You can get help at any time either by pressing the F1 key or by clicking on "Help" at the bottom of the screen. d
Help is "context-sensitive", that is, it relates to the part of the program where you are working.
The Help screen may contain highlighted references to other Help topics, which you can select with [Tab] and [Shift-Tab] (or by clicking on them with a mouse) and then pressing [Enter]. You can also double-click with the mouse instead of pressing [Enter]. G
In all help screens, keys to press are enclosed in [square brackets]. 1
Help windows can be moved, zoomed and re-sized. w
Close this window by pressing [Escape] or by clicking on the "go-away" box in the top left-hand corner of the window. Q
Other related Help topics are Windows, Menus, Dialog
boxes and the Status
line.
Low memory
If you get a warning message or error message that an operation could not be completed because of insufficient memory, this could be a temporary or long-term problem.
Before proceeding, try saving the file - but use a new name so that you can go back to the original file in case any of the text has been lost. S
Each open window uses up memory, so try closing any windows that you do not need. /
Clear any unwanted text out of the clipboard.
If you still get "insufficient memory" warnings, make sure that you have not taken up large areas of your computer's memory with "Terminate-and-Stay-Resident" programs (TSRs). (See your DOS manual). m
If all else fails, you may simply be trying to write too much text in the Exercise, Intro and Help screens.
Menus
To open a menu-box, click on the menu-item with the mouse or press the Alt key plus the highlighted letter of the menu item. For example, the "File" menu-box is pulled down by [Alt-F].
You can also select a menu-box as follows: press [F10] to highlight the item on the menu-bar that you last used, move the menu highlight to another item (if you want) with the Left or Right arrow keys and then press [Enter].
To select an item from a menu-box with the mouse, click on the item you want, or, from the keyboard, press the highlighted letter of the option. Alternatively, use the up/down arrows to highlight the option, then press [Enter].
With the mouse, you can also open a menu-box and select an item in one operation: position the cursor on the menu-item, press the mouse-button and move the cursor to the item you want; then release the mouse-button.
If you want to close a menu-box without selecting anything from it, press [Escape] or move the mouse off the menu-box and click. :
Some menu-items can also be selected with shortcut
keys. P
Other related Help topics are Help, Windows, Dialog
boxes and the Status
line.
Dialog boxes
A dialog box is a special type of window. You cannot access any other parts of the screen while a dialog is active (except to click on "Help" at the bottom of the screen). l
Dialog-boxes usually have a number of different areas: you can move from area to area using the [Tab] key.
The normal way to leave a dialog is by pressing [Enter] or by clicking on the OK button. Any actions that you have carried out in the dialog (such as setting radio
buttons or check-boxes) will be accepted by the program.
If you want to cancel a dialog, either press [Escape], click on the "Cancel" button, press the "Close Window" shortcut key (F8) or click on the go-away box in the top left corner of the dialog. Any actions that you have carried out in the dialog will then be ignored by the program. I
Other related Help topics are Help, Windows, Menus and the Status
line.
The purpose of the Status line at the bottom of the screen is to give useful information. It is used sparingly, as you can always get help by pressing F1.
In the event of a system error (e.g. if you try to save to a write-protected disk), an error message will be displayed on the status line. You will then have the choice of correcting the error (if possible) or cancelling the operation. F
Other related Help topics are Help, Windows, Menus and Dialog
boxes.
Windows
Everything that appears in the main part of the screen is contained in a window. You can often have more than one window open at a time, though only one can be active. Z
The Windows
menu contains commands that allow you to manipulate windows in various ways.
Buttons
Buttons appear in dialogs. 7
To press a button with the mouse, simply click on it.
From the keyboard, hold the [Alt] key down while you type the highlighted letter of the button (e.g. the "O" in "OK"). In some dialogs, it is sufficient simply to type the letter (without [Alt]). x
An alternative in some dialogs is to move to the button you want to press with [Tab] or [Shift-Tab] and press [Enter]. N
The Cancel button has no highlighted letter. Its equivalent key is [Escape]. )
See also Check-boxes and Radio-buttons.
Radio-buttons
Radio-buttons appear in dialogs. r
Radio-buttons always appear in groups. Only one of the radio-buttons in a group can be selected at any one time.
To choose a radio button, click it or its text with the mouse-button. From the keyboard, select the highlighted character or press [Tab] until the group is highlighted and then use the arrow keys to choose a particular radio-button. #
See also Check-boxes and Buttons.
Check-boxes
Check-boxes appear in dialogs. =
You can have any number of check-boxes checked at any time. ,
When you select a check-box, "X" appears in it to show you it's on. An empty box indicates that it's off. You check a check box (set it to "on") by clicking in it or its text, by pressing [Tab] until the check-box is highlighted and then pressing [Spacebar], or by selecting the highlighted letter.
If selecting a check-box in a group, use the arrow keys or highlighted letters to select the item that you want and then press [Spacebar]. m
On monochrome monitors, the active check-box or group of check-boxes has a chevron symbol (
) next to it. %
See also Buttons and Radio-buttons.
Shortcut keys
Some menu options can be selected with "shortcut" keys. If so, the shortcut key is shown next to the menu item (e.g. [Alt-Q] for "Quit" in the File menu). The shortcut key allows you to select the option without first having to open a menu. To leave the program, therefore, you simply need to type [Alt-Q].
Moving around a dialog-box
To move to a particular area of a dialog-box, click on the area with the mouse-button.
From the keyboard, press [Tab] to move to the next area, and [Shift-Tab] to move to the previous area. (In some dialogs this option is not available.)
Alternatively, hold the [Alt] key down while you type the highlighted letter of the area. In some dialogs, it is sufficient simply to type the letter (without [Alt]).
List boxes
Usually, a list box contains a list of items from which you select one.
Highlight an item by using the scrollbar then press [Enter] to select it. You can also pick an item by double-clicking on it with the mouse.
If the list is in alphabetical order, you can normally move to an item by pressing its first letter. If there are several items starting with the same letter, the highlight will circle around them on each keypress.
Open a File Dialog Box
The Open a File dialog box is called up by selecting Open from the File
menu. l
The dialog contains a list of the data files in the current directory and the usual OK and Cancel buttons.
Select a file by moving the highlight over it with the Up, Down, Home, End, PageUp or PageDown keys, then press the OK button. a
If you have a mouse, you can select a file using the scrollbar or you can "double-click" on it. O
You can change to another directory with the File
Change
Directory Command.
Entering data
Simply type your entry into the box. Most of the cursor
movement keys are available during data entry.
In some cases (e.g. when changing the exercise
title, the existing entry is highlighted, and can (if you wish) be deleted simply by pressing [Delete] as your first keypress.
The File Menu
This menu offers commands for working with files, changing directories, and quitting the program.
The options are:
New
Open
Close
Print
Save
Save
Convert
files
Merge
Delete
Change
directory
Shell
Student
Quit
New file
This command is in the File
menu. @
The New command opens a new exercise file for you to write in.
Before you can start authoring, you are asked to give your exercise a title. You can always change this title later by selecting the Exercise
title command in the Authoring menu. p
Once you have named your exercise, use the Authoring
menu to select the parts of the file you want to work on.
Open a file
This command is in the File
menu. ]
The Open command displays the Open a File dialog
box so that you can select a file to load.
Close a file
This command is in the File
menu. 9
The Close command closes the file you are working with.
If you have made any changes to the file (and you have not saved it in the meantime), you'll be asked whether you want to save the file before it is closed. (The "Cancel" button in the dialog cancels the Close File command.)
Print a file
This command is in the File
menu. 6
The Print command leads to sub-menu of four options: w
Teacher record : printer
Student exercise : printer
Teacher record : disk
Student exercise : disk
The "Teacher record" options print out the file as written. The "Student exercise" options print out the file with the items in the right hand column scrambled, and without hints, for students to solve on paper. _
The "printer" options will print out the file according to the settings in the printer
setup. B
The "disk" option will ask you to specify a DOS file-name. The default name consists of the first eight letters of the name of the exercise (without spaces), with the extension "prn". You can change this to any valid DOS file-name. If the file already exists, you will be asked to confirm that it should be over-written. +
You cannot print out an invalid exercise.
Save a file
This command is in the File
menu.
The Save File command saves the whole file to disk. You will be asked for confirmation before any existing file is over-written. Y
Before it can be saved, a file must contain a valid exercise, and it must have a title. d
If you want to change directory or drive before saving the file, use the Change
Directory command.
If you are saving a new file, the program will suggest a DOS filename based on the exercise title. You can change this before saving if you wish.
Save file as...
This command is in the File
menu. L
The Save as... command enables you to save a file with a new DOS filename. P
If you are saving a new file, simply enter the filename in the text entry box.
The list underneath shows the names of all of the files in the current directory. If the list is longer than the box, you can scroll through it with the scrollbar.
If you are saving an existing file under a new name, the current name will appear in the entry box, for you to edit or replace (see Data
Entry). The new name cannot be blank. x
If you use the same name as an existing file, you will be ask to confirm that you want to overwrite the existing file.
Convert files
This command is in the File
menu. x
Files written with Version 1 of this program are not compatible with the Version 2 programs, and need to be converted.
The Convert command will convert any Version 1 files found in the current directory. Converted files will be given DOS filenames based on the first 8 characters of their exercise titles. v
During conversion, Version 1 files will be deleted. It is therefore a good idea to make a back-up before you start.
Merge
This command is in the File
menu.
The Merge option combines the items from two files into a single file. To use it, you must already have one file open. On selecting Merge, you will be asked to select a second file: when this is done, the items from the second file are appended to those in the file already open (up to a maximum of 99 items altogether). Introduction and Help screens are not affected by this command.
Delete a file
This command is in the File
menu. R
Select a file to delete from the list. You will be asked to confirm your choice. !
You cannot delete an open file.
Change Directory
This command is in the File
menu. |
The Change Directory command brings up the Change
Directory dialog box, which you can use to change the current directory. :
The current directory is where your data files are kept.
DOS Shell
This command is in the File
menu. u
With the DOS Shell command, you can leave the program temporarily to perform a DOS command (e.g. to format a disk). C
Do not make changes to any file which is open inside the program. 9
To return to this program, type EXIT at the DOS prompt.
Load a Student File
This command is in the File
menu.
The Student File command opens the Student
dialog-box, which allows you to examine and print out files saved by learners using the Student Program.
Quit
Shortcut key: [Alt-Q]
This command is in the File
menu. *
The Quit command terminates the program.
The Change Directory dialog box
The Change Directory dialog box consists of a list box containing a Directory Tree, the standard OK and Cancel buttons, and an Expand button.
Directory Tree
Drives
C:\
ENGLISH
BEGINNER
The Directory Tree list box enables you to navigate directories by using either the keyboard or the mouse.
From the keyboard, select a directory using the up/down arrows, and press [Alt-E] to expand it (that is, show any subdirectories it may contain). With a mouse, click on a directory and then click on the Expand button (or simply double-click on the directory). R
When you have highlighted the directory to want to work in, press the OK button.
Changing drives works in the same way: highlight "Drives" at the top of the tree, and Expand it to show a list of available drives. x
Pressing the Cancel button leaves you in the directory and drive that you were in before you called up the dialog box.
The Edit Menu
The Edit menu lets you cut, copy, paste and clear text in edit windows. J
You can also open a clipboard window to view, edit or load its contents. \
The menu also gives you access to (usually accented) characters attached to function
keys.
Before you can use most of the commands on this menu, you need to know about selecting text (because most edit-menu commands apply to selected text).
See also Cursor-movement
keys
Cut text
Shortcut key: [Shift-Delete]
This command is in the Edit
menu
The Cut command removes selected
text from your document and places it in the clipboard. You can then paste the text from the clipboard into any other editing screen (or somewhere else in the same document).
See also Copy and Clear.
Copy text
Shortcut key: [Ctrl-Insert]
This command is in the Edit
menu
The Copy command leaves the selected text intact but places an exact copy of it in the clipboard. You can then paste the text from the clipboard into any other editing screen (or somewhere else in the same document).
See also Cut, Paste and Clear.
Paste text
Shortcut key: [Shift-Insert]
This command is in the Edit
menu
The paste command inserts the currently selected block from the clipboard into the current edit window at the cursor position. The text remains selected in the clipboard and can be pasted again.
See also Cut, Copy and Clear.
Clear text
Shortcut key: [Ctrl-Delete]
This command is in the Edit
menu
The Clear command removes selected
text from your document but does not place it in the clipboard, so it cannot be reinstated.
See also Cut, Copy and Paste.
Show Clipboard
This command is in the Edit
menu {
When you cut, copy or paste text in an edit window, the selected
text is moved between the edit window and the clipboard.
The clipboard operates just like a normal edit window, except that the Cut, Copy and Paste commands are not available. The Clear command is still available, since "cleared" text is thrown away.
You can also load text into the clipboard from an external file. Any existing text in the clipboard will be overwritten. Select the Load
Clipboard command from the file menu and select a file from the list of files.
Load Clipboard
This command is in the Edit
menu
Enter the name of a text file on the input line. You can use standard DOS wild-cards and drive/path specifiers to produce a directory of possible files. N
The "Paragraphs" button converts single CrLfs (Return characters) to spaces. 2
The "Line-breaks" button loads the text "as is".
As you can specify any file-name, you must ensure that your chosen file is a text-file. If not, garbage will appear in the clipboard window.
Function keys
Shortcut key: [Alt =]
This command is in the Edit
menu.
Use this command to bring up a list of all the special characters (usually accented characters) which have been assigned to function keys using the Function
dialog. O
To type one of the characters in the list, click on it with the mouse-button.
From the keyboard, either press the function key combination indicated (e.g. [Shift-F1], [Ctrl-F7], [Alt-F2]) or [Tab] down to the character and press [Enter]. :
If the character you want is not in the list, you can type it by holding down the [Alt] key and typing in its ASCII number on the numeric keypad (NOT the numbers along the top of the keyboard). For example, to type the letter
, hold down the [Alt] key, type 129 on the numeric keypad, and release the [Alt] key.
Selecting text
Selecting text means highlighting it. Most of the commands in the Edit
menu operate on selected text. Y
To select text from the keyboard, press [Shift] while pressing any cursor-movement key. g
To select text with a mouse, click the mouse on one end of the desired text and, keeping the mouse-button down, drag the mouse-pointer to the other end of the desired text. Then release the mouse-button. If you want to continue the selection above or below the edge of the window, just drag the mouse-pointer there and the window will automatically scroll. ;
To select a single word with a mouse, double-click on it. >
Once you have selected text, you can cut, copy and clear it.
Cursor movement keys
The following special keys are available during text editing: %
Left arrow : to previous character
Right arrow : to next character
Up arrow : to previous line
Down arrow : to next line
Home : to start of line
End : to end of line
Ctrl-Left : to previous word
Ctrl-Right : to next word
PageUp : up a screenful
PageDown : down a screenful
Ctrl-PageUp : to start of text
Ctrl-PageDown : to end of text
Insert : toggles Insert/Overwrite mode
(indicated by cursor size)
Delete : delete character under cursor
Backspace : delete character to left of cursor
Shift-Insert : paste
Shift-Delete : cut
Ctrl-Insert : copy
Ctrl-Delete : clear
Ctrl-Backspace : deselect any selected text
Alt = : Accented
characters
The Windows menu
The Windows menu contains commands to manipulate windows. W
Most of the windows in this program have all the standard window features, including: j
scroll
move
resize
zoom
tile
cascade
close
transfer to the previous and next window
Size/Move
Shortcut key: [F4]
This command is in the Windows
menu. G
Choose Size/Move to change the size or position of the active window.
Size
If you press [Shift] while you use the arrow keys, you can change the size of the active window. Once you've adjusted its size or position, press [Enter]. m
If a window has a Resize corner (bottom right), you can drag that corner with a mouse to resize the window. J
If you press [Escape], the window will be restored to its original size.
Move
When you choose the Size/Move command, the active window moves in response to the arrow keys. Once you've moved the window to where you want it, press [Enter]. F
You can also move a window by dragging its title bar with the mouse. N
If you press [Escape], the window will be restored to its original position.
Zoom
Shortcut key: [F5]
This command is in the Windows
menu.
Choose Zoom to resize the active window to the maximum size. If the window is already zoomed, you can choose this command to restore it to its previous size.
With a mouse, click in the zoom box [
] in the top right hand corner of the window. You can also double-click anywhere on the window's title bar (except where an icon appears) to zoom or unzoom the window.
Tile
This command is in the Windows
menu. 1
Choose Tile to tile all windows on the desktop. L
Tiled Windows
Cascade
This command is in the Windows
menu. 5
Choose Cascade to stack all windows on the desktop. Z
Cascaded Windows
Next window
Shortcut key: [F6]
This command is in the Windows
menu. C
Choose Next to cycle forwards through the windows on the desktop. D
You can also activate any window by clicking on it with the mouse.
Previous window
Shortcut key: [F7]
This command is in the Windows
menu. H
Choose Previous to cycle backwards through the windows on the desktop.
Close window
Shortcut key: [F8]
This command is in the Windows
menu. *
Choose Close to close the active window. R
You can also click the Close box [
] in the upper left corner to close a window.
Scrollbars
Scrollbars control the text or list to which they are connected. d
Up arrow
Page Up
Slider
Page Down
Down arrow
You can operate a scrollbar either from the keyboard or with a mouse. a
Click on the scrollbar's up/down arrows or press the Up/Down arrow keys to move up/down a line. l
Click in the scrollbar's Page Up/Page Down areas or press the PageUp/PageDown keys to move up/down a page. 7
Keep the mouse button pressed to scroll continuously. >
Drag the slider with the mouse to move it to a new position. u
If the scrollbar controls a list, you can also press the Home and End keys to move to the start or end of the list. ?
For other window manipulation commands, see the Windows
menu.
Search
Shortcut key: [Alt-S]
The Search menu contains the following commands to search text:
Find
Replace
Search
again
Find
Shortcut key: [Ctrl-F]
This command is in the Search
menu.
Enter the text that you want to find. You can recall previous searches by pressing the Down arrow to bring up a history
list.
Check-boxes let you limit the search to case-sensitive matches and/or to whole words only. These settings will remain in effect until you change them on a subsequent search. _
If the search succeeds, the cursor will move to first occurence of your "target" in the text. >
You can search
again for the next occurrence of your target.
Replace
Shortcut key: [Ctrl-R]
This command is in the Search
menu. ?
The Replace dialog works in a similar way to the Find dialog. ]
If the search finds your "target", it will highlight it and present you with four choices :
YES: Replace, and search for the next occurrence
NO: Don't replace, but search for the next occurrence
CANCEL: Cancel the search
AUTO: Replace all remaining occurrences without confirmation.
You can also replace all occurrences without confirmation by ticking the "Replace all" check-box in the Replace dialog.
Search again
Shortcut key: [Ctrl-A]
This command is in the Search
menu.
The Search again command searches for the next occurrence of your search
target following the current position of the cursor.
The Configure menu
Shortcut key [Alt-C]
The Configure menu leads to dialogs that let you change:
printer
set-up
colours
mouse default settings
the number of screen
lines displayed
characters assigned to Function
The "Save configuration" option will save the current colour, printer and function key settings. These will be loaded whenever you re-run the program.
Printer set-up
This command is in the Configure
menu.
It opens a dialog
box which allows you to send an initialisation string to the printer, to set left margin and page-width, and to select a printer-port.
Mouse set-up
This command is in the Configure
menu. |
The Mouse command brings up the Mouse
Options dialog box, where you can set the options that control how your mouse works: R
how fast a double-click is
which mouse button (right or left) is
active
Colours
This command is in the Configure
menu. `
It brings up the Colours
dialog box, which allows you to customise the colours of the display.
Screen lines
This command is in the Configure
menu.
If your computer is equipped with a EGA or VGA card, you can change the display from the default mode of 25 lines to 43 lines (EGA) or 50 lines (VGA). If the program does not detect a EGA or VGA card, this option cannot be accessed from the menu.
This will let you see more text in variable-size windows. Fixed-sized windows (such as dialogs) will remain the same size (although on a smaller scale). i
If your computer uses a non-standard graphics adapter, selecting 43/50 line mode may not work properly.
The Mouse Options dialog box
This dialog box appears if you select Mouse from the Configure menu. J
It consists of one check box, one slider bar, and OK and Cancel buttons.
Mouse Double Click
Slow Medium Fast
The Mouse Double Click slider bar adjusts the double click speed of your mouse. ^
[X] Reverse Mouse Buttons
Reverse Mouse Buttons makes the right mouse button take on the normal functions of the left mouse button, and vice versa.
The Colours dialog box
This dialog box appears if you select Colours from the Configure menu, and allows you to change the colours of different parts of the program. u
It consists of two list boxes, a text display area, three buttons (OK, Reset and Cancel), and one of the following: ?
- On colour and black-and-white systems, two colour palettes. 2
- On monochrome systems, a set of radio buttons.
Group
Desktop
Menus
Dialogs
Text
Help
The Group list box contains the names of the different regions of the program that you can customise. L
Item
Colour
When you select a group from the Group list, the Item list box displays the names of the different elements of that region.
Foreground
Background
On colour and black-and-white systems, you use the Foreground and Background palettes to change colours.
Style
) Mono low
( ) Mono high
( ) Mono underline
( ) Mono inverse
On monochrome systems, you use the Style set of radio buttons to change the character attributes. Q
Text Text Text
Text Text Text
On all systems, the display text (above the Cancel button) shows the current colour or style settings. |
In Teacher programs, you can make the colour changes permanent with the "Save configuration" option in the Configure
menu.
The Reset button will reset all of the colours to their standard default values. If you decide not to use those colours, the Cancel button will restore the colours as they were before you entered the dialog box. To use the default colours in the program, press/click the OK button.
Printer dialog box
Any string that you enter on the data
entry
line will be sent to the printer at the start of each print-run. b
Characters can either be typed "as is" or as a backslash followed by a number between 0 and 255.
For example, if you want to put an Epson-type printer into NLQ mode, you would enter \27x1. The \27 (which could also be entered as \027) will be interpreted as the ASCII character for [Escape]. "x" and "1" will be sent to the printer as those character T
A backslash followed by a non-numeral will be sent to the printer as a backslash. T
If you enter a number which is greater than 255, you'll be given an error message. T
You can set the printer's left margin and the page width by moving the scrollbars.
You can also select one of three possible parallel ports (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) or one of two possible serial ports (COM1 or COM2). If you attach a device to the selected port which cannot receive text (such as a mouse), trying to print an exercise could have strange results.
If the program cannot make a proper connection to the device at print-time, you'll see a "Device access error" on the status
line.
Function key dialog
This command is in the Configure
menu.
It opens a dialog which enables you to assign up to 30 characters to various Function key combinations, which can then be accessed by both teacher and learners via the Function
key option.
To assign a character to a function key, first click on the required function key (on the left), then click on the character you wish to assign to it (from the list on the right).
From the keyboard, use [Tab] or [Shift-Tab] to move to the required function key. Then use the left/right arrows to move to the list of characters on the right. Again, use [Tab] or [Shift-Tab] to move to the required character, and press Return.
If the character you want is not in the list, you can assign it by holding down the [Alt] key and typing in its ASCII number on the numeric keypad (NOT the numbers along the top of the keyboard). For ASCII numbers, see your DOS manual. .
When you have finished, press the OK button. d
If you want to leave the function keys as they were before you called up the dialog, press Cancel.
If you want to reset the function keys to the default settings they had when you purchased the package, press Reset and then OK. c
If you want your new settings to be saved, select Save Configuration from the Configuration menu.
Student File Dialog
First, select a student file. (You may have to change
directory before bringing up this dialog.) ]
The selected file can be deleted by pressing the Delete button, or opened by pressing Open.
Once the file is open, a second dialog appears. Set the check-boxes and radio-buttons to give you the information you want to see, and press the Update button. T
You can then scroll through the information and examine the learner's performance. I
To print the selected information onto paper, press the Printer button.
To save the information on disk (for later manipulation in your word-processor), press the Disk button. This will bring up a new dialog which enables you to enter a DOS filename and save the file.
The Author Menu
Shortcut key: [Alt-A]
The Author menu contains the commands you need to write and edit Matchmaster
files. These are: K
Exercise
title
Items
Introduction
Help 1, 2 and 3
Rename
window
Exercise title
This command is in the Author
menu. F
It allows you to change the current exercise title (see Data
entry). 5
The exercise title can be up to 25 characters long.
Note that the exercise title (which is what learners will use to identify the exercise) is NOT the same as the DOS filename (which can contain only 8 characters, and is determined when you save a file).
Writing Items
(See also Matchmaster
files, Author
menu and Items
menu. ~
A file can contain up to 50 pairs of items, each of which can be up to 4 lines long. Each pair can be accompanied by a hint. V
A file must contain at least three pairs of items before it can be saved or printed.
You can move around the different areas of the screen as you wish, and write your items as on a standard word-processor (See Cursor-movement
keys and Edit
menu).
Introduction
(See also Matchmaster
files and Author
menu ;
The Introduction can contain up to 64K of scrolling text. U
Write your introduction as on a standard word-processor (See Cursor-movement
keys).
Help Screens
(See also Matchmaster
files and Author
menu V
You can write up to three Help screens, each containing up to 64K of scrolling text. U
Write your Help screens as on a standard word-processor (See Cursor-movement
keys).
If you want a Help screen to have a more informative title than simply "Help 1", etc., use the Rename
window command in the Author
menu.
Rename help window
To rename a Help
screen, first make sure that the Help screen you want to rename is open and active (i.e. that you are currently working on it), then select this command from the Author
menu, and type in its new name. Z
The new name will appear at the head of the Help window when it is selected by learners.
Parameters
This command is in the Author
menu. -
There are two exercise-specific parameters: -
1 Random order
2 Browse mode available.
The first parameter allows you to decide if the items should appear in the order they were written, or in random order. k
The second allows you to decide whether or not learners should be able to do the exercise in Browse mode. V
To set the parameters, set the check-boxes as you want them and press the OK button.
Matchmaster Files
Besides an exercise
title, a Matchmaster file has up to 3 components: @
1 Up to 50 pairs, each of which can be accompanied by a hint. o
2 An (optional) Introduction. Useful for instructions, examples and references to paper and audio materials. u
3 Up to three (optional) Help
screens. Useful for background information, grammar rules, comprehension texts, etc. D
To write any of these components, use commands in the Author
menu.
Moving around the Items screen = 7080
(See Writing
Items)
The Items screen has three different writing areas: the left hand item, the right hand item and a hint.
When you move to a new item, the cursor will be in the left hand item area. To move to a different area, click on the area you want to write in, or use the [Tab] key. 2
To move between items, see Moving
between
items.
Moving between items
(See Writing
Items)
To move between items, click above or below the items boxes as indicated by the pairs of arrow characters, or use their keyboard equivalents. This moves the columns of items up or down, as follows: x
up all the way
[Ctrl-PageUp]
up by one item
[PageUp]
down by one item
[PageDown]
down all the way
[Ctrl-PageDown]
You can also use click in these areas to add an item.
Writing pairs of items
See Writing
items.
Each item in a pair can be up to 4 lines long. Items can contain Return characters. m
Remember that the fewer lines your items take up, the more items the Student program can display at a time: |
Max length 1 line: 7 items displayed
Max length 2 lines: 5 items displayed
Max length 3/4 lines: 3 items displayed
Also remember that users may use your hint to try to find EITHER item in the pair. The hint should therefore apply equally to the left and right item.
Items menu
This menu contains commands for dealing with pairs of items. These include commands for cutting, copying and pasting whole pairs: these are NOT the same commands as those for cutting, copying and pasting text, which are in the Edit
menu.
The options are: G
Insert
Copy
Paste
Add new pair
This command is in the Items
menu. *
There are two ways of adding a new pair: ,
1. Select this option from the Items menu. w
2. Click in one of the two up
arrow areas (or use their keyboard equivalents) while you are already on the last pair.
Insert new pair
This command is in the Items
menu.
Use this option to insert a pair (i.e. add a pair, but not in the last position). The new pair will appear immediately before the current pair. For example, if you insert a pair while on Pair no.3, the new pair will become Pair no.3.
Cut this pair
This command is in the Items
menu.
If you select this option, the current pair is cut. It is also copied into memory, so that it can subsequently be pasted back as a pair elsewhere.
Copy this pair
This command is in the Items
menu.
This option copies the current pair into memory (but does not cut it), so that it can subsequently be pasted as a pair elsewhere.
Paste pair
This command is in the Items
menu.
Use this option to paste in a cut or copied pair. If you are pasting into a pair that already contains some text, you will be asked to confirm that you want to overwrite the existing pair.
(.txt)