Can you please give us a way to go to a particular level of difficulty without hitting the "next" key a hundred times or so?  Right now in order to find a level 600, 700, 800, etc. exercise, it's a matter of clicking and clicking and clicking.  There's a way to search for a problem number; can we get a way to search for a difficulty level other than easiest to hardest or vice-versa?  Thank you! 

I posted a topic about something similar here. It would be a great addition to Tactics Trainer.

KittyA,

   if you solve tactics, your rating there rises.  the trainer program will select tactics rated slightly above or slightly below your tactics rating at that time.

    as you solve them, your rating will rise, and you will be presented with higher rated tactics.  if you fail several of them, your rating will fall, and you will be given tactics rated at or below your rating.

if you are legitimately rated 800, seeking tactics at the 1800 level is ludicrous, and you will learn little as they are too complex for the average 800 player to solve.

 Thank you, Ret.  That wasn't my reason.  My board, for some reason, often freezes.  Tech support hasn't been able to figure it out (it happens with and with both a wireless connection and a hard wire and in both in IE7 and the latest Firefox).  If I could get back to the correct ratings level, I might be able to find the problem I was in the middle of doing when it kept insisting it was my turn and wouldn't allow me to do anything. 

What happens is I make a move, am told it's correct, and then the board freezes.  I figure if I could find the previous example, I could find the one I was working on.  That's something else I suggested.  Until a problem is solved, the problem ID isn't given and a search for it can't be done.  Doing a search for the previous one gets to the previous one, but it doesn't allow a person to go to the next one; actually going to the next example doesn't allow a person to go back to the previous one.

So, I'm pondering and then am locked out without an answer. :)  Anyway, I suppose there's a reason a person can search for different levels.  As long as this availability exists, I'd like to be able to make more efficient use of it.

Not to hijack the topic, but that isn't 100% accurate. I can solve many of the higher level tatics puzzles and was able to recently get to almost 2000. I have settled back down to 1800-1900 but I have a bad streak where I dropped down into the 1400-1600 range where I was having quite a few problems that I was missing. So there are tactics in the trainer that may hit upon individual player's weaknesses that may be much lower rated than we have acheived.

I know my comment was to show support for a way to attempt the lower rated puzzles. For me, it is to get those specific tactical themes that I seem to have a hard time seeing.

KittyA, one of the machines I use consistantly has a very similar lock-up issue. Usually if I wait long enough it will allow the tactics trainer to continue. If I close out the trainer and go back into it will often run well for a few puzzles then hang again. I haven't had time to troubleshoot it since I use another machine more often. If you let it set long enough does it eventually move on?

I don't know what "long enough" is, Martin.  I haven't waited overnight, but I have waited several minutes.  This happens both in tactics trainer and in chess mentor (when I was using the latter).

I don't mind the hanging up so much as the not being able to get back to the same problem. :(

"KittyA, one of the machines I use consistantly has a very similar lock-up issue. Usually if I wait long enough it will allow the tactics trainer to continue. If I close out the trainer and go back into it will often run well for a few puzzles then hang again. I haven't had time to troubleshoot it since I use another machine more often. If you let it set long enough does it eventually move on?"

Well, my usual wait is 3 or 4 minutes, maximum.  And it usually happens about the time I've said, "Just one more" for the 3rd or 4th time

I found that when my screen freezes after making a move, I found that often going back to the tactics page and clicking START TRAINING it USUALLY starts me over on the problem on which I was working.

 You're lucky.  It starts me elsewhere. :(

 I'll start timing since time goes by slowly when you're waiting for water to boil or a screen to unfreeze. :))

Two things, KittyA, I was reading another topic (a few days ago) and someone mentioned time outs during the trainer and that AVG Anti-virus seemed to be the cause. I also have AVG but haven't uninstalled it to see if that may be causing my issue. Are you using that by chance?

Also, you may have seen my post in the other topic I started, but you can set TT to unrated mode, set a ratings range, and have it act just like the rated mode, other than getting rated. Still would like to see the option available in rated mode but if you just want to practice then that might be an option for you.

Thank you, Martin. :)  I'm using Norton and TT in unrated mode.  One thing I don't want to do is mess up the stats for others -- especially the amounts of time as I tend to analyze everything several times before I make a move.

I've learned that the ratings range (and I may be wrong, but this is the way it seems) works by the 100's.  Anything within the same 100 (in my case 600-700) range is of the same level, just more problems.  I hadn't realized that the problem numbers can go from 620 - 685 - 612, etc.

When I mentioned that it acts just like the rating mode I just meant that it will allow you to set it and click on "Next" to move on to the next tactic puzzle. I'm pretty sure the tactic stats do not change when in that mode. It didn't automatically move on to the next puzzle in my test, when I set it to, but in that mode it would be easier than searching out the puzzles. You could do any interval you wanted.

This is the way I have it set up, Martin -- I click on "next" and move to the next puzzle; that's the way I set it up and haven't tried to set it up not to have to click on "next" in order to go there.  This way I have options and control. :)  But, what no one can do is go to a 900 level or a 600 level or a 1200 level puzzle without clicking and clicking and clicking on the page numbers as shown below; there's no way to go to page #x or level #x.  You can go to a certain problem, but there's no way to continue on that level from that point.

 I found the answer!  It's in the settings for the tactics trainer. :)

Glad you found it. Though I guess my explanation wasn't very clear so you didn't find it sooner

This is exactly the way I have it set, Martin.  I'd just forgotten about the range. :)