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1996-04-15
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T G B
v 1.20b
for IBM Compatible Personal Computers
User's Guide
Voice: (618) 995-2208
Internet: tdf@midamer.com
Table of Contents
TGB Legal Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Disclaimer of Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Choice of Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
License Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Disk Duplication Agreement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Online Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Phone Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Documentation Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
You Can Help Us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Note From the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Reporting Bugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Defective Disk Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Concept and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Using Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Using the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Automatic Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Manual Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The TGB System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Program Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Backing Up Your Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Class Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Creating a New Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Class Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cloning a Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Naming Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Moving / Sizing Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Printer Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Opening and Erasing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Defining Your Grading Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using Total Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Using Weighted Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Letter Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Entering grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Changing Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Dropping Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
"X" Grades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Deleting Records (Students). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Drawing Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Variable List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Deleting Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Changing Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Questions and Answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TGB Legal Information
The TGB software and User's Guide (documentation) are
licensed properties of TDF SoftWare. Use of this software
indicates your acceptance of the following LICENSE
STATEMENT, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY, DISK DUPLICATION
AGREEMENT, and CHOICE OF LAW. This is a legal agreement
between you, the end user, and TDF SoftWare. The TGB
software is licensed by TDF SoftWare for use only on the
terms set forth herein. Use of this software indicates that
you accept these terms.
Disclaimer of Warranty
We have made every effort to bring you an effective tool for
creating labels. However, you must be aware that TGB is
sold as is, without any warranty of any kind.
USERS OF TGB MUST ACCEPT THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY:
TGB IS SUPPLIED AS IS. TDF SOFTWARE DISCLAIMS ALL
WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS
FOR ANY PURPOSE. TDF SOFTWARE ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR
DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE
USE OR MISUSE OF TGB. GOOD DATA PROCESSING PROCEDURE
DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED WITH
NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST
ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING TGB. ANY LIABILITY OF THE
SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR
REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.
SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF
LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE
ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
IN NO CASE SHALL TDF SOFTWARE'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE
PURCHASE PRINCE FOR THE SOFTWARE.
Choice of Law
THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF
ILLINOIS AND SHALL INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF TDF SOFTWARE,
INC. AND ANY SUCCESSORS, ADMINISTRATORS, HEIRS AND ASSIGNS.
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ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT BY EITHER PARTY AGAINST THE
OTHER ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE
BROUGHT ONLY IN A STATE OR FEDERAL COURT OF COMPETENT
JURISDICTION LOCATED IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS. THE
PARTIES HEREBY CONSENT TO IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION OF SAID
COURTS.
License Statement
TGB is licensed for the exclusive use of the original
purchaser for use on one computer only. You must treat this
software just like a book. An example is that this software
may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved
from one computer location to another, so long as there is
no possibility of it being used at one location while it's
being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two
different persons at the same time. The only exception is
that purchasers of multiple or site licenses may use the
software on the number of computers specified by the
purchase agreement.
Disk Duplication Agreement
This software is not copy protected. TDF SoftWare
authorizes you to make BackUp copies of the software for
your archives only, for the sole purpose of protecting your
investment from loss.
Copyrights and Trademarks
The TGB 1.20 software is licensed property of TDF SoftWare,
Inc. and is copyright (c) 1995-96 by TDF SoftWare, Inc. All
rights reserved.
TGB User's Guide, copyright (c) 1995-96 by TDF SoftWare, Inc.
IBM and AT are registered trademarks, and PC, PC/XT, PC/2,
and PC-DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
MS-DOS, Microsoft, Microsoft Mouse, and Microsoft Windows
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
The TGB 1.20 software, User's Guide, or portions thereof may
not be reproduced in any form at all without the written
permission of TDF SoftWare, Inc.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or
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registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Direct all correspondence concerning the TGB 1.11b software
and User's Guide to TDF SoftWare, Inc., RR 1 Box 74,
Goreville, Il 62939-9608 USA.
Acknowledgements
Many people have helped to mold TGB throughout its
development process. Without their help this product would
not have been possible. A very special thanks to my wife
Vera. Her help was invaluable in designing the flow of this
program. Thank you.
Technical Support
Registered customers receive free technical support for one
year, notices of product updates and new product
announcements. We offer phone support that is best used for
getting you up and running. In depth support is provided
via CompuServe and other online services, as described
below. We don't recommend written correspondence because of
the lengthy time delays. If you have physical disabilities
that affect your ability to communicate with us, please
mention your preferred method of responding.
Online Support
Internet
Address: tdf@midamer.com
Phone Support
(618) 995-2208
Documentation Additions
Any changes to the program that occur after this manual was
sent to the printer will be included in the on disk file
ADDENDUM.DOC.
7
You Can Help Us
We have spent long hours preparing this software and have
provided it to you at a very reasonable price. For your
convenience, the disk you have received is not copy
protected in any way. Our license is very liberal in
allowing you to make BackUp copies to protect your
investment. Your honesty in not providing copies of the
registered version to others will help us to stay in
business and give you even better software in the future.
Note From the Author
Thank you for choosing TGB for your computer grade book
program. TGB was designed to be "user friendly" and to be
free of "bugs" or errors. Sometimes we don't always get
what we want. If you find any errors, bugs, or would like
to see the program act in a different manner, write to me.
Let me know your concerns. All comments are appreciated and
will be given serious consideration. If enough people want
the same thing then every effort will be made to make it
happen. I want future versions to be designed especially
for you and by you. In the case of bugs give me as much
information as possible. I have to be able to duplicate the
bug before I can correct it. Please realize that everything
you don't like is not always a bug. If you have found a
true bug then after fixing it I will send to you the newest
version with that bug fixed.
Reporting Bugs
I'll need your help to find and fix a bug. As I mentioned
before I need to be able to recreate the situation where the
error occurred. Please send me as much of the following
information as you can. For some of it you may have to
refer to your DOS reference manual.
1) Type of computer (brand and is it 100% IBM compatible?)
2) The contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files.
3) How much free memory do you have on your computer? You
can get this by typing the DOS command MEM.
4) Were there any error messages? What did they say?
5) Did the program crash? Was there a runtime error?
In the case of a program crash you may get a runtime
error. Example: Error 201 400B:100E If you get
anything like this write it down, it is very important.
6) Printer brand name and model
7) DOS version
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8) Version of TGB
9) Were you running the program from a hard drive or floppy
disk?
10) Write a detailed description of just what you were doing
and what happened.
Defective Disk Replacement
Users of the registered version of TGB will receive free
replacement of any defective disks during the first 30 days
of purchase. After the first 30 days there will be a $6.00
charge. You can help avoid this by making an exact copy of
the original disk and using the copy for all your work. If
you have a bad disk you will usually receive
one of these DOS error messages.
"General failure reading drive..."
"Sector not found..."
"Bad sector..."
"CRC error..."
"Address mark not found..."
"Unrecoverable read error..."
Check your DOS users manual for more information.
Concept and Definitions
The bar at the top of the menu which contains the menu items
File, Class, etc. is called the menu bar. The other boxes
are called pull down menus. Every menu item has one letter
that is highlighted (a different color from the rest).
Press the highlighted letter on your keyboard to activate
that item. A menu item followed by the sideways triangle
() opens another menu. A menu item followed by three dots
(...) opens a dialogue box. A menu item followed by nothing
starts that feature.
Using Keys
If you want to activate an item in the menu bar, press the
Alt key + the highlighted letter of that item and the
appropriate pull down menu will be activated. Activating an
item in a pull down menu is done by pressing the highlighted
letter. Pressing the
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Up or down arrow keys will move the lightbar to different
menu items, press the ENTER key to activate that item.
Pressing the right or left arrow keys will move to the pull
down menu under another menu bar item.
Using the Mouse
Move the mouse (point) to any item, menu bar or pull down
menu, and mouse click (press the left mouse button once) to
activate that menu item. When selecting from a list, double
click (press the mouse button two times) on that item.
Installation
First of all, make an exact BackUp copy of your TGB disk and
store the original disk in a safe place. You can use the
DOS DISKCOPY command or a utility such as our KOPYIT
program.
Automatic Installation
Substitute the floppy disk drive letter in the following
command from which you are installing the TGB program. From
the DOS prompt type the commands:
A: press ENTER
INSTALL press ENTER
Follow the prompts during installation. INSTALL will copy
the files needed to a directory of your choice. INSTALL
will not make any changes to your computer system files.
Manual Installation
You can manually install the program by copying the contents
of the program disk to a directory of your choice.
Substitute the drive letter that the program disk is in and
any legal directory name in the following example. These
DOS commands will install the program. Place the program
disk in your floppy disk drive. From your hard drive type:
MD TGB
CD TGB
COPY A:\*.*
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After each of the commands are typed press the ENTER key.
The first command creates the directory named "TGB". The
second command changes to that directory. The last command
copies the files from the floppy disk in "A" drive to the
directory. Once TGB is successfully installed on your
computer, change to your new directory and type TGB press
ENTER to start the program.
The TGB System
Supports the use of a Microsoft or compatible mouse.
Is small enough to be run from a floppy disk.
Easy to use pull down menus with contact sensitive
help.
Easily customized colors.
Uses variables (codes) to generate many different
reports.
Prints to LPT1, LPT2, or LPT3 - supports several
printers.
Create as many class databases as you need. Each
database can hold 1,200 records. The size is
only limited by your hard disk capacity.
Add up to ten lines of notes (memos) in a report.
This is done on the fly (at the time the
report is printed).
Getting Started
TGB was designed to make your grading tasks easier and not
designed to make you spend a lot of time learning a new
computer program. Most will be up and running in as little
as fifteen minutes. Everything you need to know is in the
online help and is just a keystroke away. Getting started
can be as easy as 1, 2, 3.
1) From the "Setup" menu - define your grading system.
2) From the "Class" menu - create a new class.
3) From the "Class" menu - enter new grades.
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Program Requirements
In order to install and operate TGB successfully, you need
An IBM PC or 100 percent compatible
personal computer with a hard disk drive
512K of RAM (1M of EMM memory recommended)
MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) version 3.20 or later
Printers supported: most dot matrix;
Laserjet 4 (tm) and compatible laser printers.
Almost any monitor
Formatted disks (for making working copies).
Using the Main Menu
By using the Arrow keys you can move the lightbar to
different menu items. Pressing the ENTER key will activate
that choice. Pressing F1 will show additional help for that
menu item. To quit the program you need to be at the main
menu. There is nothing worse than not being able to exit a
program any time you want. TGB was designed with this in
mind. From the Main Menu there are six different key
combinations you can use to exit the program. Use any of
the following keys to bring up the Quit Prompt.
ESC
Alt+F+X
Alt+X
Alt+Q
Ctrl+X
Ctrl+Q
Pressing the keys Alt+X from the class form will bring you
back to the main menu so that you can do other functions or
quit TGB.
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Backing Up Your Data
From the Tools menu select BackUp data. This backs up the
current open class database to a floppy disk drive specified
by you. You will be prompted for the disk drive letter.
You must be running this program from a hard drive to use
this feature.
Class Input
From the Class menu choose Create/edit class to enter the
class form where you can edit or create new classes. The
class form consists of input fields that allow you to enter
information about your students. Enter their last and first
name and a 3 or 4 digit class "code". The code is important
because in many situations you might want to refer to a
student by this code. Example: you could post a list of
current class grades, each students knows his/her code but
not the others.
Note the following special keys and their functions:
F1 - Help.
F2 - Save. Saves the current record in the database. If
you are editing a record then the record is replaced
in the database. If you are Adding then see F5.
F4 - Edit the label record. You must manually save your
changes in this mode. See F2.
F5 - Add mode. This positions you in the label form and
erases the current contents (screen only). After
typing in the 3 digit student code and pressing the
ENTER key the record will be saved.
F9 - Cancel edit mode. Unless you have saved the record
then no changes made will be permanent. See F2.
F10 - Create a new class (database). You will be prompted
for a file name. See Creating a new class below.
Alt+K - A list of all the keys needed in the class form.
Alt+R - Repeats the text into the current field that was in
the same field in the previous record. This can
save time when several records must contain some of
the same information.
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Alt+X - Returns you to the main menu.
Crtl+E - Erases the contents of any line that the cursor is
on (screen only).
PageUp - Go to the previous record in the database.
PageDown - Go to the next record in the database.
Insert - Toggle from insert mode (default) to overwrite
mode. Overwrite mode replaces the current
character with the new one.
Creating a New Class
If you wish to create a new class then follow these steps.
1) Press the "F10" key and follow the prompts.
2) Type in the student's last name, press ENTER
3) Type in the student's first name, press ENTER
4) Type in the student's code, press ENTER
Note: the student code is NOT optional.
The record will be saved automatically.
To continue adding more records (students), repeat steps 2,3
& 4. You must always enter a 3 digit student code. This
code is used to index all of the records. Without this code
TGB will not be able to find your records. In the first
step you will be asked to name the file (this will be a DOS
file name - see Naming files) and to enter a class
description. This description can be anything like "Algebra
II Second Hour".
Class Description
When you first create a class database you will be prompted
to enter a class description. This can be up to thirty
characters long and will appear on all reports when using
the variable <CLANAME>. You can edit or change the
description at any time, from the Class menu choose Class
Description.
Cloning a Class
From the Class menu choose Clone a class. Many times a
teacher will have the same students for more than one class.
This procedure allows you to copy the students from one
class to another class named by you. Student names and
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codes will be copied but not any grades. This is a great
time saver as you only enter the students one time.
Naming Files
DOS will only accept certain characters for filenames. For
a complete listing check your DOS reference manual. If you
enter an illegal character DOS will report an
error to this program. To be safe follow these rules.
1) A filename can be up to 8 characters long.
2) You can use the letters A to Z and/or the numbers 0 to 9.
3) An extension will be added to all filenames. Do not try
to add one!
An extension of a filename is a period followed by three
letters.
Example: MATH2.DTA The .DTA is an extension and is what
will be added for you. All you would need to do is type in
MYDATA. Do not use or end your filename with a period, this
character is part of the extension. All databases will have
two files, MATH2.DTA & MATH2.IDX. The .DTA file will
contain the database records & the .IDX file is the index
file that TGB uses to sort the database and find records.
Moving / Sizing Windows
Almost all of the windows and input forms (forms are in a
window) you see on the screen can be moved and some can be
resized. All of the little prompt (message) windows can be
moved. The best example to practice with is this help
window you are viewing now. Resize this window by pressing
the combination keys of: Alt+F5 and use the arrow keys to
move the bottom left corner up/down/Left or right until you
get the size you want, then press the ENTER key to set the
new size.
Ctrl + F5 = Move window to a new position, press ENTER when
done.
Alt + F5 = Resize window. (Not all windows respond to this
command)
F5 = Return window to full size or last size set by
you.
15
Printer Installation
If you haven't already done so, from the Tools menu choose
Select Printer. You will be presented a list of the
available printers. There are only four printers to select
from but TGB uses only the most common commands for text
styles, one of these will probably work for you. Check your
printer manual and see what kind of emulation your printer
uses.
A file will be created (TGB.PDF - Printer Definition File),
this file must remain in the same directory (or floppy disk)
as TGB to be able to use your particular printer commands.
Opening and Erasing Files
Use the up/down arrow keys to move to the file you wish to
open. Press the ENTER key to open that file or double-click
the file name with your mouse. Use caution when deleting
(erasing) a file, TGB has no way or restoring any files
accidentally deleted. The file deletion box is a different
color than the file open box, hopefully this will insure
that any files that you delete were meant to be. Use the
same procedure as when opening a file, double click with a
mouse or hi-light and press ENTER. As a final safety
precaution before the file is actually deleted you will
receive a prompt asking for confirmation. By clicking on
the Yes button, the file will be erased. If you are
deleting a database file then the corresponding index file
will also be erased. Do NOT use this function if all you
want is to reset the class for another period.
Grades
Defining Your Grading Scale
Defining your grading scale and setting up your grading
system only needs to be done once, all classes will use the
same setup. You must define a grading scale. See "using
letter grades" below.
TGB allows you to mark a grade for a student without it
being counted against him/her. This is called an "X" grade.
An "X" grade is entered by using the letter X rather than a
number. Any time TGB finds an "X" grade it simply ignores
it and it's value. This is useful for a student who may
take the test at another time.
16
Using Total Points
Enter a label (description) for each category of grades you
need. You must use at least one, each category will allow
you to enter 60 grades for each student. If you can use all
six then you will have 360 possible grades to use. In the
weighted column leave all of them blank and your grades will
be calculated using total points.
g1 = grade 1, etc
Total Points = combined total possible
points
g1 + g2 + g3 + ...
GPA = ───────────────────
Total Points
Using Weighted Grades
Enter a label (description) for each category of grades you
need. You must use at least one, each category will allow
you to enter 60 grades for each student. If you can use all
six then you will have 360 possible grades to use. In the
weighted column enter a percent of 100 that you wish each
category to be valued at. The total of category percents
must equal 100%. c1= category 1, c2= category 2, etc...
Each category grade is calculated by the following:
Total student points
c1 = ────────────────────── * 100
Total possible value
The Grade Point Average is calculated:
GPA = ( (c1 * percent) + (c2 * percent) +(...) )
Letter Grades
TGB assigns a letter grade to a student by comparing his/her
GPA against your grading scale. Some teachers like to use
A+, A, & A- while others prefer to simply use A, B, C, etc.
TGB will assign either of these styles based on the
following information that you enter.
17
The default settings look like this:
A+ A A-
0 0 91.5
B+ B B-
0 0 84.5
C+ C C-
0 0 77.5
D+ D D-
0 0 69.5
E/F
F
Change any or all of these to meet your scale. If you want
your grades reported with + and -, you must enter something
for all of them. Grades will then be reported as A+, A, A-,
etc. If you want your grades reported without the + or -
sign then leave all of the scale set to "0" except for the
column marked with a - sign. This columns grades are
defined as the least a student can make and expect to
receive a particular grade. Grades will be reported as A,
B, C, D, etc.
The last field allows you to enter the letter you want to
assign for a failing grade.
Entering grades
From the Class menu choose Enter Grades. You can enter up
to ten grades for each student at a time. Remember the
grade categories you used to set up your grading system?
You choose a grade category, the maximum value for the grade
and then a label (a label is nothing more than a
description) for the grade. Try to get in the habit of
using a label for each grade, it will make changing grades
later a lot easier. Repeat until you have the number of
grades you want for this session. Press the F10 key to
proceed to the actual grade input form. You will be
positioned to enter the first score (grade) for the first
student. Students are listed in grade book order (this is
the order you first entered the students in the class). The
grade can be from one to three digits (0..999) or you can
type in the letter "X". See "X Grades". When you have
entered the last grade for this student you will be on the
18
Process button. This is the time to make sure the grades
are correct, if not use the arrow keys to move the the field
you want to edit. When you press the Process button the
next student will be presented. TGB holds grades for up to
fifty students in memory before writing to the database
file. If at any time (before you end or reach fifty) you
want to quit you can and no grades will be saved. Once you
reach the end of the student list (or reach fifty students )
all grades will be saved.
Changing Grades
Each individual grade can be changed. Remember the grade
label you entered? Now it will come in real handy. From
the Class menu choose Edit Grades. You will be presented
with a list of students, move the lightbar to the student
whose grades you want to change and press the ENTER key.
Now a list of grade categories will be presented, choose the
appropriate one. Next you will see a list of all the grades
for that student in the category you chose. Beside each
grade will be the label and the possible points. Move the
lightbar to the grade you want to change and press ENTER.
You will be presented the opportunity to change the possible
points and the grade. Just follow the prompts. Of course
you can press the ESC key to quit at any time. Repeat until
finished.
Dropping Grades
If you want to change a particular grade you will have to
edit that grade manually but if you merely want to drop the
lowest grade in a category you can. From the Class menu
choose Drop lowest grade. You will be asked to choose a
grade category. The lowest grade in that category will be
changed to an X grade (see X grades). Some teachers like to
give extra points by giving a grade and assigning the
possible points a value of "0". Grades with the possible
points assigned as "0" are not changed when dropping the
lowest grade.
"X" Grades
"X" grades can be a powerful and useful tool, but remember
that since an "X" grade is not counted it can significantly
change a students total grade point average (GPA).
There may be times when a student misses an exam and you
don't want to give him/her a zero. If you give the student
a grade of "X" then the test is not counted against them.
19
It's as if the test never existed, the grade is ignored
completely. When you are entering grades instead of a
numerical value type in the letter X, no quotes. This is
the only letter accepted in the grade input form. As with
all grades you can go back and change the value. An "X"
grade is automatically given to a student when you choose
the option "Drop lowest grade".
Deleting Records (Students)
From the "Class" main menu choose "Drop a student". You
will be presented with a list of students. Move the
lightbar to the student you want to drop and press the
ENTER key. This student and all of their grades will be
permanently erased.
Reports
TGB has several example reports that you can use or
customize to your needs. From the File menu choose edit to
select an existing report to change. A list of existing
reports will be presented, select the one you wish to work
with and it will be positioned into the report editor.
Choose create to start a new report. You will be asked to
name this report and then it will be positioned into the
report editor.
The report editor is nothing more than a simple text editor.
Well, not so simple but it is easy to use. The editor does
have some advance features such as cut and paste which you
access via the shift + arrow keys (mark text), cut with the
shift + delete keys and paste with the shift + insert keys.
You type your report just like typing a letter. While in
the editor press F1 for help and press F2 for a list of
variables. These key variables can be placed into your
report and will be replaced with particular information
about a student. From the F2 list move the lightbar
to the one you want and press ENTER, it will be placed into
your report at the current cursor location. You can also
type these variables manually. A variable must be in
capital letters and enclosed with <>. Example: <LNAME> This
variable would be replaced with the students last name. It
is important to note that there are three variables that
must be the last item on a line or the only item on the
line. Anything following these on a line will be ignored.
These three print "lists" of information. They are:
<SCALE>, <GRADES>, and <MEMO>. The <MEMO> variable is a
special one that allows you to enter information into a
20
report from the keyboard when you print the report. Every
time TGB finds this a screen will popup asking you to type
in information to be printed. A memo can be up to ten lines
of information.
Printing
You must have installed your printer from the Tools menu by
selecting Select printer before trying to print any of the
following.
From the Print menu you can print several different reports
that are already predefined or print a report that you have
designed. Choose Class list to print a class roster. You
will be presented with a dialogue box that allows you to set
options for printing. Choose GPA to print a list of grade
point averages for the students in the open class. Again
you will be presented a dialogue box to set printing
options. If you choose Student grades a list of all grades
for each student will be printed. Choosing Statistics shows
the class statistics based on grade point averages and
optionally lets you choose to print it. Class reports lets
you choose a report that you have designed. You choose the
report and then the student that you want includes in the
report.
Drawing Lines
You can insert a single or double line into your report by
pressing the keys:
ALT+1 for a single line (──) and ALT+2 for a double line
(══). Repeat until the line is the length you want. Most
printers will print these as lines but some may print
"garbage", if yours does the try using the equal symbol (==)
or the underscore (__) as lines.
Variable List
<DATE> : current system date
<FNAME> : students first name
<LNAME> : students last name
<L> : letter grade
<GRADES> : * list of all grades
<SCALE> : * grading scale
<GPA> : total grade point average
<CLNAME> : class name
<AMIN> : minimum grade for an "A"
<BMIN> : minimum grade for a "B"
21
<CMIN> : minimum grade for a "C"
<DMIN> : minimum grade for a "D"
<MEMO> : * information that you add "on the fly"
<NEWPAGE> : form feed (ejects the printer paper)
* Note the version you have received may contain an expanded
list of variables to use. Check the online help for more
details.
Use the <NEWPAGE> variable when you think your report is
going to be more than one page long. TGB prints reports as
if they are only one page in length except when it
encounters this command.
* these must be the last or only variable on a line.
Deleting Reports
From the File menu choose Delete Report. A list of
available reports will be presented. Move the lightbar to
the one you wish to erase and press ENTER.
Changing Colors
From the Tools menu select Colors and a menu of items will
be shown. Choose any of these items and the color selector
will pop up. Use the arrow keys to move the small window to
the color combination you want and press ENTER to set the
colors. As you move the window through the different
colors, the area marked text text, etc will change to the
colors that are in the small window. If you are using a
mouse then simply double click on the colors you want.
Repeat this for every item of the program for which you wish
to change colors. The area of the program you are changing
is listed at the top of this form. If you want to use these
colors the next time you start TGB then you must choose Save
Desktop from the menu.
Password
From the Tools menu select Password to initially set or to
remove a password. Once the user has set a password, it
must be entered before anyone can run the program. You
password will be one single word. You will be required to
enter it twice before it is set. This will verify that what
you enter is the password you want to use. Only someone who
knows the password can change or remove it. Do not forget
your password.
22
Questions and Answers
Q) Do I have to install the program on my hard drive?
A) TGB will work faster from a hard drive but was designed
to be small enough to let you run it from a floppy
disk.
Q) How many students can I have in a class?
A) 1,200. TGB was tested with a class of 150 students and
worked fine. If you have very large classes then you
need a lot of disk space. A file containing 150
students takes up 818,250 bytes.
Q) How many grades can I give each student?
A) To maximize the number of grades for each student, set
up your grade categories using all six possibilities.
Name them things like: Test, Quiz, Homework, Attitude,
etc. Each category can be given sixty grades. The
answer: 6 x 60 = 360 possible grades per student.
Q) How many classes can I have?
A) Depends on the amount of free disk space you have.
Add as many classes as you need. If you are running
TGB from a 3 1/2 " high density floppy disk (1.44M) you
can keep the program files and enough classes for about
175 students on one disk. If you have more students than
this, you should make duplicates of the original disk and
keep other classes on them.
Q) How do I keep unauthorized persons from changing grades?
A) Use the password feature. If you set a password then
TGB will not even run unless the correct password is
typed in. Do Not Forget Your Password. This can not
be stressed too strongly.
23
TGB v1.20b
Order Form & Registration
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U.S.A.
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