Contents

Introduction

About

AutoCue

Dog-Ears

Gauge

Go to a Page

Keyboard

Library

Menu Tips

Notes

Page Turning

Pausing

PC - Health & Safety

Picking Books

Speed Reading

Switching Books

NB: If you are using the Autocue click anywhere on the Ebook page to restart the autocue when you leave Help.


Introduction
An Introduction to Ebook.

 This software is designed to help you read paper and electronic text faster, whilst retaining a higher percentage of what you read. It is similar in concept to 'Speed Reading with Lamb', another Datasaurus product, with one major difference, with Ebook you choose the text you want to read.

Your choice is as wide as your imagination. Simply provide Ebook with a plain text file and Ebook will convert it into a mini-database with the filename extension '.Bok'. This database can then be accessed rapidly....a major advantage over Word Processors. If you have tried to refer to a 600 page book using a brand leader in the Word Processing field, you'll know what I mean!

What do you want to read? Try the freebies that come with Ebook or choose from the booklist (select Register from Help)...If you like modern comedy, Greek philosophers, history or classics... there's sure to be something on my list. If you get bored with one book, you can switch to another without losing your place in the former.

Once you've chosen your book, convert it and settle back to have a gander. Drag the window until it's in a good place and drag the edges out or in with your mouse until you are happy with the view. Now set the autocue to a comfortable speed and off you go.

Once you've read your fill, close Ebook. You'll find yourself back where you left off when you open it again.


If you want to improve your reading speed then...

1 Gradually increase the words per minute by holding down the arrow keys. Stretch yourself a bit more every now and then.

2 Read the lessons. I would suggest reading one lesson after each chapter.

3 Stop after each chapter and try to remember what you have read. Why not write short tests for yourself? Remember that you are trying both to increase your reading speed and your retention rate.

Have a nice day.

David Warner, Datasaurus Ltd.


About

Selecting 'About' from the Menu Bar will tell you a bit more about Datasaurus and its products.

Don't forget to register your copy of Ebook.


AutoCue

Using the ignition key will stop and start the auto-cue; this will start turning pages every so many seconds. You can set the speed by using the arrow keys beneath the speed gauge. The speed is expressed in words per minute (WPM) as shown in the panel by the gauge. You'll find that 250 WPM is a typical starting speed. With practice, you should be able to get up to 800 WPM.

Select Speed Reading from the menu to learn how to improve your reading technique.

The sliders on either side of the Ebook window show you where you should be on the page at any given time.


Colour
Changing the Text Colour.

Selecting this option from the Edit menu will allow you to change the colour of the text. Experiment with different colours to find the best text and paper colours for your eyes and your machine.

Don't forget that reading from a screen is more tiring than reading from paper. You might prefer to print some of the book.


Copy
Copying Pages of Text.

To the Clipboard:

Select Copy from the Edit menu to copy a page of text to the clipboard. You can then use the text to brighten up your own letters.

To Extract.Txt:

Select Copy from the Edit menu to copy a page of text to this file. The page will be appended to the file. When you've copied all the bits you want, you'll be able to import the file into your word processor as a plain ASCII text file. Delete the file after use, or Ebook will continue adding to it - Ebook will create a new file next time. Alternatively, you could just delete the text that you no longer want.

You can also copy individual lines. Click 'Save Line' from the menu and then click on the line you want to save with the cross-hair cursor.

To Notes:

You can copy individual lines to the Ebook notepad. Simply click the 'Note Line' option on the menu bar and click the cross-hair cursor on the line you want copied.

NB:

The text of books supplied by Datasaurus are out of copyright unless otherwise stated. This means that you are free to use the text in any way you please.


Dog-Ears
Dog-Ears.

With a paper book you can dog-ear it to keep your place by turning over a corner; this is a little difficult with a monitor...

So, when you're on the page you want to mark, click on the dog-ear button, or hit Ctrl+D. From the dog-ear screen, click an unused dog-ear. You'll notice that some of the text from the first line of your page is displayed on the dog-ear button, just to make it easier to remember what's what. The page number is also displayed.

You can overwrite dog-ears with new ones just by clicking when you're on the new page that you want to mark.

Next time you want to go to that page, click the 'Go To' button next to it.

Dog-ears are retained when you close Ebook.

If you dog-ear a page by mistake, click the undo button.

To delete a dog-ear, click your right mouse button over the offending one.


Exit

Press this button or choose quit from the File menu to close the book. When you open the book again, you will find yourself at the point you left. Your personal preferences, e.g. paper colour, and page size will have been preserved in Ebook.INI.

Tip: As with most Windows' software, you can also use ALT + F4 to close Ebook.


Font
Font Changing

Selecting this from the menu bar will allow you to choose another font. For speed reading you should choose one which is clear, like Arial or Garamond. Choose a comfortable font size. The default is 10, but you'll need a bigger one than this on many screens.

Ebook will do its best to size its window to accommodate all fonts - but you may find that it cannot resize itself to cope with some exotic ones. If you find that you're missing the end of lines or the last line on a page, just drag out the right or bottom borders.

Ebook always chooses bold for clarity.


Gauge
Gauge.

Use this to set your reading speed. It governs that rate at which Ebook turns the pages.

See also Speed Reading and Pause.


Goto
Goto a page.

Click on the EPage number at the bottom of the screen to call up this page number grid. Click on the grid to move around in the book.

Examples...

If you want to go to page 100, Click the 1 in the leftmost column, a 0 in the middle column and a 0 in the rightmost column. You will then be taken to EPage 100.

To go to page 99, click 9 in the middle column and 9 in the right column.

To go to page 5, click 5 in the right column.

Press cancel if you decide not to go anywhere.

Tip: You can press Ctrl+G as well.


Library
Library.

Your library is the directory where you keep your books, files that you have converted with Ebook into .BOK format.

To switch books, select 'switch' from the 'file' menu or hit Ctrl+S. You will then be able to select the book you want to read.

Don't worry about losing your place in your current book - Ebook will preserve it for you automatically.


Notes
Ebook Notepad.

The Notepad allows you to 'scribble' down notes when you are studying a book. These notes are saved in Notes.Txt when you quit Ebook, so you cannot lose them. You can use any word processor to incorporate your notes in a professional critique.

To start up the notepad, hit F9 or select the option from the Ebook 'File' menu.

You can copy lines from the book into your notes by clicking 'Note Lines' and then clicking on the line you want with the cross-hair cursor.

Select 'Print' from 'Edit' in the notepad to print your notes.

If you want to keep the notepad window on top of the book, select 'keep notes on top' from the notepad 'edit' menu. You can cancel this option in the same way.


Pause
Pause.

To stop the auto-cue for a moment, hit the Pause button or F12 or select Pause from the menu.

If you want the screen to be blanked out after 10 seconds of pausing, to avoid phosphor burn, select 'blank screen when paused' from the 'pause' menu. This effect can be cancelled in the same way.

Screen blanking is provided by a local screen saver, which will not interfere with your Windows one (if you use one). To bring your screen back to life, hit a key or move the mouse.


Health
PC Health.

Click on this option on the menu bar to learn more about your rights and obligations following the EU directive on workstations.

You can also print the text of the 'lesson'.


Index
Help Index.

Choose this from the 'Help' menu to read this help text.


Keyboard
Keyboard Tips.

Key	Action

+	Turn the next page.

-	Turn back a page.

b	Turn back a page.

l	Turn back a page.

n	Turn the next page.

ENTER	Turn the next page.

PAUSE	To pause the autocue.

SPACE	Turn the next page.

F1	Help.

F3	Find Next.

F4	Text Colour.

F5	Paper Colour.

F6	Font size and style.

F9	Start the notepad.

F12	Pause.

Ctrl+M	Will Start Windows File Manager.

Ctrl+P	Will allow you to pick a new book to read.

Ctrl+S	Will allow you to switch to a different book.


Lessons
The Lessons.

There are six lessons that you can access from the Speed Reading menu. Work your way through them in sequence, perhaps after reading every other chapter.

When you have read a lesson, try out the suggested techniques when you read the next chapter. Don't give up on any techniques too quickly.

When you've finished the course, read the 'After Ebook' lesson. This will give you some tips on how to hone your reading skills. Remember that you can print the lessons.


Menu
Menu Tips.

Click Ebook's menu bar to pick the following options (this list is not all inclusive):

File Menu

Pick Book

Page One

End of Book

Show Notes

Print

Quit

Edit Menu

Copy Page

Find

Find Next

Go to a Page

Text Colour

Paper Colour

Font: Size and Style

Speed Reading

Lessons

PC Health

Health & Safety at the Workstation

Help

Index

About

Register

Using Help


Pages
Page Turning.

Use the 'Next Page' and 'Last Page' buttons. Alternatively you can turn on the autocue so that Ebook turns the pages for you. If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can use the PgUp & PgDn keys.

Home will take you to page one and End will take you to the last page of the book. You can also go to the first page by selecting 'Page One' from the File menu.

You can use Search to find a particular 'paper' page number. The 'paper' numbers are those that were printed on the original book. Search for 'Chapter' to go to the next chapter. Note that many Ebooks do not have page or chapter numbers.

When you close Ebook, your page is dog-eared. Next time you use Ebook, you'll start from that page.

Tips:

You can hit SPACE, ENTER, +, or n to turn over a new leaf.

You can hit b or l or - to go back a page.


Paper
Paper Colour.

This can be changed from the Edit menu.

The colour you choose will depend on how good your monitor is. Pick a colour that is easy on your eyes, grey is a good choice - white is usually a bad choice as it is too bright.

Many people like white text on a medium to dark blue background; I prefer black text on grey paper. Psychologists say that amber on black is good - The choice is yours!


Pick
Pick Book.

Select this option from the file menu to choose the next book you want to read. Ebook needs plain text books - it cannot cope with ones from word processors unless they have been exported as plain text files.  All Ebooks supplied by Datasaurus are in plain text.

Ebook will convert the book(s) you've picked into a mini-database; this will allow you to move around the book with great speed. The converted book will have the filename extension '.BOK'. You'll notice that it is far bigger than the original text file - that's the downside of fast access!

Sometimes books are supplied with one chapter per file or with one short story per file. With Ebook you can glue these together whilst they are being converted.

Note that converting books takes time. A gauge on the screen shows you how Ebook is getting on.

How to use the Book Chooser screen

When you select 'Pick Book from the File Menu or by hitting Ctrl+P, you will see the 'Book Chooser' screen. Here's how you use it:

1: Select the Drive and directory that you use for your plain text files.

2: Select the file(s) that you want to convert using your mouse. Note that you can select multiple files using Shift+Mouse button or Ctrl+Mouse button. Files must contain plain text.

Files with these extensions will not be processed: BMP .COM .DLL .DOC .EXE .GIF .HLP .ICO .PCX .RTF .SAM .WPD .ZIP .ARJ. This is because they are not normally plain text files.

3: Enter the book title in the box - you'll be prompted for it. The first 8 characters of your title will be used as the filename for the converted book. The extension .BOK will be added.

4: Click 'Go with current book order' if you have only one file to convert. If you have many files, this button will glue them in the order that they are listed. Hit the 'X' button to cut short a conversion.

If you are unhappy about the file order - click 'Change Book Order' instead. This will change the screen to allow you to drag and drop. Use this screen as follows:

1: Click and then drag each file on the left to the box on the right and drop anywhere in the right box. Drag them over in the order that you want them to be bound - ie chapter 1 first. You can drop anywhere in the righthand box, as your entry will always be appended rather than inserted.

2: If you've got files showing that you don't want, click, drag and drop them into the bin.

3: If you drag a file to the right box in the wrong position - drag items back over to the left and then to the right in the correct order.

4: If you drop an item somewhere else on this screen by mistake, it will fly home to where it came from.

5: When there are no items remaining in the left box, the conversion will start automatically.

Tip: If you have trouble finding your files, hit Ctrl+M to start Windows File Manager.

See also 'Switching Books'.


Print

Printing Ebook

If you want to read your favourite Ebook in your proverbial bath or sheep-dip, you'll want to print a chapter or two.

Select print from the File menu and choose your options. If necessary, select 'setup' from the print options to switch your printer to portrait, the required state for printing electronic books.

Note that the electronic pages will not quite match the original paper ones, but the effect is not unpleasing.

Printing Lessons.

Feel free to print the lessons off to act as an aide-memoire after your course. Select 'Print Lessons' from the 'File Menu' to do this. If necessary select setup from the print menu to switch your printer to portrait, the required format for printing lessons.

Printing PC Health.

Feel free to print the health and safety text. If you have an obstreperous manager, you can always beat him over the head with it. Select 'Print PC Health' from the 'File Menu' to do this. If necessary select setup from the print menu to switch your printer to portrait, the required format for printing this.


Registration
Registration.

Select this from the Help menu to register Ebook. Registration is good for you, and for me!

You'll see a list of available Ebooks if you press 'prepare registration form'.


Search
Searching.

Select 'Search' from the File menu to look for quotes or to move around in the book. When an item is found, you are taken to that page and the quote is highlighted.

Hit F3 to look for the next occurrence.

Search for the word 'chapter' to go on to the next one. Search for page numbers to move to other parts of the book. Note that Ebook pages are often unnumbered.


Speed Reading
Speed Reading.

Select this option from the menu bar to pick a lesson to read. The lessons offer guidance on how to read faster and retain more.

Tip: You can print the lessons from the 'file' menu


Switch
Switching Books.

Select this option from the File Menu or by hitting Ctrl+S. It will allow you to switch to another book that has already been converted into Ebooks .BOK format (See Picking Books.).

Use the Book Chooser screen that will be displayed to select the .BOK file you want to read. Double-click the file and that's it. You'll find yourself in the new book at the page you were on when you last referred to it.

Tip: If you have trouble finding your files, hit Ctrl+M to start Windows File Manager.


Using Help
Using Help.

Select this option from the 'Help' menu to get some tips on how best to use 'help'.