Software Vault: The Diamond Collection

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Text File | 1995-03-04 | 33KB | 695 lines

IBID List Maker 3.2 Database for Windows c1995 by Peter Neuendorffer "Define words and the software gives you more" Introduction Main Window (White) display window Define Window (Blue) make definitions Auto Window (Light Blue) link definitions Small Windows floating workspaces File Menu miscellaneous Pictures photo backdrops * Find * Subjects * Pages full page data * Chart: View your Database graphically * Printing Edit Menu Toolbar Stars in this manual's lefthand column mark new features. This is a Windows 3.0, or 3.1 program. In IBID, you define words and type in short notes or thoughts on any subject. As you enter the definitions, the software has a Window where you are asked to define other words, ones the software gets from your own words. This goes on like a game of cards, until your list gets quite large. New features include clickable definitions, printing, multiple lists, special small "floating windows," photo backdrops. Soon, you have a closely knit database of facts, thoughts, or ideas. I borrow the phrase "smart linking" for this. * For every word, besides the short (200 character) definition you can store a full page (2000 characters) of text. * A Chart option lets you move around a graphical display of your database. This version contains a fix to the printing, and several new aspects to the Chart option. ------------------------------------------------------------- To Install Copy all files in this package to an empty subdirectory on your hard disk. RUN FILE/NEW FROM THE WINDOWS PROGRAM MANAGER, AND SPECIFY IBID.EXE AND IT'S DIRECTORY. You find it with "Browse." To upgrade from previous versions (1.0 or 2.0) simply copy the files in this package to your previous IBID hard drive directory. Previous bugs are fixed for Delete and minimizing the program. THE FILE VBRUN300.DLL MUST BE IN THE WINDOWS SYSTEM DIRECTORY -IN YOUR PATH. It is available on most Bulletin boards. Screen resolutions of of 640 X 480 and 800 X 600 are supported. To Register send $20.00 to Peter Neuendorffer 1399 Commonwealth Ave Suite 11 Allston MA 02134 tel 617-254-2213 Internet petern@channel1.com A disk of Peter's Shareware will be sent. Consultant: Gary Chase and Micheal Moreau 2. With IBID, you create your own lists, smart dictionaries. Now, why would anyone want to create a dictionary when they already have one? Well many people have special words, scientific or otherwise not found in a standard dictionary. Also, the "Definitions" can actually be notes on subjects, such as "anniversaries Mom's wedding anniversary is July 1." You can have up to 4000 definitions in each of 5 lists. The Main Window is for displaying definitions. The Define Window is for entering and maintaining definitions. The Auto Window is for defining those words the software asks you. Starting on page 2. is a general description of each of the three windows followed by descriptions of supporting features. The Window/Small menu choice provides two "floating" programs suitable for multi-tasking. The MAIN WINDOW -Displaying your definitions. Displaying words in the scrollable combo boxes: Once you have made some entries in the Define Window, you can bring them up from the main window. Scroll through the current list of words with the right hand Combo box (List.) Click to select a word, or type in a word you wish to look up. To look up the word, click on Display. Once a definition is displayed, if you click the Also See button, another Combo box appears. This is a list of related words mentioned in the definition that the software also "knows". You can select a word, and click on Display to see one of those words defined as well. Find text in the definitions using the menu choice Find. You can double click on any of the words in the combo boxes, to display that word. List= all the words in the list. Also See= related words taken from the currently displayed definition. Depth is like Also See, only the words are one level deep again, and are less related to the currently displayed definition. When you use the Display button, the word that will be displayed is at the top of the combo box (only one box is visible at a time.) You can type in a word to display if you wish. Since you haven't entered in any definitions, this main window will be curiously empty at first. (See Define Window section below.) * You can quickly see all the definitions that are offshoots of the current definition, by selecting the Text button (next to Also See). Double Clicking on the Definitions display: Words in definitions are sometimes automatically capitalized in in the main window displays. When presented with such a definition in the main window, you can double click on the capital word itself, and that word will be displayed with it's definition. Don't capitalize whole words in your definitions. as * the software takes care of this. If a word in a definition is not known (not capitalized), you can also double click on this word, only then you will be asked if you want to define it now. Thus if there is a term in one of your definitions you want to clarify, you can easily set up a definition for that word on the spot. 3. When you copy and paste, you do so to and from the Windows clipboard. Definitions are formatted to have short lines. If an item on the clipboard has a ":" colon in the first 15 characters, the word before it will be pasted as the item, and the text after as the definition. Words being defined can be up to 15 characters long, and definitions up to 200. Clicking the Back button will return you to the last definition displayed. Clicking Parent To Word will find a word whose definition contains the currently displayed word. You may copy the current definition to the Windows clipboard with Copy. DOUBLE CLICKING CAPITAL WORDS in the displayed definition box: When words appear capitalized in the displayed definition, they can be double clicked. Double click on a capital word, and that word itself is displayed with it's definition. The capitalizing of the words is done automatically by the software, so you do not have to capitalize words when entering in definitions. DOUBLE CLICKING LOWERCASE WORDS in the displayed definition gives you a way to define these words immediately. * When a definition is displayed, it may have a full page of text attached as well. If it does, the PAGE button will be visible next to the display window. Click on this to see the PAGE (see PAGE later in this manual.) Note this page is edited in the DEFINE and AUTO window, and can only be read or copied from the main display window. * You can filter your list by subject (the LIST main list) by choosing a subject from the SUBJECT list box at the top right of the main screen. To get back the entire list, choose the subject [All] or click on "To ALL" button above the main LIST box. See "SUBJECT" further in this manual for more on subjects in IBID. To bring up the other two Windows (TO ENTER DEFINITIONS), click on Window, then Define or Auto from the top menu bar. The DEFINE WINDOW -making definitions. click Window/DEFINE Enter in new definitions here. Type the word to define in the first text box. Tab to the second text box, and type the definition. When you are ready, select OK to enter the definition. As you enter in definitions, the software is automatically building a list of questions in the third Auto Window. Remember any time you wish to enter in a definition with "OK", both white text boxes in the define window must have text in them, and you must click on OK. * You can add page data as well (up to 2000 characters, or about one full screen of text per definition.) Click on Page and enter in the text, or Paste text from the Windows clipboard. If you are pasting text into the PAGE, you may want to call up the Window/Small Define from the main menu. This is the same blue Define Window, except that the rest of the IBID screen is hidden, thus making it much easier for you to look for text in your computers main system in enter it into IBID. 4. Make sure you use single words, or hyphenated words as the word to define. This will enable the smart linking option to work at its best. A hyphenated word is a word with a hyphen immediately between two letters of the alphabet. You can use numbers imbedded in your words to define. Decimal points are not recommended. * If your definition was a recipe, you could copy a recipe from text elsewhere on the system, enter LAMBCHOP in the Define window, enter in a short definition, click PAGE, and PASTE (Edit/Paste) the text into the page. Then click on Exit, and OK. Don't forget to click OK on the way out. A definition is never entered until you click that OK button! * Assign a subject to your definition by choosing a previous subject (do this also before you finalize the definition with OK) or type in a new subject. You can change the subject later. Assigning a subject is not mandatory. Editing previous definitions: If the word is already defined, you will be notified. To find a previous definition- maybe to change it, type the word to look up in the first text box, and then select Search. Once the definition is found, you can change it, or type in a new word that will also have this definition, and select OK. To delete the definition, select Delete. Paste allows you to paste a sentence from the Windows clipboard into the Definition box (lower text box) if you wish. When you enter definitions, remember that alphabetic (a through z or A through Z)letters and numerals 0-9 are counted only when creating the auto lists, and during double clicking. However you are free to use other characters in your definitions. The exception is the hyphen which is described at the end of the Define Window section above. IBID goes to a great deal of trouble to recognize that singular and "s" plural words are the same. It is a good idea to only use hyphens when you mean a hyphenated word, and put the hyphen directly between two alphabet characters, as in "pre-show." To bring up a previous definition from the database, type in the word in the small white box, then click on Search. Or you can use "List" in the Define Window to see the current list. * If you wish to edit the word that is currently on display in the main window, click on Current Item. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Using a phrase as the word to define: Smart linking is not supported. Obscure side note: When having more than one word in the "word" you wish to define, you can hyphenate two words together to ensure they will be treated as one word in IBID's smart linking. This is not necessary though -you can have multiple words without hyphens in the small item at once. But, these words may not be picked up individually by the "Also See" and "Depth" linkers, and will NOT be picked up the linkers as a phrase. The definitions can be displayed however. 5. The AUTO WINDOW -defining words that match up. Click Window/Auto What is it? First, an illustration: Imagine you go to the Land of Gnomes, where everyone speaks English, but doesn't know any of the same words. You say "A dog is an animal" The gnome says "What is an animal" You say an animal is alive. The gnome says "What is alive" and so on. This might seem awfully frustrating, but eventually a lot of things would be defined. When you enter in Definitions in the Define Window (or this Auto window for that matter), the software creates a list. When you select the Auto Window, you are asked to define these words. You don't have to do them all at once. If you don't ever wish to define a supplied word (like "a") then click Skip Always. You won't be asked again to define it. But if you select Skip, you will be asked after the next time the word comes up in the course of your entries. At first, you will be repeatedly selecting Skip Always to get rid of many common words, but as the software is trained the situation improves. You may clear the entire queue of words waiting (without affecting your definitions) by clicking on Clear Queue. Also, the program will let you know if a word's plural or singular form is already defined. The light blue Auto Window, like the blue Define Window, allows you to add PAGE data and assign a subject to the definition. Small windows: (choose Window from the main menu: You can reduce the program to a small stand alone Window. Choose Window on the main menu bar. You get a choice of Show: A small gray window that simply displays definitions with a Copy button. Define Alone: A small blue window that is just like the Define Window, except that the rest of the program is invisible. Choose exit to exit these windows. To go back to the main program, answer "No" to the question "Quit IBID?" To exit the program entirely, answer "Yes" to this question. Note that the IBID program is not minimized when these small windows are active, just hidden. To minimize the program with an icon, choose the Control Box at the top left of the main (white) window. FILE MENU (Picture, Printing are described further in this manual) From the menu bar, you may select File. From there you can set your own title for the software (List Title). You can Remove the entire List (this obviously should be used with care). About brings up the opening screen telling you how to pay (AHEM!!!) for this software. $20.00 to Peter Neuendorffer, 1399 Commonwealth Ave., Suite 11, Allston MA 02134. 6. File/Open Each time you load the software, the first list is brought up. You can have up to five separate lists (each with up to 4000 definitions.) Select File/Open, and Select a list. Open slots are originally named "The List 1", "The List 2" etc. Right after you open a new list, you should give it a name with Title, although you don't have to. Each list is totally separate, including skip word lists. The only thing they share is the print setup, and photograph information. * File/Delete Subject: You may delete a subject title at any time, without deleting any of the definitions assigned to that subject. * File/Page: You may see a list of all definitions that have PAGE's attached (see PAGE DATA below.) * Advanced Data Import: If you want to get information into IBID, there is ample use of the Windows Clipboard, with COPY/PASTE commands when you are creating definitions and pages. However, a bulk data import is available, probably only of interest to database managers. A file of records in the form word : string of 15 characters definition : string of 200 characters padded with spaces on the right of each field, with null terminated strings allowed, may be imported. It should be named IMPORT.DAT and placed in the IBID directory. You can opt not to overwrite any words that are already defined in IBID. PICTURE: You can choose a photo backdrop for this program. Outside the program, use a file manager such as the Windows file manager to copy one or more full screen .BMP picture or photograph files to the IBID disk directory. You cannot just rename a .gif file, -the .BMP format must be valid. This is the format that is used in Windows wallpaper files. Run IBID, and choose File/Picture from the main menu. Choose a picture from the pop-up menu, and click OK. If you choose Full Picture, the program will disappear and the photo or picture will display full screen. If you choose "none," there will be no picture. From the File menu choice, click on Stretch Picture to stretch the picture. Most of the time you can leave this off. All of your current picture settings will remain for the next time you run the program. * A "back door" is to display your full page picture alone by double clicking on the word "subject" at the top right of the main screen. 7. FIND: You can find any text in the database by choosing Find from the main menu. (or click on the Yellow Telescope Toolbar icon.) This applies to the current list. In the pop up (light green) window, type the word or text you wish to find, and click on Find. To find more occurrences, click on Next. The found text will be highlighted in dark blue. This is a regular display, so you can use any feature from there on, including double clicking on a capital word in the definition. When an item displays in green, the text has been found in the item itself. * You can search for two things at once by clicking on the option AND SEARCH or OR SEARCH. With AND SEARCH, both things must be present, with OR SEARCH, one or the other must be present. Note with AND SEARCH, both items must be in either the definition or the page. Not between the two. WHOLE WORDS allows you to search for a word or phrase that is an exact match. Thus if you chose whole words, and asked to find MA, MA would be found, but not maternal. * Query: from the main menu Window/Query Bring up the Query Window from the main screen main menu (Window/Query) Type in a phrase and OK. This phrase will be moved do the main definition display window. Any words in your request that are in the current list (known to the database) will be capitalize, and you can bring up their definitions by double clicking on them. Non-capitalized words may be double clicked to define them. You can also Paste text from the Windows Clipboard into the Query Window, and choose OK for the same effect. Thus, you can find words in the database even if you are not sure exactly what words you are looking for. * SUBJECTS You can optionally assign any of your defined words to a subject. You can have up to 200 subjects at once in a list. You do not have to assign a word to a subject, and you can change the subject at any time by calling up the word in the Define window (with the Define Window List, Current Item, or Search options.) Assigning a Subject: In the Define Window, or the Auto Window, to assign a defined word to a subject, from the subject drop down combo box ("subject") type in a new subject, or choose a previous subject from the list. Do this before you press OK for the definition. The list always resets to "[All]" with each new definition - meaning there is no particular subject. When a previous definition is brought up, the current subject for that definition is displayed. If you wish to indicate a word has no particular subject, always choose the predefined "[All]" first item in the subject combo box. 8. Displaying your List by Subject: In the main window, when you choose a subject from the "subject" list at the top right, the "List" list of items is screened to include only those items. However, as you move from item to item, any item in your list can be displayed. The subject OF THE CURRENTLY DISPLAYED ITEM is shown at the gray bar above the define display window. You can quickly remove the filter on the main List (the list box on the bottom right of the main screen) by clicking on "TO ALL" at the bottom right of the main window. This is the same as selecting the first "[All]" item in the "subject" list box. This will display your entire list now. Anytime your list seems unusually short, click on "TO ALL" as you may have forgotten that you have an active subject filter. * PAGE DATA What are "Pages" in IBID? Every defined word in IBID has the word and it's definition. In addition a full page (up to 2000 characters) may be attached. Thus you can include a letter, recipe, note, email, outline, and any manner of data in your definition. The PAGE appears in two types of places. In the main display, if the PAGE button appears at the middle left. This is read only. The other place Define or Auto Windows, where the PAGE data is read/write and may be changed. You can copy and paste into and out of these pages. Paste, Cut, and Copy to Definition only apply to accessing the pages in the Define and Auto Window, as these involve changing the data. * Entering Page Data Call up the Define or Auto Window. Select a word to define, and click on PAGE. If you are calling a previous definition that already has a page, the page will be displayed. Otherwise the page is blank. You can Paste text from the Windows clipboard into this page (Edit/Paste). Or you may type in data. Sometimes you may wish part of the page to stand for the main definition (the text in the previous Blue or Light Blue window.) To do this, select the text from the page, and click on Edit/Copy to Definition. Choose Exit, make sure at least one letter is entered into the definition box (bottom of the Define or Auto Window) then click OK to enter the definition. If you want to delete page data from a definition without deleting the definition itself, call up the definition, click on PAGE, then EDIT/SELECT ALL, then EDIT/CUT. Then Exit and OK. You have deleted the page, but not the definition. 9. * Reading Page Data When you display a definition in the Main Window, if the definition has page data, the button PAGE will appear at the left of the definition display. Click on this to view the page. You can select and copy text to the Windows clipboard. From the Main File Menu (at the top left of the Main Window), choose Page Data to see a list of all words in your list, regardless of subject, that have pages attached. Double click on any item to display it. * Double Clicking on Pages To enable double clicking when an attached Page is displayed, click on "Show Keywords." Once this item is checked (it will be Green), words will show as capitalized in the text. As with the Main Display window, you can now double click on these words to display them. To define a new word that is in the text, double click on that word. Remember, in the PAGE DATA window, you have to manually turn on "Show Keywords" to make these options active. Double clicking in the smaller Definition Display Window in the main screen does not need any special switch. * CHART: VIEW YOUR DATABASE GRAPHICALLY. Because of the way IBID is set up, you have ample opportunity to link up one definition to another. In the Auto Window you enter in definitions of words garnered from other previous definitions. You can double click on lowercase words in a displayed definition to display these words as well. The Chart option takes advantage of this structure. You move quickly through your list with the Chart Option. When a definition is displayed, click on CHART (at the top right hand corner of the definition box in the Main Window.) The TARGET word starts out as the displayed word. Parent and Child words appear above and below. A parent word is any word whose definition contains the target word. A child word is a known word that is part of the target word's own definition. For example: If the target word is FRIEND, two parent words and two child words might appear in the CHART screen. PARENTS: Tom "tom is my friend" Bob "a good friend of mine" TARGET: Friend "a friend is someone who loving and caring" CHILD WORDS: Loving Caring 10. You move around the database by moving any Parent or Child word to make it the new target word. Do this by putting the mouse arrow over any parent or child word, holding down the right mouse button and "dragging" the picture of the airplane in the general area of the Target Word. Then release the mouse button, and the target word will change to blue briefly, then the new target word will display, with the new Parent and Child words. This explanation may seem complicated, but if experiment with "dragging" Parent or Child words into the target area, you should get the point. At any time you can go "back", or display the current target word in the Main Window. Words that appear with a star (*) next to them indicate words that have PAGE DATA with them. This option only works when you have interrelated definitions. The actual definitions do not display on the CHART screen, although they are directly used in determining what the Parent and Child words are. As elsewhere, singular and plural words are matched up. PRINTING: * Choose Print Setup from the File menu off the main menu. By default, each time you run the program, all three of "word" "definition" and "page" are checked off. Thus every time an item is printed, all three parts of the item (if present) will be printed. To only print the words and definitions, but not the pages, select "word", "definition", but make sure "page" is not selected. * You can have a custom heading for your report. To have no headings at all, choose "custom heading" but leave the text blank. You may choose the number of lines to print on a page with Print Setup. The font size will not change however. You may choose to print the following groups of definitions: (File/Print) current item: the definition currently displayed in the main window also see: all items currently in the Also See List Box. depth: all items currently in the Depth List Box entire list: All items in the current list selected items: Click on those items in the pop up list box you wish to print and click on OK. * If you choose selected items, you can use a list of the current subject filtered words (click on "current subject") The Print/List feature applies to the list as filtered by the current subject, so if you want to print the entire list, click on TO ALL in the Main Window before selecting Print/List. 11. * You may also opt to load a queue to be printed all at once of the definitions that you display. When a definition is displayed you wish to add to your print report, select File/Print Queue from the main menu, and Click ADD. To clear the list, click CLEAR. When you are ready to print your selections, bring up File/Print Queue and select Send To Printer. EDIT: Click on Edit in the Main menu. "Previous shows" the last displayed definition (same as left arrow on the Toolbar.) "Current Item" allows you to change to the definition of the current item. "Copy" will copy both the word and it's definition to the Windows clipboard. "Parent to Word" will find one word whose definition contains the current display word. The TOOL BAR (the small pictures from left to right below the main menu) The Icon What it Does Like the menu Sunset: Brings up the Picture menu (File/Picture) Ink Bottle: Print selected items. (File/Print/Selected) Grey Box: Reduces to the "Show Window" (Small/Show) Blue with lines: Brings up the Define Window (Define) Balloons: Brings up the Auto Window (Auto) Yellow Telescope: Brings up the Find utility Left Arrow: display previously displayed definition.