"Programme", huh?
1) I am using Windows, and it is enough to copy the pgn into a simple Notepad file (Notepad is an integral part of windows), and then instead of saving the file as a default .txt, simply give it a name that ends in .pgn, for example myfile.pgn.
2) I use Chessbase to read the .pgn file created above.
Thanks, I'm blaming stress on my inability to spell program. But is there a way to create a pgn file from the game editor resource on this site?
Resources --> Analysis Board & Editor
Click on Game Editor (top right) [I think this what you were missing, the default Analysis Board tab doesn't have a copy option]
Enter moves
Hit the Copy PGN button, paste into Notepad, save as DogsPlayingPoker.pgn, or whatever.
A pgn file is just a plain text file with a .pgn extension. It uses the pgn extension so that certain programs (like SCID) know how to work with the file. You can use any text editor to create or work with a pgn file. You only need to save it with a pgn extension instead of a txt extension. The text editing program may give a warning about changing the extension of the file but ignore it and save anyway.
Thanks I now realise how silly the question was... I'm just gonna store the text in Word or whatever and review it when I want to by pasting it into the game editor here. Cheers.
...I'm just gonna store the text in Word or whatever...
Be careful. Word's native format contains hidden formatting characters that won't work with programs expecting a pure pgn file. You really need to use a pure text editor and not a word processor like Word. I'm not very familiar with the Mac operating systems so I don't know what it's native text editor is but you can probably use one from this site:
http://mac.appstorm.net/roundups/office-roundups/top-10-mac-text-editors/
[edit: You should be able to use Word to store the file as text-only. You might have to change the extension from txt to pgn after you've saved it.]
Careful with Word! It will work for pasting into a web page app, but you'll likely have problems with any other program if you save pgn files in Word, because of extraneous formatting. Sometimes even if you specify to save as a text file Word still puts in extra codes that mess up programs that require pure text. For pgn files it's best to use pure text editors rather than word processors. There are plenty of free good text editors for Windows, but I don't know about Macs.
EDIT: I was typing my warning about Word while Gomer was posting his! 
I save all my chess.com games in a text file so that I can analyze them later by pasting the PGN into Chessmaster. The PGN's come in an email after the games are over, or you can download them. It's a simple matter to copy & paste.
This is not a silly question, it is a good question. Probably Wikipedia would explain pgn format. Most of the header information in a pgn is included between brackets [ ]. This gives the game information. One thing that's not completely clear to me is how you indicate something like infinity as a result. What if you terminate a game and the position is unclear. It would get put at the bottom of the header [result]. For an uncertain position evidently you would have to know the ASCII character for infinity. It seems like comments can be embedded in pgn files by placeing them between brackets { }. These seem to be accepted by the chess programs I've used. The thing that is somewhat easy to do is to forget to put a move in a pgn if your creating it yourself. It is so much easier to use a program to generate a pgn. One program I use to do this is xboard under Linux, though its most likely not as relevent with a MAC.
The syntax of the pgn should be more or less the same. That's why Wikipedia might be a good source that describes the file format. Its not a silly question though. Good Luck!!!
Thanks for the advice, didn't have any problem storing the first few in Word, though I'll use a simple text program from now on all the same
The problem with the extra formatting code that a word processor can put in is that when the chess programs see something they don't know what to do with, they ignore the entire game entry and sometimes the entire pgn file.
BTW, I don't know if it has a Mac equivalent, but the program I use for quickly going through PGN files and keeping track/updating my current correspondence games is ChessPad. Quick and small. It also has engine abilities, but I use Arena for that, and the free ChessBase for more detailed game reviews and stats.
The problem with the extra formatting code that a word processor can put in is that when the chess programs see something they don't know what to do with, they ignore the entire game entry and sometimes the entire pgn file.
BTW, I don't know if it has a Mac equivalent, but the program I use for quickly going through PGN files and keeping track/updating my current correspondence games is ChessPad. Quick and small. It also has engine abilities, but I use Arena for that, and the free ChessBase for more detailed game reviews and stats.
C'mon Cystem, you know I can't explain it slow enough for you to understand.
I miss our bantors.
: )))
Hi there, unfortunately when it comes to computer matters I belong to the remedial section, so if someone could explain this to me as they would to a dim-witted child I'd be very grateful.
1) I want to create PGN files to store my opening lines and annotations on same. I'm using the Game Editor here to create these. Once I've copied the PGN info, is there somewhere I can paste it that will then create a PGN file for me? On game editor I can only see an option to post the 'game' on chess.com.
2) If and when I do create the PGN file, what is the easiest programme to use to be able to play through the lines and see the annotations? I downloaded Sigma Chess and HiArcs some time ago, but due to my aforementioned technical stupidity, I might as well be looking into a dark and scary forest.
I'm using a MacBook, by the way, in case you're suggesting downloads, though I'd prefer to do this online, to limit the strain on my fragile mind.