MacFlash is a flashcard system for the Macintosh. It consists of two programs, MacFlash and MacFlash Quizzer. The MacFlash program allows to create and edit your own decks of flashcards, while MacFlash Quizzer allows you to quiz yourself on these decks, rating yourself by several different methods. The MacFlash system is not limited to simple question/answer type cards, but can include multiple choice, picture-type cards, and others which can easily be added in.
System Requirements
MacFlash and MacFlash Quizzer require system 7.0 or above. The following machines have been used to test MacFlash...
PowerMac 7100/66 and 8100/110
Quadra 810
Installation
MacFlash requires no additional installation beyond locating an appropriate folder to store the programs in.
Software Instructions - MacFlash
MacFlash can be started by either double clicking on the program's icon, double-clicking on a deck created for MacFlash, or by dragging a deck onto the program icon. If you did not launch without a file, you will need to create a new deck (File/New). Once you have a new or existing deck opened into MacFlash, you will see a window with a (possibly empty) list of cards, and a set of buttons on the bottom of the window.
The list displays the cards within the deck. Each card is identified by a small icon and the question on the card (or "Question not specified" if no question is defined for the card). Double clicking on any entry will bring up the Card Edit Dialog, described below. The list supports cut and paste of cards within the same deck, or between decks. Only one card may be selected at a time, though.
The commands on the bottom of the screen perform exactly as they read. "Add" (or the Deck/Add Card menu option) will add a card to the bottom of the deck, and bring up the Card Edit Dialog. "Remove" (Deck/Remove Card) will remove the currently selected card from the deck (same effect as the Edit/Clear command). "Move Up" (Deck/Move Up) will move the selected card up the list, and "Move Down" (Deck/Move Down) will move the card down.
When you either create a new card, or edit an existing one, the Card Edit Dialog comes up. Along the top of this window is a popup menu with the various types of cards you may create. Selecting a particular type will bring up editing fields for that card (which are explained below). Below the edit fields are two additional fields, the "Maximum Tries Per Card" and the "Value" field. These deal with how the card is presented in the Quizzer program. Click the "OK" button to keep the changes for the card, or click "Cancel" to discard them. Also, you can click "Ok And Add" to add the current card then continue to edit a new card.
For each card type, various editing fields are available in the Card Edit Dialog:
Plain Text: This is a normal 'question/answer' card. The two edit fields for this are self-explanitory.
Multiple Choice: The question edit field is self-explanitory. There are four additional edit fields, and a set of 4 radio buttons. In these fields should go the 4 possible answers you want displayed in the Quizzer. The right answer should be indicated by setting the radio button next to it.
Picture: This card displays a picture with a optional question. The question and answer fields are similar to the Plain Text style. The 3 field is a picture box. Click on it to hightlight it, then use cut and paste from another program (Finder, Photoshop, etc..) to paste a picture into this frame. The picture will be shown scaled, so don't be alarmed if it looks funny in the dialog.
There are two other menu options available not discussed in the above. Each deck can have a description which will be shown when it is loaded into the Quizzer. This description can be edited with the "Deck/Edit Description" menu option. Furthermore, you can set the default type of card, tries and values with the "Edit Preferences" dialog.
When you are done editing the deck, you can save with the File menu options.
Software Instructions - MacFlash Quizzer
The quizzer is much easier to operate than the editor. The quizzer can be started by dragging a MacFlash deck onto the program, or by opening the program and using the Open command to load in the quizzer. Once a deck is opened, the program will display the Description of the deck. You can then begin quizzing with the Start Deck command.
You will then be displayed with a card. Answer the question by typing the answer into the edit field below the card, and press return to see if you are correct. If you are, the status line (below the edit field) will tell you so, otherwise, it will display the right answer. Also, a small icon next to the edit field will appear, either a check for being correct, or an 'X' for being wrong. In either case, press return to go on to the next card. Continue like this until you have exhausted the deck, at which point a scoring dialog will come up and give you your preferance for that session. You can then retry the same deck, or load at new deck at this point.
There are some preferences which you can set. Under the Preferences command, a dialog will come up, which included the following preferences:
Override Set Number Of Tries : turn this option on to override the number of tries as defined by each card within the deck. You can then set the Maximum Number Of Tries Per Card in the following field.
Never Immediately Repeat : This will prevent you from see the same card twice in a row. This also means that if there is only 1 card left on the deck, and you miss it, the deck will automatically end.
Randomize Deck : Displays the cards in a random order if selected. Otherwise, the order will be the same as defined by the deck.
Case Insensitive : If on, your answers will not be checked for proper case.
Strip Diacritics : If on, ignores any diacritics (eg accented characters such as ç) in checking your answer
Strip Trailing Spaces : If on, removes any trailing spaces from your answer
Scoring Methods : There are several options for scoring your performace. Constant scoring means that the point value of each card will not change throughout the quizzing. Linear, Decrement By scoring will cause the value of the card to drop by the amount specified in the edit field after each wrong guess. Linear, Final Value of scoring will lower the card's value by a calculated amount such that on the last possible try for that card, it will be worth the value specified in the edit field. Halve Each Try scoring will halve the value of the card after each wrong guess, with a minimum of 1 point.
If you change any of these preferences, you will need to restart the deck.
Another preference that you can change is the scoring display, at the bottom right corner of the display window. You can choose to have this off, or one of several possible options based on cards, tries, or scores, by using the Status Line submenu. Changing this will not require you to restart the deck.
A final element of the interface is the status indicator, the LED-like object in the lower left part of the window. When this is red, you cannot quiz because no deck is loaded up. If it is yellow, then a deck has been successfully loaded, and you can begin quizzing. If it is green, then you are in the middle of a quiz.
Future Plans
A couple of ideas that I would like to implement at some point along the way:
- Drag and drop editing in the editor
- Support for user-definable types
- Additional card types
- More quizzing options?
If you have any questions/comments/suggestions or whatever, please contact me at the address above.
Version History
1.0d1 - Initial public release
1.0d2 -
• Description is now saved whenever it is edited
• Removed 'Page Setup...' and 'Print' options from File Menu (not used)
• Fixed dialog box shown when closing an modified deck
• Added ability to close deck in Quizzer, in order to start a new deck
• Modified or fixed interface to be more 3D like
• Added "OK And Add" button in Edit Card Dialog
• Menus are disabled when modal dialogs are opened
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank the following people for their help and support in making this program:
Bill Gundlach - for ideas and keeping me motivated
The people at #macdev - for ideas and suggestions
Metrowerks Codewarrior - Only the best development system for the Mac
James Rodden - For 3DAdditions and UWindowState classes
