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Tutorial: Introduction
Lessons: ^A ^B ^C ^D ^E ^F ^G ^H ^I ^J ^K ^L ^M
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CTutorial: IntroductionE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The InContext ChelpB system is designed in modules which correspond, for
the most part, to the main functions and subfunctions of the program.
This makes it possible to provide Ccontext-sensitiveB help, but it also
means that the help system doesn't have a natural, front-to-back reading
sequence, like a book. The purpose of this tutorial is to help you read
through the help text in an order appropriate for the new user. The
tutorial will also suggest exercises you should try at various points
in your learning process, in order to make the ideas concrete.
It is suggested that you do all the lessons in their alphabetic order,
starting with lesson A, then lesson B, etc. You'll find each lesson
fairly short, and you can stop any time and come back to the tutorial
later.
To make use of the tutorial, you will move around using "Cnavigation
ZmnB CbuttonsB". These are just pieces of text that look CJ like this CB.
Whenever you encounter one, you have the opportunity to easily go and read
the information it refers to. To do so, just place the cursor on the text
(using either the mouse or the arrow keys), and press either the CENTERB key
or the Cleft mouse buttonB. You'll find yourself looking at the selected
information. After you've read it, press the CESCAPEB (Esc) key or the
Cright mouse buttonB to return here.
To access the lessons in the tutorial, you can simply select them from the
Table of Contents below, using the technique just described. There are
other ways to move around as well, and you'll learn about those as you go.
CTable of Contents
ZmtaB CJ Lesson A -- Learning the Basics CB.
ZmtbB CJ Lesson B -- Moving Around In Space CB.
ZmtcB CJ Lesson C -- Additional Ways to Move Around CB.
ZmtdB CJ Lesson D -- Objects CB.
ZmteB CJ Lesson E -- Classes and Views CB.
ZmtfB CJ Lesson F -- Defining Your Own Views CB.
ZmtgB CJ Lesson G -- Actions CB.
ZmthB CJ Lesson H -- Creating Objects and Directories CB.
ZmtiB CJ Lesson I -- Tasks, Time, Plans, and Work-in-Progress CB.
ZmtjB CJ Lesson J -- Configuration Options CB.
ZmtkB CJ Lesson K -- Defining Your Own Actions CB.
ZmtlB CJ Lesson L -- Creating New Object Classes CB.
ZmtmB CJ Lesson M -- Reviewing Usage Examples CB.
mta
Tutorial Lesson A: Learning the Basics
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson A -- Learning the BasicsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
In this lesson, you will learn some of the basics of InContext. The
intent here is to provide general familiarity, rather than detailed
understanding.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmpB 1. A discussion of the CJ philosophy of InContext CB.
ZmdB 2. A brief presentation on the CJ display layout and content CB.
ZmkB 3. A discussion of the CJ use of the keyboard CB.
ZmmB 4. If you have a mouse, you should read CJ use of the mouse CB.
When you have read these sections of the help information, you should have
a basic idea of the purpose of InContext, and of how it uses the display,
keyboard, and mouse. With the next lesson, you will begin exploring the
individual functions of InContext, one at a time.
mtb
Tutorial Lesson B: Moving Around In Space
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson B -- Moving Around in SpaceE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
In this lesson, you will begin learning how to move around from directory
to directory. That may not sound like much, but there are several ways
to do it, and it's an important function. If it's easy to move around,
then there's little penalty for using the directory structure of MS-DOS
to help you organize your work environment.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcsB 1. A description of the CJ Space command CB.
ZmcsdB 2. A discussion of the CJ Display modes of the Space display CB.
After you've read this material, exit the help system and go try out
the Space Commands. Explore the directories on your disk, noticing what
is visible to you as you move from place to place, and try all the modes
of the Space display. Then return for Lesson C, which will show you how
to make some of your directories even more accessible.
mtc
Tutorial Lesson C: Additional Ways to Move Around
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson C -- Additional Ways to Move AroundE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
If you're like most users, there are a few directories in which you do
the vast majority of your work. InContext provides features that make
it particularly easy to get around among a few special directories.
This lesson covers those features, and also shows you how to move directly
up and down the directory hierarchy.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcseB 1. CJ Editing the Space Display CB, to give names to directories.
ZmcgB 2. Use of the CJ Go Command CB to move among named directories.
ZmcssB 3. CJ Use of Subdirs To Move Around CB.
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Select the Space
command and find a few directories that are particularly important to
you. Go into edit mode and give those directories names and descriptions.
Then exit the Space display and try out the Go command. You'll find that
it's now quite easy to go to the directories in which you do a lot of your
work.
If you have a mouse, you should also try moving directly up and down the
directory hierarchy using the Subdirs portion of the main display. This
works even if you don't have a mouse, but it's less likely to be useful
to you in that event.
When you've tried out these things, go on to Lesson D.
mtd
Tutorial Lesson D: Objects
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson D -- ObjectsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Once you're in the right directory, you need to see the files, or CobjectsB,
that are in the directory. This lesson teaches you how to do that, and
how to select the object you want to work on.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcowB 1. CJ What Are Objects CB, and why call them that?
ZmcoB 2. Use of the CJ Object Command CB.
ZmcoaB 3. CJ Object Attributes CB, to help you interpret information about
objects.
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Select the Object
command and try out the various modes and orders available. Notice the
information displayed about the various objects.
When you've tried out these things, go on to Lesson E.
mte
Tutorial Lesson E: Classes and Views
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson E -- Classes and ViewsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Sometimes it is convenient to deal with a smaller set of objects, rather
than with all the objects in a directory. InContext allows you to select
a single CClassB or a single CViewB in order to focus on a smaller group of
objects. This lesson explains those capabilities.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmccB 1. CJ Object Classes CB
ZmccwB 2. CJ Why use filename extensions to designate classes? CB.
ZmcvB 3. CJ Views CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system and explore the use
of the Classes and Views capabilities. If you haven't changed the View
definitions since installing InContext, you might try going to the
directory in which you have installed the MS-DOS operating system files
and select the "execable" (executable) and "system" views.
When you've tried out these things, go on to Lesson F, which will show you
how to define your own views.
mtf
Tutorial Lesson F: Defining Your Own Views
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson F -- Defining Your Own ViewsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Now that you know about Views, you'll want to define some views of your
own. This lesson will show you how.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcveB 1. CJ Editing the Views Display CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system and try defining
a few views appropriate to the way you use the computer.
When you've tried out these things, go on to Lesson G.
mtg
Tutorial Lesson G: Actions
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson G -- ActionsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
As previous lessons have suggested, you always have a list of actions that
can be performed on the selected object (or class, or view, etc.). This
lesson discusses that topic further.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcaB 1. CJ Actions CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Find a text file
of your own, if possible, and try viewing it with the "view" action. Go
to the directory in which you have installed the MS-DOS programs (perhaps
"c:\dos") and select "chkdsk.com". "Run" it, pressing "No" when asked
about parameters. Find an object you don't want, and "delete" it. If you
have a directory containing only files you don't want (perhaps a backup
directory used by your editor), go there and select a single class. Then
try the "del-all" action.
When you've tried out these or similar things, go on to Lesson I, which
explains how to create new objects and directories.
mth
Tutorial Lesson H: Creating Objects and Directories
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson H -- Creating Objects and DirectoriesE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcmcB 1. CJ Creating Objects and Directories CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Try creating (and
deleting, if appropriate) a few objects and directories. Since you're a
Beta tester and there is not a large population of pre-existing class
definitions yet, you may have restrict your object creations to the "txt"
class until you've learned how to define your own classes.
When you've tried out object and directory creation, go on to Lesson I.
mti
Tutorial Lesson I: Tasks, Time, and Plans
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson I -- Tasks, Time, Plans, and WiPE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This lesson will teach you about a very different, but quite important
aspect of InContext. The time and plans features allow you to plan your
work, see it reflected on calendars, daily schedules, and a "things to
do today" list. They also make it possible for you to connect the tasks
you've planned to particular directories, objects, and actions.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics:
ZmcttB 1. CJ What Are Tasks? CB
ZmctB 2. CJ The Time Command CB
ZmcpB 3. CJ The Plans Command CB
ZmcwB 3. CJ The Work-in-Progress Command CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Try creating a few
tasks of different types, and experiment with the various ways in which
you can view and manipulate those tasks. Create a task note, and try
accessing it both from the main display and from the Time or Plans
display. Associate a couple of tasks with different spatial contexts,
and select them for work. Experiment with the WiP display.
When you've finished, go on to Lesson J.
mtj
Tutorial Lesson J: Configuration Options
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson J -- Configuration OptionsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This lesson discusses the various options you can use to alter the
behavior of InContext.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the topics below. You
may find it easier to read about them one topic at a time, and then to
set up your InContext options as you prefer before reading about the next
topic.
ZmcmoB 1. CJ The Options Command CB
ZmcmocB 2. CJ Changing the Display Colors CB
ZmcmodB 3. CJ Disk Drive and Logging Options CB
ZmcmoeB 4. CJ Options for MS-DOS Command Execution CB
ZmcmofB 5. CJ Changing Display Formats and User Information CB
ZmcmomB 6. CJ Miscellaneous Options CB
ZmcmovB 7. CJ Changing the Video and Display Options CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Set up the options
the way you prefer them. As a test, quit InContext and re-enter. (Some
of the options only take effect at the start of the next session.) You
may have to relog your hard drive(s) once, if you've just switched to
saving the logs on disk.
When you've finished, go on to Lesson K.
mtk
Tutorial Lesson K: Defining Your Own Actions
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson K -- Defining Your Own ActionsE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
It's time for the advanced lessons, now. This lesson will show you how
to define actions yourself. It covers not only how to physically edit
the action definitions, but also the nature of the language in which
action definitions are written. Anyone who can write MS-DOS batch files
can handle this material, but real computer novices may find it a bit
challenging.
The material to be read in this lesson includes the following topics.
ZmcaeB 1. CJ Editing The Action Definitions CB
ZmcaelB 2. CJ The InContext Procedure Language CB
ZmcaemB 3. CJ Macro Action Definitions CB
ZmcdB 4. CJ The Do Command CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Try defining a
few actions of your own for object classes you use. Change the definition
of the "editText" macro so that it uses your preferred text editor, if
you have one. Most of your learning about action definitions will come
as you define real actions for real classes. The idea here is to gain
enough familiarity that you'll feel comfortable doing so when the need
arises.
Try building a Do command, perhaps to display your phone list on the
screen using a viewer or editor.
When you've finished, go on to Lesson L.
mtl
Tutorial Lesson L: Creating New Object Classes
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson L -- Creating New Object ClassesE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
You now know just about everything you need to create your own object
classes. This lesson will teach you the rest, and give you a chance to
try it.
The material to be read in this lesson includes:
ZmcmccB 1. CJ Creating New Object Classes CB
After you've read this material, exit the help system. Try making a new
class or two. A good choice might be to create a class named using your
initials, and containing the content appropriate for a letter from you,
including your name and address at the top, the date, and closing, and
identified places for the recipient, salutation, and text. You should
create the template using your word processor, and create an action list
in which the "edit" operation invokes that word processor, perhaps via
the "editText" macro.
When you've finished, go on to Lesson M.
mtm
Tutorial Lesson M: Reviewing Usage Examples
E╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
E║ CLesson M -- Reviewing Usage ExamplesE ║
E╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This lesson will point you to a number of InContext usage examples.
These examples show you how to get the most out of InContext, and are
likely to give you ideas for setting up your own work environment.
The material to be read in this lesson includes:
ZmuB 1. CJ InContext Usage Examples CB
This is the last lesson in the Tutorial system. You should, at this
point, have a very good working knowledge of InContext.