Play and Learn 2/19941.ZIP/19941/EDUCMISC/TUTRITE/TWRITE2.EXE/DEMO.CHP

Text File | 1992-02-02 | 15.7 KB | 595 lines

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#EF,14,1
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#C2,R6
~HTutorialWriter~N is an ~G~IAuthoring System~N.  But what does that mean?  Perhaps
the best way to explain it is through an analogy.


There is a parallel between the computer today and the telephone in its early
days.  People had telephones, but to use them they had to go through an
operator who had the special skills needed to connect them with the party
they were calling.  The telephone really came into its own when a dial was
provided so that everyone could be their own operator.


The same thing applies to a computer. To really take advantage of its full
power, you have to be able to program it. An '~G~IAuthoring System~N' lets you do
that. It is a program which de-skills the computer in much the same way that
the telephone dial de-skilled the telephone. It lets people with no knowledge
of computers other than ~C~Ibasic word processing skills~N control the computer
through simple commands.
#W
%
#EF,14,1
#T1,7
#C2,R5
Here's how an ~G~IAuthoring System~N works. Let's say you want to clear the computer
screen, put a title in a colored box at the top of the screen, present your
material, then hold the screen until the user is ready to move on.  Using
~HTutorialWriter~N, this is what you would type in your word processor file:

~H   #EF
   #T This is my Title~N
      {  Your material goes here - a whole screen full  }
~H   #W~N


And that's it!  When ~HTutorialWriter~N reads the ~C~I#EF~N (Erase Full screen) command,
it clears the screen.  Then at the "~C~I#T~N"  it draws a colored box at the top of
the screen and puts "~C~IThis is my Title~N" in the center of the box.  Finally,
"~C~I#W~N" (Wait) puts '~H~rCONTINUE~N' and '~H~rQUIT~N' buttons at the bottom of the screen,
which will respond to either the Keyboard or a Mouse button. The lines and
lines of computer code that does these things is invisible to you, the author.
All you need to do is to type # followed by a letter or series of letters.
#WP
%
#EF,14,1
#T1,7
#C2,R6
~HTutorialWriter~N has over fifty of these simple commands which let you do
just about anything you want with a computer.


The program consists of two major parts:

  1. A ~C~IDevelopment Module~N which provides the ~C~IUtilities~N you need to produce
     ~M~Icomputer based documents~N, ~M~Itutorials~N or ~M~Imanuals~N

and

  2. A ~C~IDisplay Module~N to present the completed ~M~Idocuments~N, ~M~Itutorials~N and
     ~M~Imanuals~N when they are distributed to your customers.


So who uses ~HTutorialWriter~N?  What is it good for?  And what kind of things
does it let you do?
#WP
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#EF,14,1
#T1,7
#C2,R5
Since ~HTutorialWriter~N's appearance in 1989 hundreds of people - hobbyists,
'entrepreneurs', parents, teachers, university professors and training
consultants - have used it to create ~M~Itutorials~N in their special areas.

It has been used to teach basic nursing concepts; to explain the finer points
of stamp-collecting; to teach hydraulic pump maintenance; to teach First Aid
for the home; for a treatise on French Romantic Poets; and to write computer-
based "business cards" which advertise a company's product line in slide-show
format.  And I heard recently of a short course on Ionospheric Physics which
had been written and supplied by a vendor to a purchaser to explain how his
high tech product works.

~HCrimeStoppers~N are using it to pass on safety hints to school children.
A Defensive Driving School in Canada supplies a tutorial to their students
as a 'refresher' they can take away with them after the class is over. Many
businesses are using it for Computer-based Training programs.

And when you get to the ~C~IMain Menu~N, choose ~C~IInstructions~N and have a look at the
~C~I$ell Your Know-How~N tutorial for other ideas.

#WP
#BO,17,11,63,19,7,1,0,7,0,7
Now let's have a look at the things that
TutorialWriter lets you do.

By the way, these windows and things stay
on screen for about 60 seconds or until you
press a key or a Mouse Button.  If nothing
seems to be happening, press a key.

#EF,7,0
#C23,R2
TRENDS IN COMPUTER BASED TRAINING
#C2,R4
Many companies are turning to the PC for employee training. They are trying

to cut back on seminars and lecture courses because they are expensive.

"Computer-Based Training" is much more cost-effective. If a tutorial is

made available on computer, employees can use it as and when they need it,

over and over again if necessary.

But there is a shortage of computer based tutorials and educational material.

Obtaining them is now becoming a pressing need.  Businessweek published an

article recently claiming that some major manufacturing companies now have to

teach traditional High School subjects, because new recruits are lacking in

Math and English skills.

                        Press any key to continue
#SK,S,1
#D60
#BO,17,12,63,18,7,1,0,5,14,4
This is the way you usually see text on a
computer screen.  But it doesn't have to be
like that.  In this short demo, I'll show
you how you can make it really interesting
without having to be a programmer!

#BO,41,15,76,22,7,1,0,6,14,1
Doesn't this screen look boring?
Let's do something to make it a
bit more atractive.

First I'll clear the screen with
the #EF ( Erase Full) command.

#C2,R1
~W~I#EF

#BO,41,15,76,19,7,1,0,3,14,1
Now I'll insert the #T (Title)
command and move the title
along beside it.

#C2,R2
~W~I#T
#SS,L,4,2,58,2,19

#BO,40,15,77,22,7,1,0,6,14,1
And finally I'll get rid of the
'Press any key' and insert control
buttons which work with the key
board or a Mouse.

This is the #W (Wait) command.


#EL,24,7,0
#C2,R24
~W~I#W
#SK,S,3
#BO,43,17,77,21,7,1,0,3,14,1
Just press any key to see what
these few simple commands have
done to this screen.

#EF
#TTRENDS IN COMPUTER BASED TRAINING
#C2,R5
Many companies are turning to the PC for employee training. They are trying

to cut back on seminars and lecture courses because they are expensive.

"Computer-Based Training" is much more cost-effective. If a tutorial is

made available on computer, employees can use it as and when they need it,

over and over again if necessary.

But there is a shortage of computer based tutorials and educational material.

Obtaining them is now becoming a pressing need.  Businessweek published an

article recently claiming that some major manufacturing companies now have to

teach traditional High School subjects, because new recruits are lacking in

Math and English skills.

#SK,S,2
#W

#BO,40,14,78,23,7,1,0,8,1,7
A big improvement, don't you think?
And all it took were three simple
commands!!

That is the beauty of an Authoring
System.  It does all the computer
work for you.  You just type simple
little commands into your files.

#SK,R,D,1
#BO,3,18,36,20,2,0,0,1,15,4
Remember, we changed this...

#SK,R,U,2

#BO,45,20,77,23,2,0,0,2,0,7
To this... with just 3 simple
commands.

#W
#SK,R,R,3
#D1
#BO,34,12,79,23,7,1,0,10,14,1
These commands are also very flexible.
TutorialWriter uses numbers to represent
colors when you use them with # commands,
(and these are all fully explained in the
documentation.)  For the moment, trust me
that 0 means black and 7 means gray.

Let's change the color of the text and the
screen background by adding these numbers
to the #EF clearscreen command.

#C5,R1
~W~I~z,0,7
#D2
#EF,0,7
#TTRENDS IN COMPUTER BASED TRAINING
#C2,R5
Many companies are turning to the PC for employee training. They are trying

to cut back on seminars and lecture courses because they are expensive.

"Computer-Based Training" is much more cost-effective. If a tutorial is

made available on computer, employees can use it as and when they need it,

over and over again if necessary.

But there is a shortage of computer based tutorials and educational material.

Obtaining them is now becoming a pressing need.  Businessweek published an

article recently claiming that some major manufacturing companies now have to

teach traditional High School subjects, because new recruits are lacking in

Math and English skills.

#D0.5
#BO,34,18,79,22,7,1,0,3,14,1
Nearly all the commands in TutorialWriter
can be modified like this to give you
dozens of different color combinations.
#SK,R,L,3
#D2
#BO,32,13,79,21,7,1,0,7,14,1
TutorialWriter has another set of commands
which control the text itself - its color
and how it is printed.  It starts with
the symbol ~~ and is inserted next to the
text it affects.  For example, ~~W~~I means
Intense White.  ~~N means Normal color. I'll
change the color of some of the words.

~N
#SS,R,2,8,79,8,4
#C2,R8
~W~I~z~~W~~I
#SS,R,31,8,79,8,2
#C31,R8
~W~I~z~~N
#SS,R,29,14,79,14,4
#C29,R14
~W~I~z~~W~~I
#SS,R,57,14,79,14,2
#C57,R14
~W~I~z~~N
#SK,S,3
#W
#EF
#TTRENDS IN COMPUTER BASED TRAINING
#C2,R5
Many companies are turning to the PC for employee training. They are trying

to cut back on seminars and lecture courses because they are expensive.

~H"Computer-Based Training"~N is much more cost-effective. If a tutorial is

made available on computer, employees can use it as and when they need it,

over and over again if necessary.

But there is a shortage of ~Hcomputer based tutorials~N and educational material.

Obtaining them is now becoming a pressing need.  Businessweek published an

article recently claiming that some major manufacturing companies now have to

teach traditional High School subjects, because new recruits are lacking in

Math and English skills.

#W
#BO,34,16,78,22,7,1,0,5,0,7
There are 16 text colors and 8 background
colors to choose from, so your text can
be plenty colorful.  Then there are other
~~ commands which write slowly or with a
clicking sound.

#BO,20,14,60,22,7,1,0,7,0,3
That really is all there is to using
~H~bTutorialWriter~Z~c.  It has commands that
begin with the # symbol which you use
at the start of a line, and commands
that begin with the ~~ symbol which
you use anywhere in the text. And
that's it.  No programming needed!!

#BO,15,11,66,22,7,1,0,10,0,7
Of course, the real question is what can you do
with these commands?  Just because they are
easy to use does not mean that they are useful.

Well, sit back ( but press a key if it looks
like nothing is happening ) and I'll take you
on a test drive of some of the features.  Not
all, mind you! There are many more than I can
show here because disk space is limited.  I'll
just show the highlights.

#BO,34,16,78,21,7,1,0,4,15,4
First I'll put some color on this screen
and do a few other things to show how you
can get people to pay attention to what
you are telling them.


#EF
#TTRENDS IN COMPUTER BASED TRAINING
#C2,R5
Many companies are turning to the PC for ~G~Iemployee training~N. They are trying

to cut back on seminars and lecture courses because they are expensive.

"~M~IComputer-Based Training~N" is much more ~H~rcost-effective~N. If a ~M~Itutorial~N is

made available on computer, ~G~Iemployees~N can use it as and when they need it,

over and over again if necessary.

But there is a shortage of ~M~Icomputer based tutorials~N and ~M~Ieducational material~N.

Obtaining them is now becoming a pressing need.  ~H~FBusinessweek~N published an

article recently claiming that some major manufacturing companies now have to

teach traditional ~C~IHigh School subjects~N, because new recruits are lacking in

~R~IMath~N and ~R~IEnglish~N skills.

#W
#C51,R17
~HBusinessweek~N
#D0.5
#SS,L,2,13,19,13,18
#C2,R13
~R~Iover and over again~N
#D0.5
#SS,L,2,13,19,13,18
#C2,R13
~G~Iover and over again~N
#D0.5
#SS,L,2,13,19,13,18
#C2,R13
over and over again
#D1
#SK,S,1
#HS,2,15,79,15,14,4
#D1
#HS,2,15,79,15,0,3
#D1
#HS,2,15,79,15,0,7
#D1
#HS,2,15,79,15,15,1
#D1
#EL,15
#C2,R15
~KBut there is a shortage of ~M~Icompater based tutorials~N and ~M~Ieducational material~N.~k

#D2
#BO,42,6,75,12,7,1,0,5,15,4
I made a spelling error when I
rewrote that line.

Can you see it??  Let me point
it out to you.
#HP,T,R,28,15,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,T,L,37,15,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,T,D,31,14,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,T,U,31,16,14,4
#D0.5
#NB
#HP,A,R,32,15,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,A.T,L,34,15,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,A,D,33,14,14,4
#D0.5
#HP,A,U,33,16,14,4
#D0.5
#ND
#C33,R15
~M~I~Fa~N
#D1
#C33,R15
~M~Iu~N
#NC
#D1
#C29,R15
~M~Icomputer~N
#NE

#BO,12,21,32,23,7,1,0,1,15,4
Did you see it ?


#SK,R,D,1
#W

@Q1
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#C2,R5
Well, that's some of the things you can do.  Put ~C~Icolors~N on the ~G~Iscreen~N,
~Hposition the cursor to write anywhere you want~N, slide screens around, ~N~rpop
up windows~N, make beeps and so forth.

But ~H~bTutorialWriter~N has ~C~Iover 50 Commands~N to help you make your ~M~Icomputer
documents~N,~M~I manuals~N or ~M~Itutorials~N really interesting. There is not enough
disk space to go through all of them in detail here, but I will try to give
you a flavor of the things you can do. When you get to the ~C~IMain Menu~N, choose
~C~IInstructions~N then ~C~IHow to Write a Tutorial~N to see all the things you can
do. For now, make a selection from the menu below to see some features.

~HWhat things would you like to do in your ~M~ITutorial~H or ~M~IManual~N?

#QM,A,1,4
Put Text Art on the screen using the #A command set
Ask a Question and check the Answer using #QQ
Present a Quiz or Test with #QT
Continue this Demo

@1
#EF,0,7
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#AB,2,0,7
TUTORIAL
WRITER
#W
#EF
#T15,1
#AL,5
~G~IPROGRAM YOUR COMPUTER~z

with

~HTUTORIALWRITER~z

#W
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#AH,1,5
PROGRAM YOUR COMPUTER

with

TUTORIALWRITER
#W
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#AP,1,5
PROGRAM YOUR COMPUTER

with

TUTORIALWRITER
#W
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#AR,1,5
PROGRAM YOUR COMPUTER

with

TUTORIALWRITER
#W
#QM,L,1

@2
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#QQ,R,3
What kind of computer program
lets non-programmers program
their computer?
An Authoring System
author
#D5
#QQ,B,1
What is the name of this Authoring System?
TutorialWriter
twriter,tutoria,tw
#W
#QM,L,1
@3
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#QT,Q,demo
#QT,T,demo
#QM,L,1
@4
#QM,C,1
@C1
%
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#C2,R6
In addition to its two types of Commands, ( ~C~I#~N and  ~C~I~~~N ), ~HTutorialWriter~N also
has a number of ~C~IUtility~N programs.  The ~G~ITest~N and ~G~IQuiz~N which you saw were
created by these ~C~IUtilities~N.  There are ~C~IUtilities~N for creating a ~G~IMenu~N, for
creating a ~G~IHELP system~N for your ~M~Itutorial~N or ~M~Imanual~N, and for incorporating
~G~IHyperText~N into your computer-based document.


The ~M~Itutorial~N called '~C~IHow to write a Tutorial~N' on the ~C~IInstructions Menu~N
explains how to use the ~C~IUtilities~N and all the other ~HTutorialWriter~N
commands.


Meantime, use the Space Bar or Mouse to move to the ~H~r HELP ~N button at the
bottom of the screen and press it to see what a ~G~IHELP System~N looks like.
Then move to this word -> |HYPERTEXT| to see what ~G~IHyperText~N can do for
your document.
#WHP

%
#EF
#T1,7,THE TUTORIALWRITER AUTHORING SYSTEM
#AL,3
With ~H~bTutorialWriter~N~z
everyone becomes a
~H~zComputer Programmer~N~z
#WP
%
#AR,1,3
Select "~C~IInstructions~N~z" at the ~C~IMain
Menu~N~z to examine all of the many
~H~bTutorialWriter~N~z features.
#WP
%
#AR,1,7
Print out the file ~H~zINSTRUCT.ION~H~z
by typing ~Z~cPRINT INSTRUCT.ION~H~z at
the DOS prompt.

This is a step-by-step guide to
writing tutorials with
~H~bTutorialWriter~N~z.
#WP
#AC,10,7,15,0,~H~r  That's  ~N
#AC,35,5,11,0,~N~b   all    ~N
#AC,66,20,13,0,~Z~c Folks!   ~N
%
~z
#EL,25
#WP
#X