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1995-10-31
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| Typing
PC-FASTYPE |
| Tutorial
|
|
|
|
*** U S E R ' S G U I D E ***
for
CGA - Version 4.1
and
MONO- Version 1.1
_______
____|__ | MEMBER
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| (R)
Copyright (C) 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Wayne, NJ
* PC-FASTYPE is a trademark of Trendtech Corporation
* The ASP logo is a registered trademark of the A.S.P.
Licensed Material - Program, Documentation, and Text Files
are Property of Trendtech Corporation.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 2
____________________________________________________________
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
____________________________________________________________
1. SHAREWARE 5
2. LICENSE 6
2.1 REGISTRATION SCHEDULE 7
2.1.1 Single User License: 7
2.1.2 Network License: 7
2.1.3 Site License: 7
2.1.4 Right-to-Copy License: 7
2.2 Sales Tax 8
3. SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTION 8
4. REGISTRATION BENEFITS 10
4.1 Upgrade Policy 10
4.2 THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS 11
4.3 TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES 12
4.4 TECHNICAL SUPPORT 12
5. DISCLAIMER 13
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 13
7. INTRODUCTION 14
8. INSTALLING PC-FASTYPE ON A HARD-DRIVE 15
9. WHAT TO DO NEXT 16
9.1 Operating PC-FASTYPE 16
9.2 During Operation 17
9.3 The "ESCape" Key 17
9.4 How To STOP Using PC-FASTYPE 18
10. THE SCREEN KEYBOARD DISPLAY 18
11. BEGINNER DRILLS 19
12. EXERCISES 19
13. THE "TEXT PANEL" ABOVE THE KEYBOARD 20
14. MENU SELECTOR BAR AND FUNCTION KEYS 24
15. MENU HOPPING 25
16. QUICK HELP FACILITY 25
16.1 How To Use The Quick HELP Facility 25
17. SPECIAL KEYS 26
18. THE PRIMARY MENUS 27
18.1 MAIN MENU 28
18.1.1 Beginner Drills Menu 28
18.1.2 Intermediate Exercises Menu 28
18.1.3 Advanced Exercises Menu 28
18.1.4 Keyboard Helpers Menu 29
18.1.5 Setting Skill Levels 29
18.1.5.1 Beginner Skill Level 29
18.1.5.2 Intermediate Skill Level 30
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 3
____________________________________________________________
18.1.5.3 Advanced Skill Level 30
18.1.6 Exit to MS-DOS 31
18.2 BEGINNER DRILLS MENU 32
18.2.1 HOME Keys Only 32
18.2.2 Add More Letters 32
18.2.3 Add Numbers 32
18.2.4 Add CAPITAL Letters 32
18.2.5 Include Punctuation Marks 33
18.2.6 CAPITAL Letters Only! 33
18.2.7 Do it ALL! 33
18.2.8 Choose Your Own 33
18.3 INTERMEDIATE EXERCISES MENU 35
18.3.1 WORDS - 3 Letter Groups 35
18.3.2 WORDS - 4 Letter Groups 35
18.3.3 WORDS - 5 Letter Groups 35
18.3.4 More WORDS 36
18.3.5 Common PHRASES 36
18.4 ADVANCED EXERCISES MENU 37
18.4.1 EASY Sentences 37
18.4.2 HARD Sentences 37
18.4.3 SHORT Paragraphs 37
18.4.4 Type YOUR Own Text 38
18.5 KEYBOARD HELPERS MENU 40
18.5.1 QUIET Mode 40
18.5.2 Hidden Keys 40
18.5.3 Outline HOME keys 40
18.5.4 'BEEP' Keystroke Errors 41
18.5.5 Align Finger Positions 41
18.5.6 WORD WRAP 41
18.5.7 Reset Keyboard Helpers 42
18.5.8 Change Drill Count 42
19. SUB-MENUS 43
19.1 ADD MORE LETTERS Sub-Menu 43
19.2 ADD NUMBERS Sub-Menu 44
19.3 ADD CAPITALS Sub-Menu 44
20. APPENDIX -A- 46
21. APPENDIX -B- 47
22. APPENDIX -C- 48
23. APPENDIX -D- 49
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 4
____________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHT NOTICES AND TRADEMARKS
PC-FASTYPE(Tm) is Copyright 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987,
1988, 1989, 1990 by Trendtech Corporation, Inc., Wayne, New
Jersey, all rights reserved.
Licensed Material; this software program, its documentation,
other accompanying written and disk-based notes and
specifications, and all referenced and related program
files, screen display renditions of keyboards, and text
files, are the property of Trendtech Corporation, Inc.,
Wayne, NJ, U.S.A.
Portions of the user-interface were implemented using "The
Window BOSS", Copyright 1984-1988 Phillip A. Mongelluzzo.
PC-FASTYPE is a trademark of Trendtech Corporation, Inc.,
Wayne, NJ.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business
Machines, Inc.
The ASP and logo are registered trademarks of the
Association of Shareware Professionals.
PC-FASTYPE/CGA and PC-FASTYPE/MONO are distributed as
Shareware and have specific licensing provisions, please
read the following text for more information about
Shareware, Licensing, and Registration procedures for these
products.
This software may not be reverse-engineered or
disassembled in any way, and includes certain trade secrets
and confidential information of Trendtech Corporation.
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is
subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision
(b)(3)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer
Software clause at 252.227-7013.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 5
____________________________________________________________
1. SHAREWARE
The Shareware method of software 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 with the author or copyright holder. Individual
Shareware products differ on details -- some request
registration while others require it, and some specify a
maximum trial period. With registration, depending on the
product you register, you will get anything from the simple
right to continue using the software to an updated program
with a printed manual.
Shareware is NOT the same as public domain software;
public domain software typically does NOT contain copyright
notices by the author. Shareware, on the other hand IS
COPYRIGHTED by the author! Copyright laws apply to BOTH
Shareware as well as commercial software (software
distributed in retail markets), and the copyright holder
retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated
below.
Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just
like commercial program authors, and the programs are of
comparable, if not better, quality. (In both cases, there
are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in
the method of distribution. The author of a Shareware
program specifically grants the right to copy and distribute
the software, either to all and sundry computer users or to
a specific group. For example, most Shareware authors
require written permission before a commercial disk vendor
may copy and distribute their Shareware program.
So, Shareware is a software "distribution method", not
a "type" or "kind" of software. As a computer user, you
should try to find software that suits your needs as well as
your pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The
Shareware system accommodates your needs, because you can
"try before you buy". And because the overhead is low,
prices - in the form of registration fees are low also.
Shareware has the ULTIMATE money-back guarantee -- "if you
don't use the product, you don't pay for it".
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 6
____________________________________________________________
2. LICENSE
PC-FASTYPE is a Shareware product. As such, it is made
available to the general personal-computing public for
evaluation. Users are licensed to operate PC-FASTYPE on
their personal computers for the purpose of testing and
evaluation as to its usefulness to them, on a trial basis
for a time period not to exceed 30 days. We believe this to
be a fair and equitable period for evaluation and we trust
the user's judgement and sense of fair play to make an
intelligent decision as to its usefulness. If the user
decides PC-FASTYPE is not of sufficient merit to warrant
purchase through registration with Trendtech, he or she
should remove PC-FASTYPE from his or her personal computer.
Otherwise, if the program is deemed useful and is in fact in
regular use on the user's computer system, then the user
must register with Trendtech Corporation. The essence of
Shareware is to provide personal computer users with high
quality software at a reasonable price, and to provide an
incentive for Shareware authors to continue to develop new
products.
Registered users of PC-FASTYPE are those users who
elect to register their use of it by paying the indicated
registration fee to Trendtech. By virtue of registration
and payment for PC-FASTYPE, registrants are granted a
license to continue to utilize the program on their personal
computer for as long as they choose. This "SINGLE-USER"
license authorizes the registrant to use PC-FASTYPE on any
personal computer system he or she may own or use on a
regular basis so long as PC-FASTYPE is operated on only one
computer system at a time.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 7
____________________________________________________________
2.1 REGISTRATION SCHEDULE
2.1.1 Single User License:
The Single-User Registration fee for PC-FASTYPE is
as follows:
U.S.A. - $25.00, plus $3.00 for shipping/handling
Canada - $25.00, plus $5.00 for shipping/handling
Overseas - $25.00, plus $10.00 for shipping/handling
Credit cards are accepted. All paper payments (checks,
MO, Postal MO, etc.) MUST be expressed in U.S. Funds
(Dollars) and drawn on a U.S. bank. Others will be
returned.
2.1.2 Network License:
See "Right-to-Copy" licensing provisions below.
Usage of PC-FASTYPE on a network constitutes usage of
it for each workstation/"keyboard" connected to the
network, whether PC-FASTYPE is used on each of the
workstations or not. A fully registered and paid-for
copy of PC-FASTYPE is required for each
workstation/"keyboard".
2.1.3 Site License:
A site is defined as a single building or group of
buildings at the same public mailing address. A site
license allows unlimited INTERNAL use of PC-FASTYPE, on
any number of machines, at the specified location.
Corporate and Educational customers, please
contact TRENDTECH CORPORATION for a copy of our General
Licensing Provisions and up-to-date registration fee
schedule.
2.1.4 Right-to-Copy License:
A Right-to-Copy License is available whereby a
customized master of the registered version of
PC-FASTYPE can be copied and distributed with
serialized labels by the licensee. Your purchase of a
Right-to-Copy license includes the delivery of a master
disk with a customized opening screen containing the
name of the licensee, and printed serialized labels in
the quantity desired. The volume price per copy of
PC-FASTYPE under a Right-to-Copy license can be very
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 8
____________________________________________________________
low. Contact Trendtech Corporation for a complete
Right-to-Copy contract and License Fee Schedule.
2.2 Sales Tax
Single-User Licenses purchased in the State of New
Jersey are subject to the New Jersey State Sales Tax of 6%.
3. SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTION
Any person, group, or organization who wants to
distribute PC-FASTYPE for any kind of remuneration must
FIRST contact TRENDTECH CORPORATION by letter at the address
below for distribution. This authorization will always be
granted to distributors and disk vendors recognized by the
Association of Shareware Professionals as adhering to its
guidelines for Shareware distributors. These organizations
are known as "Associate Members" of the ASP. Distribution
to other vendors will be made on the basis of their
understanding of Shareware principles.
PC-FASTYPE is a "Shareware"-distributed program and is
provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Any fees
paid by you - the user, to organizations other than
Trendtech are for their disk duplication and distribution
services only. Trendtech Corporation receives NO PART of
those fees. "For-Profit" disk vendors must obtain
permission from Trendtech Corporation to distribute
PC-FASTYPE. Vendors - please read the VENDOR.DOC file on
the distribution disk for more information.
All users are granted a limited license to copy
PC-FASTYPE and give it to others without charge for their
evaluation and trial use, with the following additional
conditions:
PC-FASTYPE must be distributed in its
original, unmodified, complete form,
including all documentation files, text
files, files containing license
agreements, registration fees and
schedules, and Shareware information.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 9
____________________________________________________________
PC-FASTYPE may not be distributed in
conjunction with any other product or
service, without express written
permission from Trendtech Corporation.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 10
____________________________________________________________
4. REGISTRATION BENEFITS
Registration of PC-FASTYPE gives you many benefits: all
registered users will receive a copy of the latest version
of either PC-FASTYPE/CGA or PC-FASTYPE/MONO depending on
which product you're registering, instructions on how to use
a special registration code to eliminate the Shareware
Information screens; plus a handsomely printed and bound
User Guide, - and, free support from Trendtech Corporation
by telephone or letter for a period of 90 days from the date
you receive the registered package. Finally, the author's
letter of sincere thanks for supporting Shareware will
include an unconditional money-back-guarantee if you are not
satisfied. The money-back-guarantee is limited to 30 days
from the date you receive the registered package.
4.1 Upgrade Policy
Please be advised that Trendtech Corporation will NOT
notify registered users directly of new versions of
PC-FASTYPE as we are constantly changing and improving the
program. Notification, when necessary, may be made through
press releases, disk vendor catalogs, ASP catalogs, vendor
advertisements, etc. If registered users would like to keep
current, they may send us their original registered
distribution disk (the one with our label on it) along with
$5.00 to receive a disk with the most current version of
PC-FASTYPE on it. We suggest you do this at least annually
to benefit from significant program changes.
Single-user registration fees, and requests for other
kinds of licenses should be mailed to:
TRENDTECH CORPORATION
PC-FASTYPE Registration
P.O. Box 3687
Wayne, New Jersey 07474-3687 USA
Call (201) 694-8622 (Anytime, 24 hours a day; please
leave a message on the answering machine- unlimited time)
FAX facilities are available, call for details.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 11
____________________________________________________________
The author can be contacted on the CompuServe network. Send
Easyplex mail to CompuServe ID: 76210,771
Please take a moment to complete and mail the
PC-FASTYPE registration form. It is in a file on the disk
called REGISTER.FRM and contains a SINGLE-USER License
agreement and an order form. Be sure to specify the disk
size needed. This action will register you as a bonafide
user of PC-FASTYPE and help us provide you with better
service.
4.2 THE ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS
The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP), was
formed in 1987 to strengthen the future of "Shareware"
(user-supported software) as an alternative to software
distributed under normal commercial marketing methods. The
ASP has established stringent standards for both its Members
and any organization which has 'ASP Approved' status. ASP
members subscribe to a code of ethics and are committed to
the concept of Shareware as a way of marketing their
product. The ASP itself does NOT rate members' software for
functionality or usefulness. That is for you "the user" to
decide. Shareware-distributed-software, especially software
authorized to carry the ASP name, can be tested by you on a
try-before-you-buy basis. If, after the evaluation period,
you determine the program doesn't fit your needs, you won't
have to worry about getting a refund - simply don't
register; that's the beauty of Shareware.
Trendtech Corporation along with William Letendre, the
author of PC-FASTYPE, are members of the ASP. The ASP wants
to make sure 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, the ASP may be
able to help you. 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 P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006, or
send a CompuServe message via Easyplex to: ASP Ombudsman,
CompuServe ID: 70007,3536
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 12
____________________________________________________________
4.3 TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES
If you like PC-FASTYPE tell your friends! If you don't
like PC-FASTYPE tell us! In order to keep prices for
Shareware products like PC-FASTYPE as low as they are,
Shareware authors try to avoid advertising their products
in commercial publications. You, the Shareware user, are
our best form of advertising! Tell your friends and
associates. If you have the opportunity to write an article
in a newsletter or a trade magazine and like PC-FASTYPE,
then spread the word! We need all the help we can get to
put quality software into users' hands without charging high
prices!
If you want to write an article about PC-FASTYPE, or
are considering a product review, we would appreciate
hearing from you first to make sure you are evaluating the
most current version.
4.4 TECHNICAL SUPPORT
We support our software. One of the great strengths of
the Shareware concept is the direct interaction between the
program author and the users. Many of the current features
in PC-FASTYPE are the result of user input. If you have a
problem evaluating this program or desire to make a
suggestion or comment (or even a complaint), please don't
hesitate to contact us.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 13
____________________________________________________________
5. DISCLAIMER
THE "SHAREWARE"-DISTRIBUTED VERSION OF PC-FASTYPE(Tm) IS
LICENSED WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS OF
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE, OR OTHERWISE; ALL
WARRANTIES ARE DISCLAIMED. BY USING THE PC-FASTYPE(Tm)
PRODUCT, YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER TRENDTECH CORPORATION NOR
ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, OWNERS, OR OTHER RELATED
PARTIES WILL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY USE
OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THIS SOFTWARE, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER. EVEN IF TRENDTECH CORPORATION AND/OR THE
AUTHORS ARE APPRISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES
OCCURRING. TRENDTECH CORPORATION ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR
DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE
USE OF PC-FASTYPE(Tm).
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to my wife for her patience and understanding
every time I said "...well I guess I'll go downstairs and
'compute'". And thanks to my boys for letting me use my
computer to develop this version of PC-FASTYPE; with special
thanks to William for allowing me to continuously interrupt
his adventure games. I'd also like to thank all of the nice
people who assisted me with testing PC-FASTYPE/CGA and
PC-FASTYPE/MONO.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 14
____________________________________________________________
7. INTRODUCTION
PC-FASTYPE is an easy-to-use menu-driven interactive
typing instruction program designed for use by computer
enthusiasts who wish to improve their typing skills on IBM
PC's and close compatibles running the MS-DOS Operating
System.
The program is ideal for use by intermediate and
advanced typists who want to increase their typing accuracy
and speed working with microcomputers, specifically on the
various keyboards available. PC-FASTYPE is also an
excellent vehicle for beginning typists who want to learn to
touch-type on various MS-DOS based Microcomputers.
PC-FASTYPE is designed for use in a private at-home
environment or during spare time at the office. It can be
used in a classroom environment too; however, no historical
scores or records are kept for auditing your progress;
you'll know if you're getting better. Time durations, WPM,
percent of accuracy, and number of errors are displayed at
the end of each drill or exercise. Additionally, the
highest WPM obtained during the current typing session is
maintained. The individual user may manually maintain
his/her own typing records if they so desire.
PC-FASTYPE has the capability to drill you on all
shifted special characters and upper-case symbols plus all
CAPITAL Letters; you must use the CORRECT Shift key to
successfully type any of these characters. You will also be
drilled on proper use of the ENTER Key; it will be required
for exercises selected from the Advanced Exercises Menu.
Most drills, exercises, and features are selectable
with the high-lighted cursor bar and Enter key, or quickly
with the function keys. There is also a QuickHELP Facility
available with every Menu and Sub-Menu for quick reference
while learning how to type with PC-FASTYPE.
PC-FASTYPE is very flexible for the beginning typist.
By using various options from the menus, the beginner can
select many combinations of drill sequences from the
Beginners Menu. Additionally, one or more typing helpers
can be set from the Keyboard Helpers Menu. The combinations
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 15
____________________________________________________________
are many; you can adjust your drills to boost your typing
skills in those areas you may feel are weak (i.e. Numbers,
CAPITALS, special symbols, etc.), and you can improve your
speed and accuracy.
8. INSTALLING PC-FASTYPE ON A HARD-DRIVE
You can optionally install PC-FASTYPE on a hard disk.
If you choose to do this, PC-FASTYPE and its associated
files should be installed in its own directory or sub-
directory. Follow these easy step-by-step instructions for
installing PC-FASTYPE on your hard disk:
If your disk is partitioned, select the drive you want
PC-FASTYPE installed on by typing the drive letter and a
colon at the DOS prompt:
C:> D: <cr> (user chooses D: -for example)
At the DOS prompt, make sure you are in the 'root'
directory by typing in the DOS command to change to the
'root' directory:
D:> cd \ <cr>
Now type in the DOS command to make a sub-directory. Please
note that it's a good idea to put the files into a directory
other than the root directory:
D:> mkdir fastype <cr>
Change to the 'fastype' directory by typing the 'change
directory' command at the DOS prompt:
D:> cd fastype <cr>
Insert the PC-FASTYPE master disk into floppy drive A (or
B) and type the following at the DOS prompt:
D:> copy A:*.* <cr> -or- copy B:*.* <cr>
The PC-FASTYPE files will be installed into the
directory named "FASTYPE" on drive D. Again, if you wish,
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 16
____________________________________________________________
you may substitute a different drive letter instead of C: or
D: shown in the example, (but not A or B). Additionally,
you may install to a different sub-directory by specifying
the complete path from the designated disk's root, but be
sure to omit the disk and the trailing backslash. Be warned
that the installation process will fail unless the directory
already exists on the target drive. Please consult your MS-
DOS Operating System Manual for details about making and
removing directories.
9. WHAT TO DO NEXT
After all of the files are copied from the floppy to
the directory on your hard disk, just type in the following
command to start using PC-FASTYPE:
D:> enft <cr>
and PC-FASTYPE for the 101-Key Enhanced keyboard will start
up immediately. If you have an AT-Style keyboard, then type
"ATFT" instead. At the main menu, just press F10 to begin
typing the basic HOME keys drill, or press F1 for the Quick
HELP Facility.
If you have any problems installing or getting started
using PC-FASTYPE, please call Trendtech Corporation at (201)
694-8622 for assistance.
9.1 Operating PC-FASTYPE
The first thing you will see on your display when
PC-FASTYPE starts is the title screen. The title screen
will remain on the display until PC-FASTYPE's tables are
loaded into memory. If you are running PC-FASTYPE from a
hard-disk, this will only take a moment. If you're running
from a floppy, it may take a while so please be patient.
When the tables have finished loading you must press a key
to continue on to the next screen. You will then see
either a Shareware Information screen or the Main Menu
depending on whether you have the Shareware version or the
REGISTERED version of PC-FASTYPE.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 17
____________________________________________________________
At this point you can either browse through the menus,
set program features, and/or select drills or exercises. To
begin typing immediately though, just press F10 to start a
drill. If you haven't made any selections yet, that's ok,
PC-FASTYPE will automatically select the HOME-keys-only for
you to practice typing on.
9.2 During Operation
Whenever the screen keyboard is displayed and you are
typing a drill or exercise, or even after a drill or
exercise is completed:
YOU CAN ALWAYS RETURN TO ANY OF THE PRIMARY MENUS
BY SIMPLY PRESSING ONE OF THE FIVE FUNCTION KEYS
LABELED F1 THROUGH F5, OR PRESS THE ESCAPE KEY.
9.3 The "ESCape" Key
The Escape key can be pressed anytime during a drill or
exercise. If you are in the middle of typing and you press
the ESCape key, your drill or exercise will end. Your
current typing statistics up to the last character you typed
will be calculated and shown in the text panel. The last
primary menu displayed before you started your typing drill
or exercise will be re-displayed if you are already at the
end of a drill or exercise. Repeatedly pressing the ESCape
key will eventually get you to the confirmation to exit PC-
FASTYPE message. Reply (Y)es or press the ENTER key and you
will return to MS-DOS.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 18
____________________________________________________________
9.4 How To STOP Using PC-FASTYPE
There are two ways to end a PC-FASTYPE session and
return to the MS-DOS Operating System:
o Display the Main Menu (press F1) and select the "EXIT
TO MS-DOS" option with the cursor bar or function key
numbered F9.
o Press the ESCAPE key repeatedly until the confirmation
message is displayed.
10. THE SCREEN KEYBOARD DISPLAY
The keyboard displayed on the monitor is the heart of
PC-FASTYPE and is always shown during a typing drill or
exercise session. The idea for its use is to let you look
at a "simulated" keyboard, or an image of the actual
keyboard you will be learning to type on, thus keeping your
eyes off the real keyboard. This is extremely beneficial as
it will help you to form "spatial" relationships between
your finger placements on the real keyboard and the image of
the simulated keyboard on the screen. This spatial
relationship will enhance your familiarity with the keyboard
thereby increasing your speed and accuracy.
The screen display consists of two elements. The first
is an exact image of the main typing area of the keyboard
you have selected when you started PC-FASTYPE, which
occupies the lower half of the screen. The second is a text
panel which occupies the upper half of the screen. The
contents of the text panel will vary depending on whether
you are in a beginner mode typing basic drills, or typing an
exercise from one of the intermediate or advanced menus.
These are described below.
____________________________________________________________
Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.
PC-FASTYPE - User Guide Page 19
____________________________________________________________
11. BEGINNER DRILLS
While you are learning how to type you will be building
a typing "vocabulary" as you learn new letters, numbers,
symbols, and CAPITAL letters. The text panel will show the
various characters used in each drill and which you will be
learning how to type. This information is displayed on four
lines labeled "Letters", "Numbers", "Symbols", and "Caps".
If you are just starting out on the HOME keys the "Letters"
line will display "asdfjkl;(space)", and the other three
lines will be blank except for the label. If you are
learning how to type numbers then the "Letters" line will
contain whatever letters where there before, and the
"Numbers" line will contain the numbers you selected from
the ADD NUMBERS Sub-Menu.
If you select the CAPITAL-letters-only option then the
"Caps" line will show all of 26 capitalized letters of the
alphabet. This means you will be drilled only on CAPITAL
Letters; the other lines will show letters, numbers, and
symbols will be blanked out.
12. EXERCISES
If you choose any of the exercises from the
Intermediate Exercises Menu or the Advanced Exercises Menu
then the text panel portion of the screen will display two,
three, or more lines of text you're required to type. Below
each character of the text will appear a "house-shaped"
cursor which will indicate the next letter or character you
have to type. As you type each character, the cursor will
advance to the next character on the line. If you make an
error, the keycap on the screen keyboard of the wrong
character you typed will be X'd, and an asterisk (*) will be
placed under the letter in the text panel where you made the
typing error. You will be penalized one keystroke, and the
cursor will then advance to the next character to be typed.
If you want to practice using the backspace key,
PC-FASTYPE will let you backspace the cursor to the letter
where you made the error so you can re-type it. If you do
this, you must also re-type all of the characters or letters
following the error. You can backspace to the previous line
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too, all the way back to the top line of text still
displayed in the text panel. Text already typed and
"scrolled" off the top of the text panel is "gone" - you
cannot backspace into it. If you re-type the character with
the asterisk under it correctly your keystroke error count
will be reduced by one. However, your overall speed may be
affected by the delay incurred while you are backspacing and
correcting your errors. When you make an error you have to
mentally weigh the advantages of backspacing and correcting
the error against your calculated speed when the exercise is
finished.
The exercise ends when all displayed characters have
been typed -or- the correct number of keystrokes have been
made -or- you terminated the exercise early by pressing the
ESCAPE key; remember, the cursor will advance to the next
character regardless of whether you type the correct
character or not. Note too, the backspace feature is only
available for exercises; during drills, you must
successfully type the prompted character before PC-FASTYPE
will advance and randomly give you the next character to
type.
As is the tradition with text that is type-written or
set with "fixed-width" fonts, sentences will be separated by
TWO (2) spaces. Sentences ending in a PERIOD (.), QUESTION
MARK (?), or EXCLAMATION (!) will be followed by 2 spaces
before the next sentence begins, unless the sentence ends at
the end of a line. In that case you only need to type a
single space or carriage-return (enter key) to get to the
next line. Other punctuation such as commas, semi-colons,
etc. will be followed by only one space.
13. THE "TEXT PANEL" ABOVE THE KEYBOARD
The "Text Panel" serves three purposes during your use
of PC-FASTYPE. First, it indicates the letters, numbers,
and symbols you are learning how to type during the drills.
Second, it is used to display the word groups, sentences and
paragraphs you have to type during exercises. And thirdly,
it is used to show the results of your efforts by listing
various typing statistics at the end of each drill or
exercise.
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The following illustrations show what the text panel
looks like for each of the above purposes. The last
illustration - drill statistics, will be followed with a
definition of each of the terms listed:
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Illustration 1 - Text Panel during drills:
--------------------------------------------
|Menu 2 - Beginner Drills 00:00:37|
|------------------------------------------|
|This drill will be for: |
| |
|Letters: asdf jkl; |
|Symbols: |
|Numbers: |
| Caps: |
| |
| |
| Drill is 20 characters. ** START** |
--------------------------------------------
Illustration 2 - Text Panel during exercises:
--------------------------------------------
| |
|Now is the time for all good men to come |
| |
|to the aid of their country. |
| |
|The Quick brown fox jumped over the lazy |
| |
|dog's back 1234546789 times. |
| |
--------------------------------------------
Illustration 3 - Text Panel at end of drill or exercise:
--------------------------------------------
(1)|DRILL COMPLETED: BEST WPM so far: 18 WPM|
(2)| Computed speed: 21 WPM this drill |
(3)| Raw speed was: 27 WPM this drill |
(4)| Drill Length: 76 characters |
(5)| You Typed: 76 characters |
(6)| Gross Keystrokes: 79 |
(7)| Typing Errors: 3 |
(8)| Accuracy: 92 percent |
(9)| Elapsed Time: 00:33 |
| |
(10)| *Press ENTER for another drill/exercise |
--------------------------------------------
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The last text panel (Illustration 3) contains various
statistics regarding your typing performance at the
conclusion of each drill or exercise. If you are using
PC-FASTYPE/MONO, this panel will be displayed separately.
The fields are described as follows:
(1) End of drill or exercise; the highest attained WPM
(Words Per Minute) attained during this typing
session using PC-FASTYPE.
(2) Your true WPM rate with errors computed for the
drill or exercise just completed. Standard typing
practice calls for a penalty of 5 words for every
keystroke error you make. PC-FASTYPE penalizes
you only ONE word per keystroke error because of
the shortness of drills and exercises.
(3) Raw speed is simply your keystroke rate including
error keystrokes and backspace keystrokes divided
by elapsed time.
(4) Drill Length is the total number of characters you
have to type to complete the drill or exercise
(5) The number of characters you typed before this
drill or exercise finished. If you typed all of
the characters that made up the drill length, then
this count will NOT exceed the drill length. If
you terminated by pressing the ESCAPE key, it will
be the count you typed so far.
(6) Gross Keystrokes is the total number of keystrokes
you made to complete the current drill or
exercise; or up until you pressed the ESCAPE Key.
(7) Typing Errors is the total number of errors made
during the current drill or exercise. If you used
the backspace key during exercises to correct
errors, it will not be counted.
(8) Accuracy; is a percentage of correct keystrokes
made against the total number of keystrokes
required to complete the drill or exercise.
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(9) The elapsed time is the total minutes and seconds
it took you to complete the drill or exercise.
Its the same time that was ticking away in the
upper right hand corner of the screen during
typing.
(10) This message means you can just press the ENTER
key (or F10 again) to practice typing another
drill or exercise from your current selection
without returning to a menu.
14. MENU SELECTOR BAR AND FUNCTION KEYS
PC-FASTYPE uses a menu display system with a
highlighted selector bar that can be controlled with the
ARROW keys. These are the keys to the right of the main
keyboard and are also known as cursor keys because they
control the position of the cursor in various programs.
As you tap the arrow keys, the menu selector bar will
move up and down the menu and highlight (reverse video) the
current selection. When you press the ENTER key, the
selection is made. A CHECKMARK will appear to the left of
the text indicating your choice was made; or, another "pop-
up" menu or "dialog box" will appear if the highlighted menu
selection is followed by an ellipsis ( ... ).
As an alternative to using the menu selector bar, the
Function Keys are also available to make your selections
quicker. Earlier versions of PC-FASTYPE made extensive use
of the Function keys to control the selection and initiation
of various drills, exercises and program features. In most
cases the same function key can still be used in this
version to make your selections. The function keys on your
keyboard are located either to the left of the main typing
area or across the top of the keyboard depending on the
keyboard style you are using.
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15. MENU HOPPING
You can switch from one primary menu to another primary
menu quickly by using the arrow keys <- or -> instead of
the menu selector bar. If, for example you have the
Beginners Menu currently displayed and you want to switch to
the Keyboard Helpers Menu quickly without moving the menu
selector bar with the cursor keys, simply press the right
arrow key ( -> ) for "next" menu until the Keyboard Helpers
Menu is displayed. Continually pressing right arrow key
will just "cycle" the menus around; the same will happen by
repetitively pressing the DISPLAY PREVIOUS MENU key - the
left arrow ( <- ) key.
16. QUICK HELP FACILITY
All menus in PC-FASTYPE have an option to select the
Quick HELP Facility you can use as a quick reference while
selecting an exercise or feature. If you would like to have
a hard copy of the Quick HELP Facility screens, just press
the "print screen" key(s) on your keyboard as you page-ahead
through each HELP topic. See Appendix -A- for details.
16.1 How To Use The Quick HELP Facility
Selecting Quick HELP from any menu will always clear
the screen and present you with another menu of HELP
selections to choose from. You can get to the Quick HELP
Facility by using either the menu selector bar or by
pressing the F1 "Help" key.
When the Quick HELP Facility menu is displayed, the
menu selector bar will rest on the topic best suited to give
you the information you need about the menu that was
displayed when you selected Quick HELP.
You can navigate easily through the Quick Help
Facility. Although the menu selector bar will rest on a
particular topic when you switch to Help, you are free to
move the menu selector bar to any other topic you choose.
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When you press the ENTER key for a selected Help topic,
PC-FASTYPE will read the appropriate Help file from the disk
and present the contents to you in full-screen mode. The
speed of the display will depend on your PC and the kind of
disk you are running PC-FASTYPE from.
Each topic can have a variable number of display pages.
Keep pressing the PGDN key to view successive Help pages.
You will be "beeped" when you have reached the end of each
Help topic text.
Try the Quick HELP Facility to become familiar with how
the screens operate. If you have loaded PC-FASTYPE into
your PC and have a menu displayed, just press F1 and select
a HELP topic.
17. SPECIAL KEYS
PC-FASTYPE will try to emulate the actions of a real
keyboard where possible. Unlike earlier versions,
PC-FASTYPE will take action if the following keys are
pressed during a drill or exercise:
CAPS LOCK - You can "toggle" the caps lock key on or
off by just pressing it. If you toggle it on, the
screen keyboard display will show the caps lock
key in reverse video. With caps lock ON, lower
case letters will need the SHIFT keys to be typed
properly. Capital letters will NOT need the shift
key to be pressed. If the caps lock key is ON and
you type a lower case letter without using the
proper SHIFT key, the letter keycap on the screen
will flash as an error, and you will be penalized
one keystroke. ONE EXCEPTION: if you select the
CAPITAL LETTERS ONLY option from the Beginner
Drills Menu, you will NOT be able to toggle the
CAPS LOCK key ON!
ALT & CTRL - Pressing these keys will cause keystroke
errors and the indicated key on the screen
keyboard display will flash the X error.
TAB - The TAB key is not used in PC-FASTYPE. Pressing
it will cause a keystroke error.
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BACKSPACE - The backspace key can be used while you are
typing exercises selected from the Intermediate or
Advanced Exercises Menu. You can backspace the
cursor to correct any typing errors. In fact, you
can backspace all the way back to the beginning of
the top line displayed in the text window. You
cannot backspace to lines which have scrolled off
the top of the screen.
NUM LOCK - As always, this key is totally ignored.
PRT SCREEN - If you have a printer, and would like to
save your highest score-to-date for posterity, you
can press the print screen key to obtain a
printout of your score in the text panel.
18. THE PRIMARY MENUS
There are five primary menus, several sub-menus, and a
few dialog boxes available in PC-FASTYPE to guide you with
your selection of drills, exercises, keyboard helpers, and
options.
With a few exceptions, function keys F1 through F5 are
always available to you; you can press them any time DURING,
or at the completion of any drill or exercise and the
equivalent menu will be displayed. The function keys for
primary menu selection are not available during any sub-menu
display, nor during the HELP Facility display. In these
instances, use the ESCape key to return you to the
appropriate menu.
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18.1 MAIN MENU
The Main Menu is like the table of contents in a book;
it contains a list of the other four primary menus available
and the optional function key to press to display those
menus quickly on the screen. You can select skill levels
too; and there are other selections for traversing the
menus. This is also the menu from which you should
"gracefully" end your typing session with PC-FASTYPE and
return to MS-DOS.
18.1.1 Beginner Drills Menu
The Beginner Drills Menu has selections you can use to
help you increase your typing speed and accuracy, or, if
you are a beginner, to learn the basics of touch typing.
You can start with the HOME keys and progress through
additional letters, numbers, symbols, and Capital letters.
18.1.2 Intermediate Exercises Menu
The Intermediate Exercises Menu lists exercise
selections you can make after you have learned how to type
all of the letters on the keyboard. Instead of randomly
selected letters flashing on the screen keyboard as in the
basic drills, exercises are selected from disk files and
displayed in the text panel. Your task is to type the
character pointed to by the "house-shaped" cursor. These
exercises vary in length from 60 to 250 or more characters.
18.1.3 Advanced Exercises Menu
The Advanced Exercises Menu lists tougher exercises you
can practice typing after you have learned how to type all
of the letters, the numbers, Capital letters, and some
punctuation symbols such as the period, comma, bracket, etc.
These exercises consist of short sentences and
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paragraphs displayed in the text panel above the screen
keyboard. Your task is to type the characters pointed to by
the house-shaped cursor. These drills are typically 120
characters in length, and some are up to 500 or more
characters.
18.1.4 Keyboard Helpers Menu
The Keyboard Helpers Menu has handy features to assist
your typing. These typing helpers can be "toggled" ON or
OFF by using the menu selector bar or by pressing the
indicated function key. Some of the available helpers
include hidden keys, sound on or off, outline of HOME keys,
etc. Advanced typists might like to try the hidden keys
feature along with all sounds turned off to eliminate
distractions.
18.1.5 Setting Skill Levels
There are three skill levels that can be set in
PC-FASTYPE, and they last for the duration of your typing
session or until you set them to something else.
Basically, these settings increase the character
prompting rate and the length of the drill selections in
terms of the number of characters to be typed before a drill
ends automatically. You can change the number of characters
to type with an option in the Keyboard Helpers menu, but the
prompting rate is not variable; the three prompting rates
available are listed in this menu.
Whatever skill level you select, - or "toggle" on, the
other skill selection will toggle "off". You can only have
one skill level set at a time.
18.1.5.1 Beginner Skill Level
This selection will toggle ON a delay mode that slows
down the prompting rhythm and speed that makes PC-FASTYPE
unique. This is the skill level automatically selected when
you start PC-FASTYPE. The slow prompting rhythm will stay
in effect throughout your typing session
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until you reset it by selecting the Intermediate or Advanced
skill level. The Beginner skill level is for the
inexperienced typists whose speed ranges from 0 to 15 WPM.
The other two typing skill levels are automatically toggled
"OFF".
18.1.5.2 Intermediate Skill Level
This selection will toggle ON a skill level setting the
prompting rhythm and speed to a degree appropriate for
intermediate typists. If you are an intermediate skill
level typist you'll want to select this skill level. The
medium speed prompting rhythm will stay in effect throughout
your typing session until you reset it by selecting the
Beginner or Advanced level. The Intermediate Typist skill
level is for experienced typists whose speed ranges from 15
to 45 WPM.
18.1.5.3 Advanced Skill Level
Making this selection will toggle ON a skill level
speeding up the prompting rhythm appropriate for advanced
typists. If you are an experienced typist who only needs to
become familiar with PC keyboards then you might like to try
this skill level. It is really challenging to try to stay
ahead of the delayed prompting while you are typing
exercises chosen from the Intermediate or Advanced menus.
This skill level is clearly designed to increase your speed.
If you try typing drills, then the metronome-like quality of
the prompting rhythm will excite you into typing faster.
The high speed delayed prompting rhythm will stay in effect
throughout your typing session until you reset it. The
default skill level set when you start PC-FASTYPE is the
beginner level. The advanced skill level is for highly
experienced typists whose goal is to increase their speed.
You should have the ability to type at least 45 WPM and
above to be successful typing at this skill level.
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18.1.6 Exit to MS-DOS
Making this selection via the menu selector bar or by
pressing the F9 function key will cause your typing session
with PC-FASTYPE to end. Pressing the ESCAPE key while the
Main Menu is displayed will also end your PC-FASTYPE typing
session and return you to the MS-DOS Operating System after
you respond to the confirmation to exit. The screen is
cleared and a message will appear thanking you for using
PC-FASTYPE. After a brief moment the MS-DOS prompt will re-
appear at the top of the screen.
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18.2 BEGINNER DRILLS MENU
The Beginner Drills Menu is where you select drill
combinations that build your typing vocabulary. If you are
an intermediate typist, these drills will help increase your
accuracy on the keyboard. As a beginner, you would
typically start with the HOME keys and as your typing
accuracy gets better you would select additional letters
from the Add More Letters menu selection. Then you can try
numbers, symbols, and finally Capital Letters.
18.2.1 HOME Keys Only
This selection will RESET all previous drill or
exercise selections and will cause just the HOME keys to be
available for you to practice typing. The count of the
number of characters you must successfully type for each
drill remains set at the count you specified in the Keyboard
Helpers Menu, or will be set to the skill level chosen from
the Main Menu.
18.2.2 Add More Letters
This menu option will cause the subsequent "pop-up"
display of a letter selection sub-menu. You can select
additional letters from this menu to build up your typing
vocabulary of keyboard letters. For more information see
the section entitled "ADD MORE LETTERS Sub-Menu".
18.2.3 Add Numbers
A "pop-up" menu will appear when this selection is
made. You can select number sets from this menu to build up
your typing vocabulary of numbers. For more information see
the section entitled "ADD NUMBERS Sub-Menu".
18.2.4 Add CAPITAL Letters
A "pop-up" menu will appear when this selection is
made. You can select CAPITAL LETTER sets from this menu to
build up your typing vocabulary of capital letters. For
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more information see the section entitled "ADD CAPITAL
LETTERS Sub-Menu".
18.2.5 Include Punctuation Marks
This menu selection is a "toggle" causing all upper-
case and lower case symbols and punctuation marks of the
main typing area to be included in the list of characters
for you to practice typing. These characters will be added
to selections made from any of the "pop-up" menus. If you
do not like typing punctuation marks and special symbols,
press the ENTER key again to reset the CHECKMARK. Or press
F6 to turn this selection OFF. The special characters and
symbols will then be removed from your list of drill letters
and characters to type.
18.2.6 CAPITAL Letters Only!
All previously selected drill or exercises will be
reset when this selection is made. Your drill set will be
replaced by all of the CAPITAL Letters. The count of the
number of Capital Letters for each drill remains set at the
count you specified in the Keyboard Helpers Menu or will be
set at the skill level in the Main Menu. See the Quick HELP
Facility for information on how to type Capital Letters.
18.2.7 Do it ALL!
This selection will add all of the letters, symbols and
punctuation marks, numbers, and Capital Letters in
PC-FASTYPE's vocabulary to be available for you to practice
typing with. The count of the number of characters for each
drill will remain set at the count you specified or will
stay set at the skill level in the Main Menu. We suggest
you set the drill count to 80 or more to make this typing
practice meaningful.
18.2.8 Choose Your Own
A dialog box will appear over the menu letting you
select your own characters to type. You must choose at
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least ten DIFFERENT characters from the list in the box.
The list display looks like the text panel above the
keyboard display during drills, but shown with ALL letters
and characters appropriate to the keyboard you are using.
This option has interesting possibilities. For
example, let's say you'd like to practice typing ONLY the
letters on the "qwerty" row of keys, this is the row of keys
above the "home" row. All you have to do is select the
"Choose Your Own" option from the Beginner Drills Menu, then
type in the letters making up the "qwerty" row which would
be: q, w, e, r, t, y, u, i, o, p. You could do the same
with the very top "numbers" row of keys.
A variation on this scheme would be to choose columns
instead of rows. Let's say you'd like to practice typing
all of the characters that the index finger of each hand
types. You would choose the following characters: f, r, v,
b, g, t for the left hand; and the characters: j, m, u, y,
n, h for the right hand. Then, go to the Keyboard Helpers
Menu and increase the drill count to make the test worth
while. While you're there you can add the "Align Finger
Positions" feature which draws vertical lines on the screen
keyboard separating the columns of keys.
Some other interesting things to do with this feature
would be to choose letters for the left hand only, or the
right hand only. You could include some CAPITAL letters
that are giving you a problem. Another interesting practice
technique is to select all of the NUMBERS on the number row
- 1 thru 0 (zero), and then use the KEYPAD with the NUM-LOCK
key ON to practice your "adding machine" key movements. A
variation on the NUMBER row theme: how about selecting all
of the UPPER CASE symbols on the "number" row, these are the
characters NO ONE knows how to type! These custom
selections can be used to help you build up your typing
rhythm and dexterity in your hands and fingers.
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18.3 INTERMEDIATE EXERCISES MENU
If you're a beginning typist and have become familiar
with the keyboard through the drills from the Beginner Menu,
you'll want to try typing exercises with options selected
from this menu. The exercise options consist of three,
four, or five letter word groups, variable length words, or
common, everyday phrases of speech or writing. You can
select the exercise you want to practice typing by using the
menu selector bar or pressing the appropriate function key.
18.3.1 WORDS - 3 Letter Groups
Each exercise will display lines of 3-letter word
groups in the text panel above the screen keyboard display.
Your task is to type the letter pointed to by the house-
shaped cursor as it moves along under the line of text and
the "roof" of the house "points" to the next letter to type.
The cursor advances to the next character on the line when
ANY typing key is pressed, not necessarily the one you were
SUPPOSED to type. If you make an error, the cursor under
the letter you mis-typed is replaced with an asterisk (*)
and the cursor advances to the next letter. You have to
type the spaces between the words too. The drill ends when
the cursor has passed through all displayed letters in the
text panel. If there are more words to type than will fit
in the text panel, the text will scroll upwards.
18.3.2 WORDS - 4 Letter Groups
This selection will cause PC-FASTYPE to access exercise
files on disk containing lines of 4-letter word groups. The
typing process works the same as the 3-letter word groups
above.
18.3.3 WORDS - 5 Letter Groups
The exercise process works the same as above, except
the lines will contain 5-letter word groups.
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18.3.4 More WORDS
These typing exercises are the same as above except the
word lengths will vary from 6 to 12 characters in length.
Some of the words are complicated and hard to type; you may
want to check a dictionary to determine their meaning.
18.3.5 Common PHRASES
This selection will cause PC-FASTYPE to access disk
files of typing exercises consisting of lines of common
everyday phrases you may find in speech or print. The
typing process is the same as above.
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18.4 ADVANCED EXERCISES MENU
You can select more advanced typing exercises from
topics on this menu. The exercises selected from this menu
consist of sentences, quotations, and short paragraphs for
you to type. You can select the exercise you want to
practice typing by using the menu selector bar or by
pressing the appropriate function key.
Your typing task for exercises chosen from the Advanced
Exercises Menu is the same as the Intermediate Exercises
Menu; type the letters in the text pointed to by the cursor,
and try to stay ahead of the delayed prompting.
18.4.1 EASY Sentences
Short, rather simple sentences with some simple
punctuation, a few capital letters, and possibly a few
numbers will be displayed in the text panel above the screen
keyboard. Your task is to correctly type the letter pointed
to by the cursor. The cursor advances to the next character
on the line as each one is typed successfully.
18.4.2 HARD Sentences
These exercises consist of longer, more complex
sentences for you to type. The words are more complex too,
there is heavier use of capital letters and numbers, and
more difficult combinations of special characters and
symbols. More intense concentration is required to do well,
it's more difficult to stay ahead of the delayed prompt.
18.4.3 SHORT Paragraphs
The exercise text for you to type when this option is
selected is similar to the Hard Sentences, the text is much
longer and the words and phrases are more difficult to type.
As you type, the text will scroll off the top of the screen
and new lines will enter from the bottom of the text panel.
The moving cursor and the line you are typing will stay in
the middle of the panel. These exercises are also hard to
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type; they include extensive use of capital letters,
punctuation, numbers, and special characters and symbols.
18.4.4 Type YOUR Own Text
If you have text files you are familiar with and you'd
like to try typing practice with them, then this option will
let you do that. When this option is chosen with the menu
selector bar or function key, a dialog box will pop-up
asking you to type in the name of a text file you'd like to
practice typing.
Text files contain characters of the standard ASCII
character set and are readable when displayed on the screen
or printed on your printer. To check if a file is an
ordinary text file, use the MS-DOS command "type" with the
file name and watch the screen. The contents of the file
will be displayed a line at a time and if it's readable to
you then it's a text file. If you tried to "type" a program
file, the screen would display garbage because a program
file is made up of computer instructions that are
unreadable.
If you select text files developed with your favorite
editor or word processor, be sure you use the plain text
version for typing practice. Some word processors such as
Microsoft WORD contain embedded formatting characters.
PC-FASTYPE will filter your text file and discard characters
which cannot be typed on the keyboard.
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If you don't have any text files to practice with,
there is a file called FORTUNE1.TYP that came with
PC-FASTYPE. Type this file name in the dialog box to
practice typing the text contained in this file. You could
also try text files from other Shareware products you
registered. The most common text files distributed with
most software products are "README" files. These are files
of readable text giving up-to-date information about the
product. Most text files can be identified by the file
extension. The file-extension is the one-to-three
characters that follow the dot (.) in a file name, as in
README.TXT, REGISTER.FRM, NEWVER.PRT. Try to select small
files of less than 1000 characters. Read the section
entitled CREATING YOUR OWN TEXT FILES in APPENDIX -B- for
instructions on assembling your own typing practice
material.
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18.5 KEYBOARD HELPERS MENU
You can select typing helpers and options such as
outlining of HOME keys to aid you in finger placement on the
keyboard, hidden keys - whereby the letters on the screen
keyboard keys are erased, turning all sound ON or OFF, etc.
Any "typing helper" selected from this menu will remain in
effect during any of the drills or exercises until you reset
them. More than one helper can be selected during a display
of this menu, the checkmark will indicate the active
helpers.
18.5.1 QUIET Mode
This feature will turn all sound OFF during your
PC-FASTYPE session. This feature is a "toggle" and can be
turned ON or OFF by repeatedly pressing the ENTER key. The
CHECKMARK will indicate the ON setting of quiet mode. This
option remains set until you reset it again. The "BEEP"
Keystroke Errors option below has no effect on the setting
of QUIET Mode.
18.5.2 Hidden Keys
This typing helper will erase all of the typing letters
from the screen keyboard keycaps. You may wish to use this
feature after you have memorized the key letter placements.
You will still be prompted to press the indicated key during
a drill or exercise but will have to rely on your memory to
remember where the adjacent keys are.
18.5.3 Outline HOME keys
Selecting this typing helper will cause boxes to be
drawn around the HOME keys of the screen keyboard. The
first box is drawn around the "ASDF" keys and the second box
is drawn around the "JKL;" keys. This is a keyboard helper
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designed for beginners and assists you in the correct
positioning of your fingers on the keyboard during typing.
This option remains in effect until you turn it OFF. You
might like to use this option when you try typing with the
HIDDEN KEYS helper.
18.5.4 'BEEP' Keystroke Errors
Making this selection will enable a 'beeping' sound
whenever you make a keystroke error. A large red X will
flash over the key you pressed incorrectly and at the same
time the speaker will sound indicating the error. This
feature is "ON" when you start PC-FASTYPE.
Note: if all SOUND has been turned OFF via the QUIET Mode
selection then the keystroke error 'beep' will also be
turned off even though the CHECKMARK in the menu may
indicate it's turned on.
18.5.5 Align Finger Positions
This selection is similar to the OUTLINE HOME KEY
helper; this feature will cause lines to be drawn on the
screen keyboard separating the keys vertically. It will
indicate all the keys on different rows that could be
pressed with the same finger for each hand. This is a
keyboard helper designed to assist you in typing the letters
using the correct fingers. You can use this typing helper
together with the "Outline Home Keys" helper.
18.5.6 WORD WRAP
The WORD WRAP feature is for typists familiar with word
processors. Word wrap means that as you type and reach the
end of the line on screen, the word that can't fit will
automatically "wrap" to the beginning the NEXT line. You
don't have to press the ENTER key to cause the cursor to go
to the next line, pressing the space bar will do the same
thing.
This feature is only important when typing exercises
chosen from the Intermediate or Advanced Menu. When the
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advancing cursor reaches the end of the line it will rest
under a SPACE or a CARRIAGE RETURN symbol. With WORD WRAP
turned ON, you can type either a space or press the enter
key and the cursor will move to the first character of the
next line. Pressing either key is correct and will be
counted as a valid keystroke.
When word wrap is turned OFF however, a CARRIAGE RETURN
symbol (a back arrow) will be shown at the end of every
displayed line. The presence of this character means that
when the cursor reaches it you MUST type the ENTER key.
Pressing the space bar will cause a keystroke error.
18.5.7 Reset Keyboard Helpers
Be careful with this selection; it will RESET all of
the keyboard helpers to their original values of ON or OFF
when you started PC-FASTYPE. If you get confused as to what
features were ON and what were OFF after using PC-FASTYPE
for a while, you can press this key to reset them to their
original status when you started.
18.5.8 Change Drill Count
Making this selection will cause a dialog box to "pop-
up" over the menu. The dialog box will suggest you enter
the count, in number of characters to be typed, for any
drill selected from the Beginner Drills Menu. You can enter
a count of 10 to 999. If you don't enter a number,
PC-FASTYPE will use a the count from the Skill level in
effect from the main menu. The number of characters for any
exercise selected from the Intermediate or Advanced Menu is
already determined from the length of the exercises on disk.
The number shown in the dialog box is the current setting.
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19. SUB-MENUS
In addition to the five primary menus, there are
several sub-menus that can be selected from the Beginner
Drills Menu. Selections from any of these sub-menus will
help you to build your typing vocabulary by giving you the
opportunity to add more letters, numbers, and CAPITAL
letters to your typing vocabulary list. The sequence in
which the letters and numbers can be added to your drill
list follow generally accepted rules of typing practice.
19.1 ADD MORE LETTERS Sub-Menu
The "ADD MORE LETTERS" Menu is displayed over the
Beginner Drills menu window when you select ADD MORE LETTERS
while the Beginner Drills Menu is on the screen. The
purpose of this menu is to let you increase your typing
skills by letting you add more letters to your typing
vocabulary. For example, the next set of letters you have
to learn after you have become proficient at typing the HOME
keys are the letters "e" and "i". You can select these
letters from the menu by moving the menu selector bar over
the "e,i" set and pressing the ENTER key. A CHECKMARK will
appear in the entry indicating they will be added to your
list. When you choose BEGIN TYPING from a primary menu,
these letters will show up in the TEXT panel. In addition
to being drilled on the HOME keys the beginner drills will
also include the letters e and i.
Your selection is cumulative, that is - whatever
entries in the menu you choose, the drills will include ALL
of the letters listed having a CHECKMARK to the left of
them.
If you change your mind while the list is still
displayed, just move the menu selector bar to the entry you
want and press the ENTER key again - the CHECKMARK will
disappear. Your chosen selection goes into effect only when
you EXIT the sub-menu. If you decide not to make a
selection, just press the ESCAPE key to return to the
Beginner Drills menu.
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The Quick HELP Facility is also available for sub-
menus. When you choose HELP, the menu selector bar will
rest on the ADD MORE LETTERS topic of the Quick HELP
Facility menu.
19.2 ADD NUMBERS Sub-Menu
This sub-menu is displayed over the Beginner Drills
menu window when you select ADD NUMBERS. The purpose of
this sub-menu is to help you increase your typing skills by
letting you add any or all of the number keys to your typing
vocabulary.
Your selection of number sets works the same as in the
ADD MORE LETTERS Menu. For example, if you want to learn
how to type the number "3" and the number "8", then move the
menu selector bar to the "3,8" entry and press the ENTER
key. A CHECKMARK will appear indicating the numbers 3 and 8
will be added to your drill list for Beginner typing drills.
If you select "No Numbers", then any numbers previously
selected or included in your drill as indicated by the
CHECKMARKS will be eliminated from your next drill.
Selecting the Quick HELP Facility for this sub-menu
will put you on the ADD NUMBERS entry of the help menu.
19.3 ADD CAPITALS Sub-Menu
The "ADD CAPITALS" Menu is displayed over the Beginner
Drills menu window when you select ADD CAPITALS while the
Beginner Drills Menu is on the screen. The purpose of this
menu is to let you select the CAPITAL LETTERS in the same
manner you would select regular letters to increase your
typing vocabulary. You can select CAPITALS from the menu by
moving the menu selector bar over the set you want added to
your drill list. The first set of capital letters you
should learn are the CAPITAL home keys. A CHECKMARK will
appear in the entry indicating they will be added to your
list. When you choose BEGIN TYPING from a primary menu, the
CAPITAL letters you added will show up in the TEXT panel.
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Your selection is cumulative, just like ADD MORE
LETTERS. If you change your mind while the list is still
displayed, just move the menu selector bar to the entry you
want and press the ENTER key again - the CHECKMARK will
disappear. Your chosen selection goes into effect only when
you EXIT the sub-menu. If you decide not to make a
selection, just press the ESCAPE key to return to the
Beginner Drills menu.
The Quick HELP Facility is also available for sub-
menus. When you choose HELP, the menu selector bar will
rest on the ADD CAPITALS topic.
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20. APPENDIX -A-
How To Print The HELP Screens
If your PC has a printer attached to it you may want to
have a printout of PC-FASTYPE's Quick HELP Facility screens.
First start PC-FASTYPE as you normally would. Simply press
F1 at any menu to get into the Quick HELP Facility, select
each topic in succession from the Quick HELP Facility and
press the Print-Screen key on your keyboard as you page
through the help topic. We suggest you space up your
printer a few lines after each page and do a form-feed
manually after every two HELP pages are printed. This will
avoid the text "spilling" over the perforations onto the
next page. Typing correctly is a discipline, so is
neatness.
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21. APPENDIX -B-
Creating "Type-Your-Own-Text" Files
PC-FASTYPE will let you use any text file you specify
in the dialog box when you choose TYPE YOUR OWN TEXT from
the Advanced Exercises menu. Don't worry about line length,
special characters or formatting considerations. PC-FASTYPE
will reformat your text to fit the screen size and filter
out any characters it can't identify with the keyboard you
are using.
It's easy to create MULTIPLE exercises in one file,
just insert the phrase
@TEXT@
on a line BY ITSELF to separate the text into multiple
exercises. PC-FASTYPE will randomly select exercises from a
file whose text is separated by this phrase. The typing
exercise will consist of all the characters following the
@TEXT@ phrase until the next @TEXT@ phrase is found or the
end of the file is reached.
The exercise files accompaning PC-FASTYPE can be used
as a guide to help you prepare your own exercises. These
files are named with the file-extension ".TYP" and are
readable with an editor, word-processor, or screen display
utility such as the MS-DOS 'type' or 'more' commands.
You may want to include special words or phrases unique
to your business, profession, or student activities and
would be frequently typed such as scientific terminology, or
"legalese".
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22. APPENDIX -C-
*** List of Files On The PC-FASTYPE Diskette ***
Use the MS-DOS command "DIR" to verify these files exist on
your PC-FASTYPE program diskette:
===========================================================
README.BAT - Program to display README.TXT
README.TXT - Quick start instructions
REGISTER.FRM - REGISTRATION FORM AND COMMENT FORM
FTDOC.EXE - User Guide-Self-extracting ZIP file
ENFT.BAT - Batch program for the 101-Key Keyboard
ATFT.BAT - Batch program for the AT-Style Keyboard
xFASTYPE.EXE - The PC-FASTYPE executable program (x=C or M)
H01.HLP - QuickHELP Facility files
H02.HLP - "
H03.HLP - "
H04.HLP - "
H05.HLP - "
H06.HLP - "
H07.HLP - "
H08.HLP - "
H09.HLP - "
H10.HLP - "
FT32.TYP - Exercise Files
FT33.TYP - "
FT34.TYP - "
FT35.TYP - "
FT36.TYP - "
FT42.TYP - "
FT43.TYP - "
FT44.TYP - "
FORTUNE1.TYP - Sample file for the TYPE YOUR OWN TEXT Option
FTxVn.GCP - PC-FASTYPE General Control Parameters
ATKBSCRN.FIL - Description file for the AT-STYLE Keyboard
ENKBSCRN.FIL - Description file for the 101-Key Keyboard
VENDOR.DOC - VENDOR Information
SYSOP.DOC - BBS Sysop Information
==========================================================
If you received this version of PC-FASTYPE from a disk
vendor, there may be other files the vendor has added for
their distribution purposes. If one or more of the above
files are missing, please contact Trendtech Corporation
(201) 694-8622 and tell us.
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23. APPENDIX -D-
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
PC-FASTYPE/CGA and PC-FASTYPE/MONO were developed on an
AST 386/20 running under the MS-DOS Version 3.3 Operating
System. Both programs were written in the "C" Language
using Microsoft's ANSI "C" Compiler, Version 5.1. The total
size of ALL source code is about 20,000 lines. The text
editor of choice was BRIEF 3.0, and Microsoft WORD version
5.0 was used as the word-processor for the documentation and
help files. Microsoft's NMAKE from QuickC 2.0 was used
during development and for building the final product. The
WINDOW BOSS windowing software was used for portions of the
user interface. PKZIP was used for creating the Self-
extracting ZIP files.
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*** END OF USER'S GUIDE FOR PC-FASTYPE ***
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PC-FASTYPE TYPING NOTES:
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PC-FASTYPE TYPING NOTES:
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Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation, Inc.