Software Vault: The Gold Collection

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Text File | 1993-03-20 | 17KB | 333 lines

┌┬┬────────────────────┬┬┐ │││ INSTRUCTIONS │││ └┴┴────────────────────┴┴┘ Studying with TOTAL RECALL..................................1 Freshening Subject Files....................................2 Creating New Subject Files..................................3 Adding More Entries to a Subject File.......................4 Editing Existing Entries....................................5 Selecting or Changing Subject Files.........................6 Defining the Default Directory..............................7 Adding Pictures to TOTAL RECALL.............................8 How to See the Pictures During Study Sessions...............9 Adding Notes to Subject Files..............................10 How to See the Notes During Study Sessions.................11 Exporting to an ASCII text file............................12 dBASE III compatibility....................................13 1. Studying with TOTAL RECALL ================================ TOTAL RECALL uses Flash Cards and various forms of Questions and Answers to help you learn. Learning sessions should be short but frequent. It is better to study 20 minutes per day every day of the week than to study 2 hours once a week. Term & Definition can be used interchangeably with Question & Answer. An Entry is a Term & Definition pair. A Subject File is a collection of Entries. Related Subject Files can be grouped in a Sub-directory. Once you've created a new Subject File using the NEW option from the Subjects Menu, you begin by condensing and organizing your material by using the ADD Entries option (this will also force you to understand the material). Then, use the LEARN option with either SEQUENTIAL or RANDOM order. The way you LEARN is simple: TOTAL RECALL will flash the term and definition of each entry for a certain period of time. This period is equal to the DWELL time (set in seconds in the CUSTOMIZE menu) plus an additional time which is proportional to how well you know the entry. Least-known entries will "dwell" longer than better known entries. If the Flash Cards are not staying on the screen long enough you may adjust the mini- mum DWELL time in the CUSTOMIZE menu. When you think you KNOW an entry you can press F1 and the fact that you know it will be noted by TOTAL RECALL. You may also SKIP entries by pressing F9 in which case TOTAL RECALL will not note anything about that entry. If you need more time to study a particular entry you can keep the Flash Card on the screen for as long as you want by pressing any other key. Keeping an entry longer is interpreted by TOTAL RECALL that you don't know that entry. If you wish to interrupt your learning without exiting press F4 for PAUSE. This will freeze everything until you hit another key. TOTAL RECALL will take no other action and will not draw any conclusions when you press F4. By monitoring your progress through the entire file in this manner TOTAL RECALL soon adjusts itself to let you spend most of your time studying those entries that you need most practice on. LEARN with SEQUENTIAL order will allow you to break off your learning session in the middle of the file and quit. The next day, when you come back to the file, LEARN with SEQUENTIAL order will pick up where you left off. After studying the entire file a few times using LEARN with SEQUENTIAL or RANDOM order you should next do LEARN with LEAST-KNOWN order. This option will flash your Least-known entries not just longer but also more frequently. Note that the order is still random and you will sometimes see some entries that you already know. When you get tired of studying the Flash Cards in the LEARN option, it is time to move on to the Question & Answer activities under DRILL, REVIEW, and TEST. These activities include ESSAY, MULTIPLE CHOICE, TRUE/FALSE, and PAIR-MATCHING. Start with TEST which will let you know how well you know the material. The ESSAY, MULTIPLE CHOICE, and TRUE/FALSE tests can be limited as to the amount of time and number of questions you get tested with. When answering the questions please remember not to guess. Then, DRILL is the single most important activity in TOTAL RECALL. DRILL will drill you on those terms that you need the most help with. It works in a similar way as LEARN with LEAST-KNOWN except that it gives you many more activities. You should spend most of your time in the DRILL option. Finally, REVIEW will ensure that you have covered all the terms you need to know. Like LEARN with SEQUENTIAL, REVIEW allows you to quit any time and pick up later where you left off. All these activities (LEARN, REVIEW, TEST, and DRILL) track the terms you know and those you don't know, but only LEARN with LEAST-KNOWN and DRILL actually use that information. TEST chooses terms at random, and REVIEW chooses terms sequentially as you entered them. Please note that TOTAL RECALL assumes that you either know an entry or that you don't know it. Never guess! Guessing will give TOTAL RECALL the wrong feedback. 2. Freshening Subject Files ============================== When you select a Subject File from the FILES MENU, TOTAL RECALL will automatically FRESHEN the file if you have not used it before. For large files this may take awhile. You must have enough space on your disk for this operation to succeed; this is typically an additional amount equal to the size of the file being FRESHENED. You may also want to FRESHEN Subject Files when their corresponding index files (.NX*) become damaged or corrupted, or whenever you wish to study a Subject File after a long absence, or if you wish to study someone else's Subject File. 3. Creating New Subject Files ================================ To create your own new Subject File, simply go to the FILES menu and select the NEW option. You will be asked to type in the name of the path where you wish to put your new Subject File. Note that in DOS a path name usually includes a drive name, a directory, and perhaps some sub-directories. DO NOT type in the name of the Subject File at this time. An example of a path name is C:\RECALL. The path you type in must exist or you'll get an error message and TOTAL RECALL will ask you if you want to create a new-subdirectory. You may then try again. Next, TOTAL RECALL will then prompt you for the name you wish to give to your new Subject File. Try to give your files meaningful names as this will help you to remember what the file contains later. For example, if you are studying Anthropology, it would be a good idea to name your file ANTHRO. Then, TOTAL RECALL will prompt you information about the length of the term (or question), the number of lines for your definition or answer) and whether you want mnemonic devices. A Mnemonic Device is anything that will help you learn or memorize a definition but is not really part of the definition. It could be an example or illustration. If you're studying foreign languages you could use the Mnemonic Device to hold the definition of the term in the parent language. TOTAL RECALL is designed to be versatile, so use your imagination. 4. Adding More Entries to a Subject File =========================================== You can add entries to a Subject File either when you first create it or later by going to the ENTRIES menu and selecting the ADD option. When adding entries you are asked to type in a word, term, phrase, or any other fact that you wish to define and memorize. Then you will be prompted for the corresponding definition. Although you may enter either term/definition pairs or question/answer pairs, your learning sessions will be more flexible if your entries are the term/definition type. During the drilling session simply remember that whenever you are given a term, you will need to respond with the definition or vice versa. 5. Editing Existing Entries ============================== To make changes to existing entries, go to the ENTRIES menu and select the EDIT option. You will then be able to select the entry to EDIT either by typing in the term (exactly) or by browsing through a menu of all the entries. The order of this menu will be chronological (the order in which you have entered the terms). You may alphabetize the order by selecting the SORT option from the ENTRIES menu. 6. Selecting or Changing Subject Files ========================================= To select a Subject File to study or to change to another Subject File, simply press the [F3] function key while you're in the Main Menu. TOTAL RECALL will offer you a menu of Subject Files you can select from in the currently defined directory. If the File is in another directory press the [F2] key and you can then type the path to that other directory. 7. Defining the Default Directory ==================================== When you first begin using TOTAL RECALL you must give it a Default Directory where you wish to keep most of your Subject Files. Whenever you try to select a Subject File, the program will automatically assume the Subject Files are in the Default Directory. Tell TOTAL RECALL the full path name of the Default Directory in the CUSTOMIZE menu under the PATH option. Once you have typed in the path name of your default directory, it will be saved to disk in the file CUSTOM3.MEM and will be in effect even after you exit and restart the program. You may also select the current directory as the default directory. To do this, simply press [ENTER] at the prompt to accept the given path name. You can also change the default directory later by going through the same process. Note that whenever you press the [F2] key (which only becomes activated after you've pressed the [F3] key in the Main menu) and then select another directory path, that new directory path name will not be saved to disk. 8. Adding Pictures to TOTAL RECALL ===================================== This new version of TOTAL RECALL allows you to display a PCX picture along with each entry in a Subject File to help you incorporate visual information with what you need to learn. The format of the picture file MUST be PCX. This should not be a problem since the PCX format is one of the most popular and most supported. PCX pictures can be obtained by scanning, capturing, grabbing, or drawing in various paint and draw programs. You can add pictures to TOTAL RECALL when you first create a NEW Subject File. You can also add pictures to an already existing Subject File. To create a NEW Subject File that can display pictures, follow this procedure: 1) Under the files menu press N for New. 2) Answer the various questions about where you wish to file to reside, the file name, and the width and number of lines for the entry. 3) When asked whether you want PCX pictures pictures, answer (Y)es. 4) TOTAL RECALL will create the Subject File and eventually allow you to add entries to it. For each entry you will be able to enter the name of a PCX picture file (make sure you type type the full name of the file including the extension, eg., ROSE.PCX and that the picture resides in the same directory path as the Subject File). Note that you can also add pictures to an already existing Subject File that does not have pictures. To do this, select the SIZE option from the file menu and say Yes when it asks you whether you want to have PCX pictures in your Subject File. Then go to the entries menu and select EDIT. You will then be able to input the name of the PCX picture for each entry. 9. How to See the Pictures During Study Sessions =================================================== Once you have a Subject File that contains pictures it is easy to study with those pictures. The thing to remember is that TOTAL RECALL treats a picture as part of a definition and whenever you're able to view the definition of an entry, you'll be able to view the picture for that entry. Thus, whenever you're viewing the flash card for an entry and if it says [F10] = View Picture in the upper right hand corner of the flash card, pressing the F10 key will display the picture. You may then study the picture until you press any other key which will return you to the flash card. 10. Adding Notes to Subject Files ==================================== You should keep your terms and definitions as short as possible in order to make it easier to memorize them. In most cases 5 line definitions should be more than enough to handle long definitions. However, it's sometimes desirable to expand on an entry with a long note or explanation. In that case you should define your Subject File as having Text Notes. This is done during the Create NEW File process or can be done later using the Size feature. To create a NEW Subject File that can include Note files, follow this procedure: 1) Under the files menu press N for New. 2) Answer the various questions about where you wish to file to reside, the file name, and the width and number of lines for the entry. 3) When asked whether you Text Notes, answer (Y)es. 4) TOTAL RECALL will create the Subject File and eventually allow you to add entries to it. For each entry you will be able to enter the name of a Text Note. The default name of the file will consist of the same name as the Subject File + an extension reflecting the entry number. Thus, if the Subject File BIOLOGY.NIM has Notes they will be named BIOLOGY.001, BIOLOGY.002, BIOLOGY.003, etc. You can of override this naming convention but if you do so you may have trouble keeping track which Notes belong with which Subject Files. Note that you can also add Notes to an already existing Subject File that does not have Notes. To do this, select the SIZE option from the file menu and say Yes when it asks you whether you want to have Text Notes in your Subject File. Then go to the entries menu and select EDIT. You will then be able to input the name of the Text Note for each entry. 11. How to See the Notes During Study Sessions ================================================= Once you have a Subject File that contains Notes it is easy to study with those Notes. The thing to remember is that TOTAL RECALL treats a Note as part of a definition and whenever you're able to view the definition of an entry, you'll be able to view the Note for that entry. Thus, whenever you're viewing the flash card for an entry and if it says [F2] = View Note in the upper left hand corner of the flash card, pressing the F2 key will display the Note. You may then study the Note until you press any other key which will return you to the flash card. 12. Exporting to an ASCII text file ====================================== You may export the contents of any Subject File to an ASCII text file. By doing this you will then be able to perform such things as spell checking your Subject Files with a word processor. Exporting is done by going to the OUTPUT menu and selecting the option FILE. This will output to a file. 13. dBASE III Compatibility ============================== All TOTAL RECALL Subject Files are compatible with dBASE III. All you have to do to "use" them from within dBASE III is to include the ".NIM" extension when you select a file name. Note however that the index files (TOTAL RECALL files with ".NX*" extensions) are not compatible with dBASE III. Copyright (c) 1988-1993 by Zoran Sevarlic. All Rights Reserved.