Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr20/flashaid.zip/PHLASH.DOC

Text File | 1993-01-19 | 21KB | 594 lines

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                        **********************************
                        *                                *
                        *     P H L A S H C A R D S tm   *
                        *                                *
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                                Copyright 1988 by
                             Larry Phillips Studios
                                801 Marie Park NE
                          Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123
                               All Rights Reserved

                             **********************
                             *    USER'S MANUAL   *
                             *     Version 1.0    *
                             **********************


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PHLASHCARDS is a trademark of Larry Phillips Studios, which reserves the right
to make improvements in the product described in this manual at any time and
without notice.  The software described herein is a copyrighted LICENSE PROGRAM
and is the property of Larry Phillips Studios.  PHLASHCARDS is distributed as a
Shareware product, and the disk may be copied freely for evaluation purposes,
as described herein.  If you enjoy the program and find it useful, we ask that
you become a registered user of PHLASHCARDS.  There are several  registration
options, and commissions are paid under certain circumstances.  We sincerely
hope that you find the program useful... so turn the page and let's go...









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                          T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S
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         DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.... PAGE 2

         THE PHLASHCARDS CONCEPT............................... PAGE 3

         WHAT IS A *.CDS FILE.................................. PAGE 4

         THE FILES ON THE DISK................................. PAGE 5

         GETTING STARTED....................................... PAGE 6

         MAKING YOUR OWN *.CDS FILES........................... PAGE 7

         THE QUESTION (AND MNEMONIC) EDITOR.................... PAGE 8

         REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND FINAL SALES PITCH........ PAGE 9
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                 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
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    It's a real pity to start what hopefully will be a beautiful relationship
on such a note as this, but here's the prenuptial agreement:

    USE THIS PROGRAM AT YOUR OWN RISK!  IN NO EVENT WILL LARRY PHILLIPS STUDIOS
BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCIDENTAL, GENERAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL, RELATED TO OR ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE
THIS SOFTWARE, WHICH IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, EXCEPT AS STATED IN THE
REGISTRATION FORM PRINTED BY THE PROGRAM.

    PHLASHCARDS IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE... IF YOU USE IT BEYOND A
REASONABLE LENGTH OF TIME FOR "EVALUATION" OF THE PROGRAM, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO
BECOME A REGISTERED USER.  USE OF THIS PRODUCT CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF
THE ABOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

    YEEEECH! I hate that legal garbage, but it can't be helped.  If you think
this is bad, wait till you read the registration agreement.  Seriously, in the
interest of fairness to someone who has spent a terrific amount of time writing
this program, I would be most gratified if you are pleased enough with the
program to register as a user.  I would love nothing more than to see students
and teachers from many different disciplines and levels of education trading
and using *.CDS files over every bulletin board in the country!  Tally HO!

     Now most people don't read these darn manuals anyway... and I've included
a *.CDS file (STUDYME.CDS) to help you get started (clever, huh?).  For the
above reasons, this will not be one of those manuals that takes 178 pages of
printer paper spilling out all over everything to print.  Hopefully, the
information presented by the program itself will be mostly self-explanatory,
with the possible exception of the question editor and some file saving tricks.
Any suggestions you may have (including a longer-winded manual, if you simply
MUST have one) will be welcomed.  Have fun...




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                  T H E   P L A S H C A R D S   C O N C E P T
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     In the course of gaining knowledge on any subject, one is often required
to memorize and regurgitate large amounts of data.  (Such facts and figures are
then generally and immediately forgotten, to be looked up again in the unlikely
event that they are ever actually needed.)  For many years, educators and
students have recognised the usefulness of "flash" cards.  You know the ones.
The question is on one side and the answer is on the other, and you flip
through the cards trying to memorize the information.  The idea of PHLASHCARDS
is to streamline this system and usher it into the electronic communications
age.  You use PHLASHCARDS to create files of up to 100 PHLASHCARDS (*.CDS
files) on any subject you wish, and PHLASHCARDS will help you write them, print
them, flip through them, shuffle them, answer them, memorize them, and even
SHARE them. (Larry Phillips Studios cannot be held responsible for any
information contained in any *.CDS files, as anyone can write or edit them
using the program, but if you come up with any *.CDS files that you think might
be of interest, we might be interested in helping distribute them.)
     Notice that last thing I mentioned... sharing files of cards.  If, for
example, I am studying to be a tropical fish dealer, and I make up a file of
PHLASHCARDS called "CYCLIDS.CDS", then I could share this file of cards with
others.  I could upload such a file on "FISH-NET" (the electronic bulletin
board for fish enthusiasts where I downloaded PHLASHCARDS  originally).  Then
anyone else who was studying cyclids could download CYCLIDS.CDS and study that
file.  Of course that person would also have to have a copy of PHLASHCARDS  to
do so... but he wouldn't have to download PHLASHCARDS each time he wanted to
study a new *.CDS file that popped up on FISH-NET!
     If nothing else, PHLASHCARDS should help to eliminate those shoe-boxes of
3 X 5 index cards that accumulate in your garage each time you take a course.
PHLASHCARDS was written using Turbo Pascal 4.0, Borland's fantastic programming
language.  Some sub-routines were incorporated from the books "Turbo Pascal
Program Library" by Rugg Feldman and "Turbo Pascal Library" by Douglas S.
Stivison.
     Several registration options are offered, and these are printed with the
registration form directly by the program.  There is a break for educational
institutions, a way to earn commissions on registrations, and in any case the
price is cheap cheap cheap!  When registering. be sure to use the form printed
by the copy of the program you are using, or at least include the registration
number from the title screen (failure to do this may do someone out of a
commission).   If you will use the program, then please register, if not then
please pass it on to some student or educator who may find use for it.  Good
luck  with your studies!










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                   W H A T   I S   A   * . C D S   F I L E ?
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     As you have probably guessed by now, a *.CDS file is a file of up to 100
flash cards.  Each card contains three components, the question, the answer,
and the mnemonic.  You create *.CDS files yourself using the PHLASHCARDS
editor.

THE QUESTION
   Each question may be in either TRUE/FALSE, MULTIPLE CHOICE, or FILL-IN-THE-
BLANK format.  You must tell PHLASHCARDS the format for each card as you begin
to enter it into the editor.  More on these formats under the section on the
PHLASHCARDS  editor.  Each question can be up to 220 characters in length.

THE ANSWER
    Well, of course! The answer to a TRUE/FALSE is either T or F.  The answer
to a MULTIPLE CHOICE question can be 1 to 9 or A to Z.  FILL-IN-THE-BLANK
questions are tricky... as they incorporate their answers in the question
(you'll see how this works later).

THE MNEMONIC
    This is something most traditional flash cards didn't have, and it is
optional with PHLASHCARDS.  A mnemonic is simply something to help you remember
the information contained in the question... a "memory jogger".  Silly
relations, anagrams, puns, etc. work best, as they are easiest to remember.
The best way to see how a mnemonic works is to look at STUDYME.CDS.  Each
mnemonic may be up to 88 characters in length.

So each *.CDS file consists of up to 100 Questions, each with its own answer
and mnemonic.  It's a good idea to organize your *.CDS files as you type them
in, (one file for chapter 1 and 2, etc.)  Version 1.0 of PHLASHCARDS  doesn't
allow a lot of fancy file handling, but you can edit individual cards in any
file and add to any file of less than 100 cards at any time.  You can delete a
card from a file by "typing over" it.  Later versions should allow file
combination and trimming on the basis of search words, etc.




















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                   T H E   F I L E S   O N   T H E   D I S K
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The PHLASHCARDS program comes with the following files on the disk:

   PHLASH.EXE
      This is the program proper.

   PHLASH.DOC
      This document.

   CONFIG.FIL
      This is a file the program keeps and updates whenever you change screen
      colors, printer control strings, or default drives.  The program will not
      run without it.

   STUDYME.CDS
      This is a sample *.CDS file that also helps you learn how to use this
      program's editor and special features.

   EDITOR.DOC
      This is a quick-reference card of editor commands.

   README.DOC
      If present, this file will contain updated information, errata, or
      corrections to this manual, announcements of *.CDS files available, a few
      jokes, a soft-shoe... whatever.

You need only PHLASH.EXE and CONFIG.FIL to run the program, but any copies that
you may distribute should include all of the files described above!

























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                       G E T T I N G   S T A R T E D
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Some knowledge of MS-DOS is assumed by this manual, but if you are itching to
get started you should at least:

    1> MAKE AT LEAST ONE BACKUP COPY OF THE DISK ON WHICH YOU RECEIVED
       PHLASHCARDS TO BE USED AS A WORKING COPY.  SAVE THE ORIGINAL IN CASE YOU
       FOUL THIS ONE UP!  (See your DOS manual for instructions)

    2> BOOT YOUR COMPUTER AND PUT THE WORKING COPY IN YOUR DEFAULT DRIVE.

    3> TYPE A>PHLASH

You can (as with most programs) put PHLASHCARDS  on a system disk with an
AUTOEXEC.BAT batch file, and use  a titled, formatted disk in drive B: for your
*.CDS files, etc. etc. etc.  The scope of this manual doesn't include these
things, but they can (as usual) be done using MS-DOS.

You will see the title screen when PHLASHCARDS is ready to commence.  Press any
key except <ENTER> and you will be dumped into an informational menu that is
just chock full of useful stuff.  You can play around in here for a while, or
go on to the main program by typing 9.  Except for the card editor, PHLASHCARDS
is totally menu driven and (hopefully) pretty self-explanatory.  So why not
read STUDYME.CDS from disk (option <R> on main menu) and play around with the
file a bit (option <S> or <P> will not alter the file on disk in any way).  If
you don't like the screen colors, printer driver, or default path/drive, check
out option <C>.  Have fun... if you REALLY foul up, the worst that can happen
is you'll have to make another working copy!  You'll see that the <S> option
allows you to study the cards (waiting for your answers), flip through the
cards, shuffle the cards, un-shuffle the cards. etc, etc.
























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               M A K I N G   Y O U R   O W N   * . C D S    F I L E S
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When you're tired of playing around with the STUDYME.CDS, and want to start
your own *.CDS file, do the following:

  1> Choose option <I> at the main menu (Type I), and tell PHLASHCARDS  the
name of the *.CDS file you wish to begin (How about "TESTFILE").  (You can skip
this part if you already have a file on disk that you just wish to add to by
<R>eading that file into memory.)  Notice, when you return to the main menu,
that the name of your file has been incorporated in the prompts.

  2> Now choose option <E> (Type E) to enter edit mode.  Most prompts in edit
mode will appear across the very top of the screen, so watch up there if you
get stuck.  The first choice you must make is which card to edit.  You may
enter any number 1 to 100, and PHLASHCARDS will go to that card, or you may
just press <ENTER> and PHLASHCARDS will go to the first empty card in the file
(in this case, card #1).

  3> Now pick a question format by typing either T for TRUE/FALSE, M for
MULTIPLE CHOICE, or F for FILL-IN-THE-BLANK (choose TRUE/FALSE for starters).

  4> PHLASHCARDS prints "TRUE OR FALSE" across the top of the card, then goes
to question edit mode.  At this point you may type in a statement using the
PHLASHCARDS editor.  The question is limited to 220 characters in length.
In this case press <ENTER> twice to get to the third line of the five that make
up the question, then type (beginning at the left margin) "Darwin was a
Primate."  Stay on the same line and press <CTRL>C to center the line, then
press <ESC> to exit. (A full description of editor commands follows later in
this manual.)

  5> PHLASHCARDS now wants to know if the statement is TRUE or FALSE.  Press T
for TRUE (He was you know).  PHLASHCARDS will automatically enter edit mode for
the mnemonic at this time.

  6> Type in the mnemonic "Human Beings are Primates" then <CTRL>C to center
and <ESC> to exit.  PHLASHCARDS  will ask if all is correct.  If everything's
O.K., then type Y to move along (otherwise typing N will allow you to start
over).

  7> Now let's do a FILL-IN-THE-BLANK question.  Press <Enter> until you get to
card #2, and tell PHLASHCARDS that you wish it to be a FILL-IN-THE-BLANK card.
PHLASHCARDS goes into question edit mode, just as before.  This time, however,
we must incorporate the answer into the question... here's how.

  8> Type "The first U.S. President was [WASHINGTON]".  Anything you type
within square brackets will automatically be capitalized, and will NOT be
printed when the question is asked later in study mode.  If you open square
brackets in any question be sure to close them again before you finish editing
the question, or PHLASHCARDS has a conniption fit!.  PHLASHCARDS will not
prompt you for a separate answer for a FILL-IN-THE-BLANK question.

  9> You do a MULTIPLE CHOICE question the same way as a TRUE/FALSE, except
that PHLASHCARDS will accept a wider range of (one character) answers (1 to 9
or A to Z).


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       T H E    Q U E S T I O N  ( A N D   M E M O N I C )   E D I T O R
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The PHLASHCARDS editor is designed to make formatting a question as easy as
possible, and has some redundant commands built in. the basic commands
available are as follows:

    +----------------------------------------------------------+
    |   ERASE WORD..................................<CTRL>E    |
    |   CENTER LINE.................................<CTRL>C    |
    |   PUSH RIGHT FROM CURSOR....................TAB RIGHT    |
    |   PUSH LEFT FROM CURSOR......................TAB LEFT    |
    |   MOVE CURSOR ONE WORD RIGHT................<CTRL> ->    |
    |   MOVE CURSOR ONE WORD LEFT.................<CTRL> <-    |
    |   ERASE TO END OF LINE FROM CURSOR..........<CTRL>END    |
    |   MOVE TO BEGINNING OF TEXT......................PGUP    |
    |   MOVE TO END OF TEXT............................PGDN    |
    |   MOVE TO BEGINNING OF LINE......................HOME    |
    |   MOVE TO END OF TEXT ON LINE.....................END    |
    |   TOGGLE INSERT/TYPEOVER MODES....................INS    |
    |   MOVE CURSOR TO BEGINNING OF NEXT LINE.........ENTER    |
    |   BACKSPACE, DELETE.........................THE USUAL    |
    |   END EDIT...........................<ESC> or <CTRL>Z    |
    +----------------------------------------------------------+

You can also use the function keys for most commands:

    +----------------------------------------------------------+
    |   <SHIFT>F1.................MOVE TO BEGINNING OF TEXT    |
    |   <SHIFT>F2.......................MOVE TO END OF TEXT    |
    |   F1........................MOVE TO BEGINNING OF LINE    |
    |   F2..............................MOVE TO END OF LINE    |
    |   F3.......................................ERASE WORD    |
    |   F4.....ERASE FROM THE CURSOR TO THE END OF THE LINE    |
    |   F5.......................................(Not Used)    |
    |   F6........................MOVE CURSOR ONE WORD LEFT    |
    |   F7.......................MOVE CURSOR ONE WORD RIGHT    |
    |   F8.......................PUSH TEXT LEFT FROM CURSOR    |
    |   F9..............................CENTER TEXT ON LINE    |
    |   F10.....................PUSH TEXT RIGHT FROM CURSOR    |
    |   <SHIFT>F10.................................END EDIT    |
    +----------------------------------------------------------+

With a little practice, you can enter questions easily using the PHLASHCARDS
editor.  IF you want to use a Word Processor to check spelling, save the *.CDS
file as an ASCII file to disk (option <P> on the main menu), print a hardcopy
using the same option, then exit PHLASHCARDS, load the ASCII file into your
Word Processor, and check the spelling.  If you make notes on the hard copy,
you can then re-enter PHLASHCARDS and make the necessary changes using the
editor.  I know that this seems clumsy ('cause it IS!), but this is just
version 1.0 you've got in your hot little hands.  Later versions should be able
to import files from ASCII files made using a Word Processor.



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              R E G I S T R A T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N
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    This is my final sales pitch for registration...

    If you like PHLASHCARDS then please register... it can't cost you more than
$35.00 tops, and you can easily earn that back through commissions.  I'm not
going to go through all the options, etc. here.  The registration form printed
by the program is three pages long and explains everything!

    Good luck... and if you have any questions or suggestions please feel free
to write to:
                        Larry Phillips Studios
                          801 Marie Park NE
                       Albuquerque, New Mexico
                                         87123
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