Test Writer 2.0 User's Guide Copyright 1992 by R. R. Merritt Introduction Test Writer 2.0 is a word processor/database designed especially for teachers. Tests are divided into groups of similar question types called Sections. You may have up to 98 sections per test, with up to 150 questions in each section. You may create individual tests or test databases, grouping questions for an entire class or subject together under one test name. You can then easily create customized, individual, tests as needed using Test Writer 2.0's Get capability. With Get, you can copy a series of questions or an entire section from an existing test. The "borrowed" questions can be edited or deleted without affecting the original test. Test Writer 2.0 supports five different question types: Multiple Choice Matching Identification (short essay) Essay True/False Each question type has its own custom text entry screen. Entering and editing questions is made easy thanks to Test Writer 2.0's full "wordwrap" capabilities. Proper line size is maintained automatically, regardless of whether you are entering or deleting words. This user's guide is divided into 4 sections: Getting Started Section Commands Question Commands Error Messages Getting Started explains how to install Test Writer 2.0, describes screen lay out, how Test Writer 2.0 organizes a test, and how the various keys are defined. Section Commands is an alphabetical listing of section level commands. Section level commands are those which affect one or more sections, such as adding a new section, deleting an existing section, and printing the test. Question Commands is an alphabetical listing of question level commands. These are commands which are used within a single section and will only affect questions within that section. Examples of question level commands are Add, Change, and Scramble. Error Messages is an alphabetical listing all possible error messages which you may get while using Test Writer 2.0. With each message is an explanation and possible solutions. Getting Started Getting Started Hardware Requirements Hardware Requirements To use Test Writer 2.0, you must have an IBM compatible PC or PS/2 with: A hard disk with 200 Kilobytes of disk space available -- OR -- 2 floppy disk drives 512 Kilobytes of RAM memory A monochrome monitor (no graphics card) or a CGA, EGA, or VGA color monitor DOS version 3.0 or greater A printer Hard Disk Installation Procedure Hard Disk Installation If you have a hard disk on your PC, follow this procedure to install Test Writer 2.0. If your system has 2 floppy drives but no hard disk, use the Floppy Disk Installation procedure shown on page 7. This procedure assumes that you will be installing Test Writer 2.0 on your C: drive. If you wish to install on D: or another drive, substitute D (or the other drive letter) for C in the steps below. 1. Insert the Test Writer 2.0 Installation disk in your A: drive. 2. From the root directory of your C: drive, create a new directory in which to copy Test Writer 2.0: MD \TESTWRIT 3. Copy the software into the new directory: COPY A:\*.* C:\TESTWRIT Three files should be copied onto your hard disk. 4. If your printer is attached to a parallel or serial port other than LPT1, you must edit the TESTWRIT.BAT file to change PRN: to the proper output printer port. Failure to do this will prevent you from printing your tests. See the EDLIN command in your DOS manual for more information on editing batch files. (Note: If serial ports and EDLIN don't mean anything to you, the odds are you don't need to change anything.) 5. The DOS directory must be in your PATH for Test Writer 2.0 to function properly. You can check this by typing: PATH You should see the DOS directory in the PATH= line generated by the PATH command. If DOS in not listed or you get the message "NO PATH," you MUST issue the following command before executing Test Writer 2.0 (If DOS is in your PATH, proceed to step 6): PATH=C:\;C:\DOS; (assuming DOS is on your C: drive) It will be necessary for you to type this command each time you re- boot your computer. To make this unnecessary, I highly recommend placing a PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. See your DOS manual for more information on AUTOEXEC.BAT, PATH, and EDLIN (EDLIN is used to edit/create an AUTOEXEC.BAT). 6. Installation is now complete. To use Test Writer 2.0, type: C: CD\TESTWRIT TESTWRIT This will display the first panel. If you see any messages on your screen while Test Writer 2.0 is loading, such as "Invalid option - /D," just ignore them. This is normal. Always remember to start Test Writer 2.0 from the TESTWRIT directory. Failure to do this will prevent the help function from working properly. Floppy Disk Installation Procedure Floppy Disk Installation Test Writer 2.0 needs access to the DOS PRINT and MODE commands in order to function properly. To eliminate the need to swap disks in your A: drive, this procedure will walk you through making a bootable disk to store the Test Writer 2.0 software on. You will need an unused disk before beginning this process. NOTE: All information on the disk will be erased. 1. Make sure your DOS disk is in your A: drive. Insert the new disk in your B: drive. 2. Format the disk: FORMAT B: /S 3. Copy the system onto the disk: COPY A:\COMMAND.COM B: COPY A:\PRINT.* B: COPY A:\MODE.* B: The disk in your B: drive is now a bootable disk, i.e. one that you may place in the A: drive when you turn on the computer. 4. Remove the DOS disk from your A: drive and put the Test Writer 2.0 Installation disk in the A: drive. Now copy the software onto the floppy in the B: drive: COPY A:\*.* B: 5. Label your new disk "Test Writer 2.0 Program disk." 6. The installation is now complete. To run Test Writer 2.0, put the newly created program disk in your A: drive and if you intend to save any data, a data disk in the B: drive. To run Test Writer 2.0 type: A: TESTWRIT Note: Even though is may be room left on your Test Writer 2.0 program disk, do not use this disk to store data. The program requires work space on the program disk in order to work properly. Also, do not write protect the program disk. General Information General Information Organization The number of tests you may create using Test Writer 2.0 is limited only by the amount of disk space you have available. Each test is broken up into sections, with each section containing one or more questions of the same type. This organization is shown in the following figure. Test Writer data structure You may have up to 98 sections per test and up to 150 questions per section. This large capacity is very useful if you choose to create a large master test or database from which to pick questions as you create new tests. It is important to keep this test organization information in mind when you are creating tests and adding questions. To add questions, you must first add a new section by selecting add at the section level and then by selecting add at the question level. To add questions to an existing section, you must select change at the section level and then add at the question level. This means the command path needed to add new questions is different depending on whether this is a new or existing section. Screen Layout Shown below is a Test Writer 2.0 sample screen. It shows the main components of most Test Writer 2.0 screens: an Action Bar, main panel or pop-up, Cursor, Scroll bar, Instruction line, available Function Keys and Action bar pull-down. Each component is explained in more detail in the numeric list following the sample screen. 1 - Action Bar: When available, the action bar displays a list of commands which may be used on the displayed questions or sections. Each command may have additional pull-downs or pop-up windows associated with it. To use the action bar, press the [F10] key to move the cursor to the action bar. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the desired command and press [ENTER] or press the highlighted/capitalized letter associated with the desired command (highlighted letters are only shown on color monitors). The Pull-down for that command will be displayed. See item 7. To return the cursor to the main panel area, press [F10] again. 2 - Main panel: The center area of your screen is where the section titles, questions, or other pop-up windows are displayed. Most panels and pop-ups have a title associated with them. Titles for the section panel and most pop-ups are displayed on the top of the box. The title for the question panel is displayed at the bottom of the box to make it easier to determine where in the program you currently are. On color monitors, input fields in which you have not entered data are indicated by a black on gray color. Input fields in which you have already entered something are indicated by a yellow on black color. The current position within a list or what input field you are positioned on is shown by the Cursor. 3 - Cursor: The cursor indicates what input field or list item your are currently positioned on. On color monitors, the cursor has black letters on a gray background. On monochrome monitors, the cursor is reverse video. In lists, you move the cursor using the up and down arrow keys. In input fields, you move the cursor using the [ENTER] and [TAB] keys. For more information on standard key strokes, see the Standard Keys section on page 7. 4 - Scroll Bar: The scroll bar is used to indicate your relative position in a list of items, such as test names, section titles, or questions. The scroll bar is not displayed if the entire list is displayed on one page. The scroll bar is positioned on the right side of the panel box. On color monitors, the bar is gray colored with a darker area somewhere in the middle of the bar. This darker area is called the position indicator and it indicates where the items or questions currently displayed are found in the whole list of items. The size of the position indicator indicates how much of the list you may see at once, relative to the total size of the list. As you scroll through the list, the position indicator will move down the bar until you are at the bottom of the list, at which time it will also be at the bottom of the scroll bar. At the top and bottom of the scroll bar are directional indicators. These indicators will show either an arrow or a bar. The arrow indicates that there are more items in the list in the direction the arrow points. A bar indicates that you are at the bottom or top of the list and there are no more items to display in that direction. (Note: The sample screen shows a bar at the bottom of the scroll bar while the position indicator is still in the middle of the list. This will not happen and is shown for example purposes only.) 5 - Instruction Line: The instruction line is a very helpful feature of Test Writer 2.0. This area of the screen tells you what the program expects you to do next in order to proceed. For example, in a list of items it will tell you to select an item using the arrow keys and press [ENTER]. Whenever you are in doubt as to what key to press or what input to enter, refer to the instruction line. If you make mistake, the instruction line will turn red (color monitors only), the PC will beep, and the word INSTRUCTIONS will change to ERROR. Following the word ERROR will be a message indicating what is wrong. If you need further help to understand the error, press the [F1] key to display the help screen associated with the current message. 6 - Function Keys: The function key area of the screen displays what functions keys are currently available for you to use. Any key with a word below it may be used. Available keys change depending on which panel and/or input field you are currently on. For more information on function keys, see the Standard Keys section on page 7. 7 - Action Bar Pull-down: This is a list of commands that is associated with the action bar item it is attached to. Each item on the action bar will have a pull-down. Use the arrrow keys to position the cursor over the desired command and press [ENTER]. Or press the highlighted/capitalized letter associated with the desired command (color monitors only). Standard Keys In order to make using Test Writer 2.0 easier, certain keys and keystroke sequences are standard through out the program. The availability of a certain key is dependent on where you are within the program. The standard keys are listed below, alone with their functions. [ESC] - Escape. The escape key is a very important key in Test Writer 2.0. This key is used anytime you wish to backup one screen or cancel the current changes you a have made to a question, section, or test. If you press escape after changing a section, you will be prompted with an Save Options pop-up to select whether to save or discard the current changes. Pressing escape while adding or changing a question will cause you to lose that text (or changes to the text). [F1] - Help. Available on all panels and pop-ups, help will display a screen which gives you additional information on the currently panel or action bar. Help is especially useful if you get an error message. [F3] - Exit. Pressing the exit function key will display an Exit pop-up, which gives you the choice of resuming entry or exiting the program. If you have made changes to the test data, you will be prompted to either: Save Then Exit, Exit Without Saving, or Resume. [F7] - Page Backward. Scrolls a list of items backward one page. [Page Up] will also scroll a list backward. [F8] - Page Forward. Scrolls a list of items forward one page. [Page down] will also scroll a list forward. [F9] - Next. This key moves the cursor to the next input field or to the next question. Note: This key is only available at certain times. [F10] - Action. This key moves the cursor to the Action Bar if it is in the main panel area. If the cursor is on the Action Bar already, the cursor is moved back to the main panel area. In the Print Options pop-up, this key will start printing the test. [CNTL PgDn]- Moves the cursor to the bottom of a list of items. [CNTL PgUp] - Moves the cursor to the top of a list of items. [HOME] - Moves the cursor to the top of the current page of a list of items or to the beginning of the line on an input field. [END] - Moves the cursor to the bottom of the current page of a list of items or to the end of the line on an input field. [ENTER] - The enter or return key selects a command when using the action bar, selects an item or question when using a list of items, and moves the cursor to the next input field on some pop-ups. When typing in questions, the enter key has a special meaning. The enter key places a stop formatting code in the text. This code will prevent all text below it from being reformatted. This code is useful when you wish to leave a blank line within the text of a question. Normally, the word wrap functions will eliminate any blank area larger than one space. [INSERT] - The insert key changes the text input mode from INSERT to REPLACE and back again. The default is REPLACE. However, once changed, the mode will remain the same until you press insert again or until you exit the program. The current mode is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. On some color monitors, the mode is also indicated by the size of the cursor. A line cursor indicates REPLACE mode. A block cursor indicates INSERT mode. [DELETE] - The delete key deletes one character from an input field. The cursor remains in the same position. Section Commands Section Commands This section contains an alphabetical list of commands that are used at the section level of Test Writer 2.0. Section level commands act on an entire section at once, rather than on an individual question. For example, the GET command at the section level will retrieve an entire section from another test. On the other hand, the GET command at the question level will only retrieve one or more questions from a specified section. The way to remember whether you are at the section or question level is to look at where the box title is displayed. On the section panel, the name and title of the test is displayed at the top of the box. On the question level panel, the title of the section is displayed at the bottom of the box. About About The About command is used to display information about the program. This information includes title, version number, and copyright information. To display the About pop-up, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Press h to display the Help pull-down. Then press a to select About. Add Add The add command creates a new test section in which you may add new questions (you may also add questions to an existing section using the Change command). You select the add command by pressing [F10] and pressing A. You then select the question type for this section. The options are: Multiple Choice: Standard multiple choice type questions. Each question may have up to five answers. Any answer letters you don't use won't be printed (For example, if you only have four answers, the letter "E" answer won't print). You may also indicate which answer is correct if you intend to print an answer key. Matching: Match question 1 to answer A type questions. Each question must have an answer entered. When this section is printed, the answers will be scrambled. If you later wish to change the order again, scrambling the questions will produce a different sequence for the answers as well. See Scramble on page 29. True/False: True or False questions. You may enter a correct answer along with the question text if you plan to print an answer key. Essay: Large essay or fill-in-the-blank type questions. You may also enter a brief answer to go along with each essay for answer key purposes. Identification: Short essay type questions. As with Essay, you may enter an answer to the question. After you select the question type, you will be prompted for the title of this section. The section title is not printed on the test and is for your information only. However, this title can be useful in identifying the section if you choose to have more than one of each type section. Finally, the question level panel will be displayed with the title "new section" in the box. To begin adding questions, select Add from the action bar. Each section may have up to 150 questions. To see how many question you have in a section, you must change the section and use the Space key. See the Space key on page 29. For further information on question commands, see page 20. Change Change The change command is used to add, change, or delete questions from within an existing section. To change a section, use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the section you wish to change. Then use the [F10] key to move the cursor to the action bar and press m to display the Modify section pull-down. Then press c to select change. At this point you may add, change, delete, etc. See page 20 for commands that you may use while in the question panel. Delete Delete The delete command will delete an entire section from the current test. Be very careful when using this command, since there is no way to recover a section once it has been deleted. To delete a section, use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the section you wish to delete. Then use the [F10] key to move the cursor to the action bar and press m to display the modify section pull- down. Then press d to select delete. A confirmation pop-up will be displayed verifying that you wish to delete an entire section. Press y to complete the deletion, or n to cancel the deletion. Exit Exit The exit command is used to terminate the Test Writer 2.0 program. You may exit from any place in the program except while displaying a help panel. Exit is selected by pressing [F3] or by selecting the eXit command from action bar File pull-down. After exit has been selected, one of two different pop-ups will be displayed, depending on whether you have changed the test data. If you have not made changes, you will see two options: Exit: To terminate the program. Resume: Cancel the exit command without ending the program. If you have made changes to the test (and haven't saved them yet), you will see three options: Save Then Exit: Save you data and then terminate the program. Note: If you select exit from within a question, you will not save that data, even if you select this option. Always be sure to finish with the current question and return to the main panel before exiting. Quit Without Saving: Terminate the program without saving any changes. Be sure you wish to cancel your changes when you select this option because you will not be given a second chance. Resume: Cancel the exit command without ending the program. File File The File action bar command is used to display the File pull-down. To do this, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar and then press f. The commands under File are: Open: Open a different test. Save: Save any changes you have made to the current test. sAve as: Copies the current test into a different path and/or test name. Get section: Copies a section from another test into the current one. Print: Print the current test. The Output Options pop-up will be displayed. sTop printing: Cancels the Print command. setUp: Displays the Printer Codes pop-up. Use this command to add or edit the codes required to print special attributes such as underline or bold face. eXit: Ends the program. See each command for more detailed information. Get Section Get Section The get section command allows you to copy a section from another test into the current test. The entire section will be copied, along with the section title. If you are using a two floppy disk system and you wish to get a section from another disk, you must temporarily remove the Test Writer 2.0 program disk from drive A: and place the disk you wish to copy from in that drive. Remember to replace the Test Writer 2.0 program disk when you have finished the copy operation. Never remove the data disk from the disk drive when in the middle of a test. If you are using a hard disk, disregard these instructions. To use get section: Use [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press f to display the file pull-down. Then press g to select get. The Select Test pop-up will be displayed. Enter the path of the test from which you wish to get the section. Then press [ENTER] and type the test name. If you don't know the test name, press [F4] to display a list of tests found in the current directory/disk. Use the arrow keys to select the test and press [ENTER]. The selected test will be in the Test Name field. Then press [ENTER] again to "open" the test. A list of sections should now be displayed. Use the arrow keys to select the section you wish to get and press [ENTER]. Floppy disk users may have to wait a few seconds while the copy operation occurs. The new section will be placed at the bottom of the current test. You may use the MOVE command to reposition the section to the desired position. If you wish to get only selected questions from a section, use the GET QUESTION command in the question level panel. See page 24. Headings Headings The commands in the hEadings pull-down are used to modify the test title or the test instructions. Press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar and then press e display the hEadings pull-down. The commands are: Title: Change the test title. To change the title of a section, see the title command in the Question Section, page 30. Instructions: Change the instructions that print at the top of each test section. See the information on each individual command for more information. Help Help The Help pull-down has two commands: Index: Display the help screen index. About: Display the program name, version number, and copyright information. See the information on each individual command for more information. Index Index The Index command displays an alphabetical list of all the help screens. Which help screen is displayed is normally controlled by what command or pop-up is displayed when you press the F1 key. This command allows you to see any help screen at anytime. To use the Index, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Press h to display the Help pull-down. Then press i to select Index. Instructions Instructions The instructions command gives you the ability to change the test instructions that will print at the top of each section. Each of the five section types have their own instructions. When a new test is created, the instructions are set to the default. Any changes you make are saved along with the test and will remain the same until you change them again. To modify the instructions: Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar. Press e to display the hEadings pull-down. Then press i to display the Change the Instructions pop-up. Change the instructions for each question type as necessary. Use the [F9] or [TAB] key to move forward to the next input block or [SHIFT][TAB] to move backward. Pressing [F9] or [TAB] on the last instruction field causes the changes to be saved. If you wish to cancel the changes you have made (before pressing [F9] on the last field), press [ESC]. Modify Section Modify Section The commands in the Modify Section pull-down are used to edit existing test sections. To use Modify Section, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Then press m to display the Modify Section pull down. The commands in this pull-down are: Change: Display and edit the questions in the highlighted (current) test section. Delete: Delete an entire section. Move: Move an entire section to a differnt position in the list. For more information on each command, see the individual instructions for each command. Move Move The move command allows you to change the order in which sections will be printed on the test. Sections print in the order displayed on the section display panel. To move a section: Use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the section you wish to move. Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar. Press m to display the Modify section pull-down and then press m again to select the move command. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor to below where you wish to place the section and press [ENTER]. The moved section will be placed above the current cursor position. To move a section to the bottom of the list, you must move the section to the second from the bottom position and then move the bottom most section above it. This is necessary due to the fact a repositioned section is always placed above the cursor. Therefore it is impossible to put a section below the last section. Open Open The Open command is used to select a different test from the one currently displayed. Using this command returns you to the Select Test pop-up that was displayed when you first started Test Writer 2.0. To use the Open command: Press the F10 key to move the cursor to the action bar. Press f to display the File pull-down. Then select Open by pressing o. Type the path and test of the test you wish to open. To continue editing the current test, leave the current test name in the pop-up. If you have made any changes to the current test, the standard Save Options will be displayed before the Select Test pop-up is displayed. Print Print The print command is used to print the test. The print command may also be used to generate a disk file containing the fully formatted test. To print a test: Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar. Press f to display the File pull-down. Then press p to select the print command. Enter data in the print control fields as necessary. An explanation of each field is shown below. To begin the printing process, press [ENTER] when the cursor is positioned on the last field. You may also press [F10] at any time to begin printing. The program will display a series of status pop-ups indicating that the print process is underway. Once you are returned to the main screen, you may continue working on this or another test, even though printing is in progress. However, you may not attempt to print another test until the current one is finished. Attempting to print two tests at once will cancel the first test. Also available on the Print Options pop-up is a special Save (F5) key. This key will save your current print options so that they will be displayed everytime you print this test. See page 19 for more information. Special note on printing: The print function uses the DOS print command in order to send your test to the printer. This means that the Test Writer 2.0 program disk must be in the A: drive when you attempt to print. The version of DOS you used to create the Test Writer 2.0 program disk must also be the same as what you booted your machine with. If you have trouble printing, try writing the test to disk. Then, without switching any disks, use the DOS PRINT command and your DOS manual to determine what the problem is. Print control fields: Title: The title of the test. This information is printed on the top of the test. The default is the information displayed on the top of the section display panel. If you delete all text within this field, the title line will not be printed. Changing this title will not change the actual test title. You should use the Title command on the action bar to do that. Teacher: Your name. This information is printed on the top of the test. If you leave this field blank, nothing will be printed. Class: The name or number of the class. This information is printed on the top of the test. If you leave this field blank, nothing will be printed. Line Length: The number of characters on each printed line of your test page. Four options are available: 60, 120, 180, and 240. You may press F4 to see the options. The default is 60, which is correct for normal sized print on a standard (8.5 x 11) size page. You can use 120 on a 8.5 inch wide page if you are printing in condensed mode. The 180 and 240 options can be used with a wide carriage printer or a laser printer. See your printer manual for more information on condensed printing mode. Page length: The number of lines on your paper. The default is 66, which is the number of lines on a standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch page, using a standard 6 lines per inch. If you use longer paper, a laser printer, or use printer commands to alter lines per inch, you may need to change this number. Section Titles: Determines if the title of each section will be printed on the test. Select Y to print the titles or N to suppress the title. The default is Y. Print test...: Determines which type of output you wish to generate. You may print the Test questions, uestions With answers, or the answer Key. The default is T. Print to disk...: Determines where the output will be sent. If you enter a P, the test will be sent to the printer. If you select D, the test will be written to the file specified in the File name field. The default is P. Standard Heading: A Y in this field will print a name, student number, and date line on the top right corner of the first page of the test. A N in this field will omit this information from the printed test. The default is Yes. Setup codes: The setup codes are used to control your printer. These codes can be used to control condensed mode printing, lines per inch, turn on double strike (near letter quality) mode, etc. The codes are entered in decimal format, with a space in between each number. For example, the code sequence needed to turn on condensed mode in an Epson compatible printer is: 027 015 When using printer control codes, remember that Test Writer 2.0 does not reset the printer when printing is complete. To reset the printer, you will need to manually reset the printer or turn it off. For more information on printer control codes, see your printer manual. File name: The disk file used if you selected D in the Print to disk field. The default is testname.TXT. Answer space: The answer space fields determine how many blank lines will be printed after each question. This value can be from 0 to 99 lines. The default answer space for identification questions is 3 lines. The default answer space for essay questions is 16 lines. Print Options - Save and Reset Print Options - Save and Reset The Save (F5) and Reset (F6) keys within the Print Options pop-up are used to control what print options will be displayed each time you print a given test. To save the options, press F5 at anytime. The current options will be displayed everytime your select the Print Options pop-up until you use the reset key. If you change the options but don't use the F5 key, those changes will be used for the current screen only. To reset the saved options to the normal default options, press the F6 key. This will reset all fields to how they were displayed the first time you printed the test. Remember to save (F5) the default options if you wish to "permanently" reset the print options. Save Save The save command will save any changes you have made to the test data since the last time you saved. If you haven't changed anything since the last save, nothing will happen when you select save. To use save, Press the F10 key to move the cursor to the action bar. Press f to display the File pull-down. Then select Save by pressing s. There are no additional pop-ups associated with this command. Save As The sAve as command is used to copy the current test to a different directory or under a different test name. The current test will remain in its current directory/disk and name. You must change the path and/or the test name. You can't sAve as a test under the same path and name as the current test. To use sAve as: Press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Press f to display the File pull-down. Then select sAve as by pressing a. The Save As pop-up will be displayed. Type the new path and/or test name. Pressing ENTER while the cursor is positioned on the test name field will cause your test to be copied to the new path and/or name. To cancel, press ESC. Select Test Select Test The select test pop-up is the first panel which is displayed when you start Test Writer 2.0. You enter the DOS path and name of the test you wish to edit/create. To use select test: - Enter the DOS path where your test is or will be stored. If you are using a two floppy system, this will probably be B:\. Hard disk users may use the default directory or may specify a data directory (which must already exist). When you have entered the path, press [ENTER]. See below for valid DOS path examples: - Enter the test name you wish to create or edit. If you can't remember the name of the test, press the [F4] key to display a list of tests in the current directory. Use the arrow keys to select the test you wish to edit. Then press [ENTER] to return to the select test pop-up. When you have the proper test name enter, press [ENTER] to call up the test. - If you entered a test name that doesn't exist, a warning pop-up will be displayed. To create the test, press y. To return to the select test pop-up, press n. If you get this warning on a test which already exists, check your PATH field to be sure you are pointing to the right directory/drive and use the [F4] key to display available tests. DOS path Examples: B:\ (floppy disk users) C:\testwrit (hard disk users) C:\testwrit\data D:\testdata Setup Setup The setUp command is used to add or edit the printer control codes that Test Writer 2.0 uses to do underlining, bold face, etc. when printing a test. Test Writer 2.0 comes with the standard Epson printer codes for Underline, Bold Face, and Italics as a default. For further information on printer codes, see your printer manual. To use setUp: Press F10 to position the cursor on the action bar. Then press f to display the File pull-down. Select SetUp by pressing u. The Printer Codes pop-up will be displayed. Enter the command name, the on code and the off code for the desired printer codes. You must complete all three fields on any line that you edit. Use the TAB key to move from field to field. Each on or off field can contain up to four 3 digit codes. When you are finished editing/adding codes, press F5 to save the changes to disk. If you wish to clear the screen (you can't delete an existing code, only change it), press F6. Anytime you change printers, be sure to review the codes in this pop-up and verify that the are valid codes for your new printer. Stop Printing Stop Printing The sTop printing command will end the print command before your entire test has been printed. This command can be useful if you discover an error in the beginning of your test or if the printer isn't set correctly. STop printing issues the DOS command PRINT /T. This command will terminate anything currently printing or waiting to print, even if is not a test. After the command has been issued, a pop-up is displayed to remind you that, if your printer has a large buffer, it may continue to print until the print buffer is empty. On a newer printer, that print buffer may be large enough to contain your entire test. If you don't want to wait for the printer to stop, simply turn it off and then on again. To use the sTop printing command, press F10 to position the cursor on the action bar. Then press f to display the File pull-down. Select the sTop printing command by pressing t. Test Title Test title There are two places in which you may enter the test title. If you create a new test, you will automatically be prompted for the title. Otherwise, use the action bar to call up the Test Title pop- up (see instructions below). A title maybe up to 30 characters long. The information entered in this field will be used as the default title when you print the test. To change the Test Title: Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar. Press e to display the hEadings pull-down. Then press t to select the title command. Enter the new test title and press [ENTER] to continue. Question Commands Question Commands This section contains an alphabetical list of commands that are used at the question level of Test Writer 2.0. Question level commands act on individual questions within a section. For example the Scramble command will randomly change the order of all questions within the current section. Questions in other sections will not be affected. The way to remember whether you are at the section or question level is to look at where the box title is displayed. On the section panel, the name and title of the test is displayed at the top of the box. On the question level panel, the title of the section is displayed at the bottom of the box. About About The About command is used to display information about the program. This information includes title, version number, and copyright information. To display the About pop-up, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Press h to display the Help pull-down. Then press a to select About. Add Add The add commands allows you to type new questions within a section. Select the Add command by pressing [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar, press m to display the Modify question pull-down. Then press a to select Add. Enter your question data and then press [F9] to move to the next field or question. You will remain in add mode until you press [ESC] to return to the question display screen. Be sure you press [ESC] on a Blank question to prevent losing any question data. What happens when you press Add (or Change) is determined by which question type you are working with. See Question Types on page 30 for more information on each individual question format. For information on how to use the Edit (F4) functions, see page 30. Change Change Use the Change command to alter data within existing questions. To select the Change command, use the arrow keys to select the question you wish to change. Then press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press m to display the Modify question pull-down. Press c to select change. The question will be displayed. To save changes made to the question, press [F9] to return to the question display screen. To discard changes, press [ESC]. You may also use the "fast" key to use change. After moving the cursor to the question you wish to modify, press F4 to go directly to change. To change the answer to a question, press [F5] while the question pop-up is displayed. What happens when you press Add (or Change) is determined by which type questions you are working with. See Question Types on page 30 for more information on each individual question format. For information on how to use the Edit (F4) functions, see page 30. Close Close The Close command allows you to exit the current section and return to the main section level screen. If you have made any changes, you will be prompted on whether you wish to save or discard those changes. To use Close, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Then press f to display the File pull-down, following by c to select close. Delete Delete The delete commands remove individual questions from a section. To delete a question: Press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar and press m to display the Modify question pull-down. Then press d to select delete. use the arrow keys to position the cursor over the question(s) you wish to delete. Press the SPACE-BAR to mark each question. When you have marked all the questions you wish to delete, press ENTER. The questions are now deleted. Note: If you accidently delete a question, the only way to recover the question is to cancel all changes to the current section by using the [ESC] key. This will cause all changes, including additions, to be canceled. Edit Edit The Edit (F4) key is used to perform block editing functions on question text (and the answers as well). By default, block editing functions include: Paste: Take a string which you have previously cut or copyed into the "clipboard" to current cursor position. Existing text is moved forward to make room for the pasted text. Paste won't work until you have used the cut or copy command. Cut: Copy the highlighted text into the "clipboard" and then delete the text from the screen. The "clipboard" is an area which holds text until it is pasted into the question. This hold area is cleared everytime you save or cancel the current question. You can not cut or paste across questions. Copy: This command works the same way as cut, except that the copied text is not deleted from the screen. Make Normal: This command is used to reset an existing special print attribute so that it will print as "normal" text. For example, you would use make normal to "turn off" the underlining of the highlighted area of text. Underline, bold, and italics: These are the "default" special print attributes which come with Test Writer 2.0. You may add or delete items from this list by using the setup command on page 19. To use edit, press the F4 key anytime it is available. Select the command you wish to use and press ENTER. Then use the arrow keys to highlight the text you wish to copy, cut, or apply underline, etc. to. Finally press F4 again (it will be labled block). If you are pasting text, be sure to position the cursor before pressing F4 and selecting paste. Text which will print with a special print attribute will be displayed in red (color monitors only), and the type of attribute will be displayed in the right corner on the second line of the screen. Exit Exit The exit command is used to terminate the Test Writer 2.0 program. You may exit from any place in the program except while displaying a help panel. Exit is selected by pressing [F3] or by selecting eXit from the File action bar pull-down. After selecting eXit, one of two different pop-ups will be displayed, depending on whether you have changed the test data. If you have not made changes, you will see two options: Exit: To terminate the program. Resume: Cancel the exit command without ending the program. If you have made changes to the test (and haven't saved them yet), you will see three options: Save Then Exit: Save you data and then terminate the program. Note: If you select exit from within a question, you will not save that data, even if you select this option. Always be sure to finish with the current question and return to the main panel before exiting. Quit Without Saving: Terminate the program without saving any changes. Be sure you wish to cancel your changes when you select this option because you will not be given a second chance. Resume: Cancel the exit command without ending the program. File File The File pull-down is displayed by pressing f while the cursor is positioned on the action bar (F10). Commands on the File pull-down are: Save and Close: Save the current section to disk and return to the main section level screen. sAve: Save the current section. Close: Return to the main section level screen. If you have made any changes to this section, you will be prompted to either save or discard your changes. Get questions: Get one or more questions from another test, a different section on this test, or from the current section. eXit: End the Test Writer 2.0 program. If you have made any changes to this section, you will be prompted to either save your changes, discard your changes, or resume editing. For more information, see each individual command. Get Questions Get Questions The get command is a very useful function within the Test Writer 2.0 program. You can use get to copy one or more questions from another section. The section you copy from may be on the current test or on a different test. With get, you may copy questions from large "master" or database tests to generate smaller, customized tests as you need them. When using get, remember that you may only retrieve questions from sections that are the same type as the one you are currently editing. To use get: Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press f to display the File pull-down. Then press g to select get. This will display the Select Test pop-up. Enter the DOS path and name of the test from which you wish to copy. The name you enter may be the current test, if you so choose. If you are unsure of the test name, use the [F4] key to display a list of test names along the current path. After you have entered the test name, the Select Section pop-up will be displayed. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor over the section you wish to copy from and press [ENTER]. This will display a list of all questions within that section. Remember that you must select a section of the same type as the current one. You are now ready to select the questions you wish to copy. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor over each question you wish to copy and press the [SPACE-BAR] to mark each question. Each marked question will display an indicator next it. To un- mark a question, press the [SPACE-BAR] again. When you have finished marking questions, press [ENTER] to actually copy the new questions into your section. The copied questions will be appended to the bottom of your current list of questions. You may use the Move command to rearrange the questions as necessary. Floppy System Note: It is important that both the current test and the one you wish to copy from be in the disk drives at the same time. If you are copying from a different data disk, it will be necessary to temporary remove the Test Writer 2.0 Program Disk and place the "copy from" test disk in the A: drive. Be sure to re-insert the Test Writer 2.0 Program Disk when you have finished copying questions. Help Help The Help pull-down has two commands: Index: Display the help screen index. About: Display the program name, version number, and copyright information. See the section on each individual command for more information. Index Index The Index command display an alphabetical list of all the help screens. What help screen is displayed is normally controlled by what command or pop-up is displayed when you press the F1 key. This command allows you to see any help screen at anytime. To use the Index, Press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Press h to display the Help pull- down. Then press i to select Index. Modify Question Modify Question The Modify question pull-down is used to display commands which change questions or add new questions to the current section. Those commands are: Add: Create a new question, at the bottom of the list. Change: Change the question currently highlighted by the cursor. Delete: Delete one or more questions. section Title: Modify the title for this section. This is the title that will be printed on the test. For more detailed information, see each command individually. Move Move The move command allows you to change the order in which questions will be printed on the test. Questions print in the order displayed on the question display panel. To move a question: Use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the question name you wish to move. Press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar. Press r to display the Rearrange pull-down. Then press m to select the move command. You may also press the F5 (move) key when it is displayed. Use the arrow keys to position the cursor to below where you wish to place the question. Press [ENTER] to move the question. The moved question will be placed above the current cursor position. To move a question to the bottom of the list, you must move the question to the second from the bottom position and then move the bottom most question above it. This is necessary due to the fact a repositioned question is always placed above the cursor. Therefore it is impossible to put a question below the last question. To reorder the entire list of questions, see the Scramble command on page 30. Question Types Question Types Test Writer 2.0 has five different question types: Essay, Multiple Choice, Matching, True/False, and Identification. The input screen you see when you select Add or Change is dependent on which question type you are currently editing. Listed below is each question type, a description of the input screen, and how to use it. Each line on the question input pop-ups are 60 characters wide, except for the matching questions, which are 30 characters wide. True/False: This question type may have up to eight lines of text. To indicate what the correct answer is for answer key purposes (see Print on page 19), press the [F5] key to display the answer pop-up. The default is F. You will not be prompted for the correct answer. You must always press [F5] if you wish to enter the correct answer. Matching: The matching question has two input areas, both of which may have up to ten lines of text. The left field is for the question. The right field is for the answer. Use the [TAB] or [F9] key to move forward to the next field or question. To move from the right field backward to the left field, use the [SHIFT][TAB] keys. When the test is printed, the questions will remain in the displayed order while the answers will be scrambled. While the answer order is random, they will print in the same order each time you print the test. To change the order, you must scramble the questions. Identification: This question type is intended as a short essay or a question which may be answered with a sentence or name. The identification question may have up to four lines of text. You can also enter a four line answer by pressing [F5]. You will not be prompted for the answer. You must always use the [F5] key to display the answer pop-up. The amount of space allowed for the student's answer is determined when you print the test. See print on page 19. Essay: The essay question may contain up to 16 lines of text. If you wish to leave a blank line within the body of the question, be sure to use the [ENTER] key to indicate a blank line. The return key displays an arrow shaped code in the text which will prevent the automatic word wrap functions from deleting the extra spaces. The [F5] key will display an answer pop-up which can contain up to 4 lines of text. Multiple Choice: The question field in this question type can be up to six lines. You may have up to five answer choices, each of which may contain three lines of text. Use the [TAB] or [F9] key to move forward within the answer pop-up. To move backward, use the [SHIFT][TAB] key. When you are adding questions, you will be automatically prompted to enter the answer choices. When you are changing an existing question, you must press the [F5] key to display the answer choices. While within the answer pop-up, you may also press [F6] to indicate which of the five choices is correct for use with the answer key. The default answer is A. Blank answer choices will not be printed on the test. Due to the number of different options available, it is difficult to describe how to use each question type. The best way to see how each question type works is to display each type and use the help screens. Each question type has its own set of help screens. For information on how to use the Edit (F4) functions, see page 30. Rearrange Rearrange The Rearrange pull-down displays commands that are used to change the order of the questions. Those commands are: Move: Move the question currently highlighted by the cursor to a new position. Scramble: Completely reorder the questions in the current section into a new, random order. For more detailed information, see each command individually. Repeat Search Repeat Search This command will search for the last text you entered using Search text, starting with one question beyond the current question. Before using Repeat search, you must have already selected Search text at least once while working with the current section. To use Repeat search, press the F6 key. You may also select it from the Search action bar pull-down. Save Save The save command is used to write all changes to the current section to disk. Until you save, all your changes and additions remain in memory and can be lost be a power outage, etc. Therefore, it is wise to save your questions periodically as you create a new section. If you wish to exit a section without saving your changes, you may either press [F3] and select Quit Without Saving, or press [ESC] and select Do Not Save Changes. [F3] will terminate the program, while [ESC] will return you to the section display panel. To use save, press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press f to display the File pull-down. Then press a. After your data has been saved, you are returned to the section display panel. To continue editing the section, use the change command. Save and Close Save and Close The Save and close command is similar to the Save command except that after saving your data, the current section is "closed" and you return to the main section level screen. Until you save, all your changes and additions remain in memory and can be lost be a power outage, etc. Therefore, it is wise to save your questions periodically as you create a new section. If you wish to exit a section without saving your changes, you may either press [F3] and select Quit Without Saving, or press [ESC] and select Do Not Save Changes. [F3] will terminate the program, while [ESC] will return you to the section display panel. To use Save and close, press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press f to display the File pull-down. Then press s. After your data has been saved, you are returned to the section display panel. To continue editing the section, use the change command. Scramble Scramble The scramble command will randomly rearrange the questions within the current section. To use scramble, press [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and press r to display the Rearrange pull-down. Then press s to select scramble. Once scrambled, there is no way to return the questions to their original positions except by moving each question individually. Search (pull-down) Search The Search pull-down is used to display commands which scan the current section for the text you specify. The search is not case sensitive. The commands are: Search text: Scan the current section for the text you enter (when prompted) beginning with question one. Repeat search: Scan the current section for the text you entered in Search text, beginning with the highlighted question, plus one. For more detailed information, see each command individually. Search Text Search Text The Search text command will scan the entire section (questions and answers) for the word or words you specify. The search is not case sensitive. However, to minimize the chance that extra spaces or formating characters will cause a problem, it is recommended that you use single word searches whenever possible. To use search, press F10 to move the cursor to the action bar. Then press s to display the search pull-down, followed by s again to select search text. Enter the text you wish to search for and press ENTER. Search text will always start with question number one. To look for the next occurance of the string, use Repeat search (also F6). Space Key Space Key The [F2] key may be used to determine how many questions you currently have in the section and the minimum number of questions you may add. Pressing the [F2] key will display the Available Memory pop-up. For example, if the Available Memory pop-up indicates that there are 10 questions and at least enough memory for 20 more, you may add at least 20 more questions. If you have more then 20 additional questions, don't be alarmed. Due to the way memory is checked, Test Writer 2.0 can't see all of "available" memory at one time. On most computers, you should be able to add the full 150 questions. You will find that until you start approaching the 150 question limit, the Available Memory pop-up will always indicate that there is enough memory for at least XX more questions. Section Title Section Title The Section Title pop-up is displayed every time you create a new section. You may also change the title of the current section by pressing [F10] to move the cursor to the action bar and pressing m to display the Modify question pull-down. Then press t. If you wish to ignore the section title, simply press [ENTER] when the pop-up is displayed. Error Messages Error Messages This section contains an alphabetical listing of all the error messages which you may encounter as you use Test Writer 2.0. With each message are some of the possible causes and also what action you can take to correct or prevent the error. All commands must have an on & off code Cause: You attempted to add a printer control code (in Setup) but didn't complete all three fields. Action: Each printer control code must have an on code and an off code. Add the missing code and try again. See your printer manual for more information on printer control codes. The command name can not be blank Cause: You attempted to add a printer control code (in Setup) but didn't put at least one non-blank character in the command field. Action: Each printer control code sequence must have a command name associated with it. Enter the name to continue. Drive not ready Cause: You attempted to read from a disk drive which does not have a disk in it. Action: Put the disk with your test data in the floppy drive. If there is a disk in the drive, be sure that the disk is fully locked into the drive slot. General disk error Cause: The disk you are attempting to access is not properly formatted. The disk may have failed or it may need to be formatted. Action: Insert a good disk into your floppy drive to save your test data. If the disk which caused the floppy has been used before, the data on it is probably unrecoverable. If the disk is new, use the DOS format command before attempting to use the disk again. Disk is write protected Cause: The disk you are attempting to write to has been write protected. Action: On 5 1/4 inch disks, remove the write protect "tab" that covers the notch on the right side of the disk. On 3 1/2 inch disks, set the write protect switch so that it covers the hole. Then re- insert the disk and press any key to try again. Error sending test to printer. Cause: The DOS print command is unable to print the test. Test Writer 2.0 writes your test to a file and then uses the DOS print command to send the file to the printer. Action: Before trying to print again, verify that your printer is properly hooked up and on-line. Be sure that the sub-directory containing the PRINT command is in your path. See your DOS manual for more information on PATH and the PRINT command. Error writing to print file. Cause: Test Writer 2.0 is unable to create the print work file. The program creates your test in a file (even if you are sending the test directly to a printer) and then uses DOS print to send the file to your printer. Action: The most common cause of this error is a lack of disk space. Clear additional space on your disk and try printing again. Floppy disk users: Be sure you haven't accidentally saved a test to the Test Writer 2.0 program disk (A: drive). File I/O Error Cause: The program was unable to read from or write to a data file. This is a very serious error message in that it causes the program to terminate. Any data that you had been working with has been lost. Due to the nature of this kind of error, the exact cause can not be determined by the program. Here are several possible causes: You have accidentally erased one of the data files which Test Writer 2.0 uses to store the test data. You have copied a file into the test data directory which looks like a Test Writer 2.0 data file but isn't. Test Writer 2.0 uses files with the extension of *.idx, *.INS, *.HLP, and *.000 (the number range may be 000 through 999). For example, if there is an a file "JUNK.IDX" in the directory where you store your tests, Test Writer 2.0 will think it is a test named "JUNK." You have changed disks in the middle of using Test Writer 2.0. Action: Correct the problem (if possible) and re-run Test Writer 2.0. Filename can not be blank Cause: Pressing [ENTER] while the Filename field of the Select Test pop-up is blank. Action: Type in a valid DOS filename and press . If you can't remember the name of the test you are trying to edit, use the [F4] key to display a list of tests along the current path. Help is unavailable Cause: Test Writer 2.0 is unable to display the help screen when you pressed F1 or when you selected the Help Index function. This is mostly likely because the program couldn't find the help files. Action: Be sure that you were in the TESTWRIT directory or diskette when you started the program. For example, starting the program as A:TESTWRIT or \TESTWRIT\TESTWRIT (from hard disk) can cause is problem. Use the CD DOS command to go into the directory and then type TESTWRIT. Invalid path. Cause: Entering an incorrect DOS path in the Path field of the Select Test pop-up. Action: Enter a valid path and press [ENTER]. Examples of valid DOS paths: C:\ A:\ C:\testwrit (you must have already created the sub-directory "testwrit" on your C: drive) Invalid print file name and/or path. Cause: The DOS path and/or the file name you entered in the Filename field of the Output Options pop-up is invalid. The normal default for this field is the disk and path where the test data is stored. Action: To correct the problem, go back into the Output Options pop- up and enter a valid path/file name. Then try printing again. Floppy Disk users: Do not write data files to your A: drive. Valid examples: c:\test1.txt (for users with a hard disk only) b:\test1.doc c:\testdata\test1.txt (you must have already setup directory "testdata" on your C: drive) Maximum Questions Cause: This error pop-up is displayed if you attempt to add more than 150 questions in a section. Each section is limited to 150 questions. Action: No action required, since this is an informational message. However, if you need to add more questions, create a new section of the same type. You may have up to 98 sections per test. Memory Full - Add Cause: This error pop-up is displayed if you attempt to add more questions than available memory will permit. Action: You must save this section and create a new section to continue adding questions. You may see how many questions you have in the section by pressing [F2] after clearing this error message. If you feel that your computer should have enough memory to allow for more questions, exit the program (after saving) and free up additional memory. File management programs or TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs can decrease the number of questions you may have in each section. Memory Full - Load Cause: This error pop-up is displayed if there is not enough memory for the program to load the selected test section from disk. Action: Obviously the program can handle a section of this size because you were able to create it. There are several things you can try: Re-boot your computer ([CNTL][ALT][DEL]) and try again. Sometimes memory can be lost during long sessions. If this works, your section must be close to the maximum memory size of your computer. You should use the Get command to split this section up into two or more sections. Be sure that there are no file management or TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs using available memory. If there are, remove them and try again. No search text entered Cause: You attempted to use Repeat search without first entering a search string using Search text. Action: Select Search text and enter the string you wish to search for. No test names found. Cause: This error message is displayed when you press [F4] to display a pop-up of available tests and there are no tests found in the current DOS path. This is an informational message only. Action: No action is required. However, if you expected to find some tests, verify that the drive/path you have in the Path field is where your tests are located. Check that you have the correct diskette in the drive (if you are storing your tests on disk rather than a hard drive). Setup code format: 000 000 ... (between 1 and 256). Cause: The printer setup codes you entered in the Setup codes field of the Output Options pop-up are invalid. The codes must between 1 and 256 and in the format 000 000 000. You can not use letters or symbols. Action: To correct the problem, go back into the Output Options pop- up and enter valid setup codes. Then try printing again. For further information on valid printer setup codes, see your printer manual. Setup codes must be numeric and between 1 and 256. Cause: The printer setup codes you entered in the "Setup codes" field of the Output Options pop- up are invalid. The codes must between 1 and 256 and in the format 000 000 000. You can not use letters or symbols. Action: To correct the problem, go back into the Output Options pop- up and enter valid setup codes. Then try printing again. For further information on valid printer setup codes, see your printer manual. Test Full Cause: You attempted to add more than 98 sections to a test. 98 is the maximum number of sections you may have in any one test. This is an informational message only. Action: No action is required. However, if you have more questions to add, try putting the remaining questions into existing sections, or start a new test. Test name does not exist along the specified path Cause: The program was unable to open one of the test data files. This mostly likely means that a data file was been lost or erased. Action: Verify that you are using the correct directory or diskette. Try using your back up copy. There are not edit codes to make normal Cause: You attempted to "Make Normal" a section of text which is already normal. This error can also occur if you don't make at least one full word when using the arrow keys to highlight text. Action: Highlight the correct text and try again. There is not enough save to save this test Cause: This error is displayed if there is not enough space on the specified disk to save the current test section. Action: If you are using a hard drive, try saving the test to an empty floppy disk, exit the program, and clear some additional space on your hard drive. Then copy ALL files found on the floppy disk back to your test data sub-directory. If you don't have a hard drive, you must put a clean disk in the OTHER disk drive and specify it in the new path. (for example, if the path currently is B:\, put a new disk in your A: drive and type A:\ as the new path. DO NOT REMOVE THE DISK WHICH CURRENTLY CONTAINS THE TEST DATA. The program will copy all files for this test from the full disk to the new diskette. There is not enough space to PASTE data Cause: There is not enough blank space at the end of the question to allow you insert (paste) the text you have copied or cut. Action: None. You can't do this PASTE. Unable to copy the test to the new name/path Cause: The program was unable to copy the test data to the specified test name or new path/disk. This could be caused by a full disk, an invalid path or name, by not having a diskette in the drive, etc. Action: If the disk is full, see the disk full error. Otherwise, correct the path/name, make sure that your data diskette is inserted properly, and try again. Unable to create test. Check available disk space Cause: The program was unable to write the file which contains the test instructions to disk. This error can occur when you first create a new test or if you attempt to modify the instructions of an existing test. Action: Clear some space on the current disk or get a new diskette and try again. Unable to read original test file Cause: The program was unable to read the test data file you requested. This could mean the file has been erased or corrupted. Action: Verify that you are using the proper data diskette and data directory. Try reading the test from your backup copy. Unable to insert a format code for the first word.... Cause: You attempted to set a special print attribute for the first word of the question, in a question that doesn't have any blank space at the end of it. Action: Shorten the question to that Test Writer 2.0 can insert the required code (which will appear as a blank space) at the beginning of the question. Unable to write file. Your disk may be full Cause: This error is displayed if there is not enough space on the specified disk to save the current test section. Action: If you are using a hard drive, try saving the test to an empty floppy disk, exit the program, and clear some additional space on your hard drive. Then copy ALL files found on the floppy disk back to your test data sub-directory. If you don't have a hard drive, you must put a clean disk in the OTHER disk drive and specify it in the new path. (for example, if the path currently is B:\, put a new disk in your A: drive and type A:\ as the new path. DO NOT REMOVE THE DISK WHICH CURRENTLY CONTAINS THE TEST DATA. The program will copy all files for this test from the full disk to the new diskette. WARNING! - Disk Full Cause: This error pop-up is displayed if there is not enough space on the specified disk to save the current test section. Action: If you are using a hard drive, try saving the test to an empty floppy disk, exit the program, and clear some additional space on your hard drive. Then copy ALL files found on the floppy disk back to your test data sub-directory. If you don't have a hard drive, you must put a clean disk in the OTHER disk drive and specify it in the new path. (for example, if the path currently is B:\, put a new disk in your A: drive and type A:\ as the new path. DO NOT REMOVE THE DISK WHICH CURRENTLY CONTAINS THE TEST DATA. The program will copy all files for this test from the full disk to the new diskette. You must change test name and/or path Cause: While using Save as, you have attempted to save the test without first changing the test name or DOS path. Action: You can't save a test onto itself. Change either the name or the path and try again. You must select a section of the same type. Cause: This error message is displayed if you attempt to use the get command to get questions from a section with a different question type then the current section. Action: You must choose a section of the same type as the one you are currently editing. For example, if you are editing a True/False section, you must choose a True/False section from the list when you attempt to get questions from another test. You need to mark the entire word to set an edit code Cause: While using the Edit functions, you didn't highlight an entire word when using the arrow keys to indicate what text you wish to edit. Action: At least one entire word must be marked. Try again, highlighting at least one entire word.