DUP, DLM, BRI, or Deep Finesse text files
Use scripting for advanced functions (for example Scenario.js)

What Bridge Club Managers/Game Directors Might Do with BridgeComposer

See the Links page for other bridge clubs using BridgeComposer
Generate random deal sets for games
Print hand records with double-dummy analysis, including par score and par contracts
Enter hand-dealt boards into BridgeComposer while they are idle during a game, then print hand records
Convert LIN, BRI, DUP, and DLM files to PBN files; convert PBN files to LIN, BRI, DUP, or DLM files
Post hand records to the web
Check scores to identify potential data entry errors
Merge ACBLscore results with hand records and/or wireless scoring device data and post on your club website (sample)
Prepare "hand of the week" web pages or emails
Use scripting for advanced functions (for example gen.js)

What Publishers Might Do with BridgeComposer

Quickly and easily prepare printer-ready copy of bridge material
Create PDF files of bridge material
Enjoy automatic detection of errors such as incorrect card count, duplicate cards, insufficient bids, and many more

Paste into email: With desktop email (such as Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail), just use BridgeComposer Board→Copy and then Edit→Paste into your new email message. This places HTML code into the email. At one time, web-browser-based email like gmail and yahoo mail could not do this, but now it seems that they can.