[EventDate "????.??.??"] extra tag in Hiarcs Chess Explorer Pro 1.1.1

[Ladyhawk]

Why is Hiarcs Chess Explorer Pro adding an extra tag '[EventDate "????.??.??"]'
to exported pgn games?
I get errors in SCID 5.0.2 if I open these pgn's.

Code: Select all

[Event "Chess Position Trainer"]
[Site "Chess Position Trainer"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jonathan"]
[Black "Others"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A43"]
[PlyCount "7"]

Becomes

Code: Select all

[Event "Chess Position Trainer"]
[Site "Chess Position Trainer"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jonathan"]
[Black "Others"]
[Result "*"]
[EventDate "????.??.??"]
[ECO "A43"]
[PlyCount "7"]

After exporting in Hiarcs Chess Explorer
I would like an option so Hiarcs Chess Exlorer doesn't ads this extra tag.

[Bxh7]

The EventDate tag is used a lot and is part of the PGN standard. If SCID has a problem with it, then it is more likely a problem with SCID, not HCE.

[Ladyhawk]

I have contacted the programmer of Scid.
He says it is an error of Hiarcs Chess Explorer Pro
This is what he writes:

In the latest version a significant amount of work has been done to improve the handling of PGN files, including the validation and error reporting. As part of this enhancement, stricter validation rules were introduced and valid data for the tag "EventDate" is required.

The error message indicates that the "EventDate" tag in the PGN file you attached contains the value "????.??.??," which is not a valid date. To maintain data integrity and comply with the stricter validation rules, the entire tag pair with the invalid date was removed.

While these messages may seem like errors, they actually serve as notifications to ensure that the PGN files adhere to standard formats and contain valid information. This helps avoid potential issues and inaccuracies when using the PGN data in analysis or other applications.

If you have not entered the value manually, please report the issue to the developers of Hiarcs Explorer Pro. If the "EventDate" is unknown, it should not be included.

[Bxh7]

Let's refer to the "Portable Game Notation Specification and Implementation Guide":

8.1.1.3: The Date tag
"If the any of the digit fields are not known, then question marks are used in place of the digits."

9.2.1: Tag: EventDate
This uses a date value, similar to the Date tag field, that gives the starting
date of the Event.

The way I read the PGN standard, ????.??.?? is implicitly indeed a legal value, and SCID is being too constrictive.

[Ladyhawk]

[EventDate] is not one of the 7 tags that should be present even if the are unknown:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_ ... Tag_Roster

So I want to make a request for Hiarcs Explorer for an option to not add the unrequested "EventDate" tag.

[GoneBallistics]

[EventDate] is not one of the 7 tags that should be present even if the are unknown:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_ ... Tag_Roster

So I want to make a request for Hiarcs Explorer for an option to not add the unrequested "EventDate" tag.

As an alternative,unwanted tags can be easily removed using pgn-extract

[mrudolf]

As an alternative,unwanted tags can be easily removed using pgn-extract

We should indeed skip EventDate if empty. It is not a required tag.

[Ladyhawk]

We should indeed skip EventDate if empty. It is not a required tag.

Can I change some settings in version 1.2.1 to change this behavior?
Maybe by editing some files in C:\Program Files (x86)\HIARCS Chess\HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro?
When can we expect an update to fix this behavior?

[mrudolf]

We should indeed skip EventDate if empty. It is not a required tag.

Can I change some settings in version 1.2.1 to change this behavior?
Maybe by editing some files in C:\Program Files (x86)\HIARCS Chess\HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro?
When can we expect an update to fix this behavior?

1.3 should skip empty EventDate.