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- Euclid Quick Start
- Bernie Bernstein
- bernard@cs.colorado.edu
- BERNARDB@applelink
-
- This file is for those who just want to start up Euclid and start playing.
- If you read this file and are good at "playing around" with programs, then
- you could eventually learn almost everything about how to use the
- application.
-
- ••••••••••
- System setup:
-
- If you plan on working on a large argument, then you should allocate at
- least 1000K or memory for Euclid. You may do this by selecting the icon
- for the program and choosing "Get Info" from the File menu in the Finder.
- In a box labeled "Current size: " you can enter the amount of memory that
- the program will use. If, while using the program, it complains about
- being low on memory, then you should make the memory larger.
-
- The program will run fastest from a hard disk, so you may copy it to your
- hard disk drive instead of running it from a floppy disk. The program does
- some safety precautions when saving files, so you should have at least
- twice as much space on the disk than your data file holds. The program
- makes an extra copy of the file while it is saving so that if the computer
- crashes, you can still recover your data.
-
- ••••••••••
- How to start:
-
- Launch the app. You must have a database open before you can open a
- display. If you open only a database, you will only see a smalltalk-like
- view of the database. This is not very useful, but you can see what's
- there in some form.
-
- When you open a database, you will be asked to log in. If you haven't
- logged in before, then create a new user and put your initials or some
- short (<= 4 chars) identifier for yourself.
-
- Only the user who creates things may edit them.
-
- If you want to make some claims from your own perspective, then you should
- define a primitive source for yourself. That means "I say…". If you want
- to quote someone, or give another persons perspective, then create other
- primitive sources for them. This means "That other person said…". If
- another user already created the source that you want to use, then just
- use that one.
-
- After it is started up, you can set up the default types and default
- source. Any new object you create will be given the default source and a
- default type.
-
- Open a display or create a new display for real work.
-
- ••••••••••
- Things to know:
-
- The first time you use a database, be sure to login as a new, unique,
- user. If you use another users login name, and they also make changes,
- then you and the other user could have problems merging databases. Login
- sequence is to ensure that merges will always work.
-
- You can't edit any object created by another user.
-
- If you are collaborating, you can merge another persons database into
- yours by using the Merge Database… command under File. This takes all
- changes in another database and merges them into the currently open
- database.
-
- ••••••••••
- Things not in the menu bar: (VERY IMPORTANT THINGS!!!)
-
- Double-clicking in the drag bar of any object brings up its info page for
- it. You can change its type, source and name there. The name can be
- anything to identify the object, but is optional. The default name of an
- object is its text for text objects and its type for relation and list
- objects. You can change the name by editing the default name. If you
- erase the entire name, it will revert back to its default name.
-
- To create a relation between two objects, hold the option key and drag
- between two object. If neither end of the drag is a relation, then a new
- relation is created between them. If either end is a relation, then only a
- line will be created.
-
- If you want to create a new relation, where either end is already a
- relation, then create the relation first (cmd-R or in the object menu) and
- then link it to its relatives with the option-drag.
-
- The little box on one end of every relation shows which end of the line is
- its "owner". The owner is always a relation, and it represents the
- relation which the line is part of. This may sound confusing, but don't
- worry about it too much. You can see an example of this in the manual.
-
- If you want to "hand drag" (a la MacPaint) the contents of a display
- window, hold the control key down, and a small hand cursor will show that
- you can slide the picture around.
-
- ••••••••••
-