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         PC-FasType - Quick HELP Facility -- General Information

                          Welcome to PC-FasType

     PC-FasType is a computer-based typing instruction program designed
for intermediate and advanced PC typists who want to improve their
accuracy and speed on PC's running the MS-DOS Operating System.

     PC-FasType is an excellent vehicle for beginning typists too who want
to learn touch-typing on PC's.  It's designed for use by typists either in
a private at-home environment or during spare time at the office.  And
PC-FasType is ideal for use as a tool in the classroom when teaching PC
typing/keyboarding skills.  Your typing statistics can be recorded and
saved in a history file for auditing your progress.  You can view your
history anytime, so you'll know if you're getting better (or worse).
Timings, WPM, percent of accuracy, number of errors, etc., are displayed
at the end of each drill or exercise.  The highest WPM and running average
WPM is retained during your current typing session.


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     PC-FasType has the capability to drill you on all shifted special
characters and upper-case symbols plus all CAPITAL Letters; you'll need to
use the SHIFT keys to successfully type any of these characters.  You'll
also learn how to use the ENTER and BACKSPACE Keys.

     All drills, exercises, and features are selectable with the arrow
keys and function keys.  This Quick-HELP Facility is available with every
Menu; you can use it for quick reference while learning how to type with
PC-FasType.

     PC-FasType is very flexible for the beginning typist.  Beginners can
select many combinations of drill sequences from the Beginners Menu.
Additionally, one or more typing 'helpers' can be set from the Keyboard
Helpers Menu.  The combinations are many; you can adjust your drills to
boost your typing skills in those areas you may feel are weak (i.e.
Numbers, CAPITALS, special symbols, etc.), and you can improve your speed
and accuracy.  With the 'Choose Your Own' option in the Beginner Drills
Menu, you can even select a specific row of keys or columns of keys, or
all of the keys for specific fingers to practice typing.


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                        Save Your Program Settings

     You can save your program settings to a disk file when you're
finished with your typing session.  Select 'Save Settings' from the MAIN
menu and make sure the checkmark is on.   Each time you leave PC-FasType
it will remember the drills, exercises, or special files you were using.
When you start PC-FasType again your settings will be just as you left
them.  Just select BEGIN TYPING or press F10 and resume your drill or
exercise.  The names of the two files for saving program settings are:
FASTYPE.INI and SETTINGS.SAV.


                           Save Your Statistics

     Your typing statistics for each drill or exercise where you've typed
a minimum number of characters will be saved to a statistics history file
on disk.  To use this feature you must SELECT it in the main menu.  The
checkmark next to the menu entry indicates that PC-FasType will save your
typing statistics at the end of each drill or exercise.  Remember, to make
your typing history meaningful though, you must type a minimum number of
characters in each drill or exercise.

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The minimum number to type is:

               10 characters in BEGINNER DRILLS
               20 characters in INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED EXERCISES

Typing at least this many characters will cause the drill or exercise
result to be recorded in the history file.  Typing less than the minimum
number shown above will waste valuable disk space and give you a distorted
view of your true typing skills.

     The name of the typing statistics history file that PC-FasType
creates for you is called HISTORY.HST and will reside in the current path
unless you tell PC-FasType to put it elsewhere with the FTSPEC environment
variable.

              FTSPEC Environment Variable for Special Files

     An Environment Variable called FTSPEC is available for you to tell
PC-FasType where you want MS-DOS to store your program settings and
history files.   The program will normally create these files in the
current path.  If you're working on a LAN you'd want your settings and

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history files to be stored in your own private directory.  You can do this
by using the FTSPEC environment variable.  To tell PC-FasType where to put
your special files, place the following MS-DOS command in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

               set FTSPEC = (drive:)\directory

     Consult your MS-DOS User's Guide for more information about using
environment variables.

     If you have a two-floppy system without a hard drive you can tell
PC-FasType to place your special files on a freshly formatted floppy disk
in drive B:.

Use this SET command:

               set FTSPEC = b:

and PC-FasType will place your program settings files and typing history
files on the floppy disk in your PC's  B:  drive.


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                         The MAIN MENU Selections

     The MAIN MENU of PC-FasType is used to help you access the other
menus in the program.  There are five primary menus from which you can
choose warm-up drills, typing exercises, keyboard helpers, and features;
all selectable with the cursor keys or function keys on your keyboard.
There are also several Sub-menus and dialog boxes to help you 'fine tune'
your drill and exercise selections.


     When any of PC-FasType's menus are displayed, you can get to the
Quick-HELP Facility by moving the cursor bar to the HELP line in the menu
and pressing the ENTER key, or by simply pressing the F1 Function key.
When you select an item from the menu, a check mark will appear to the
left of it indicating you made a selection by pressing the ENTER key or
the Function Key for that item.  If you're selecting drills or exercises,
this action will reset some of your previous selections even if you change
your mind.  You're here because you probably selected the Quick HELP
Facility while PC-FasType's MAIN MENU was displayed.


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MAIN MENU SKILL LEVEL Selections:
               Beginner SKILL;      0-15 WPM
               Intermediate SKILL; 15-45 WPM
               Advanced SKILL;       +45 WPM

     When you start up PC-FasType, the skill selection will be set at the
Beginner Level.  The prompting rhythm for typing will be rather slow, and
the drill count - the number of randomly selected characters for you to
type is set at 20. This skill level stays in effect for all drills and
exercises until you change it by selecting a different skill level or
adjusting the count in the Keyboard Helpers Menu.

     For the Intermediate Skill selection, the prompting rhythm will be a
bit faster, but nice and easy for the intermediate typist.  The number of
characters for you to type is set at the count of 40.

     The prompting rhythm for the Advanced Skill selection is for speed
demons. You may want to turn off the sound (QUIET Mode - Helpers' Menu) as
things get pretty noisy if you can't sustain the speed.  The number of
characters for you to type is set at the count of 60.

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                            Copyright Notices

                              PC-FasType(Tm)

Copyright 1983-1991 Trendtech Corporation, Inc., Wayne, New Jersey, U.S.A.
All Rights Reserved.  Licensed Material; this software program, the
documentation, screen display renditions of keyboards, and text files are
the property of Trendtech Corporation, Inc., Wayne, NJ,  U.S.A.

Portions of the user-interface were implemented using "The Window BOSS"
Copyright 1984-1988 Phillip A. Mongelluzzo.

PC-FasType is a trademark of Trendtech Corporation, Inc., Wayne, NJ.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc.

PC-FasType is distributed as Shareware and has specific Licensing
provisions, please read the REGISTRATION INFORMATION portion of the Quick
HELP Facility or the User Guide for more information about Shareware,
Licensing, and Registration procedures.

