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- PROFESSIONAL SCRIBE (Pro~Scribe)
-
-
- "Scribe" from Latin scribere: To write
- Pro~Scribe: To write with the skill of a pro
- PS Express: To get you there fast
-
- PS EXPRESS (PSE)
-
-
- Version 4.6
-
-
-
- New with Version 4.x
- ....................
-
- * Built-in compatibility with WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft
- Word. If you use these word processors, you no longer need
- to convert files to Ascii format before running Pro~Scribe.
-
- * An on-line Thesaurus, plus a second program to help you
- customize your thesaurus. BE SURE to read the next two
- pages and "Customizing Your Thesaurus" for details.
-
- * Increased capacity in the Frequent.Wrd option (from 50 to
- 100 words; at the request of a user). The Frequent.Wrd option:
- - Helps ensure your results are "realistic"
- - Prevents Pro~Scribe from nagging you about words you're
- sure your audience understands.
-
-
-
-
- +------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Want to get up and running quickly? |
- | * Look quickly at page 'a' (Installing & Running Pro~Scribe) |
- | |
- | * Then read page 1. There we suggest you STOP reading and |
- | run PS. Compare YOUR results with results from various |
- | types of writing: Kid's Books, Newspapers, Technical, etc. |
- | |
- | Running PS once or twice, and comparing your writing with |
- | others can help you: 1) See how PS can help, 2) Better |
- | understand PS' guidelines and the rest of our discussion here. |
- | Above all, have fun! |
- | |
- | Pro~Scribe was formerly called Maxi-Read. PS Express was qwikMR.|
- +------------------------------------------------------------------+
-
-
- Copyright (C) 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 RWS & Associates
- 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117
- Phone: (415) 863-0530 (10-5 Pacific time please)
-
-
-
- Two Manuals . . .
- =================
-
- Pro~Scribe (PS) has two manuals. This one describes how to install
- and run PS, and a little about what to look for in your results.
-
- The second manual, "Effective, High Impact Writing," is sent to
- registered users (along with PS Express, and other enhanced fea-
- tures.) "Effective, High Impact Writing," has more tips to help
- you improve your writing. For your reference, here are it's
- sections:
-
- SECTION 1: Effective, High-Impact Writing
- * Define Effective, High-Impact Writing
- * The Feedback Void. How PS/PSE fill it
- * Examples of common writing mistakes
-
- SECTION 2: Our Guidelines in Perspective, Examples of Results
- * How your writing can handicap your ideas
- * Our Guidelines: Examples, Putting them into perspective
-
- SECTION 3: More Effective Writing; Managing Writing Mistakes
- * Clarity of thought breeds clarity of style
- * Writing as you speak, the most important skill?
- * Managing complex writing.
- * Word Wasters, and other common errors
-
- SECTION 5: Getting the Most From Your Results
- * Your Main Job: Decide IF it needs work, WHAT to work on
- * Use, Use, Use the RGL options.
- * Ignore our list of Complex Words.
- * Do serious editing on paper, not in your word processor
-
-
-
- ====================================================================
-
- The Pro~Formance Pro~Scribe System and Manual Are Protected by
- U. S. Copyright Law: [Title 17 USC]. All Rights reserved.
-
- Pro~Formance, P~F, Pro~Scribe, PS, PS Express and PSE are
- Trademarks of RWS & Associates
-
- SideKick, DESQview, WordStar, IBM, WordPerfect & Microsoft Word
- are Registered Trademarks of: Borland International, Quarterdeck
- Office Systems, MicroPro International Corp., International
- Business Machines Corp., WordPerfect Corp. and Microsoft.
-
- ====================================================================
-
-
- Pro~Scribe --- User-Supported Software
- (To register, see the last few pages of this guide)
- =======================================================
-
- Thank you for taking the time to try Pro~Scribe (PS). PS is user-
- supported software. That means several things for you and for us.
-
- YOU : : :
-
- You get to try PS out before you invest, to see if it helps, to
- see if you like it. And when you register . . . We try to say
- "Thanks" for your honesty and support by sending you much, much
- more! This manual is used for all versions, to give you an idea
- of the increased power you'll receive. Registered users receive:
-
- * PS EXPRESS (PSE), the "memory resident" version of PS, plus a
- separate manual to help you use and customize PSE.
- - PSE is fantastic! Call it up from INSIDE your word processor
- for help when you need it most--while you're writing.
- - PSE lets you analyze and edit your writing as you go. It saves
- enormous amounts of time and frustration: you polish sections
- as you write, while your thoughts are fresh in your mind.
-
- * WordPerfect (5.x) and Microsoft Word compatibility. Pro~Scribe
- reads WordPerfect and Word files directly. You no longer need
- to save Ascii versions just for Pro~Scribe.
-
- * The latest version of Pro~Scribe and PS Express with:
- - MUCH easier editing. The latest version highlights complex
- words and Word Wasters line-by-line! It shows you what
- to edit, and gives you suggestions on what to do.
- - An ON-LINE THESAURUS for help with those long, complex words
- in your writing. Another program to customize your thesaurus.
- - Support for "FREQUENT.WRD," a separate file you customize
- to ensure your results are realistic, and to prevent PS from
- nagging you about words you think your audience understands.
-
- * "EFFECTIVE, HIGH IMPACT WRITING," a separate booklet with tips
- to: 1) improve your writing; and, 2) get the most of PS and PSE.
-
- WE : : :
-
- By registering, you do 2 things. First, you say "Thanks"--for the
- months of time we spent developing/refining a program you find useful.
-
- Second, your support makes it possible for us to continue: to
- develop, expand and support software you enjoy. Without your
- support, we can't continue. It's that simple.
-
- Can't Register? : : :
- Some people use "user-supported" software and don't register. Are
- you one of them? If so, you have your reasons (maybe you forgot).
- But maybe you can find a way to say "Thanks" anyway.
-
- We need your support to continue; and "support" comes in many forms.
- * Suggestions and comments help a lot (handwritten is fine). Let
- us know what you found useful, and what we could do to improve PS.
- * If you can't register, a gift of $10 (or ?) would help. It's a
- simple way to say thanks and help support our efforts.
-
-
- ============================
- Contents
- ============================
-
- System Requirements, Installing Pro~Scribe,
- Running Pro~Scribe ...................... a
-
-
- PS in Brief, Plotting Your Scores ......... 1
-
- How Your Writing Can Handicap Your Ideas .. 2
-
- Effective Writing: Your Role & Pro~Scribe's 3
-
- What to Look For in Your Results : : :
- Grade Levels ............................ 4
- The Words You Use ....................... 4
- Sentence Length ......................... 5
- Word Wasters ............................ 5
-
- Deciding What to Analyze .................. 7
-
-
- Let's Go, Pro~Scribe's Menus, Your Options 8
-
- Typing in Text, PowerTyping ............... 9
-
- Importing (reading in) Text Files ......... 10
-
- Controlling Analyses, FREQUENT.WRD, Tips .. 11
-
- Your Results / Your Results Options ....... 12
- Options: Use/Use/Use RGL & Patterns .... 14
- Complex Words ................. 18
- Word Wasters .................. 19
- Printing Results .............. 19
- Customizing Your Word Wasters ............ 20
- Customizing FREQUENT.WRD ................. 21
- Customizing Your Thesaurus ............... 22
-
-
- Writing as you Speak, More Writing Help ... i
-
- License and Warranty ...................... ii
-
- Programs by Pro~Formance .................. iv
-
- Ordering P~F Programs ..................... vi
-
- =====================- System Requirements -====================== a
-
- Computer: IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2 or 100% compatible DOS: 2.1+ Required
- Memory: PS (256k), PSE (10k). Monitor: Any (Color makes
- results more "interesting.") A printer's needed to print results.
-
- Both PS and PSE "write directly to the screen" for maximum speed.
- Set up any "windowing" programs you use accordingly. Pro~Scribe runs
- fine in DESQview. We urge you NOT to use PSE in a DESQview window.
- It may or may not work. If not, your system may require a re-boot.
-
- ================- Installing Pro~Scribe (2 Steps) -================
-
- STEP 1. You can run PS from any drive or directory. But, it MUST
- find 5 files: PS.Exe, PSHelp.Scr, Wasted.Wrd, Frequent.Wrd &
- PSThes.Ths. These files MUST be together on the same drive/directory.
-
- * You can tell PS where to find these files by typing this line at
- the DOS prompt BEFORE running PS: SET PSDir=drive:\directory\
-
- * Replace "drive:\directory\" with the path to PS's "required" files.
- Example: SET PSDir=C:\PS\ Note "\" at the end, and NO spaces.
-
- * The easiest way to handle this is to add this line to your
- AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Then you never have to worry about it. If you
- don't do this, it might help to run PS with a 2-line batch file.
- For example, create a batch file (eg., RUNPS.BAT) with these lines:
- SET PSDir=C:\PS\ \ Then, to run PS,
- C:\PS / just type RUNPS
-
- STEP 2. (Optional) To Print this manual, at the DOS prompt, type:
- "PrintMan <cr>." Set your printer to 66 lines per page first.
-
- =======================- Running PS -=============================
-
- You can start Pro~Scribe in two ways. Type either:
- PS PS starts at the Options Menu. All options available.
-
- PS "FileName" Type PS, a space, then a filename. (eg., PS Test.Txt)
-
- However you start, the 1st thing you see is "Setting Up.." while PS
- loads it's "required" files (help, wasted words, thesaurus, etc.)
-
- The "user-supported" version of PS next displays a special screen.
-
- ========================- Definitions -============================
-
- Grade Level: A measure of writing complexity (6 = Elementary,
- 12 = High School Senior, 16 = College Graduate)
- NOTE: We mean "reading grade level." Many High
- School graduates read at the 8th-9th grade level.
- Complex Words: Words with 3 or more syllables, 9+ letters
- Complex Writing: Writing beyond the "comfort range" of your audience.
- Word Wasters: Words & cliches which are weak wordy or wrong.
- Passive Voice: One of the most prevalent Word Wasters.
- RGL: Running Grade Level: line-by-line summary of writing
- Pattern Summary: A graph showing the variety & complexity of writing,
- and how closely it matches an "ideal" pattern.
-
- ========================- PS in Brief -======================== 1
- A good way to see how PS can help YOU is to compare your writing
- style with others. PLEASE STOP READING. PLOT YOUR OWN RESULTS.
-
- Below are examples of Pro~Scribe's results for various types of
- writing. The best way to see how PS can help is to try it on a
- sample of your writing. Then compare your results to those
- below. This will also show how easy PS is to use, and help you
- understand the discussion below. Please stop reading and:
- * Run PS. Press [B]egin Analyses. Then press [I]mport or [T]ype.
- - Import 1-2 samples of your text files.
- - Or, Type 2-4 paragraphs into PS, examples typical of your style.
- * From Pro~Scribe's Results Summary and Pattern Summary, find your
- scores on the scales below. Write in YOUR results below.
- - Find your Pattern Summary by pressing [R]GL (Running Grade
- Level). When PS shows you the Graphic Summary, press [P]attern.
-
- The table below shows PS' results for various publications. From
- each publication we picked 3 samples of text, on 3 different
- topics from 3 different authors (to reduce bias from the topic or
- author's style). Each sample had about 400 words. We left space
- for you to write in YOUR results, BEFORE you start using PS/PSE,
- and AFTER using them for a while (to see how you improved).
-
- From PS' Results Summary, find and write in your:
- * Grade = Overall Grade Level (Complexity) of writing
- * Words/Sent = The Average # of Words per Sentence
- * Syl/Word = The Average # of Syllables per Word
- * % Sesquip. Words = The % of Sesquipedalian (complex) words
- Words/ Syl/ % Sesquip. == Pattern ==
- Grade Sent Words Words Match % >16
- ==================================================================
- Our Guidelines 8-10 15-20 < 1.6 < 10% 90+ < 20%
- ==================================================================
- Government Reports 20 22 2.1 27% 49 68%
- Tech. Journals 19 22 2.0 26% 54 64%
- Wall St Journal 15 23 1.7 23% 66 39%
- New York Times 12 26 1.5 13% 76 27%
- USA Today 9 18 1.5 10% 90 6%
- People Magazine 8 14 1.5 10% 86 7%
- Children's Books 7 14 1.3 8% 64 0%
- YOUR Scores-Before % %
- YOUR Scores-After % %
- ==================================================================
-
- From your Pattern Summary, draw Vertical Lines showing the per-
- centage of your sentences falling at each grade level. Write in
- your "Match" and "Complexity" scores. (Asterisks show the "Ideal.")
-
- +-----+---Your Pattern-BEFORE-----+------Your Pattern-AFTER-------+
- |Match: Complexity: % >16 |Match: Complexity: % >16|
- |---------------------------------+-------------------------------|
- |50%+| | |
- |40% | * | * |
- |30% | * | * |
- |20% | * | * |
- |10% | * | * |
- + 5% +--*------------------*------+---*-------------------*-------+
- Grade: 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ | 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+
- 5-7 11-13 17-19 | 5-7 11-13 17-19
-
- =- How Can PS Help You? How your Style Can Handicap Your Ideas -= 2
-
- The top line (1st table above) shows our guidelines or benchmarks.
- They reflect writing styles average adults are comfortable with,
- styles which tend to be most effective in business and everyday
- writing. How do your scores compare? Which type of writing does
- your writing style most resemble? Is that appropriate?
-
- Notice USA Today closely matches PS' guidelines. The New York
- Times and the Wall Street Journal, intended for more educated
- audiences, show more complex styles. And while we might expect
- Technical Journals to be more complex than everyday writing,
- these were examples of poor technical writing. More on this below.
-
- In general, your ideas are being handicapped if your writing has:
- * An overall Grade Level higher than 8-10
- - Many people can deal with text written at higher levels. But
- they have to work harder and strain more to grasp your ideas.
- * Words with MORE than 1.5 - 1.6 syllables per word, on average.
- We don't often think about syllables. "Effective, High Impact
- Writing" explains.
- * A high percentage of complex, "sesquipedalian" words (10% or more).
- - Complex words are too abstract to create pictures in the mind.
- * More than 15-20 words per sentence, on average
- - Long sentences tax one's memory (hard to grasp what you're saying).
- * A low Personal Index score, less than 30. Writing as you speak
- (using personal pronouns, contractions, etc.) engages your
- audience, as a good salesperson would.
-
- In addition, PS' Pattern Summary shows whether your writing has
- variety (or if your sentences show grade level "sameness"). The
- Match Score measures how closely your sentence pattern matches an
- "Ideal" pattern. A LOW Match Score suggests your writing: lacks
- variety, has a high percentage of complex sentences, or both.
-
- Our Guidelines
-
- Our guidelines are useful for most business and everyday writing.
- You say you write for a different audience? The tables above can
- help you decide which scores on each scale are most appropriate
- in your situation. ALL of Pro~Scribe's guidelines are meant to be
- used FLEXIBLY. But consider this:
-
- * Business letters, memos and reports often show Grade Levels of
- 13+. Their sentences average 25-35 words; and they often come
- across as formal, dull and stiff, lacking a conversational style.
- * Technical writing often shows Grade Levels of 16+, and 30-40
- words/sentence. Yet Bell Labs found GOOD technical writing had
- Grade Levels of 10-12: complex ideas needn't be expressed complexly.
- * Popular newspapers and magazines, on the other hand, usually
- show Grade Levels of 8-10, with 17-19 words per sentence. Some
- sentences are very short, some very long. But they consistently
- average 17-19.
-
- We don't suggest a "See Spot Run" writing style. A 40 word
- sentence isn't wrong. But, Complex sentences, or several long
- ones in a row can lose your audience. Nor do we suggest all
- writing have the consistent cadence of a military march.
- Consistent quality, not monotony, is our goal.
-
- =====- Effective Writing: Your Role, and Pro~Scribe's -===== 3
-
- Pro~Scribe and PS Express are meant as heuristics, to prompt you:
- * To think about what you want to say, and how you say it
- * To tinker, experiment, revise (Latin "visus," to see a new way)
-
- PS/PSE can help if you believe you said something worthwhile,
- worth the time to improve. They can even help those who feel they
- communicate easily and effectively. As one of Pro~Scribe's users
- said: "I'm a seasoned writer; I write well. (But) I'll freely
- admit--Pro~Scribe has improved my writing!" Most anyone can
- benefit from periodically running their work through PS.
- Pro~Scribe's scrutiny, at least once in awhile, helps keep our
- skills sharp, our writing on track, our focus keen.
-
- One of PS' reviewers said, "(PS) won't turn sludge into poetry."
- Nor will it turn bad ideas into good ones. Finally, progress isn't
- an automatic sort of thing, like a spelling checker or thesaurus.
- PS/PSE tell you when things are wrong, they can pinpoint writing
- errors, they can suggest ways to improve your writing. But the
- choice is always yours. You decide: which writing style fits
- your purpose and audience; take our suggestions or ignore them.
-
- With a little effort, PS can help give most any writing more
- clarity, appeal and impact. And improvements can happen very
- quickly, especially with PS Express in hand!
-
- What PS/PSE Do For You
-
- Our goal is Effective Communication, not just Good Writing.
- Writing is one form of communicating. Yet, what we learn from
- PS can help the way we talk (informally), the way we speak
- (formally), and even the way we think. The separate "Effective,
- High Impact Writing" gives details, and shows how the way we
- think or feel affects the way we organize thoughts, choose words,
- even choose a writing style.
-
- PS, along with Rudolf Flesch, Robert Gunning and William Strunk
- Jr., define effective writing as: easy to understand, elegant,
- varied and "written as you'd speak." (We use "elegant" the way
- engineers would: compact, efficient and devoid of needless, verbal
- ornaments.) The more engaging your writing, and the easier it is
- to follow, the easier it is for you to get your ideas across. As
- Douglas Mueller said, "The less energy your reader wastes decoding
- your language, the more he'll have left for your brilliant ideas."
-
- We built PS to give you feedback on whether your writing:
- * Is within the reach of your audience, or is overly complex
- * Is efficient and compact, or full of needless words and jargon
- * Has a conversational tone, or comes across as formal and stilted
-
- To help you get the most from PS'/PSE's feedback, "Effective, High
- Impact Writing" discusses each of the ways PS/PSE look at your
- writing. It explains where PS'/PSE's benchmarks come from, how to
- use them, and how to set your own benchmarks. It offers tips to
- improve your writing in several ways (words, sentences, Word
- Wasters). And it has more examples of PS' results for different
- types of writing: Kid's Books to Newspapers to Technical Articles.
-
-
- ============- What to Look For in Your Results -============= 4
-
- Grade Levels
- ============
- Both PS and PSE show you the overall "reading" Grade Level (GL) of
- your writing. This is a useful measure of the overall complexity
- of your writing style. But, Pro~Scribe's Running Grade Level (RGL)
- option can help even more.
- * The RGL shows the complexity of your writing line-by-line.
- * When looking at a document with more than 1 page, focus on the
- RGL. Even when the overall Grade Level suggests your writing's
- OK, the RGL results can reveal sections or lines which need work.
-
- The Words You Use
- ==================
- Our words strongly influence the complexity of our writing. That's
- why PS/PSE gives lots feedback on our words: (3 & 4, PS only.)
-
- 1. # of Syllables per Word 2. % of Long, Complex Words
- 3. List of complex words found 4. RGL reports flagging complex words
-
- PS/PSE "estimate" the number of syllables in a word by looking at
- the patterns of vowels in it. The English language has no fixed
- rule which governs how some words are pronounced (sometimes the
- suffix "es" is pronounced ("fixes"), sometimes it's not ("likes")).
-
- Long, complex words have 9+ letters; they generally have 3+
- syllables. Our definition of "long" is arbitrary. Some programs
- flag words with 6 or more characters; some use 10; some focus on
- words with 13 letters. We tried to strike a balance, to give you
- lots of feedback without nagging you about many common, easily
- understood words.
-
- How long should words be? How many long, complex words can a
- reader handle at one time? PS/PSE suggest these guidelines:
- * The Average Number of Syllables per Word should be 1.6 or less.
- * Long, Complex words should number no more than 10%, on average
-
- Do these seem too low? How did you arrive at these guidelines?
-
- While the English language has many thousands of words, we use less.
- * 500 words make up about 65% of everything we say, write or read!
- This statistic comes from research on the frequency of word use.
- * The 500 Most Frequently Used Words are short:
- - They have 1.3 syllables, on average.
- - 400 have 1-5 letters, 13 (3%) have 8 letters, 0 have 10 or more!
- - Examples: (#s show a word's rank in the word frequency list)
-
- I(1) Was(10) Them(100) Off(200) Pretty(300) Thoughtlessness(86,400)
-
- Still not onvinced? Consider this. For an average 17-word sentence,
- notice how "small" changes in syllables/word make "big" differences
- in reading grade levels. Do you see why we say stay under 1.6?
-
- Syl/word: 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
- Grade: 6 8 12 15 18 21 23 26 28
-
- continued . . .
-
-
- Sentence Length 5
- ===============
- PS/PSE suggest sentences range from 15-20 words, on average. But,
- striving for specific sentence length is nonsense! Complexity
- matters, not length. If your ideas require long, complex words,
- manage Grade Levels by adding shorter words to break up consecutive
- long words. In other words, create LONGER sentences.
- * Sentence Length is not the problem. Complex sentences are. That's
- why RGL options are so valuable, they show complexity line-by-line.
- * Several long sentences in a row can frustrate and tire a reader.
- * In general, readers grasp short sentences more easily than long
- ones. Master both for variety, punctuation and style.
-
- Word Wasters
- ============
- We all make writing mistakes, at least once in awhile. And there
- are several different "traps" we fall into. We call these traps
- "Word Wasters," words or phrases that are wordy, confusing, often
- misused, or just plain unnecessary. We group them into 5
- categories: (Examples shown in quotes)
- * Wasted Words - using many words when 1-2 would do - "Please make
- an attempt .." when "Please try .." would do.
- * Misused Words - often just wrong - "Irregardless", "Prioritize"
- * Tongue Waggers - complex words when simple ones will do.
- "Erroneous" instead of "Wrong"
- * Verbs-To-Nouns - turning verbs into nouns, often by adding "ize,"
- "ment" or "tion" ("Finalize," "Give consideration")
- * Passive Voice - obscures who does what. "At your earliest
- convenience, contact me by phone" is weak and
- wordy compared with "Call me soon."
-
- Each of these writing errors complicates our ideas. And every
- word that doesn't support your purpose wastes a reader's time,
- weakens their interest.
-
- PS scans your work for Word Wasters (up to 200), then shows which
- were found, and how often they appeared. It also gives you tips
- and comments: what's wrong, what to use instead. See "Customizing
- PS' Word Wasters" for details on how to customize these Word Wasters
- to suit your own needs.
-
-
- ===============- Effective Writing in Summary- =============== 6
-
- Effective writing, communicating well, has elements of both art
- and science. Maybe you'll have only a few things to work on.
- Or maybe improving your writing requires changing the way you
- THINK (better organized, more forceful, take more risks). This
- is not insignificant.
-
- * Choose 1-2 things that MOST deserve attention, set priorities.
- Develop a strategy, and focus on these until PS/PSE show they're
- going away.
-
- * When satisfied with your progress, choose 1-2 more.
-
- * And beware overload and action-paralysis. PS and PSE give lots
- of specific feedback about the art and science of your writing.
- - Too much feedback can overwhelm, paralyze, lead to inaction.
- - Select what to look at based on your needs and strategy.
-
-
- Some Final Comments (See Effective, High-Impact Writing for more)
-
- * Short sentences are NOT our goal; avoiding difficult ones is.
- - Indeed, short sentences may be Very Hard to grasp (have high
- Grade Levels) if they have several long, complex words.
- - 40 word sentences aren't wrong, as long as they're not complex,
- or followed by several more "40 worders."
-
- * Likewise, we DON'T urge you to avoid long words: they carry much
- of our meaning, our ideas. But, writing is easier to follow, is
- less tiring, when you mix long, complex words with short words.
-
- * Finally, consistency is CONTRARY to our objective of variety.
- - We would argue for consistent quality, consistent effectiveness.
- - But effective writing has both short AND long, easy AND
- complex sentences, intermixed for variety and style.
- - When in doubt, when you want to drive home a major point,
- strive for low Grade Levels: compact sentences, each word
- carefully chosen.
-
-
- ===============- Deciding What to Analyze -=============== 7
-
- Analyze as much text as you like. But now that you have PSE, we
- urge you to focus paragraphs or sections. We urge you: NOT to
- focus on sentences, NOT to rely too much on analyses of large
- reports, chapters, books, etc. (except with RGL reports).
- * With PSE it's easy to analyze sections, even single sentences.
- - Occasionally it helps to examine a sentence.
- - But frequently looking at single sentences may lead to mono-
- tony: lines one after another with the same style and rhythm.
- * Focus on paragraphs or sections to focus on ideas and strategies.
- - Your purpose drives your writing strategy which drives PS'
- results. The purpose or theme of the section may affect the
- style you choose, which can affect the results you get.
- - Editing or revising are often easier when your goals and
- strategy are clearly in mind (ideas form and conclude).
- - Editing sections is less tiring and frustrating than dealing
- with large portions of text. Use PSE regularly; edit sections
- as you go. This may eliminate the time-consuming write/edit/
- re-write cycle.
- * Analyzing entire reports, chapters, books, etc.:
- - IS helpful to see if you make the same types of writing
- mistakes throughout. It helps you see patterns.
- - But, overall results (eg., Grade Levels) can mask the fact
- that some sections are quite easy to grasp, while others are
- very difficult--the Average looks fine.
-
- For these reasons, we urge you to use PSE to focus on paragraphs
- and sections. Then use PS to look at the whole thing, paying
- close attention to Running Grade Level (RGL) and Pattern summaries.
-
- ================- What PS & PSE Need From You -================
-
- PS and PSE must accurately count words, sentences and syllables.
- WORDS: are a group of letters followed by a SPACE.
- * Be sure each word/punctuation mark is followed by a space.
- * Words with hyphens (-) count as 1 word. Numbers count as 1 word.
- SENTENCES: are "end-of-sentence" marks (.?!;) FOLLOWED by a space.
- * By "sentence" we mean a "complete thought." So end-of-sentence
- marks includes ";" as well as ".?!".
- * Remove punctuation from abbreviations (e.g. type "Dr" not "Dr.").
- If you don't, they'll COUNT AS SENTENCES. ($9.95 is OK -- NO Space)
- SYLLABLES: are counted by looking for vowels. This is "approximate."
- * English has no fixed rule which governs how many words are
- pronounced: "es" is a syllable in "Fixes" but not "Likes."
-
- "Dot" commands some word processors use (eg., WordStar) shouldn't
- affect your results. They're periods, but aren't followed by a
- space. Similarly, both PS and PSE ignore or "strip" graphic or
- control characters before they analyze. Control symbols are
- often used by word processors for underlining, bolding , etc.
- Ignoring/stripping them ensures they don't distort results. It
- may also mean text may print differently when you ask for Running
- Grade Level reports. But, some things may distort results.
- * Numbered/lettered sections (A. or 1.) are sentences: period+space.
- * Section headings or chapter titles: 1) Count as sentences; OR,
- 2) Are treated as part of the next sentence, depending on if
- they end in .?;!
- * These distortions may be trivial in a long document. Their
- effects can be strong in short pieces.
-
- ==========- Let's Go: Pro~Scribe's Three Main Menus -========== 8
-
- Pro~Scribe has three menus.
-
- Options Menu
- ............
- At the first (Options) menu, you can choose to [B]egin Analyses,
- view Help Screens, or quit (exit to DOS).
-
- Choose options by pressing the 1st letter of the option you want,
- shown in brackets or highlighted. For example, at the Options
- Menu, press [B] to [B]egin Analyses. Help Screens are available
- at the Options Menu, or when you're entering/importing text or
- looking at your results.
-
- Analysis Menu
- .............
- When you ask to [B]egin Analyses, PS asks if you want to [T]ype
- text in Directly, or [I]mport a File.
- * To import a file, enter a file name, or press [F5] to choose
- from a directory.
- * Import Ascii, WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) or Microsoft Word files.
- - Registered users receive support for WordPerfect (5.0) and
- Microsoft Word files. If you haven't registered and use one
- of these word processors, save your file in Ascii format then
- run PS. (Save it with a different file name so you don't
- over-write the file with all your formatting, graphics, etc.)
- - If Pro~Scribe "thinks" you're analyzing a WordPerfect (5.0) or
- Microsoft Word file, it asks you to confirm. Press [Y]es or [N]o.
-
- Results Menu (PS examines your writing twice)
- ............
- PS quickly analyzes your writing and displays a Results Summary.
- While you're looking at these results, PS quickly scans your text
- again. This time it scans for the long, complex words you used,
- and counts how often each appears. (Press any key to stop or
- cancel this second pass.)
- * When the 1st pass starts, PS displays its Results Screen showing:
- % Completed, and the # Words and Sentences it's found so far.
- * In a few seconds, PS displays your Results, and begins pass #2.
- * When pass #2 ends, PS displays your Results Options:
-
- [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint Results [H]elp [Q]uit
-
-
- We'll discuss your Results Options shortly. Here are some guidelines
- for Typing in text or Importing files.
-
- ================- Typing Text in Directly -================ 9
-
- Type or "PowerType" text into Pro~Scribe. Either way, PS saves text
- in a file called Txt.Tmp. This is important for several reasons:
- 1. Be sure there's enough disk space to hold your text. A rule
- of thumb: # of lines times 80 (20 lines needs 1600 bytes)
- 2. Once you've looked at your results, edit Txt.Tmp with your
- word processor. Edit sentences and words, or asterisk (*) words
- to control PS' analyses. Then Import Txt.Tmp to see results.
- 3. To save a long piece, enter sections, rename Txt.Tmp each time
- (eg., Sec1), then "concatenate" the sections. Example:
- COPY SEC1 + SEC2 ALLTEXT. (See COPY in your DOS manual)
- 4. To save your work, RENAME Txt.Tmp - it'll be re-used next time.
-
- Tips & Guidelines (<cr> means press Return or Enter)
- * Use a style that's comfortable: all caps, all lower case, etc.
- * Press <cr> at the end of each line, or enter up to 254 characters.
- * Asterisk (*) words to tell PS/PSE to treat them as 1-syllable words.
- * If you want to analyze a long piece, and you can't import it, we
- recommend you enter 3-4 "randomly chosen" samples (about 10-15
- lines each), then average the results.
- * Press F1+<cr> for Help, or glance at the bottom of your screen.
- * When you press <cr>, the line you just typed is IMMEDIATELY stored.
- You can't re-edit it. So look over each line before pressing <cr>.
- * To see your results, type a space after the last end-of-sentence
- mark, then press <cr> 2-3 times.
-
- PowerTyping
-
- "PowerTyping" refers to using other programs to "cut & paste" text
- from, say, your word processor's screen into PS. Programs offering
- cut & paste include SideKick (NotePad), DESQview (Mark & Transfer),
- Snipper (a free, "public domain" program from PC Magazine), and
- others. PowerTyping has advantages of PSE, the power of Pro~Scribe.
-
- PowerTyping lets you "type" text into PS without typing it at all.
- It makes it very easy to analyze sections of a longer document
- without having to manually type in each section. And it's FAST!
- In tests we ran, we listed 20 Lines of text on the screen, copied
- them into SideKick's Notepad, ran PS from a "cold start", PowerTyped
- in the 20 lines, and were viewing results, ALL WITHIN 90 SECONDS!
- DESQview took 25 seconds: PS was already running in a DESQview window.
-
- If you plan to use PS a lot, and DON'T have one these programs,
- we urge you to get one. Grab Snipper. Consider DESQview; its
- advantage: BOTH your word processor and PS can be running at the
- same time in different "windows." You can run sections of text
- through PS, see the results, then switch back to your word
- processor to edit your text, or mark some more.
-
- Notes on PowerTyping : : :
- * Be sure your text does NOT have 2+ consecutive blank lines.
- Two in a row tell PS you're DONE TYPING. PS treats letters that
- follow as "commands" -- No damage but lots of beeping will occur.
- * DESQView and SideKick let you add more and more text to what's
- already marked. Snipper works with "1 screenful" at a time.
- * If PS has trouble with your word processor's files, and your word
- processor can't save ASCII files, SideKick, DESQview, etc. could
- let you easily PowerType sections (or ALL) of your file into PS.
-
- ==============- Importing an Existing File -============== 10
-
- Pro~Scribe reads Ascii, WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft
- Word files. (WordPerfect & Microsoft Word support: registered users).
- Compatibility with WordPerfect and Word is about 95%. A few con-
- trol characters sometimes creep in. These usually matter little.
-
- If you use another word processor:
- * Try Importing a file. PS may be able to handle it as-is.
- * If Pro~Scribe has trouble with it:
- - Most word processors have an option to save ASCII files.
- Save it in ASCII (with a DIFFERENT name), then Import it.
- * If you still have trouble getting word-processed text into PS,
- you can type all or sections of it into PS. OR, . . .
- * You can "PowerType" sections of your text, or the whole thing.
- Be sure to read the section on "PowerTyping" on the last page.
- * Finally, you could BEGIN by typing text into PS, perhaps in
- sections. Since PS saves what you enter in Txt.Tmp, you can
- later load it into your word processor for editing and final
- formatting. Just be sure to rename Txt.Tmp if you want it
- saved; PS will reuse the file next time.
-
- Use a word processor other than WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) and
- Microsoft Word? Pro~Scribe's results may be OK, even if PS
- can't handle everything your word processor stores in its files.
- * PS does strip control and graphics characters.
- * Occasionally an extra word or a few extra sentence marks creep
- in. In a long piece, effects of these are minimal. For short
- pieces, focus on RGL reports, Complex Words and Word Wasters.
- * These extra words/characters may affect formatting of text
- when PS prints Running Grade Levels. But, the format is less
- important than the RGL results.
-
- Tips & Guidelines (<cr> means press Return or Enter)
-
- * At the Analysis Menu you'll be asked for file name to Import.
- - Include a Drive/Directory if the file's not on the current drive.
- -- If the Drive+Directory+Filename requires more space than is
- provided, don't worry. PS scrolls the line as you type.
- - To choose from a directory of file names, Press [F5].
- -- PS asks for the Drive and Directory to search. Press <cr>
- for a directory of the Current drive.
- -- PS also asks "Which Files?" Press <cr> to list all files.
- Or, use Wildcards (* or ?) to search for specific types of
- files. Example, enter "*.DOC" for files with a "DOC" extension.
- -- Use cursor keys to move to the file you want, and press <cr>.
-
- * To analyze SECTIONS of a text file, you have four options:
- 1) Focus on RGL reports - a Line-by-Line summary of your writing.
- 2) Many word processors let you "mark" sections or blocks of text
- and "write them out to disk." You could do this with several
- sections of a longer file, then Import each section.
- 3) "PowerTyping" on the last page describes ways to "cut & paste"
- sections of text off your screen, and PowerType them into PS.
- 4) As a last resort, you can type each section into PS.
-
- * RGL reports may format text differently than your word proces-
- sor. That's because lines may be longer than 80 characters.
- We reformat these to show as much text as possible.
-
- ==============- Controlling PS'/PSE's Results -============= 11
-
- Any word beginning with an asterisk (*) or found in the file
- called FREQUENT.WRD: will count as a 1-syllable word regardless
- of its actual length. In other words, it won't be counted or
- listed as a Sesquipedalian word, nor will it be flagged in RGL
- reports. << There must be NO space between the asterisk and the
- word - for example: *Sesquipedalian. >>
-
- The FREQUENT.WRD file contains up to 100 words which, if found,
- PS won't nag you about. Include words familiar to YOUR audience,
- or long words common to everyday English (eg., sometimes). See
- "Customizing Frequent.Wrd." (Frequent.Wrd is used by PS, not PSE.)
-
- How Does This Help Me?
-
- Suppose a long word appears many times in your text. (Examples:
- Company names: "Harnisphluggel;" technical terms: "mesenterium").
- You think your audience understands it. Or you think they figured
- it out the first time it appeared. If left untouched, PS and PSE
- would add to the syllable count (4 or 5 in the examples) each time
- it found the word, making your text seem less readable than it is.
-
- To avoid this distortion, put the word in Frequent.Wrd, or after
- the word appears once, "asterisk it" whenever it appears again .
- Your word processor's Search and Replace function makes it easy
- to asterisk words.
-
- You Should Also Know.....
-
- To ensure that PS and PSE correctly count words, syllables and
- sentences, they "strip" or ignore all control characters,
- non-essential punctuation, blank lines, and characters with ASCII
- values below 32. What remains are the letters A-Z, numbers, and
- a few other characters. You may notice the effects of this in
- two areas:
- 1) If you ask that your text be printed (with RGL), blank lines
- (like those found between paragraphs) won't normally be printed.
- And formatting may differ from your original (eg., Tabs missing.)
- 2) If you ask to see Complex Sesquipedalian Words, they may not
- appear quite as you typed them.
-
-
- =======- Pro~Scribe's Results & Your Results Options -======= 12
-
- PS scans your text twice. It quickly does the first scan, then
- displays a Results Summary and the phrase "Scanning for Complex,
- Sesquipedalian Words." You may "Press Any Key" to cancel the 2nd
- scan for complex words. Here's an example of PS' Results Summary:
-
- +------------------------- Results Summary -----------------------+
- |Overall |Very Complex | Difficult | OK for Average Adults | Simple | |
- |Summary |__________________________________________#_______________| |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
- | Grade Level 8 | +-----[ Index Summary ]-----+ |
- | Flesch Index 84 |P 0|______+______+______+_#____|100 G|
- |Personal Interest Index 58 |O 0|______+______+_#____+______|100 O|
- | % Sesquipedalian Words 8 |O 15|______+____#_+______+______|0 O|
- |# of Syllables Per Word 1.3|R 2.3|______+______+_____#+______|1.0 D|
- |# of Words Per Sentence 16 | 18|_____#+______+______+______|7 |
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
- |Sentences: 278 Words: 4448 Personal Words: 6% Word Wasters: 14|
- +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
-
- The Results Options menu appears at the bottom of your screen.
- It looks like this; we'll return to it shortly.
-
- [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint [H]elp [Q]uit
-
- ==================- Interpreting your Results -==================
- PS' Results Summary shows your results numerically and
- graphically. The graphs make it easy to see at a glance if a
- score is on the Poor/Low or Good/High ends of a scale.
-
- These scales help you decide "IF" your writing needs work
- =========================================================
- Overall This graph is based on the overall Grade Level. Interpret
- Summary the labels like this:
- * Very Complex = Ph.D.s may follow you (but may not)
- * OK = OK for most average adults
- * Simple = Usually Grade Levels below 6-7. For Kids?
-
- Grade 12=High school 16=College 17+=Watch out! 999=Who wrote this?
- Level * 999 is rare and means text is extremely complex.
- * Grade Level is based on the Flesch Index.
-
- Flesch This normally ranges from 0-100. But, it can be negative
- Index (very complex text), or exceed 100 (very simple text).
- * The Flesch Index is often used to evaluate text books.
- * It's gaining popularity in business and other settings.
- * Rudolf Flesch wrote widely on clear, effective writing.
-
- Personal This is a variation of another Flesch idea. "Writing as
- Interest you speak" raises your Personal Interest score. Your score
- Index is HIGH when you:
- - Use personal pronouns and contractions - I, he, can't
- - Use words showing gender - Sister, Father, Brother
- * To Interpret: 5=Dull, 40=Interesting, 90+=I'm yours!
- * "Personal Words," at the bottom of the Results Summary,
- shows what percentage of your words matched these types.
- - A moderate/high percentage of Personal Words (8% +)
- gives text an interesting, friendly appeal
-
- These scales help you decide "WHAT" to fix. 13
- ===========================================
- Avg. # of A number higher than 1.6 may mean your words are too
- Syllables heavy: too many complex words for your sentence length.
- Word - If your goal is to reduce Grade Level, focus on this 1st.
- It has the strongest effect on Grade Level. You can:
- 1) Find easier synonyms for complex words; or,
- 2) Add shorter words to LENGTHEN your sentences: to
- break up consecutive, complex words, or give the
- reader a break from their effects.
-
- Percentage Long, complex words (9+ characters/3+ syllables)
- of Sesqui- - A score of 10% or more suggests: "Get out the thesaurus"
- pedalian Too many complex words for the length sentences you use.
- Words - Press [C]omplex Words to see which complex words were
- found, and how often each appeared.
- - Press [F5] to view synonyms for complex words.
-
- Avg. # A number higher than 15-20 words/sentence may suggest
- of Words a problem - at least for business and everyday writing.
- Per Sen- - But, complexity is more important than length - LOOK AT
- tence the Running Grade Level (shows complexity line-by-line)
- - Focus first on difficult sentences, then long ones.
-
- Finally, PS' Results Summary shows the number or percentage of
- Words, Sentences, Personal Words, and Word Wasters found.
-
- MORE IMPORTANT than the Results Summary, however, are the RGL and
- Word Waster options. They're useful even when the Results Summary
- suggests everything's OK. RGL (Running Grade Level) reports
- should become your most vital tool. Why? See the next page.
-
-
- ======================- Results Options -=================== 14
-
- While viewing PS' Results Summary screen, you have these options:
-
- [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint Results [H]elp [Q]uit
-
- ===========================================
- Use, Use, Use RGL and Pattern Summaries
- ===========================================
- Earlier we suggested:
- * Short sentences are NOT the objective; avoiding difficult ones is.
- * Effective writing is varied, not monotonous in style.
-
- PS' Running Grade Level (RGL) and Pattern reports speak to
- these. We hope they become indispensable to you. They help you
- spot which sections or sentences are complex ("What" to fix), and
- which are OK. They also make editing MUCH easier by flagging com-
- lex words and Word Wasters. Finally they help you see if your
- writing is varied, or if you limit your style.
-
- Running Grade Level means: Pro~Scribe displays your text, and
- prints a grade level for each line with at least one end-of-
- sentence mark. The grade level applies to all text since the
- last grade level was printed. Here's an example. (We print 72
- characters/line. So some sentences seem truncated or incomplete.)
-
- Running Grade Level for: TEST.TXT
-
- The 1st 72 characters per line are shown RGL
-
-
- In a dynamic economy there is always a gap between job demands
- worker skills. Through most of its history, the U. S. has man ... 7
- keep that gap small. But not anymore. The nation is facing a ... 8
- monumental mismatch between jobs and the ability of Americans
- to do them. ... 10
-
- Changes in instructional requirements for manufacturing-related
- work have been particularly dramatic. In some instances, they ... 22
- have been so extensive and widespread that they have triggered
- changes in the structures of institutions and organizations
- engaged in the delivery of education, training and retraining
- services or the emergence of new instructional providers. ... 21
-
-
- The first few lines, from a Business Week article, are readable
- by most everyone (grade levels of 7 & 8). The second section,
- from a government report, had grade levels of 22 & 21 (much more
- complex than the Business Week article). Yet both the article
- and the report discussed the same topic: the growing gap
- between worker skills and the needs of business.
-
-
- Patterns like this in our own writing would suggest:
- 1) congratulate ourselves on the first section; and, 2) take a
- 2nd (and 3rd?) look at the second section. And if we had asked
- that Complex Words and Word Wasters be flagged, Pro~Scribe would
- have led us to specific words and phrases to revise.
-
- 15
-
- You have 3 RGL options. We urge you to choose [T]ext and Graph
- which gives you all 3. Ask for an [R]GL report and PS asks you:
-
- * [T]ext and Graph?
- - This prints text on your screen (and printer if you like) with:
- -- Grade Levels beside each line with end-of-sentence marks (.?;!)
- -- Complex Words and Word Wasters flagged in EACH LINE (optional)
- - When done printing the text, PS will show you a...
-
- * [G]raphic Report?
- - This is a summary of up to 156 sentences/lines showing which
- sections are complex, and where complex thoughts are bunched.
- - When viewing the Graphic Report, press [P]attern Summary.
- -- It shows the variety of your sentence styles: if you mix
- complex, simple and moderately complex sentences.
- -- How closely this pattern "Matches" an "ideal pattern"
-
- When you ask for [T]ext and Graph, PS:
- * Asks if you want Complex Words/Word Wasters flagged. We urge
- Yes -- to make editing much easier. (Registered versions only.)
- * Asks if you want the report also printed on your printer.
- * Prints about 20 lines on your screen, then pauses. Press [N]on
- Stop to move quickly to the middle or end of a document. If
- you press [N]on Stop, you can "Press any key to pause."
-
- PS flags Word Wasters by printing <WW> followed by the Word
- Waster it found and a comment. Complex Words are flagged on
- your screen in reverse color (very easy to spot). But on your
- printer, complex words are shown with a ">" in front of them.
- These are harder to spot. One way to deal with this: 1) First
- print the RGL report on your printer. 2) Now, do the RGL report
- again, but this time don't print on your printer. Instead, use
- the highlights on your screen to help you find the ">" marks
- in your printed text. Highlight these in the printed text.
-
- While viewing the RGL Graphics report, PS asks you to:
-
- Press: [P]attern Summary or [Q]uit
-
- The Pattern Summary shows: 1) If your writing has variety; 2)
- If you tend to use a similar style sentence-after-sentence; and,
- 3) Complexity, the percent of sentences with Grade Levels over
- 16. The Match score compares the variety in your writing to
- an "ideal pattern"-- a few at grades 1-4, a few above grade 13,
- but most in the range of 5-10.
-
-
- How Do the RGL & Pattern Graphs Help ME? 16
-
- They give you an easy-to-read "picture" of the landscape of your
- writing. They show you, on one screen, a summary of hundreds of
- lines of text. They help you easily spot complex sections. And
- both graphs show whether your writing is varied or (monotonous?).
-
- Earlier, under "A Brief Overview" we showed you Pro~Scribe's
- results for samples of various publications. Here are RGL and
- Pattern Summaries for 2 extremes: kid's books & technical
- articles (condensed to fit side-by-side.)
-
- RGL For: RGL For:
- Kid's Books (Grade Level = 7) | Technical Journals (Grade = 19)
- +-------------------------------|-----------------------------------+
- | | IIIIIII II II<- Grade=20+|
- | |II I IIIIIIIIIIIII III |
- | |II I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
- |-------------------------------|II-I--IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII------------|
- |.= . |II=I =IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
- |.=.... . . .. ... |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
- |.=..... . .. . ........ |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
- |.=..................... |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
- +===============================|===================================+
-
- In the Technical writing, vertical lines running to the top of
- the graph ("I" here) show sentences with grade levels of 20 or
- more! The dashed line across each graph is at grade level 14.
- Most text should be below this. Note the consistency (low
- variety) in both. Note in the technical writing the reader gets
- few breaks: writing is heavy line-after-line. Does YOUR
- writing resemble this? Do sections? What would you do about it?
-
- Pattern Summary
- ===============
- Match: 66 Complexity: 0% >16 |Match: 54 Complexity: 64% >16
- |----+-----------------------------|-------------------------------|
- |50%+| I <-- 72% of sentences | |
- | | I | |
- |40% | I * <-- Ideal Pattern| * 40% --> I |
- | | I | I |
- |30% | * | * I |
- | | I | I I I |
- |20% | I I * | * I I I |
- | | I I | I I I |
- |10% | I I I * | I * I I |
- + 5% +--*-------------------*------+---*-------------------*-------+
- Grade: 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ | 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+
- 5-7 11-13 17-19 | 5-7 11-13 17-19
-
- First look at the "Ideal Pattern" -- shown with asterisks. Note
- that 30-40% of sentences in the Ideal Pattern are at grades 5-7 or
- 8-10. There are a few at 11-13, and fewer still at 1-4 and 17-19.
-
-
- 17
-
- The Ideal Pattern has some variety, a mixture of easy, moderate
- and difficult sentences. But our examples here show low variety--
- the "horizontal spread" is narrow. This shows up in Match
- Scores which compares the pattern against an "ideal." Match
- scores for these examples were 66 and 54 (Low and Very Low). And
- note in the technical writing, 64% of the sentences had Grades > 16!
-
- Interpret your Pattern Summary Match Scores roughly like this:
- 10-40 (Very Low), 41-65 (Low), 66-80 (Moderate) 81-90 (High) 91+
- (Very High). Note we don't start at 0, and the scale is "top heavy."
-
- The lower the match score, the more your sentence pattern
- deviates from the "ideal pattern." And deviations on the
- complex side lead to lower Match Scores than deviations on the
- easy side. This is another way to alert you to the possibility
- your writing may be beyond your audience.
-
-
- Summary
-
- In summary, the RGL and Pattern graphs show the "landscape" of
- your writing. They help show you whether there's variety in your
- style, where text is complex, if it fits your audience. They're
- particularly useful when analyzing a long document. Here overall
- results may not reveal variety or sections differing in complexity.
-
- Limitations
-
- * To allow room to print Grade Levels, PS prints the 1st 72
- columns of text, truncating longer lines.
-
- * The RGL appears whenever at least one end-of-sentence (EOS)
- mark is found. It reflects ALL text since the last EOS mark.
- - If 2+ EOS marks appear in a line, the RGL will be based on
- ALL sentences found. Examine that section; see if some sen-
- tences are more complex than others.
- - The RGL may mislead with sentence "fragments"--as when the
- last words of a paragraph fall on a new line. Usually,
- just ignore these.
-
- * RGL reports may be formatted differently than your word proces-
- sor shows them. That's because lines may be longer than 80
- characters. We reformat these to show as much text as possible.
- - PS occasionally "breaks" lines mid-word. That's because PS
- reads text files in big chunks, which sometimes end in the
- middle of a word.
-
- * PS stores up to 200 complex words. This may not be enough for
- long documents (15+ pages). Unique words near the end may not
- be flagged.
-
- * PS may not flag Word Wasters that begin on one line but end on
- the next--because it analyzes each line separately and looks
- for complete phrases. So be sure to check the Word Waster
- summary to ensure you spot all Word Wasters in your writing.
-
-
- =====================================================
- Complex, Sesquipedalian Words; Your On-Line Thesaurus 18
- =====================================================
-
- When you press [C]omplex Words at PS' Results Options menu, PS
- displays the words it found with 9+ letters/3+ syllables
- (approx.). We call these "Sesquipedalian Words." You might want
- to consider synonyms for them. "Effective, High Impact Writing"
- suggests you ignore this option.
-
- PS and PSE are imperfect; neither flag SHORT, complex or unusual
- words. They miss "fissile" and "oblate spheroid," which may
- slow a reader. Conversely some words PS flags may not seem
- complex to you. We opted to print more rather than fewer words
- to give you as much feedback as possible. If you think a word's
- simple, not complex, you can ignore it, or:
-
- * Put the word in FREQUENT.WRD (See "Customizing Frequent.Wrd")
- * Revise your text, put an asterisk in front of it; then re-run PS.
- - The asterisk tells PS "treat me as a 1-syllable word."
- - Your word processor's Search and Replace function makes this easy.
- - You can do the same with PSE while inside your word processor.
-
- The FREQUENT.WRD file contains up to 100 words which, if found,
- PS won't nag you about. Include words familiar to YOUR audience,
- or long words common to everyday English (eg., sometimes). See
- "Customizing Frequent.Wrd."
-
- PS prints a maximum of 200 Sesquipedalian Words, up to 18 char-
- acters per word. Numbers in parentheses show how often a word
- was found. The "Percent Sesquipedalian Words" may not always
- coincide with the number of Complex words printed. Pro~Scribe's
- 2nd pass is more particular about what it flags.
-
- Your On-Line Thesaurus
-
- While looking at your list of complex words, press [F5] to see
- synonyms. See "Customizing Your Thesaurus" for details on how
- your thesaurus works, and how to customize it.
-
- This is NOT intended as a complete thesaurus. Only root words
- with 9+ letters are included.
-
-
- ===========================================
- Word Wasters 19
- ===========================================
-
- Word Wasters are words or phrases which are: weak, wrong or
- wordy. The last line of your Results Summary shows how many
- Word Wasters PS found. See "Customizing Word Wasters" to add
- your own or change PS' Word Wasters. Press [W]ord Wasters and PS
- displays: (Note example below)
- * Each Word Waster found
- * How often each was found
- * A comment, often suggesting how to revise
-
- 4 Example(s) of Wasted Words. (# = how often phrase was found)
-
- 2 THE FACT THAT............ WW Use Since or Because
- 1 CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO... WW Use Remind you, Show you, or Point out
- 1 FORESEEABLE FUTURE....... WW Fuzzy cliche. Be more specific
- (WW, TW, VtN, MW or PV refer to one of PS' 5 Word Waster categories.)
-
- If PS finds more Word Wasters than fit on one screen, it pauses
- until you press a key. If you want "hardcopy" of your Word
- Wasters, make sure your printer is on. Also ensure: 1) your
- printer is set to the top of the page (nothing in the buffer);
- and, 2) you're using fixed spaced (Not proportionally spaced)
- fonts. Then press [Shift-PrtSc].
-
- ===========================================
- Printing Results
- ===========================================
-
- Press [P]rint Results to print PS' Results Summary on your
- printer. PS will ask "Want Sesquipedalian Words printed also?"
- Press [Y]es or [N]o.
-
- PS checks your printer (LPT1 only) to see if it's on, has paper,
- etc. If not, you'll see "Check Printer. When ready, press a key.
- [Esc]=Quit." To abort printing, press [Esc].
-
- Printing other results was covered in the appropriate section.
- * Press [R]GL at the Results Options Menu to print your Text-with-RGL
- * Press [Shift-PrtSc] to print Word Wasters when shown on your screen
-
- PS has no option to print RGL or Pattern Summaries. Shift-PrtSc
- may work. But many printers don't support the "screen graphics"
- characters PS uses.
-
- SUGGESTION: : :
-
- Print all PS results with Fixed Spaced (NOT proportionally spaced)
- fonts. Pro~Scribe's charts look terrible when printed with propor-
- tional fonts.
-
-
- =========================================================
- Customizing Word Wasters 20
- =========================================================
-
- You may change or add to Pro~Scribe's list of Word Wasters by
- editing the file called Wasted.Wrd (included in your PS package).
- * Include your own "pets"--jargon/phrases you want to avoid.
- * Have a particular problem you want help with? Just load PS
- up with many examples of the mistakes you often make. PS
- will help you eradicate them.
- * Want to eliminate the jargon or fuzzy language in your
- business, department or classroom? Add your own phrases,
- then ask your staff to run all their work through PS.
- * Do you edit other peoples' work? Add the jargon they use,
- the types of mistakes they make. Then send them Pro~Scribe's
- results with your comments.
- * Change the Comments--make them stronger or more specific.
-
- PS loads Word Wasters from a file called Wasted.Wrd (which PS
- must find in the same directory as PS.Exe and PSHelp.Scr).
- Wasted.Wrd is in ASCII format, which nearly any word processor or
- editor can read and edit. Please follow these guidelines closely.
-
- * BEFORE editing it, make a backup copy!! BE SURE you save it
- in ASCII. If not, your editor may embed formatting symbols
- that'll throw PS off.
-
- * 1-9 RESERVED. PS won't read the 1st 9 lines (tips for you).
-
- * PS reads Wasted.Wrd until it either reads 200 Word Wasters, or
- finds 2 ampersands (@@) in columns 1-2, whichever comes first.
- - TURN OFF PS' Word Waster feature by putting @@ on line 10.
- - The last line in Wasted.Wrd looks something like this (Note @@@)
- @@@@@@ 200 (Maximum) Reached - Don't move or change this line @@@@@@
-
- * Your list of Word Wasters MUST begin on Line 10.
-
- * Each line has 2 parts: The Word Waster (Phrase) to scan for,
- and Comment (suggestions, tips, explanations, etc.).
- - They MUST BE: Enclosed in quotes (""), Separated by a comma.
- "Acknowledge receipt of", "WW Use -We got, We received-"
- "Not in a position to", "WW Use -Can't- as in -We can't-"
- - The Phrase PS searches for is on the left, Comments on the right.
- - COMMAs between them tells PS it reached the end of the Phrase.
- - The QUOTES around them ensure that commas inside (see 1st
- Comment) aren't treated as the "end" of a Phrase or Comment.
- - Avoid punctuation! And be sure to use Quotes ONLY to surround.
- DON'T use apostrophes ('); use hyphens instead to delimit.
- - For NO Comment, type double quotes like this: "Your Phrase",""
-
- * The "WW" in Comments above is the key to 1 of our 5 Word Waster
- categories.
-
- * MAXIMUM # of Characters: Phrase: 35 (27 printed) Comment: 47
-
- Wasted.Wrd has about 150 Word Wasters, and many lines like this
- - "","". To add your own phrases, just move your cursor between
- the quotes and type. If you reach the 200-phrase limit, and want
- to add more, scan Wasted.Wrd for phrases you rarely or never use.
- Replace these with your own.
-
- =========================================================
- Customizing Your FREQUENT.WRD File (Registered Version) 21
- =========================================================
-
- PS flags the long, complex words you use. But, some long words
- may be easily understood by your audience. Examples would be
- words that are part of everyday English (eg., "sometimes" or
- "understand"), or terms and phrases your audience understands
- (like technical terms, company names). PS shouldn't nag you
- about such words; now it doesn't have to.
-
- When you first run PS, it looks for a file called FREQUENT.WRD.
- If it finds the file, PS reads in up to 100 words it WON'T flag
- as complex--either in the list of Complex Words, or in RGL
- reports. (PS may, however, still count these words when it
- computes syllables/word & Grade Levels)
-
- PS looks for Frequent.Wrd in the same directory as PS.Exe and
- PSHelp.Scr. If PS can't find it, no error message will print,
- and PS will flag all words with 9+ letters, 3+ syllables.
-
- Frequent.Wrd comes to you with about 30-40 words. We chose
- these from research on "the most frequently-used words" (our
- 30-40 are in the top 1000). Because they're found in everyday
- English, they should be easy for most to grasp - despite the
- fact they have 9+ letters.
-
- YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE FREQUENT.WRD.
- * Add your own long words (9+ letters) you're audience understands
- * Replace or edit the ones we included
-
- * Frequent.Wrd is in ASCII format, which nearly any word processor/
- editor can read and edit. BEFORE editing it, make a backup copy!!
-
- * BE SURE you save it in ASCII (DOS Text). If not, your editor
- may embed formatting symbols that'll throw PS off.
-
- * 1-7 RESERVED. PS won't read the 1st 7 lines (tips for you).
-
- * PS reads Frequent.Wrd until it either reads 100 words, or finds
- 2 ampersands (@@) in columns 1-2, whichever comes first.
- - The last line looks something like this (Note @@@@@@)
- @@@@@@ Your word processor should show this line is #58 @@@@@@
-
- * Your list of words MUST begin on line 8. There must be only
- 1 word on each line. Don't include phrases with 2 or more words.
-
- * Upper or lower case is OK, it doesn't matter. PS converts
- all text to upper case before it does any analyses.
-
- If you reach the 100-word limit, and want to add more, scan
- Frequent.Wrd for words you rarely or never use. Replace these
- with your own.
-
-
- =========================================================
- Customizing Your Thesaurus (Registered Version) 22
- =========================================================
-
- Pro~Scribe always flagged those long, complex words that fog up
- your writing. Now, to make it even easier to get that fog out,
- we added an On-line Thesaurus. We also added another program
- (PSThes.Exe) so you can customize your thesaurus. (NOTE:
- Because we added the on-line thesaurus, we eliminated the "List
- of Synonyms" that was in earlier versions (you now have 1100+
- words versus 150). This reduced the size of the Help Screen
- file, so PS should now also load faster when you run it.)
-
- How Pro~Scribe's Thesaurus Works
- ................................
- Once Pro~Scribe analyzes your writing and scans for complex words,
- it displays its Results Menu: [R]GL [C]omplex Words ... etc.
- When you press [C]omplex Words, press [F5] to "Check For Synonyms."
- PS looks for synonyms for the the 1st complex word shown on your
- screen. If PS can't find an exact match, it'll check a 2nd
- time scanning for the first few letters in the word. At the
- bottom of your screen you'll see one of these messages:
- * If PS found the word (or a partial match) you'll see:
-
- [N]ext [W]rite to File [Up/Down]=Browse Through Thesaurus [Esc]=Quit
-
- * IF PS found no match you'll see:
-
- This word wasn't found. [W]rite to File [Any key] = Continue
-
- * Press [N]ext Word to move on to the next complex word that
- was shown on your screen. If you keep pressing [N]ext, PS will
- keep going until it gets to the last complex word it found,
- even those you haven't seen on your screen yet.
-
- * Press [Up/Down] cursor keys to browse through the thesaurus.
- This is handy when PS scanned for a partial word. If PS didn't
- land on the right word, it may be just a few words further down.
- - For example, suppose PS couldn't find "circulates" (ends
- with "s"). On it's 2nd scan, it would look for "circu" --
- the 1st half of the word. It might land on "circular." Press
- the Down cursor and "circulate" might be right below "circular."
-
- * Finally, press [W]rite to File to ask PS to save the complex
- word AND synonyms in a file called PS-Syn.##. ("##" would be a
- number from 1-999 as in PS-Syn.1)
- - Print the "PS-Syn" file, or load it into your word processor.
- Use PS' suggestions to help you get the fog out. (For words
- not found, look them up elsewhere and add them to your thesaurus.)
- - Each time you run PS and "Write synonyms to a file," PS
- creates a new file. If "PS-Syn.1" already exists, PS will
- try "PS-Syn.2" then "PS-Syn.3," etc. until it finds a number
- not yet used. If you already have 999 "PS-Syn" files
- (unlikely), PS will change to "PS-Synon."
- - One "PS-Syn" file is created in each PS session. That
- means if you analyze several text files in the same session,
- all synonym information will be saved in the same file. (File
- names WILL be printed so you can tell which words came from
- which text file.) If you need this data in separate files,
- exit/quit PS after each file's analyzed, then re-run PS.
-
- Customizing Your Thesaurus (continued) 23
-
- The thesaurus itself is a file called PSThes.Ths. It must be on
- the drive/directory you're logged onto when you run PS (or on
- the "path" you declared with SET PSDIR= -- see the Installation
- section of the manual for details on SET PSDIR.)
-
- To customize your thesaurus, run the PSThes.Exe program. You can:
- * Add new words (and synonyms), or Edit existing words (or synonyms)
- * Browse through the thesaurus, or Find words (scanning for 1 or
- more letters or a whole word).
- * Save a new sorted thesaurus after Adding/Editing words (Important!)
-
- PSThes.Exe is very easy to use. The menus and messages explain
- what to do. Here are some general guidelines.
- * Make a backup copy of PSThes.Ths before running PSThes.Exe.
- * The thesaurus file (PSThes.Ths) must be on the drive/directory
- you're logged onto when you run PSThes.Exe.
- * If you Add new words or edit existing words, you MUST Save the
- changes or PS won't be able to find the words later. Here's why.
- - Your thesaurus must be in alphabetical order. But, when
- you add new words, they're put at the end of the PSThes.Ths
- file--not in alphabetical order.
- - If you Edit a word, it might now be out of alphabetic sequence.
- - Sorting/Saving re-writes PSThes.Ths in the right order.
- - When you save a new file, the original thesaurus file is
- renamed PSThes.Bk. A new PSThes.Ths file is then created.
- This requires enough free disk space to create a new file.
- If there's too little disk space for a backup file, you won't
- be able to add new words.
- - You needn't save if you only edit Synonyms (not the target word).
-
- * Important
- - Add words only if they have 9 or more letters. Remember, we're
- looking for synonyms for what PS defines as complex words--
- those with 3+ syllables/9+ letters. Add shorter words only
- if you think your writing will contain longer variations,
- as when you add "ing" or "ment."
- - You can Edit but not delete words. PSThes won't accept blanks.
-
- * Tips
-
- - To choose options, press the 1st letter of the option you want:
-
- [A]dd new word [E]dit a word or synonyms [S]ave [B]rowse (or find)
-
- - When you ask to Edit, you're asked to type in the word to edit.
- -- You can type in just a few letters, or the whole word.
- -- If you type in a few letters and PSThes can't find the word,
- press [Esc] and try again (type in more letters/the whole word).
- - When you ask to Browse, you're asked where you want to start.
- You can type in a letter, a few letters or a word. To start,
- say, at the beginning, enter "A."
- -- Press Up/Down cursor keys to move up/down through the thesaurus.
- -- While browsing you can press [E]dit to edit what you see--the
- word or synonyms.
- - Everything you enter is automatically capitalized.
-
- i
- ============- Ingredients of Writing As You Speak -=============
-
- "Writing As You Speak" raises your Personal Interest Index.
- "Effective, High Impact Writing" has a complete section on
- this. It lists the ingredients of "Talking on Paper." PS
- scans for 65-70 personal pronouns, contractions, and gender-
- specific words. Pronouns include:
-
- I, Me, My, Mine He, Him, His She, Her, Hers
- They, Them, Their, Theirs You, Your, Yours We, Us, Our, Ours
- We also include contractions like - I'm, He's, She's, and You're
-
- Other contractions include: can't, won't, shouldn't, wouldn't, etc.
- Gender-specific terms include: father, mother, brother, etc.
-
- =========- Additional Reading On Effective Writing -==========
-
- For further help improving your writing style, consider
- these books. Find them in soft or hard cover editions,
- and at libraries or book stores.
-
- AUTHOR BOOK TITLE
- ====== =============================
- Rudolf Flesch * How to Write Plain English
- * Say What You Mean
- * The Art of Readable Writing
- * Rudolf Flesch on Business
- Communications
- * Why Johnny Can't Read - And
- What You Can Do About It
- * How to Write, Speak and Think
- More Effectively
- Richard Lanham * Revising Prose
- Robert Gunning * Take the Fog Out of Writing
- * More Effective Writing in
- Business and Industry
- William Strunk Jr. * The Elements of Style
- Joseph Williams * Style
-
-
- ===================- LIMITED LICENSE -=================== ii
-
- Pro~Scribe is "user-supported" software -- NOT "freeware." We
- grant you a limited license to use Pro~Scribe (PS) only in the
- manner described below. You may not modify or alter PS without
- our prior written approval.
-
- And when you register, we say thanks by sending you PS Express
- (which is terrific!!), as well as more capability, an "Effective
- Writing" manual, and more. See the first few pages of this
- manual for details.
-
- Permission to Use and Copy Pro~Scribe
-
- If you ARE a registered user of Pro~Scribe:
- - You sent your registration fee
- - We sent you the latest versions of both PS and PSE.
- - You're granted a full license to use PS for both personal and
- business purposes. We'll try to inform you of updates to PS/PSE.
-
- If you're NOT a registered user:
- - You're granted a limited license to try Pro~Scribe out for a
- limited trial period. If, after this trial period, you want to
- continue using Pro~Scribe, you must register as described below.
- - Running PS 15-20 different times should allow you to decide if
- PS will be useful. Therefore the trial period is set at 20 PS
- sessions. PS will pause when you run it beyond this period.
-
- Bulletin board SYSOPS, computer clubs, and shareware distributors
- may copy/distribute the user-supported version of PS, provided:
- (a) Your adds/literature/company name DON'T have the letters "free."
- "Free," "freeware," etc. misrepresent "user-supported software."
- (1) It's distributed UNmodified (All files & Copyright notices intact)
- (2) You include all files mentioned in ReadME.Bat including:
- PS.Exe, PSHelp.Scr, Wasted.Wrd, PSManual.Doc, Whats.New, etc.
- (3) You charge nothing for the software manuals, etc. You may
- charge up to $10.00 to cover distribution and handling.
- (4) You clearly state your fee is NOT payment or registration for
- the software.
- (5) You clearly encourage contributions/registration by stating that
- continued use justifies sending contributions to the developer.
- (6) The copy you have does not state distribution is prohibited.
-
-
- EACH COPY USED IN A CORPORATION, BUSINESS OR TRADE MUST BE REGISTERED
-
- This means, if you're using PS for any business purpose or in the
- context of conducting business, you must register to use Pro~Scribe.
-
- TO REGISTER . . .
-
- A registration form's at the end of this manual.
-
-
- Two Questions About Registering . . . iii
-
- IF I GOT A COPY FOR NOTHING, WHY SHOULD I PAY A REGISTRATION FEE?
- or,
- I GOT Pro~Scribe FROM A COMPANY THAT "SELLS" SHAREWARE PROGRAMS.
- I PAID THEM FOR Pro~Scribe. WHY SHOULD I REGISTER WITH YOU?
-
- These are good questions. Here's a response. (Our response
- applies to user-supported software in general, not just PS.)
-
- PS is distributed as "user-supported" software. You can "try it
- out" to see if it suits your needs BEFORE paying for it. And
- "user-supported" software is often a terrific value - you pay
- only for the software, not the overhead of advertising,
- handling, etc. Finally, your contribution makes it possible for
- us to continue developing ideas, and offering the results to you
- at reasonable prices.
-
- These efforts are made possible because people like you (1) are
- honest; and, (2) understand that developers simply can't go on
- if they get no support. In short, if you fail to even acknowledge
- contributions other people make (say "Thanks"), or support their
- efforts (even modestly), the spigot will be turned off. The only
- one to lose will be you (and the "shareware distributors"). Since
- you made no contribution anyway, the developer loses nothing.
-
- In response to the second question, many firms now "sell"
- user-supported software (or shareware). They charge you a fee
- for their time, and for the cost of sending you a disk. NONE of
- the fee you give them goes to the person who developed the
- software. So when you pay $2.00 - $5.00 for a disk full of
- software, you are NOT supporting the person who's time was spent
- conceiving of and developing ideas you're now finding useful.
-
- DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITED WARRANTY
- This product is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind.
- The entire risk as to the results and performance of this product
- is assumed by you. We warrant only that any disk(s) we send you
- is free from physical defects and workmanship under normal use
- and service for a period of 90 days from the date shipped.
-
- Our entire liability and your exclusive remedy as to the disk
- shall be, at our option, to either (1) return the purchase price
- or (2) replace disks which don't meet our limited warranty.
-
- Neither Pro~Formance nor RWS & Associates, nor any of their
- officers or employees shall be held responsible for: failures
- of this program to satisfy any needs, damages due to using MM,
- or any effects the use of this program has on you, your business
- or operations.
-
- PS, its manual and its support files may be modified or changed
- from time to time. PS may contain operational inaccuracies or
- typographical errors which may be corrected by future versions
- if any. Registered owners may be notified of available updates.
- We reserve the option to modify PS and registration fees. Send
- correspondence to:
-
- RWS & Associates 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117
-
- Programs by Pro~Formance iv
-
- Here's a brief summary of some of our programs. For details, write:
- Pro~Formance 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117
-
- ..................................................................
- Professional Scribe (Pro~Scribe) PS Express (PSE)
- ..................................................................
- Pro~Scribe and PSE help you improve anything you write (or help
- you improve the writing of others -- your staff, students, etc.)
- (You know about these already.)
-
- ..................................................................
- Mail Call (also see P~F Form below) MC Express (MCE)
- ..................................................................
- Mail Call (MC) is a full featured mailing assistant. Add names
- to a database, then Browse through them, Search, Print, etc. Print:
- * Envelopes (several sizes)
- * Mailing Labels (several sizes plus a "roll-your-own-size" option)
- 1 to 99 copies of each label, 1 to 3 columns across
- * Personalized Documents (like "mail merge form letters")
- * Reports, Phone books, Appointment schedules, etc.
- * Labels with Any text
-
- Mail Call offers UNlimited capacity -- use as many database files
- as you want. And its "Mail Merge" option lets you Import or Export
- names to files used by word processors or other database programs.
-
- MC Express is a "RAM-resident" program that lets you: 1) print
- envelopes while INSIDE your word processor; and, 2) lets you
- "write out" names and addresses to a file you can later "import"
- into MC (no re-typing). (MCE is optional and works with HP
- LaserJets, Original through Series II.)
-
- ..................................................................
- P~F Form (see Mail Call) Form Design (PFD) // Form Master (PFM)
- ..................................................................
- Form Design and Form Master are a complete form system: form
- design, math, print, database and "auto-edit" features all built in.
-
- Design, edit and print forms with P~F Form Design. (samples included)
- * Draw lines or boxes, in several styles
- * Math options (+-/*) add "spreadsheet" convenience and accuracy
- * Fill areas with shading
- * Enter text, auto-centered inside boxes if you like
- * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shading
- * Vary fonts, type styles, line spacing
-
- Then use either PFD or PFM to fill them out and print them.
- * PFM pulls names, addresses, etc. from your database, putting
- them right where you want them.
- * Auto-Edit lets you quickly skip through a form, editing
- just fields you "tagged." For example: On order forms--
- Quantity, Description, Price per Unit, Tax, Total.
- * Press a key to do all the calculations for you!!
- continued . . . .
-
- P~F Form (continued) v
- Produce high-quality, professional looking forms in minutes with
- an HP LaserJet (+/500/Series II or later). And you DON'T need
- expensive LaserJet font cartridges or soft fonts for lines, boxes,
- shading, etc. We use the LaserJet's built-in features for these.
- "But, I don't have a LaserJet," you say. Not to worry. PFD/PFM
- have two other printer options so they work with any printer.
-
- Finally, PFD/PFM will work with the same database files as Mail
- Call--letting you can manage most every piece of paper in your office.
- Forms: Invoices, Purchase Orders, Personnel Forms, Work
- Orders, Work Schedules, Travel or Expense Reports,
- Accounting Forms, Application Blanks, etc.
- As Well As: Letters, Memos, Envelopes, Mailing Labels, Person-
- alized Documents, Reports, Client or Employee lists.
-
- ..................................................................
- P~F Presents
- ..................................................................
- P~F Presents is a DESKTOP PRESENTATION system with 2 programs:
- P-Screen and PFP.
-
- With P-Screen you: (The next page has more on P-Screen)
- ..................
- * Design screens (or "slides").
- * Save screens in libraries (or print them or save as Ascii files)
-
- With PFP you:
- .............
- * Create presentation agendas ("slide shows") which can include:
- - Menus which "branch" to various parts of your presentation,
- depending on the option your viewer selects. For example:
- -- Which product do you want information on?
- -- Which topic (in a tutorial) do you want to review?
- - Timed slides (PFP pauses, then automatically shows the next)
- - Special effects: animation, sound, loops, exploding windows
- * Display your presentations, or let others do it by themselves.
- A "use monochrome" option lets you display presentations on
- virtually any monitor.
-
- Possibilities:
- ..............
- * Sales presentations * Management/Staff briefings
- * Training programs * Tutorials or Demos
- * Meetings * Highlight product information
- * Highlight investment opportunities * Advertise on disk
- * Customer information * Tourist guides
- * Restaurant guides * Directories (Names, phone #s)
- And on and on and . . .
-
- ..................................................................
- Pro~Formance Screen Design (P-Screen)
- ..................................................................
- P-Screen is a screen: "design," "library/database" and "display"
- system all in one. Use it to design screens for programs you write,
- or for program demos, prototyping, word processing, batch files, etc.
-
- Design
- * Draw/Join lines or boxes, in several styles
- * Fill areas with shading, or Paint entire screens or selected areas
- * Enter text, auto-centered inside lines or boxes if you like
- * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shade, Paint, UnDo
-
- Save/Load/Libraries
- * Save screens to or Load screens from Ascii files or Libraries.
- Since you can load Ascii files, you can use most any "screen
- capture" program to save EXISTING screens to disk. Then, load
- them into P-Screen, add color, then save them to a library.
- * Libraries give you the convenience of 1 file to store up to 50
- screens -- in color, complete with names and descriptions.
-
- Using Libraries in Your Programs, Demos, etc.
- * We supply three routines to display your screens. Call one to
- read screens from libraries, another to display your screens.
- (These routines work with QuickBASIC 4.0 +.)
- * It's easy to write programs to access screen libraries.
- - You can load and display 1 screen at a time.
- - Or load 2 or more screens into arrays, then pop them up instantly.
-
-
- ..................................................................
- The Survey Catalyst (TSC; a commercial program, not Shareware)
- ..................................................................
- The Survey Catalyst is for anyone who works with attitude or opinion
- surveys. It helps you create surveys in minutes or hours--not days!
-
- * TSC includes a database of thousands of survey items--like
- items used in most Fortune 1000 companies' employee surveys.
- - You can review items, edit them or add new ones.
- - OR, when you see an item you want to add to a survey, just
- press a key and add it--fast and simple.
- * TSC also comes with dozens of response scales. When you print
- surveys, TSC prints the right response scale--automatically.
- * And speaking of printing, TSC's many options let you create
- "camera-ready" copy--as you want it, fast!
- - Group items by Category, by Response Scale, or Randomize them.
- - Print response scales Above or Beside items (or not at all).
- - Print key punch instructions (optional)
- - Print a title--at the top or bottom of each page.
- - Or, print your survey "to a file"--to dress it up later.
-
-
- ----------------+------[ To Order : : : :]-----+-----------------
-
- ____ Copies of P~F Presents (P-Screen\+ AND PFP\+) ... $_________
- ** $49 per copy ($75 without the Pro~Formance copyright
- introducing each presentation. Call about custom options.)
-
- ____ Copies of P-Screen: Programmer's Edition ........ $_________
- ** $25 per copy
-
- ____ Copies of Mail Call + (MC\plus) ................ $_________
- ** $45 per copy WITH MC Express MCE works with
- HP LaserJets, original through Series II.
- ** $40 per copy WITHOUT MC Express (MCE)
-
- ____ Copies of P~F Form (Both PFD\+ and PFM\+) ....... $_________
- ** $45 per copy (Note the "packages" below)
-
- ____ Copies of Professional Scribe Writing Assistant . $_________
- ** $35 per copy (for BOTH Pro~Scribe & PS Express)
-
- ____ Copies of BOTH P~F Form and Mail Call\+ (17% off) $_________
- ** $75 for PFD, PFM AND Mail Call and MC Express ($4/shipping)
-
- ____ Shoot the works. Send 1 of each .......(25% off) $_________
- ** $149 for the works (+ $10 shipping)
-
- ____ Send information on The Survey Catalyst
-
- Add $2/copy shipping/handling (Non-U.S.: $8) $_________
-
- California residents, please add 6.5% tax $_________
-
- Total enclosed........ $_________
-
- (NON-U.S. orders: International Money Orders please. U.S. Funds)
- (We reserve the option to adjust registration fees.)
- -----------------+-------[ Mail to ]-------+----------------------
-
- Name: _____________________________ Today's Date: ___________
-
- Company: __________________________ Phone: ( ) _____-______
-
- Address: ________________________________________________________
-
- City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________
-
- -----------------+-------------------------+----------------------
- Send this to:
- Pro~Formance
- 132 Alpine Terrace Please make your check payable to:
- San Francisco, CA. 94117 R. W. Smetana
- (415) 863-0530 (10-5 Pacific time)
- -------------------+-------------------------+--------------------
- Which version of Pro~Scribe do you now have? __________________
- Where did you get your current copy of? __________________
- My Computer's a:_________________ My Printer's a:________________
- My Monitor is: (circle one) Mono / Color
-
- We'd appreciate your comments & suggestions (use the other side).