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Exam Generator
Shareware version 2.0 - 09 Sep 1994
Copyright 1991-1994 Affordable Computer Services
All Rights Reserved
Written by George Steinmetz, KB2FZH
DESCRIPTION
Exam Generator is used to take multiple choice exams. A question pool is
loaded from disk and random questions are selected from the pool. Selections
may be entered via keyboard or mouse.
This program was made generic so it can be used for any type of exam. However,
it was originally written to administer Amateur Radio exams using the FCC
question pools. These pools are included as part of the program's package.
NOTE: To take the amateur radio exams on a computer with a monochrome or CGA
card, copies of the exams are necessary, as the program tells you to look at
them when a diagram is used for a particular question. These exams are in the
ARRL (American Radio Relay League) and Radio Shack license manuals. (The ARRL
books are better for this purpose because the answers are listed in a separate
section; Radio Shack's exam manuals list the answer after each question.
FILE LISTING
The Exam Generator package comes with the following files:
EXAM.EXE (main program)
EXAM.DOC (documentation)
MSHERC.COM (TSR to display diagrams on Hercules or MGA cards)
POOLS\2.EXM (Amateur Radio Element 2 question pool)
POOLS\3A.EXM (Amateur Radio Element 3A question pool)
POOLS\3B.EXM (Amateur Radio Element 3B question pool)
POOLS\4A.EXM (Amateur Radio Element 4A question pool)
POOLS\4B.EXM (Amateur Radio Element 4B question pool)
EGA\*.EGA (Amateur Radio EGA graphic files)
HERC\*.HRC (Amateur Radio Hercules graphic files)
INSTALLATION
Create the directory you want Exam Generator installed in, such as C:\EXAM.
Enter that directory (CD \EXAM if installing to C:\EXAM). If you downloaded
EXAM20.ZIP from a BBS, enter PKUNZIP -d EXAM20. If you copied EXAM20.EXE from
a disk, enter EXAM20 -d. This will create the correct subdirectories and
uncompress the files into them.
To conserve disk space, delete the files in the EGA subdirectory if you have a
Hercules (monochrome graphics) card, or delete the files in the HERC directory
if you have a VGA or EGA card. If you have a CGA or monochrome card without
graphics, you can delete both directories.
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
The default screen color is white text on a black background. To change these
colors, add SET FCOLOR=n and SET BCOLOR=n to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. (Replace
n with a color code in the color chart below.) These environment variables are
used in most Affordable Computer Services programs.
FCOLOR and sets the foreground color; BCOLOR sets the background color.
Color chart (n = 0 - 15 for foreground, 0 - 7 for background)
0 Black 4 Red 8 Gray 12 Light red
1 Blue 5 Magenta 9 Light blue 13 Light magenta
2 Green 6 Brown 10 Light green 14 Yellow
3 Cyan 7 White 11 Light cyan 15 Bright white
If a mouse is to be used, load the appropriate mouse driver before running this
program. If you wish to disable the mouse, either do not load a mouse driver,
or run EXAM with the /NOMOUSE command line option (example: EXAM /NOMOUSE).
If you are using a Hercules or other monochrome graphics adapter, run MSHERC
(or LOADHIGH MSHERC) to load the required TSR to display the diagrams.
To run Exam Generator, enter the subdirectory Exam Generator is installed, then
enter EXAM at the DOS prompt.
To force monochrome mode, use the /M command line option (enter EXAM /M).
If you will be printing exams, and your printer port is not LPT1, use the /LPTn
parameter to specify the printer port (example: EXAM /LPT3).
OPERATION
Main Menu
To make a selection, enter the corresponding number and press Enter, or press
the corresponding function key (F1 = choice 1, etc), or move the mouse cursor
to anywhere on the selection and click the left mouse button.
Selection 1 - Load Exam File
An exam file must be loaded before taking an exam. Load Exam File randomly
selects a predetermined amount of questions from each section, and it loads all
sections of the exam file. When this option is selected, a directory of exam
files is automatically displayed. To load an exam, enter it's filename (the
.EXM extension does not have to be entered) or move the mouse cursor on top of
an exam file name and click the left mouse button. If the exam is in a
different directory, enter the path and filename. To abort loading a file,
press Escape.
Selection 2 - Load Entire Section
This command is similar to the Load Exam File command. Load Entire Section
prompts for the section number to load. It then loads every question in the
selected section. This selection is useful for training on a particular
section of an exam.
Selection 3 - Take Exam
To answer a question, press the corresponding answer key (A-E) or move the
mouse cursor to anywhere on the answer and click the left mouse button. To
abort the exam, press Escape and answer the "Abort exam? (y/N)" question with
Y.
If a question refers to a diagram, the word DIAGRAM will display in the top
right corner of the screen. If running on a computer with a VGA, EGA or
Hercules graphics card, press the space bar or click the right mouse button to
display the diagram.
To skip a question and return to it later, press S or click the center mouse
button. (If using a two button mouse, click both the left and right mouse
buttons at the same time.)
At the end of the exam, your score will be displayed. Press Enter to return to
the main menu.
EXAM FILES
Every line is preceded by a status character (always capitalized) or an
apostrophe ('). They have the following meanings:
P: The minimum passing grade (percentage from 0 to 100).
N: The number of questions to be selected from the following section of
questions. An exam may contain multiple sections. The end of a section is
marked by the beginning of the next section or the end of the file.
T: The title or number of the question (only displayed on answer keys). Each
title must be different; the title is used to prevent duplicate questions
on an exam.
G: The graphic file name. If a question refers to a diagram, the diagram is
stored on disk (see Graphic Files below) and the 1-8 character filename
(not the .EGA or .HRC extension) is entered on this line.
R: The right answer. The answer is entered as Ctrl A-E (see below).
Q: The question. If the question contains more than one line, each line of
the question starts with a Q. A maximum of four lines can be entered in
the question, and each line can be a maximum of 80 characters (including
the status character.)
A, B, C, D, E: Answers A-E. Like the questions, if an answer contains more
than one line, each line of the answer starts with it's status character,
up to a maximum of four lines each. Each line can be a maximum of 77
characters (including the status character.) If a question does not have a
choice (ex: A-D, not using E), do not enter a line for the blank answer.
Apostrophe ('): A comment line, not loaded by the program.
Sample exam file:
'Exam 1 (This line is not loaded by the program)
P70 (70 percent is the minimum passing grade)
N1 (One question is to be selected from this section)
T1-1 (Question # 1-1)
RA (Right answer is A)
QFirst line of question
QSecond line of question
AAnswer A
BAnswer B
CAnswer C
T1-2 (Question # 1-2)
RB (Right answer is B)
G1-2 (Graphic file 1-2.EGA or 1-2.HRC will be displayed with this question)
QQuestion
AAnswer A
BAnswer B
CAnswer C
DAnswer D
N2 (Two questions are to be selected from this section)
(continue until last question)
Each section can have a maximum of 100 questions, and the total exam can have a
maximum of 100 selected questions. (The program's true limit is 200 questions,
but only 100 answers can be printed when printing an exam.)
If a question or answer contains ++++, the words will be highlighted on the
screen. (Example: If a question says "What is a ++++balun++++?", the word
"balun" will be highlighted. (This feature was added because ARRL was using it
to highlight words, but they have stopped using it in newer exam files.)
GRAPHIC FILES
The graphic files used in Exam Generator are in BSAVE format. .EGA files are
saved in EGA mode and .HRC files are saved in Hercules mode. To create these
files, I used PICEM by John Bridges to convert .PCX files into .BAS files.
PICEM is available for downloading on BBSes, including The Other BBS (its phone
number is at the end of this file), search BBSes for PICEM*.*
To create your own graphic files, use a program such as PICEM to convert a file
you have drawn/scanned to .BAS format. Do this twice, once with the conversion
program loaded in EGA mode, and once in Hercules mode. Change the extension of
the EGA file to .EGA and the Hercules file to .HRC. (If you are certain that
you will only need one graphic type, then you can just create one file, either
.EGA or .HRC.)
FILE USAGE
Exam Generator makes a temporary file ~EXAM.TMP when loading exams. ~EXAM.TMP
is created in the subdirectory named in the TEMP environment variable, or in
the current directory if no TEMP environment variable exists.
PROGRAM INFO
Exam Generator was written with Microsoft BASIC Professional Development System
version 7.1.
NOTE TO BBS USERS AND SHAREWARE VENDORS
If you received this file from a BBS, the following message should appear when
you use PKUNZIP version 2.0 or higher to extract this program:
Authentic files Verified! # VBI707
Affordable Computer Services
If this message did not display, then the .ZIP file you received is not the
original. If you wish, call The Other BBS at the number displayed below to
download the original .ZIP file (you can download on your first call), or file
request EXAM through Fidonet (node number is displayed below) for the current
version.
CUSTOM PROGRAMMING
If custom programming for hire is requested, contact Affordable Computer
Services by mail at the address shown below. When writing, please enclose a
telephone number where you can be reached.
REGISTRATION
When you register ACS Page, you will receive information on how to remove the
registration request and the Unregistered Copy message from the beginning of
exam printouts.
If you like Exam Generator, please mail a check or money order for $20 (New
Jersey residents add state sales tax) to:
Affordable Computer Services
9 Spring Lake Gardens Ct
Spring Lake, NJ 07762-2530
Along with the registration fee, please also enclose the following:
o The name and version of the program you are registering.
o Your name or company name exactly as you wish it spelled on your registered
copy (upper and lower case).
o Your mailing address.
o A telephone number where you can be reached so I can confirm your
registration.
Note to Amateur Radio operators: It is recommended that you register your
program with your name and call sign (example: George Steinmetz, KB2FZH). If
you upgrade your call sign, you may reregister at no cost.
You may also register by using the American Express Card. You may register
with the card by one of the following methods:
o By mail at the above address.
o By voice at 908-449-3836 or 800-929-0110*.
o By fax at 908-449-9357 or 800-929-0631*.
o Online (The Other BBS) at 908-206-9770.
* Please do not use the 800 numbers except for registering, as I can not afford
to give technical support toll free.
To process your registration, you must supply the above information as well as
the following information:
o Your name exactly as it appears on the card.
o Your card's account number.
o Your card's expiration date.
o Your card's billing address.
When registering with the American Express card on The Other BBS, you should
receive your registration ID in a private message within 24 hours of your
registration.
Any questions about this program may be addressed to George Steinmetz on The
Other BBS, 908-206-9770, Fidonet Netmail node # 1:107/468, or write, call or
fax Affordable Computer Services at the address and phone numbers listed above.
REVISION HISTORY
Version 2.0 - 09 Sep 1994
o (VGA/EGA/Hercules only) When taking an exam and a question refers to a
diagram, "DIAGRAM" will display in the top right corner. Press the space bar
or click the right mouse button to display the diagram.
o Exam text can be printed, exam graphics can be printed to a dot matrix
printer specified in the /LPTn command line option.
o Exam files are directly from ARRL.
o Directory of exam files is automatically displayed when loading a file. (The
prompt to enter ? for a file directory has been removed.)
o Mouse can be used to select exam file when loading.
o Once questions are selected from an exam file, the selected questions are
shuffled. This way, questions in the first section of an exam file are not
always the first questions displayed when taking an exam.
o All questions in a single section of an exam file can be loaded.
o Status characters in exam files are now letters of the alphabet instead of
control characters.
o /M command line option added to force monochrome mode on.
o /NOMOUSE command line option added to disable mouse.
o Right mouse button doubles as Esc key.
o Center mouse button (or left & right mouse buttons) or S skips question when
taking an exam.
o Registration ID removes shareware notice.
o Bug fix: If the TEMP environment variable was pointing to a nonexistent
directory, the program would crash when loading an exam file.
o Swapped menu items 2 & 3 (now Load entire section and Take exam).
o FCOLOR and BCOLOR environment variables used to set foreground and background
colors.
o Price reduction.
Version 1.01 - 04 Feb 1992
o Documentation modified - instructions on obtaining copies of the exams are
listed. (Some questions say "See question {question number}", that means to
look at the diagram for that question on a printed copy of the exam.)
o American Express Cards can be used to register program.
Version 1.0 - 10 Dec 1991
o Original release.