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REXL
USER'S GUIDE
Foreign Language Books
with
Pop-up translations
Version 24 January 1991
(c) Copyright 1991
H. S. Aurand
All rights reserved.
SHAREWARE INFORMATION
This software, while copyrighted, is shareware. This has two
advantages for the user. First, price is minimized by drastically
reducing advertising and distribution costs, and second, shareware
is offered on a try-before-buy basis.
This means that the software may be tried without paying for a
license. Trying means reading only a few pages of the book. If the
user wishes to read more than this, he or she must register the
software with the developer and pay an affordable amount for a
license to use the complete book of seventy-six screens, or about
one hundred and fifty pages in a bound book format.
This program is produced by a member of the Association of
Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the
shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a
shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the
member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can
help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does
not provide technical support for members' products. Please write
to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or
send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman
70007,3536.
The definition of shareware promulgated by ASP that is applicable
to this shareware follows:
"Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software
before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue
using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ
on details -- some request registration while others require it,
some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get
anything from the simple right to continue using the software to
an updated program with printed manual.
"Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software,
and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific
exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished
programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of
comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and
bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution.
The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute
the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For
example, some authors require written permission before a
commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.
"Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You
should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether
it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting
your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because
the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the
ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product,
you don't pay for it.
"DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
"Users of this program, REXL, along with its data file, LAZAR000,
must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
"REXL and LAZAR000 are supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,
the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.
The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or
consequential, which may result from the use of REXL and LAZSW000.
"REXL and LAZAR000 are `shareware' and are provided at no charge
to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share with your friends,
but please do not give it away altered or as part of another
system. The essence of `user-supported' software is to provide
personal computer users with quality software without high prices,
and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to
develop new products. If you find this program useful and find
that you are using REXL LAZAR000 and continue to use them after
a reasonable trial period, you must register it as described
below.
"The registration fee will license one copy for use on any one
computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like
a book. An example is that this software may be used by any
number of people and may be freely moved from one computer
location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it
being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just
as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same
time.
"Anyone distributing REXL and LAZAR000 for any kind of
remuneration must first contact the author at the address below
for authorization. Authorization is hereby automatically granted
to distributors recognized by the ASP as adhering to its
guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may
begin offering REXL immediately (However REXL must still be
advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the
latest version of REXL.)
"You are encouraged to pass a copy of REXL along to your friends
for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if
they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive
a copy of the latest version of the REXL system."
This software includes the following files:
REXL Program
INSTALL.EXE
REXL.EXE v. 24 January 1991
REXL.CFG
REXL.MSG
REXL.MIX
README This file
REXL Data
LAZSW000 Lazarillo de Tormes v. 24 January 1991
LAZSW000.DEF
To register this software, send a check or money order denominated
in U. S. currency (no COD's) for $19 plus $5 for shipping and
handling (California residents add $1.57 sales tax) to:
REXL
734 Camino Catalina
Solana Beach, CA 92075
On registration, user's will be provided with licensed diskettes,
a printed manual, telephone support, new product information and
upgrade service.
As mentioned above users are encouraged to copy this software and
share it with the following restrictions:
No commercial use is permitted nor may any fees be
charged for printed material or for software other than as
described above.
No alteration may be made to any of the above files.
Neither the printed manual nor a computer printed manual
(README file) may be reproduced.
If the registered and licensed software is to be used on
a network, one copy for each station using the software
must be registered. Or inquire about site licensing.
Special educational rates are available if the
intellectual property rights of the author can be shown
to be protected. Telephone number is 619-481-0781.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Quick Start 1
System Requirements 3
Installation 3
Floppy Disk Operation 4
Hard Disk Operation 5
Starting REXL 5
REXL Menus 6
Read Menu 6
Read Menu and Text Toggles 8
Reading 9
Saving Your Place 10
Utility Menu 10
Change and Load Data Disk Menu 11
Attribute Change Menu 13
Tachistoscope Menu 15
Appendices
A Text Marking Recommendations 18
B Structure of REXL Menus 19
INTRODUCTION
REXL is designed to help those becoming literate in a foreign
language. This presumes that the reader, while not fluent in the
foreign language, has a working understanding of its grammar as
well as a modest reading vocabulary.
Using a personal computer and REXL software, the user reads the
foreign language text from the screen. By using a function key and
cursor keys the meaning of an unknown word or idiomatic or
expression is displayed immediately above the unknown word or
expression. With a press of a key, the display is removed and
normal reading resumed.
Footnotes are treated as idiomatic expressions except that they
are displayed at the top or bottom of the screen and may be
several lines in length. There are several options in displaying
and pointing that tailor REXL to the particular needs of the
reader. These are explained in some detail below.
REXL translations are exact for the meaning in the text. If you
want a dictionary translation in addition to that supplied by REXL
and you have a hard disk, you may obtain it from a dictionary
program used in conjunction with REXL. One such program that is
compatible with REXL is Spanish Assistant (TM) published by
MicroTac Software, telephone 800-366-4170. Load this program then
run REXL. The translation from the Random House Dictionary
included in Spanish Assistant can be viewed by pressing ALT S.
Grammar notes and verb conjugation are also available.
QUICK START
Caution: Make a backup disk of your REXL Program Disk and your
REXL Data Disk(s)! This is absolutely essential since the REXL
program writes to a file on every disk during installation.
REXL needs all the memory below 512K bytes to operate
expeditiously. You should remove all ram resident programs, shells
and caches to accomplish this. The REXL program will notify you if
any of these have been loaded.
REXL menus are self-explanatory. You should be able to run REXL
without further reading beyond page 3. While using REXL, you can
obtain help by pressing F1 (Function Key 1).
Hard Disk
1. Place your backup REXL Program Disk in the drive you are going
to use for installation. This would usually be drive A. Change to
this drive by typing A: then press the ENTER key.
2. Now type INSTALL then press the ENTER key.
3. This program will lead you through the installation of your
REXL Program Disk files and your Data Disk(s). They will be copied
to drive C:, directory \REXL unless you specify otherwise during
installation.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen. You will finally be
prompted to type REXL, then press the ENTER key to run REXL.
5. For a given computer INSTALL needs to be run only once. After
that to use REXL, change directory to that selected in Step 3,
type REXL then press the ENTER key.
Floppy Disk
1. Place your backup REXL Program Disk in the drive you are going
to use for installation. This would usually be drive A. Change to
this drive by typing A: then press the ENTER key.
2. Now type INSTALL then press the ENTER key.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen. You will be instructed
to place the backup REXL Data Disk that you wish to use in the
second floppy drive. If you have only a single floppy drive (and
no hard disk), you will be given an appropriate warning. Finally
you will be prompted to type REXL then the ENTER key to run REXL.
4. For a given computer INSTALL needs to be run only once. After
that place your backup REXL Program Disk in the drive selected for
it in Step 1. Change DOS to this drive. Place the backup REXL Data
Disk you want to use in the drive selected for it. Type REXL then
press the ENTER key.
5. While not recommended, if you have 512K bytes of memory and
only a single floppy drive, you may run REXL. Place the backup
REXL Program Disk in the floppy drive, then type REXL and press
the ENTER key. You will be prompted by the program when to change
disks.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
REXL is provided on either 5-1/4 inch DSDD (360K) or 3-1/2 inch
720K byte disks. If you have no hard disk, you should have two
5-1/4 inch or two 3-1/2 inch floppy drives. If you have no hard
disk, but have two drives of different sizes, copy your REXL
program disk. Then use this copy to make another one. Use the
latter as your backup disk, and erase the first copy made. REXL
Data Disk(s) need be copied only once for backup.
To run REXL the following requirements must be met:
1. The computer must be fully IBM PC, XT, AT or PS/2 compatible.
2. It must be booted up with DOS 2.0 or higher.
3. If it is not a PC or XT type, it must run in the real mode.
4. It must have a hard disk and at least a DSDD (360K) floppy
drive. If so, the hard disk must have a minimum of 720K bytes
available on disk. There must be an additional 362K bytes of
memory available on the hard disk for each data (book) disk you
wish to store.
or
4. It must have two floppy drives if no hard disk is present. It
is possible to run REXL with one floppy drive if there is a full
complement of RAM memory installed. This is not recommended.
5. If the computer is equipped with a hard disk or two floppy
drives, a minimum of 256K bytes of RAM must be present. Additional
RAM will speed up operation. If only a single floppy drive is
present, 640K bytes of RAM are required.
INSTALLATION
In addition to an installation program, INSTALL.EXE, the REXL
Program Disk includes the REXL operating file, REXL.EXE, along
with a file of configuration values, REXL.CFG, and two files that
store help screens and other messages, REXL.MSG and REXL.MIX.
You will also need Data (book) Disks to use REXL. These disks are
labeled with a five letter name and three decimal digits, such as
DONQU000. While a 360K byte floppy disk can hold small books,
larger books will require more than one data disk per book, hence
the digits as part of the disk and file name. Data disks also
contain a small file that includes, among other things, your place
in the book. You will be prompted every time you quit REXL whether
or not you want to save your place.
If you are using a shell program such as that available in DOS 5,
you should exit to the DOS command prompt.
Place the REXL Program Disk in the drive you wish to use for
installation. Change the DOS prompt to this drive if it is not
already set to it. This will usually be drive A. To do this
type A: then press the ENTER key. Then type INSTALL then press the
ENTER key.
Alternatively, you may copy your REXL Program and Data files to a
directory on hard disk. Change the current working path to this,
then type INSTALL and press the ENTER key.
If you have a hard drive you will be asked whether you want to use
it or not. Then you will be asked whether the five letter book
name on record is the one you want to read. If your answer is no,
you will be asked to enter the name you wish to read. You will not
be asked for the disk number.
From this point until you are reading, operations with a hard disk
and floppies diverge somewhat. Floppies will be described first.
FLOPPY DISK OPERATION
If you wish to run REXL, type REXL then press the ENTER key. REXL
does some checking to be sure that the computer is properly
configured to run. Among other things it checks to see if there is
enough memory available, that the proper video mode is set and
that sufficient files can be opened.
REXL then displays the five letter book disk name that it
currently has on file and asks if it is OK. Enter your answer. If
no, you will be asked to enter the name of the book disk and its
number that you want to read. You then will be instructed to place
that disk in the drive that was selected during installation and
to press any key to continue. The two files from that disk will be
loaded into memory to the extent that there is sufficient memory.
HARD DISK OPERATION
The INSTALL program will then have you check whether you want both
the REXL Program Disk and the data (book) disks installed in the
C:\REXL directory. If your answer is negative, you will be
prompted for your choice. Then you will be prompted to remove the
program disk from the floppy drive and place the data disk having
the name you selected and 000 in it. You will be instructed to
press any key when ready.
If the book has more than one data disk, you will be prompted to
place the disk labeled with the appropriate number in the drive
and press any key when ready. When loading is completed you will
be in the directory selected for the Program Disk files. You will
be instructed to type REXL then press the ENTER key and the
INSTALL program will exit to DOS. Type REXL then press the ENTER
key if you wish to run REXL.
STARTING REXL
When you run REXL from either the hard or floppy disk, you will
first see a title screen. Press any key when you are ready.
If you have less than 362,497 bytes of RAM available for data and
you have any ram resident programs, the next screen will list
their names and sizes and display a message about them. Next you
will be prompted with the name and number of the current data disk
and asked if it is OK. If not, you will be asked for the name and
number of the Data (book) Disk you wish to read.
After this you will see the text. You can now start to read using
the REXL pop-up translations. How this is done on is explained on
the following pages. If you are not sure of how to do this, press
ESC. This will return you to the Read Menu. Or you may press the
F1 help key.
When reading if you are not able to distinguish among the various
ways that REXL marks words and idiomatic expressions, you may be
able to remedy this by adjusting your monitor brightness and
contrast controls.
If this does not work to your satisfaction, select the Utility
Menu from the Read Menu and then the Attribute Change Menu.
Options on this menu permit you to set the display attributes of
the four types of word marking. See Appendix A, page 18, for the
default (recommended) settings. The next paragraph explains how to
select options from these menus.
REXL MENUS
To make a selection from any menu of REXL press the highlighted
capital letter to make a selection. Or move the arrow up and down
from line to line using the up and down arrow cursor keys until
the arrow points to the desired option. Then select the option
marked with an arrow by pressing the ENTER key.
While reading is the prime purpose of REXL, there are occasions
when you might want to use other features of REXL that are
available through the use of REXL menus. The structure of these
menus is shown in Appendix B, page 19. To proceed from the text to
the Read Menu press ESC. The other menus down the menu tree are
selected from the menu above it. However, you may proceed directly
from any lower menu to a higher one or to the text.
READ MENU
The following options can be selected from this menu:
Quit
This option will cause the program to exit to DOS. You should
always quit REXL by using a quit option in order to be sure to
properly close data files. Furthermore, using this option to quit
permits you to save your place so that the next time you start
REXL and come to the text, the marked word will be where you left
it, and the toggles described below will be the same as when you
quit.
Utility menu
Selecting this option will immediately bring up the Utility Menu
described on page 10. You may read using REXL and never have to
use this option. On the other hand, there are options here that
you might find useful from time to time.
Read
Apart from the "Quit," "Utility menu" and "Help" options, all
options on the Read Menu pertain to reading. The "Read" option
switches the Read Menu off and displays text. To return to the
Read Menu from the text at any time press the ESC key.
Help
Selecting this option will bring up a help screen which
essentially duplicates these instructions. Note that this option
can be selected by pressing the F1 key, not only while the Read
Menu is present, but while you are reading text.
Page and Word Numbers
When selected, the "Page number" option prompts for an input. Note
that page numbering starts with zero for the title page. Below the
"Page number" option is the "Word number" option. The prompt and
input are for the word number on the page. The word number in the
entire text file is also displayed along with the actual word.
When the "Read" option is selected, activity will start on the
text display that is indicated by the page and word numbers. As
will be shown later, when text is displayed, pages and words can
be changed by use of the cursor keys. On return to the Read Menu
using ESC the page and word values shown will reflect the changes
made with the cursor keys in the text mode.
Words Per Minute
The next option is "wOrds per minute." When selected this option
prompts for and receives a value. When in the automatic scan mode
described later, this value determines the scan rate.
READ MENU AND TEXT TOGGLES
The remaining options on the Read Menu are toggles. That is, when
selected, they are changed to a value. When selected again, they
are changed back to the original value and so on. In addition to
setting these toggles on the Read Menu by selecting options, both
in the Read Menu and in text display, toggling can be done using
the function keys, F6 through F8 and F10.
Scan Mode, F10
The "Scan mode" toggle option, F10, toggles between "Manual" and
"Automatic." In either mode, ESC can be pressed to return to the
Read Menu. Function keys (toggles) except F10 and F1 do not
operate during automatic scanning.
In the manual mode, the current word on the current page of text
is highlighted. This highlight can be moved using the cursor keys.
Right and left arrows move it one word at a time, wrapping to the
next line or page as required. The up and down arrows move it up
and down a line. HOME will move the highlight to the first word on
the page, END will move it to the last. PAGE UP will move it to
the previous page. If the original page is page zero, the
destination page will be the last page. PAGE DOWN works in a
similar manner. Finally CTRL HOME moves the highlight to the first
page, and CTRL END to the last page of the data (book) disk
loaded.
Display Translation, F8
In manual mode the "Display translation" toggle, F8, if On,
displays a translated word or idiomatic expression over the
highlighted word. If switched Off, text display without
translation is restored.
Translation of Idiomatic Expression, F7
Normally this toggle is set to "Idiomatic expression." In this
case if the highlighted word is in an idiomatic expression, the
translation of the entire expression appears above the highlighted
idiomatic expression. If the translated idiomatic expression is
longer than one line and the highlighted expression is in the
lower half of the screen, the translated expression appears at the
top of the screen and vice versa. If this toggle is set to
"Literal translation of each word," when the highlighted word is
in an idiomatic expression, the literal translation of only the
highlighted word will appear immediately above it.
Locate Idiomatic Expression, F6
In order to show which words have idiomatic expression
translations, the "Locate idm. expr." toggle, F6, is provided.
When set On, all text words that are part of an idiomatic expres-
sion are highlighted. This toggle affects the automatic as well as
the manual scan mode, but can be set only in the manual mode or
from the Read Menu.
READING
Thus there are two ways of reading with REXL. One is to read using
the manual mode with the "Display translation" toggle, F8, Off.
When a word or expression is encountered that is not understood,
the highlighting is moved to the word using the cursor keys, and
the translation is displayed using the "Display translation
toggle," F8. Normally the "Translation of idm. expr." toggle, F7,
will be set to "Idiomatic expression." If so, when the highlighted
word is in an idiomatic expression the translation of the
idiomatic expression appears. If translation of an individual word
in the idiomatic expression is desired, toggling F7 to "Literal
translation of each word" will display the translation of the
highlighted word immediately above it. Before continuing to read,
this toggle, F7, should normally be reset to "Idiomatic
expression." Normal reading is then resumed after toggling
"Display translation," F8, to Off.
The other method of reading obviates the necessity of moving
manually through the text. This involves reading in the automatic
scan mode with an appropriate value for "wOrds per minute" set and
the "Display translation" toggle, F8, set On. Scanning is
accomplished by blanking lines one at a time at a rate
commensurate with the "wOrds per minute" value. Then when an
unknown word or expression is encountered, switch to the manual
mode using F10. The highlighted word with its translation will be
immediately displayed and all blanked lines restored. If the
manual scan does not stop precisely on the desired word, it will
be close enough that only a few presses on the cursor keys will
get to it. Reading can be resumed by pressing the F10 key. At any
time if you wish to stop the scan, press F10. If the scanning is
too fast or slow, press ESC to return to the Read menu, reset the
"wOrds per minute" value and select "Read" to resume.
SAVING YOUR PLACE
When you are finished with a reading session, to save your place
in the text, press ESC to return to the Read Menu. Then select the
"Quit" menu option. You will be asked whether you want to save
your place. If yes, the page and word numbers along with the
toggle settings will be saved by writing to the data (book) de-
fault file. When you next run REXL using this data (book) file,
your place in the book as well as the reading toggles will be set
the same as when you quit. If you are operating from floppy disks,
the write protection, if present, must be removed from the data
(book) disk in order to save your place.
UTILITY MENU
Reading and using REXL do not require any of the capabilities
described from this point on. However, several capabilities are
included that can be of use to the reader. The following options
can be selected from this menu:
Quit
This option will cause the program to exit to DOS. You should
always exit using a quit option in order to be sure to close data
files properly. Furthermore, using this option to quit permits you
to save your place so that the next time you start REXL and come
to the text, the marked word will be where you left it, and the
toggles will be set the same as when you quit.
teXt
This option will return you directly to text reading at the place
and condition you left it.
Read menu
This option will return you to the Read Menu.
Help
Selecting this option will bring up a help screen which
essentially duplicates these instructions. Note that this option
can also be selected by pressing the F1 key.
Load new data disk menu
This menu can be used to load a different book or a different file
number of the same book.
Attribute change menu
If you have difficulty in distinguishing among the various types
of markings used in REXL and you cannot remedy the situation by
using monitor controls, this menu will permit you to change and
save the attributes of the markings as described on page 13.
Tachistoscope
This is the second part of the rapid reading trainer built into
REXL. The first part is setting the Scan Mode Toggle to Automatic
from the Read Menu or from reading text. This covers up text at a
rate set by the wOrds per minute option of the Read Menu. This
pushes the reader to proceed at a rate higher than he or she would
normally achieve.
This Tachistoscope option enables the second part of the rapid
reading trainer built into REXL. It permits the reader to increase
his or her visual span; that is, how many characters he or she can
read in a single fixation of the eyes. This is done by flashing a
series of digits of set length on the screen and having the reader
input what he or she saw. The number of digits that can be
correctly read will increase with practice. This permits the
reader to proceed at a faster rate because fewer fixations are
needed. See page 15 for details.
CHANGE AND LOAD DATA DISK MENU
Quit
This option will cause the program to exit to DOS. You should
always exit using a quit option in order to be sure to close data
files properly. Furthermore, using this option to quit permits you
to save your place so that the next time you start REXL and come
to the text, the marked word will be where you left it, and the
toggles will be set the same as when you quit.
Text
This option will return you directly to text reading at the place
and condition you left it.
Read menu
This option will return you to the Read Menu.
Utility menu
This option will return you to the Utility Menu.
Help
Selecting this option will bring up a help screen which
essentially duplicates these instructions. Note that this option
can also be selected by pressing the F1 key.
1 load next disk number
If your REXL book has more than one data disk, this option will
load the next data disk into memory. If you are using floppy
disks, it will also prompt you to place the floppy disk into the
correct drive.
2 load previous disk number
If your REXL book has more than one data disk, this option will
load the previous data disk into memory. If you are using floppy
disks, it will also prompt you to place the floppy disk into the
correct drive.
3 change data directory
If you are using a hard disk to store data files, this option
permits you to change the directory where data files are kept in
case you want to keep different books in separate directories. The
name of the current directory is also displayed.
4 change data disk name
If you wish to read a different REXL book, this option permits you
to change the five character code name for the book. The current
name is also displayed.
5 change data disk number
This option permits selecting an arbitrary disk number if there is
more than a single disk per book. The current number is also
displayed.
Load data disk
If you have changed 3 through 5, the designated data disk will be
loaded into memory.
ATTRIBUTE CHANGE MENU
Quit
This option will cause the program to exit to DOS. You should
always exit using a quit option in order to be sure to close data
files properly. Furthermore, using this option to quit permits you
to save your place so that the next time you start REXL and come
to the text, the marked word will be where you left it, and the
toggles will be set the same as when you quit.
teXt
This option will return you directly to text reading at the place
and condition you left it.
Read menu
This option will return you to the Read Menu.
Utility menu
This option will return you to the Utility Menu.
Help
Selecting this option will bring up a help screen which
essentially duplicates these instructions. Note that this option
can also be selected by pressing the F1 key.
Save to REXL.CFG file
Saves the attribute changes made below. Overwrites values
previously stored for use.
Get defaults from REXL.CFG
Reads the REXL.CFG file to obtained attribute values currently
stored there.
Blink bit toggle
This toggles between blinking and intense background. Its effect
can be seen in the examples associated with the following four
types of word markings.
Word in text marking
When selected, this option will be highlighted. If the numbered
options are then selected, the value of the attribute byte is
changed and displayed and its effect shown by an example using the
letter W.
Idiomatic expression marking
When selected, this option will be highlighted. If the numbered
options are then selected, the value of the attribute byte is
changed and displayed and its effect shown by an example using the
letter I.
Text word in idiomatic expression
When selected, this option will be highlighted. The attribute set
here controls the marking of a text word that is part of an
idiomatic expression. If the numbered options are then selected,
the value of the attribute byte is changed and displayed and its
effect shown by an example using the letter E.
Xlations
When selected, this option will be highlighted. The attribute set
here controls the marking of translations whether literal or
idiomatic expressions. If the numbered options are then selected,
the value of the attribute byte is changed and displayed and its
effect shown by an example using the letter T.
Attribute changes
The next eight options permit the changing of attributes. The
method of doing this is slightly different for monochrome display
adapters (MDA) and other video adapters or systems. You need not
be concerned with this choice since it is done for you. The type
of video adapter was determined during the installation of REXL
and is stored in the REXL.CFG file.
If your computer does not use an MDA, the eight options permit you
to select the value of the display attribute byte bit by bit. The
value of each bit is displayed as being off or on. Each time a bit
is changed the effect is displayed at the type of word marking
highlighted.
If your computer uses an MDA, there are only a few attribute bytes
than can be used. Selecting one of the eight numbered options sets
the attribute value to one of these. The value selected is marked
with an X and its effect is displayed at the type of word marking
highlighted.
TACHISTOSCOPE MENU
Quit
This option will cause the program to exit to DOS. You should
always exit using a quit option in order to be sure to close data
files properly. Furthermore, using this option to quit permits you
to save your place so that the next time you start REXL and come
to the text, the marked word will be where you left it, and the
toggles will be set the same as when you quit.
Text
This option will return you directly to text reading at the place
and condition you left it.
Read menu
This option will return you to the Read Menu.
Utility menu
This option will return you to the Utility Menu.
Help
Selecting this option will bring up a help screen which
essentially duplicates these instructions. Note that this option
can also be selected by pressing the F1 key.
Start
This option starts the tachistoscope. This menu will be erased,
and you will be prompted to press any key when ready. When you do,
a blank box will appear on the screen. In two seconds a number
will flash in the box. Enter the number when prompted using either
the number keys at the top of the keyboard or the number keys on
the key pad. (The program will change the key pad back and forth
between the numbers and the cursors as required.) When the re-
quired number of trials are completed, you are given the number
and percentage correct and returned to this menu.
If you found the trials too difficult or too easy, you may change
the visual span (number of digits in the box) using the next
option. The idea is to increase the number of digits that you can
see in a single fixation of the eyes through practice.
Visual span
This option lets you set the number of digits that will be flashed
by the tachistoscope. The current value is also displayed.
Flash time (milliseconds)
This controls the duration of the flash. This value should not be
set too low or the number cannot be seen. If set too long, the
eyes and brain will attempt more than one fixation. Interestingly
enough this will result in poorer performance. In any event it
obviates the purpose of the tachistoscope.
sEed for randomizing
If this option is not selected after entering the Tachistoscope
Menu, the seed will be based on the date and time. As a result
each sequence of numbers will be different. On the other hand if
repeatable sequences are desired, select this option using the
same seed each time. The numbers, while pseudo-random, will
repeat.
Number of trials
This option controls the number of flashes and responses before
returning to this menu.
Prompt for each trial
Selecting this option changes a toggle between automatic and
prompted operation. Its current setting is displayed as either
"Automatic" or "On." If "On," each flash of the number in the box
must be started with a key press. If "Automatic," each trial waits
a certain length of time after your entry of a number before
flashing the next number in the box. This delay time can be
selected by using the next option.
Delay time after entry (seconds)
This option displays and permits the selection of delay time as
described just above. This option will not be displayed if the
"Prompt for each trial" toggle is set "On."
APPENDIX A
Text Marking Recommendations
REXL has been designed to operate on as many types of IBM PC
compatible computers as possible. The diversity of monitor types
is such that at least three different kinds of monitors and video
adapter cards must be accommodated. During installation video
attributes are set as recommended below. It is easy to change and
save these attributes to accommodate personal preference using the
Attribute Change Menu described on page 13.
This appendix provides three different recommended sets of
attributes for: monochrome monitors with MDA video adapter cards,
monochrome monitors with color video adapter cards and color
monitors with color video adapter cards.
Monochrome Monitor with MDA
Word in text marking F0
Idiomatic expression marking 70
Text word in idiomatic expression F0
Xlations 8F
Monochrome Monitor with Color Card
Word in text marking F0
Idiomatic expression marking 70
Text word in idiomatic expression 7F
Xlations 40
Color Monitor with Color Card
Word in text marking E0
Idiomatic expression marking 60
Text word in idiomatic expression 6E
Xlations C0
APPENDIX B
Structure of REXL Menus
┌──────────────────┐
│ Text │
└────────┬─────────┘
│
│
│
┌────────┴─────────┐
│ Read Menu │
└────────┬─────────┘
│
│
│
┌────────┴─────────┐
│ Utility Menu │
└────────┬─────────┘
│
│
┌──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌────────┴─────────┐ ┌────────┴─────────┐ ┌────────┴─────────┐
│ Load Menu │ │ Attribute Menu │ │ Tachistoscope │
└──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘
21 November 1991