PC-SIG: World of Education

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Signing the ALPAHBET is a shareware program designed to assist in the learning or teaching of the manual alphabet employed in ASL (American sign language. Refer to the manual for additional information on ASL and details on this particular program. Getting Started This text file is provided to get you up and running with min- mum delay. Please refer to the complete manual on MANUAL.DOC for more detail on how to control the speed and change the repeat cycles of the program if you experience problems beyond the instructions built into the program proper. Computer System Requirements ∙ One 5-1/4 or 3-1/2 floppy disk drive(s). A hard disk is optional. ∙ 80296, 80386, 80486 IBM or compatible computer. ∙ EGA, or VGA color or extended gray scale monitor. ∙ 640 K RAM, system base memory desirable. ∙ MS-DOS (OR PC-DOS*) 3.0 or higher. NOTE: This application does not need or support a mouse or track ball pointer. (*) Systems using PC-DOS. If you experience difficulty booting from the supplied floppy, boot the computer with your own system software and execute ALPHABET from the DOS prompt, or load the necessary files to your hard disk. The two files, ALPHABET.EXE and SETUP.DAT, are required to be in the same directory or sub-directory in order for this program to load and run. The program can be run directly from the supplied floppy disk or the two required files can be copied to your hard disk. In any case the floppy disk must be used in read/write mode, with the notch uncovered (5-1/4) or the slot close (3-1/2) so that SETUP.DAT can be read and written to before and after the program is run. The program is user friendly, with built-in instructions, so it is not necessary to have the remaining .DOC files on the working disk. "Signing the ALPHABET" is supplied on a data disk, no system track and must be launched with your DOS installed. Simple boot your computer and from the DOS prompt log to whichever floppy disk drive that has the software disk installed, such as drive A: Log over to that drive at the DOS prompt by typing the drive A: or B:. Launching from a data type disk is accomplished by typing the file name on the EXE file ALPHABET.EXE, with or without the EXE suffix. Log to the disk drive where the program resides. Launch the program by typing the following: ALPHABET (and press the Enter key) It is not necessary to add the EXE suffix. The Enter tells the computer you have finished your request from the keyboard. You must also use the Enter or Return key within the program to tell the computer you have made your entry and wish to continue. STARTING THE PROGRAM FROM A HARD DISK Log to the hard disk or disk partition, if you have divided your hard drive into one or several partitions (C:, D:, E: etc), and to the sub-directory the SETUP.DAT and ALPHABET.EXE files are located. Type the following at the DOS prompt: ALPHABET (Enter) The program is menu driven. To continue, follow screen in- structions. STARTING SIGNING THE ALPHABET FROM A DISK DRIVE Install the distribution diskette or a backup diskette made from the distribution disk, into a floppy disk drive and from the DOS > prompt log to that drive. If this is the first time you are launching the application we suggest that you look at the files on the logged floppy disk drive, with the DOS DIRectory command, to make sure that both the application ALPHABET.EXE and SETUP.DAT files are present and in the same disk and directory. The presence and location of the two files is important, otherwise the application will not launch and a error will result. Typing the DOS DIRectory command will cause the computer to list the various files found on the logged disk drive. If the list is short, they will all remain on the monitor screen so that you can read them at your leisure. If the list is long, the list will scroll off the top of the screen as new files are added to the bottom of the list. You can stop the scrolling at any point by pressing Ctrl + S, that is the control key plus the letter S key at the same time. To restart the scroll hit the key combination again. Once you have located the two files on the logged disk, all that is necessary to start the application is to type ALPHABET followed by pressing the Enter key. Files ending with the suffix COM and EXE, will launch without typing the suffix. You can launch the application from a DOS BATch file as well and a sample of such a file will be provided in Section 3. After typing in the name of the file, exactly as shown, the application will load. Then the program will begin to run automatically and the first thing it will do is read the information in the SETUP.DAT file. If this file is missing, damaged or corrupted, the program will stop and an error message will appear on the screen. If this should happen after the second try, type the following command to see what is in the SETUP.DAT file: (Assuming you are logged to the A: floppy disk drive, you will see DOS >A: or A: on the screen) A:TYPE SETUP.DAT (Enter) The DOS TYPE command will type the SETUP.DAT file on your monitor screen SETUP.DAT is a simple ASCII text file and you should see two numbers separated by a comma, no spaces. The initial file, as shipped, will contain the following: Page 3.0 2,500 The first number is the number of times each automated hand will repeat, thus the number 2 will cause the automated hands, J and Z, to cycle twice. If the first number is 1, then the hand signs will cycle only once. If the number was 4, the hands would cycle 4 times. The comma is a delimiter and must be present; no spaces either before or after the comma are allowed. The second number determines the time delay between screen re-writes for the animated hand sequences. The reason this number may be different after you have run the program the first time, is because it is dependent on the type & speed of your computer and CPU clock speed. The animations, when first run, may move so fast that you cannot follow them, or so slowly you may not be sure the program is working properly. Refer to the manual if none of the provided speed change numbers are suitable for you system. Assuming your application launched without difficulty, the first thing you will see on your screen is a red screen with the name of the program, software version number, our name and address and the copyright notice. You will also see instructions to "Press any key to continue!" Press any key to move to the MAIN menu. Special, customized, version of this software may present a different screen or the screen contents may be somewhat different than the description herein, for the standard release version. Page 3.1 SELECT A LETTER The first operational menu, the MAIN menu, will appear. It contains 5 options. Each option does the following: [1] Read instruction on how programs works: The application incorporates a three page set of preliminary instructions that can be reached from the main menu or from any place in the running program by pressing function key F1. The program is so simple to run that you are not likely to need a refresher in the various main menu options, but if you do, for some reason, MAIN menu Option [1] can be had by pressing the number 1 key, from the numeric key pad or from the regular number keys, followed by Enter key. Most AT and faster computers use a keyboard with the function keys running along the top edge, rather than a block of keys on the left side, like an XT computer. The on-screen instructions consist of three sequential screens of information and it is necessary to step through all three pages with the Enter key before the application will automatically return you to the main menu. The built-in instructions explain the various options and how to use the function keys. [2] Go to letter hand sign A to Z Enter the number 2 and press the Enter key to activate the first of two main function programs contained in this application. The first screen you will see is a black screen with several yellow boxes (on a color monitor), with an input line that reads "What letter do you wish ?" You may enter any letter, A through Z, in any order. We suggest that the first letter you select be the animated hand sign for the letter J (or Z). Select letter J by typing either a capital or lower case J followed by pressing Enter to tell the computer you have made your selection and are ready for the sign. The hand sign for J (or Z if Z was entered) will appear, it is animated, and you will be able to judge the animation speed for your computer by how long it takes the sign to complete the default 2 cycles. If it runs too fast or too slowly, return to the main menu and change the animation speed. The letter Z will run a little slower than the J, because the path described by the hand is more complex and we wanted it clear how the letter is formed. After the J hand finishes its cycle you have several ways to return to the MAIN menu. The fastest method, and easiest, is to hit function key F2. F2 jumps directly to the menu and you can select Option 4 to change the animation speed. Option 4 will be discussed shortly. When you typed in the letter J and hit the Return key, the interactive screen changed to show three distinct features. In the small box in the upper left corner of the screen, the letter J appears to show your selection. At the same time the hand sign for the letter J cycled above a short narrative describing how to form the letter with various fingers and the thumb of either hand. A red head outline appears in the background to show where you are located in respect to your hand sign. That is, the sign is performed in front of your body with the palm facing the observer unless the narrative says otherwise. Signs are not actually performed in front of the face, as they are in this demonstration program, but rather at about shoulder level using a bent elbow at a comfortable level at the side of the body. The body thus offers a background to make the signs easier to see. If a specific letter requires that the palm be turned inward, toward yourself, the image of the hand will be palm inward, in front of the red head outline. Several lines of copy are included to explain details of how a particular sign is made, when more than one are required to construct a letter. Again you will see the input request in the upper right corner of your screen. Enter a new letter and hit the Enter key when you are ready to move on. If you wish to return to the main menu from this or any screen location you can hit the F2 key or type the word MENU or Menu or menu, and the main menu screen will appear in place of the interactive screen. Typing in anything else will bring you back to the interactive screen request to enter a new letter. [3] Go to hand sign only FLASH-CARDS Option 3 brings up the second functional part of the application. When you enter the option number 3 and press the Enter key, the screen changes to a modified interactive window that shows a hand sign representing a letter A through Z. The computer has randomly selected a letter automatically, and you must correctly identify the hand sign for the letter before the screen will change to a new test letter. It is not possible to predict what letter will appear first or after each selection. It could be the same letter again, but more likely it will be a new letter. If the sign for the letter is composed of one or more parts, the letter will animate through the number of cycles established by the SETUP.DAT file or your selection in the MAIN menu Option 4, SETUP Option 1. If you do not enter the correct answer the screen remains the same and the computer will continue to ask the same question "What number hand sign is shown on the screen." If you do not know, or would like a clue, hit function key F3, and the required number to enter will appear in the upper left corner of the screen between two arrows. It is necessary to type this number at the cursor box and press the Enter key before the application will move on to the next number. If your answer is correct, the screen will change to a new letter and the process is repeated as long as you wish to see FLASH-CARD letters. When you have had enough you can return to the main menu by pressing function key F2 or to the instructions by pressing function key F1. You can also type the word MENU, Menu or menu in place of the number to return to the main menu, but pressing function key F2 is simpler and faster. [4] Change program SETUP options Option 4 allows the user to change two things from within the running program - the number of cycles in an animated hand sign and the speed the hand sign animates. You can also return to the default options built into the software or save your new options so that the program will launch as you left it, and you will not need to change it again unless you want and reduce or increase the number of cycles and/or make the automations run faster or slower. Type in the number 4 and hit the Return key to see the SETUP menu titled "SELECT PROGRAM OPTION YOU WISH TO CHANGE." If you do not wish to change anything, just look at the menu, and return to the main menu, by hitting F2, or type in any of the three versions of the word menu followed by the Enter key and you will return to the MAIN menu without change. Depending on the speed of your computer the MAIN menu will replace the SETUP menu in a short time. Options in the setup menu will be discussed in Section Three, Options and Fine Tuning. [5] Exit program to system or DOS The final MAIN menu option is to quit the program and return to your computer's DOS or screen manager program. Where you return is dependent on the way you launched the program and information in the launch BAT file. If you have a main memory problem during a launch from a screen manager program, usually due to limited main computer Page 3.4 RAM memory, simply exit from the screen manager and launch ALPHABET directly from the logged floppy or hard disk drive. It is necessary to always have the SETUP.DAT file in the same drive and directory as the application, ALPHABET.EXE, because the application is going to look at the SETUP.DAT file before it will run, it if is not there the application will not run. The SETUP.DAT file is again re-written on sign-off. You may also exit from other locations in the running program by typing the word EXIT followed by Enter at the prompt for a new number, option 2, or after a hand sign has cycled in the FLASH-CARD option. STARTING "Signing the ALPHABET" from a hard disk drive There is no real difference in the way the program is launched from a hard disk as compared to an internal or external floppy disk drive. Both of the required files must be present, and in the same directory. Once launched the application runs exactly the same no matter where it originated. Be sure that the write protect tab, on a 5-1/4 inch disk, or the slot of a 3-1/2 disk, are in the read/write position. That is, the notch of the 5-1/4 disk is uncovered and the slot in a 3-1/2 disk is closed. If you launch from a write protected disk the program will launch correctly, but may lock-up as you exit or make any changes in the SETUP menu, since you cannot write to the file properly. IF THE PROGRAM LOCKS UP If you manage to find a bug that we did not find during our testing and Beta trials, and the program locks up and stays stuck on the last screen, enter Control Break (Ctrl + Break) from the keyboard to terminate operation. That is depress first the Ctrl key than the Pause or Break key. Both keys will thus be depressed at the same time. This will send your computer back to the DOS command screen and you can restart the application IF you have included BREAK=ON in your CONFIG.SYS file. If this does not do the trick, restart your computer with the hot boot keys Shift + Ctrl+ Del, depressing all three keys at the same time. Should a lock-up occur, please try to recall exactly what you did to cause the error if it happens more than once and let us know about the problem so we can re-create the same conditions and fix it. OPTIONS AND FINE TUNING See the manual for Main Menu option 4 fine tuning.