home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
300 Favorite Games
/
300GAMES.iso
/
140
/
kidkeys.doc
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-12-24
|
3KB
|
76 lines
KidKeys
The idea behind KidKeys is simple: to give young children the
opportunity to press computer keys, see the letters or numbers on
the screen, and not do any damage to the computer. My two-year-
old son, James, likes to push computer keys just as he sees his
parents doing. I wrote these programs to let him do that.
Here are some of the features of all the KidKeys programs:
> Almost every key displays a letter, number or symbol, including
the function keys and cursor movement keys.
> The letter, number or symbol is very large and easy to see.
> The letters, numbers or symbols are displayed using ASCII text,
so no graphics capability is required. These programs
should work on any monitor.
> Every key also plays a soft musical note.
> The soft musical notes can be turned off (whew!). Press
<Ctrl>-<Home> at any time for a little quiet.
> Even if the child holds a key down for a long time, there is no
annoying squeal from the computer. This is even true on
older slower computers (like mine).
> To exit from the program, press <Ctrl>-<Break>. It is very
unlikely that a child would do this accidentally.
Here are features of specific KidKeys programs:
KIDKEY1.EXE displays one single letter, number or symbol in the
center of the screen.
To run: Type KIDKEY1 at the DOS prompt and press <Enter>.
<Ctrl>-<Home> toggles the sound off and on.
<Ctrl>-<Break> exits from the program.
KIDKEY2.EXE displays one row of 10 letters, numbers or symbols in
the center of the screen. The row automatically wraps around
from the right margin to the left margin at the end of the line.
To run: Type KIDKEY2 at the DOS prompt and press <Enter>.
<Ctrl>-<Home> toggles the sound off and on.
<Ctrl>-<Break> exits from the program.
KIDKEY3.EXE displays 3 rows of 10 letters, numbers or symbols.
The row automatically wraps around from the right margin to the
next row's left margin at the end of a line. The bottom right
margin automatically wraps around to the top left margin.
To run: Type KIDKEY3 at the DOS prompt and press <Enter>.
<Home> moves the cursor to the top left margin.
<Ctrl>-<Home> toggles the sound off and on.
<Ctrl>-<Break> exits from the program.Some suggestions:
> If you want all capital letters, press <Caps Lock> anytime
after program starts.
> If you want the numeric keypad to produce numbers (not
symbols), press <Num Lock> anytime after program starts.
> Try experimenting with the function keys, and with <Shift>- or
<Alt>- or <Ctrl>- key combinations to produce symbols. You
can even draw lines and boxes with these symbols!
These programs are essentially free. I hope your children use
and enjoy them. Small donations ($1-$5) to defray small costs
are gratefully accepted, but not required.
Please let me know your problems, reactions or suggestions:
Ed DeJesus
PO Box 2657
Westwood, MA 02090
[CompuServe 70761,2303]
Enjoy!