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CREATEST.DOC
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1996-09-18
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CRE-A-TEST DOCS
THE INTRODUCTION:
CRE-A-TEST is a very unique program in that, like most of Util-Disks
programs, it has such versatilty, when compared to most programs of its
type.
Consider the following options:
FACTS AND FEATURES ABOUT CRE-A-TEST:
1 - It has the capability to handle up to 20,000 different questions, be
they True and False, Multiple Choice, or Fill The Blanks.
2 - You can create any number of data bases of specific Types or Groups of
questions, or intermixed the three types, in the same Data base.
3 - There is no limit to how few or how many questions can be in a Data base.
4 - Once you have created a number of Data bases, regardless of question
type, or subject content, you can selectively choose, from any or all of
them, and compose a single test that is made up of questions and
answers from a multiple of Data bases.
5 - You print a full page of test questions, and are automatically prompted
about printing more copies of that page, and then are prompted about the
printing of answer sheets for that page. If you type Y to print the
answers sheet, you will continually be prompted about printing another
copy of the answers sheet, until you respond with a N, then it moves on
to continue its printing (if printing with the A key), or it simply
awaits your pressing of the P key again (if printing selectively), and
repeats these steps again, when the next FULL sheet is printed. You can
also terminate any page from any point, number it, & receive these same
opportunities to print more copies of the test or the answer sheet.
6 - Each time that you change, from one Data base to another, while composing
your test, you are given options. You can start a new test, where your
test NAME, page numbering and question and answer numbering would all be
reset, or (in a case where you wish to add questions from a different
Data base to the test you are creating), you can continue with the
present test NAME, with all question and page numbering kept intact.
7 - You can selectively print the question displayed on the screen, from
any Data base, one at a time, browse to display a different question,
and print that one, and continue in that manner to complete an entire
test. OR You can press the A key and print ALL records that match
your retrieval criteria, without exception. Note that when ever you
press the A key, (to print every record retrievable via your entered
ID name), it will print as was stated `EVERY RECORD', even if you have
SELECTIVELY printed some of them, using the P key, during the same
printing session. You would then get a duplicate printing of any
questions that had been selectively printed. So it is suggested that
you remember not to do this. Either print them all, using the A key,
or print them one at a time, using the P key. Note that printing with
the A key the questions, in your Data base, will be printed on a 1st
IN, 1st out basis. (in the order in which they were originally entered)
To print any Data base, in any other order, you must print selectively,
using the P key.
Page #1
8 - Whether you are selectively printing, or printing `en mass', you are
alerted each time your printer has been fed sufficient questions to
FILL the page being composed, by a ORANGE banner prompt. This prompt
asks you if you wish to print more copies of the page just printed.
If you press the Y key, a copy will print, and the banner remains, so
you can press Y again, and again, until you have as many copies as you
want. Then you press N, and a RED banner appears, that prompts you
about printing the accompanying ANSWER sheet, for the test page you
have just printed. If you press Y, it begins printing it, and asks if
you wish to print yet another copy. It will keep asking if you want to
print more copies, until you respond by pressing the N key. While it is
printing you can browse, command more questions to be printed, etc. If
you are printing many copies of your compiled test page, and the answer
page, you may catch up to the cache of your printer, meaning that there
may be a pause before the program returns the ORANGE banner to the
screen. Always wait for the banner to reappear, before trying to
continue commanding more printing. If you are printing using the A key,
the program automatically waits for the correct time to send more data
to the printer, and to redisplay the banner.
9 - If, as you create a test by selectively printing individual questions
from your Data base with the P key, you end up not filling the last
page of your test with questions, you can number that page, and receive
the previously indicated prompts, by simply typing the # character,
which is done by holding down the SHIFT key, as you press the 3 key.
10 - If you DO FILL a page, it is automatically numbered, and the same options
are presented to you, about printing more copies, & printing copies of
the answer page. If, while printing with the P or the A key, a situation
arises where a normally acceptable question is selected to be printed
and it just so happens that it is 1 line longer than can be allowed on
that particular page, a GREEN banner displays that tells you that the
last question that you requested to print, meets this criteria, and its
Data was NOT sent to the printer. You are prompted to press P again,
for that particular question, once the options to print more copies, of
the questions & answers sheets have been attended to. If you are
printing with the A key, this RE-ENTERING of the omitted question, is
done automatically.
11 - Regardless of what Data base you are selecting questions and answers
from, to create your test, you can give your test any name you want,
as long as it contains 10 or less characters. For instance, you could
have separate Data base groups of questions called READING 1, READING 2,
READING 3, and READING 4. You could create a single test, selectively
printing the most important questions from each of these, and you could
name your created test READ 1 - 4. OR you could have Data base groups
for the MATH subject, one named MATH T/F (for true and false), one named
MATHMULT, (for multiple choice), & one MATHFILL, (for FILL THE BLANKS),
and you could selectively choose questions from each of these Data bases
to create a SINGLE test that would then be a combination, and you could
name it MATH MIX.
12 - While there are 12 lines on the screen, where you can type in Data, you
only have access to those that pertain directly to the type of question
that you are presently entering into your Data base, as you create them.
The program accomodates the three types of TRUE AND FALSE, MULTIPLE
CHOICE and FILL IN THE BLANKS. The latter two both have provisions for
the entering of either three choices, or the entering of up to 3 words
to be used to fill in the blanks, in your question. In other words, you
give 3 options in multiple choice, and can have from 1 to 3 blanks in
Page #2
your fill in the blanks questions. The program automatically skips over
any lines that DO NOT APPLY to the type of question you have chosen, and
this same feature holds true when you type BU to BACKUP, wherein it will
once again skip over lines that are not applicable.
13 - In creating your question and answer Data bases, you will assign an ID
NAME to each question. This is the name by which you will Retrieve,
Browse through, Alter, and Print the Data that you have saved to file.
All question and answer entries, that have the same ID name, are what
will comprise a Data base. In the future, if you wish to ADD another
question and answer to this Data base, simply give your addition the
same ID name. If, over time, you happen to forget a specific ID name,
normally you would not be able to Retrieve that Data base. In the
CRE-A-TEST program you can simply type a ? for the Retrieval ID name,
and you will then Retrieve all records in every Data base, one at a
time, on a 1st IN, 1st OUT basis, as you browse through them. When you
come to the one that you recognize as the forgotten one, just press C,
to access the CHANGE mode, and the ID name of the record will display
in the 1st line of the form, where you originally typed it, so you can
read the ID name that you forgot, and refresh your memory.
14 - You can press Q or Q and ENTER from almost any line, to quit the program,
M or M and ENTER, to access the main menu, BU and ENTER to BACKUP 1
line at a time, or a SPACE and ENTER to void a line of all Data (if it
is a line that is allowed to be blank)
15 - Lines 1, 2 and 3, are not allowed to be left blank, and line 9 is not
allowed to be left blank unless you have chosen the question type of
FILL IN THE BLANKS. If you try to leave or make these a blank, you
are alerted that it is not allowed.
16 - The dashes provided, for each entry line, represent the maximum number
of characters that are allowed on that particular line. If you type
more than that amount of characters, and press the ENTER key, the
program beeps, a prompt says `TOO LONG', and then the line is cleared
and the dashes replaced.
17 - Whether you are initially ENTERING a question for a Data base, or if
you have RETRIEVED and are in the CHANGE mode, (where you can ADD to
SUBTRACT from, or ALTER), you can type S on any line, to access the
SAVE OPTIONS MENU. The typing of the S does not affect, in any way,
the Data that might exist on the line where the S was typed. The S is
totally ignored by the program, and the original lines text is left
intact. When BU is typed, to BACKUP, the letters BU are also ignored.
18 - The SAVE OPTIONS MENU gives you 4 options, and they are identical
whether you are in the ENTER or RETRIEVAL mode. When you have
accessed the SAVE OPTIONS MENU white letters Will blink, on a red
background, giving these options.
1 - Press S again, to SAVE your Data to file.
2 - Press R to REDO your entry. (keeping all Data intact)
3 - Press M to access the MAIN MENU.
4 - Press Q to QUIT the program.
19 - If you are in the ENTER mode, and you access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU &
then press the S key, the Data is saved to file, lines 4 through 12
all clear, and your cursor is repositioned at the beginning of the 4th
line, and you begin typing in the next question to be added to the
Data base. At any point that you desire to change the TYPE of question
Page #3
just press BU to BACKUP to line 2, and press 1, 2 or 3 to do so. When
you do this, you will once again have access only to those lines that
are relative to that particular TYPE of question. When you Print your
Questions, as you compose a test, the TYPE of question prints on the
page whenever a NEW type of question prints. It will not print again
for that type, unless that SAME TYPE progresses into the NEXT PAGE, or
another group of questions of the same time reappear later, in your
selected printing. At the beginning of each page, the TYPE of question
is printed. If it is the same type as at the end of the LAST page,
the question and answer numbering will continue on from the LAST page.
If it is different, then the TYPE prints, and the question and answer
numbering starts over from #1, for the NEW TYPE . The numbering will
then continue to be sequencial until there is a another TYPE change.
If you are in the Retrieve mode, you initially can browse, and until
you press the C key, (to access the change mode), you can not access
the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, as there would be no reason to SAVE a record
that has been retrieved and not changed, as you would simply be saving
what already exists in file.
MODES OF OPERATION:
There are 2 main MODES of operation ie ENTERING DATA, and RETRIEVING DATA.
Each of these has its own capabilities, and limitations. When you
initially run the program, by typing GO, while in the directory containing
the programs files, you will be presented with the main menu screen. This
is the screen that is referred to, in the program, when prompts on the
screen say PRESS M FOR MENU, etc. Looking at the MENU you will see that
you can select to ENTER, RETRIEVE, or QUIT.
SELECTING THE ENTER MODE:
By pressing the 1 key, you will access the ENTER MODE. A screen will be
displayed that contains 12 specific lines, where you enter Data. The types
of Data entries are outlined in the following paragraphs.
THE DATA ENTRY LINES:
Line #1:
The first line is called the NAME or ID line. The Data that you type into
this line, is the only data that can be used to Retrieve the questions
and answers that you are about to enter. This is the line that you use
to establish a GROUP or TYPE of question, all of which will be retrieved
by a single retrieval command, if the Data typed in this line is all the
same. Remember that, while we discuss PRINTING FEATURES in the next few
paragraphs, PRINTING is ONLY done, in the RETRIEVAL mode, and NOT in the
ENTER mode. Here are a few things to consider, as you make your entries,
and create tests or Data bases.
1 - You can type a specific ID name, on line #1, that will identify,
and enable the retrieval, browsing, altering, and printing, of
that particular group. This Group can be comprised of a single
batch of questions, which you wish to be a complete test, in and
of itself. In this manner you can retrieve by the ID name, press
the A key, and all of the questions and answers that you entered
under that ID name, will print, in the same order as they were
Page #4
originally entered. You will be given the MORE COPIES? and PRINT
THE ANSWER SHEET(S)? prompts, as each printed page is filled.
2 - You can enter an ID name, as above, and intend soley on creating a
Data base, from which you will SELECTIVELY print questions and
answers, to compose individual and unique tests.
3 - You could also desire to create a Data base of strictly TRUE AND
FALSE questions, another Data base of MULTIPLE CHOICE, and a 3rd
of FILL IN THE BLANKS. Your intention here would be to more
easily be able to compose tests, keeping the TYPES OF QUESTIONS
GROUPED, in the composition of the final test.
4 - You may desire to create a Data base that contains questions for
a single GRADE of student. OR, You may wish to create them for
only specific CLASSES, SUBJECTS, etc, and be able to DRAW FROM
THEM, as you SELECTIVELY print, to compose your final test or
tests.
5 - Most likely, you will create your Data bases in some combination,
or ALL of the above examples. This would give you a true variety
of options, when you decide to compose a test.
The main thing to consider is that if you create GROUPS that are actually
FINAL TEST COMPOSITIONS, in and of themselves, you can print the test
without having to selectively browse to each question, and press the P
key, for each question you want to print, at that point in time. However,
you do not have the versatility, and would probably want to vary these
tests, ADD TO, SUBTRACT FROM, etc, from time to time. It is your option.
Also please remember that, during printing, If you are printing from a
Data base that is actually a complete test, and you want more copies, you
can simply print that ENTIRE Data base again. If you selectively print
and compose a test, you would have to do the selecting again, to get more
copies of that identical test, or make copies of an already created one,
on a copy machine. You can, during the printing of each page, print as
many copies as you want, before you move on to the printing of the ANSWER
page, where you can also print as many copies as you want. So if you
print enough copies, the first time through, you should have no reason to
suddenly need another copy.
Example:
Let's assume that you wanted to enter a group of questions for your
READING class, and that it is for grade 4, and the test is to be the 1st
in a series. You might type READ 1G4 in this 1st line, as a means of
identification. Always try to use an ID name that MEANS SOMETHING TO
YOU, and it is not a bad idea to WRITE THEM DOWN. You will soon find
that you have accumulated quite a number of different ID names, and some,
I am certain, may be quite similar, which could be confusing to you in
the future, when you try to remember the individual ID names.
Line #2:
Line #2 is where you select the QUESTION TYPE. Pressing the 1, 2, or 3 key,
and then pressing the ENTER key, will establish a type. 1 is TRUE & FALSE,
2 is MULTIPLE CHOICE, and 3 is FILL IN THE BLANKS. While you could change
the TYPE, with every question, it is a good policy, and a normal one, to
create groups of questions and answers that are all of the same type. You
can have different groups, of course, within one test, but usually the TYPES
Page #5
are grouped together. Remember that the retrievals are in the same order
as they were entered, and the printing, (if done automatically, using the A
key), will be printed in this same manner. Therefore, to keep the questions
grouped, printing automatically, you must try to GROUP THEM, as they are
originally ENTERED. As will be explained later, you can SELECTIVELY print
from ANY or ALL records created, and therefore establish GROUPS in that
manner also.
If you begin to type in data, as a FILL IN THE BLANKS, and then you
decide want to change the question to a MULTIPLE CHOICE, any line that
does not relate to the MULTIPLE CHOICE type, will be automatically
VOIDED of Data. So if you had entered answers in the FILL IN THE BLANKS
answer lines, the data would be VOIDED, and the lines made blank. This
happens when you Backup to line 2 and select a number that represents a
NEW TYPE of question, which then changes the accessible lines.
When you select 1, 2 or 3, the words TRUE AND FALSE etc, are displayed on
the screen to the right of the entry point, as a constant reminder to you,
of the type selected.
Line #3:
Line #3 is where you enter a brief description of the SUBJECT MATTER that
is to be involved in the questions you are entering. For instance, if you
were creating a COMPUTER test, you may enter something like, `DIRECTORIES,
FILES, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ORGANIZING A COMPUTER'. Normally, you
will make your desired entry on this line, and then create the questions
and answers that relate to it, and TERMINATE that particular test, if you
decide to change to different subject matter. Of course, you can describe
MANY subjects, on the same line, if you wish to incorporate these MANY
SUBJECTS, in a more lengthy or involved test, or if you are creating more
of a DATA BASE type, from which you plan to selectively print. As was
mentioned earlier, this line CAN NOT be left as a BLANK line, or have its
Data voided, but you can ALTER the data at any time during creation, or
you can retrieve it in the future, and alter it.
Lines #4 and #5:
These 2 lines are for the entering of your question, regardless of the
type involved. You can use one or both of these lines, for your question.
If you do not wish to use the 2nd line, just press the ENTER key ONLY,
when your cursor first moves onto that particular line.
Upon reaching the end of line one, press the ENTER key to access the next
line, and DO NOT exceed the provided dashes. If you are creating a FILL
IN THE BLANKS question, be sure to provide sufficient space for the students
answer, and bear in mind that young children require more than the normal
amount of space, for entering their writing or printing.
Lines #6 thru #8, Entering the MULTIPLE CHOICE options:
On these three lines, which are labeled A:, B:, & C:, you will enter up to
3 choices, that you are giving, for the multiple choice question that you
have created. 20 spaces are provided for each of the 3 entries. Make
your entry on line A:, and press ENTER to access line B: etc. You may
leave a line blank here, if you desire to only give 2 choices, etc.
When you press ENTER, after making your entry on line C:, you will move
to line 9, at the far righthand side of the screen. Here you will enter
the letter A, B, or C, to represent the CORRECT answer, from your
previously entered choices. This data is used to create your ANSWER sheets.
Page #6
Line #9:
This line was referred to, in the previous paragraph, as where you would
enter A, B, or C to represent the correct choice, in the case of a Multiple
Choice question. It is also where you would enter a T or a F, in the case
of a True or False question, to represent the correct answer to your
question. This, as was mentioned already, is data that will be used in the
creation of your ANSWER sheets. If you have selected TRUE OR FALSE, or the
MULTIPLE CHOICE question type, you will access this line, and you can not
leave it as a blank line. This prevents you from forgetting to put the
answer to your question in your record. If you have chosen the FILL IN THE
BLANKS question type, you WILL NOT access this line, as it is in no way a
requirement, for the entering of a question of that TYPE.
Lines #10 thru #12, Entering the FILL IN THE BLANKS answers:
Lines #10 thru #12 also contain space for the entering of 20 characters,
letters, numbers, etc. Depending upon your specific question, you can use
from 1 to 3 of these lines, to enter the correct answers, for the Blank
lines of your FILL IN THE BLANKS question. Always enter the answers in
the same order (left to right), that they should be inserted into the Blank
lines, to be correct. As with lines #6 thru #9, the data on these lines is
used to create your ANSWERS sheet.
SAVING TO FILE, OR RE-DOING A COMPLETED QUESTIONS DATA:
Accessing the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, can be done (from any line), by typing
S and pressing the ENTER key, OR - When you complete the last accessible
line, for your question type, and press ENTER, the SAVE OPTIONS MENU is
automatically displayed, and a beep is heard. At all times on the screen,
there is a red block, with white letters, that informs you to TYPE S AND
PRESS ENTER WHEN READY TO SAVE. Once you have done this, or accessed the
SAVE OPTIONS MENU automatically, the type in the red box changes to white
FLASHING wording, that says S = SAVE, R = REDO, Q = QUIT, & M = MENU. In
this case MENU refers to the original menu, where you chose whether you
would ENTER or RETRIEVE, questions, and not to the SAVE OPTIONS MENU. The
SAVE OPTIONS MENU, is what you are looking at, when the white letters are
FLASHING.
If you select R to REDO, the SAVE OPTIONS MENU vanishes, and the original
wording in the red box returns. Your cursor moves to the 1st line of the
screen ( the ID name line). From there you press the ENTER key, with
no other Data being entered, to accept and retain the Data on the cursor
line. If you wish to change it, then just retype it, but remember that
you must retype the ENTIRE LINE, once you start, and you can not just
CORRECT a spelling error, midway in the line, and press ENTER. If you do,
only what you have RETYPED will appear as the NEW DATA on that altered
line. Note: Once you have made an entry to a line, and have not yet
pressed ENTER to leave that line, you can use the arrow keys to backup on
the line, and alter a single item, press ENTER, and retain the entire lines
Data. It is only when you are entering a line during REDO, or in the
CHANGE mode, after retrieving records, that your RETYPED Data represents the
entirety of the Data that will be retained on the line, when ENTER is
pressed. If you wish to totally remove the cursor lines Data, ( and it is not
line 1, 2, or 3, which can not be made blank), then just press the space
bar once and then the ENTER key. The data will be voided from the line &
you will move to the next line. Continue in this manner, until you have
taken the action, that you intended to take, when you chose REDO on the
SAVE OPTIONS MENU. Once you have made your correction, addition etc,
Page #7
you can press the S key, from any line, and access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU,
and SAVE the record. The pressing of BU to Backup, or S to access the
SAVE OPTIONS MENU, does not affect any data that may exist on the line at
the time that the BU or S is typed. In other words, if your cursor is
resting on the beginning of the 1st question line ( line #4), and the
data on all lines is as you want it to be, you can type S, right over the
top of the 1st letter of the question that already exists on line #4, access
the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, and SAVE your question. The question on line #4
will be saved intact, with the S being totally ignored. You may press R to
REDO, after accessing the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, as many times as you want. If
at anytime during the entering of the Data for your question, including after
you have accessed the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, you can just press the M key to go
to the MAIN MENU, or the Q key to quit the program, and nothing that you
have entered, (for this particular questions entry), will affect your saved
records, or add to them. It will be just as though you had never started
that particular question in the first place. This is true, even if you have
pressed R to REDO something. As long as you have not pressed S while the
white letters were FLASHING, to SAVE the questions Data, you can Press M or
Q, and not affect your records at all.
SOME FEATURES OF THE ENTRY MODE SCREEN:
Keeping a count of a sessions created records quantity:
As you create records, you will note that a display, at the top of the
screen, indicates how many records (questions), you have entered, during
this particular session. If you leave the ENTRY mode to go to the MENU,
and then come back to it again, your questions numbering will start from
#1 again.
The HELP screens:
From any line of the screen (this applies to the RETRIEVAL screen also),
you can access the COMMANDS HELP SCREEN. Just press H and the ENTER key.
Once you have accessed the 1st of the 2 HELP screens, press ANY KEY to
go to the 2nd screen and ANY key to return to your point of origin. When
you return, you will find everything just as you left it. The pressing of
the letter H, as was the case above with the letters S and BU, will not
affect any Data that previously existed on the line, when the H and ENTER
were typed. You can access the HELP screens as many times as you wish, &
from any line, with no affect on any previously entered data.
Line length warning:
If you exceed the provided dashes with your typed in characters, you are
told that your entry was `TOO LONG', the line is CLEARED, and the cursor
repositioned at the beginning of the line, and the dashes are replaced.
Voiding a line:
Typing a SPACE and pressing the ENTER key, will void a line of its
existing Data, if it is not line 1, 2, 3, or 9. Lines 1 thru 3 ALWAYS
require the entering of Data, and line 9 requires it if your question
type is TRUE OR FALSE, or MULTIPLE CHOICE.
Backing up, 1 line at a time:
Typing BU and pressing the ENTER key, will back you up to the first
accessible line (depending upon the question TYPE selected), and does not
Page #8
affect any Data on any of the lines that you might BACKUP over. You may
continue to type BU and ENTER, and BACKUP all the way to the beginning, if
you want to. Coming forward again, after backing up, all you have to do
to retain the data `AS IS', for the lines you have already filled with
typed in Data, is press the ENTER key, with no other Data being typed in,
and you will progress forward, leaving everything intact, as it was
originally.
Saving a question to file:
Typing S and pressing the ENTER key, from ANY LINE, will access the SAVE
OPTIONS MENU, where you can choose to SAVE, by pressing S again, or to
REDO, by pressing R, or M for the main menu, or Q to quit the program.
Printing:
You can not PRINT while in the ENTER MODE, but ONLY in the RETRIEVAL MODE.
SELECTING THE RETRIEVAL MODE:
Upon accessing the initial MAIN MENU, pressing the 2 key will access the
RETRIEVAL MODE. The retrieval mode is the only mode that allows you to
retrieve records, change previously created records, browse through the
created records, print saved records, make answer sheets to correspond
with your printed records, and compose and print complete test sheets.
The length of a test can be as little as 1 question, from any question
type or group, or it can contain every question that you have created
and saved to your Data base(s).
You can print tests, without having to print an accompanying answer
sheet, if you desire. but you can not print an answer sheet, without
1st printing the applicable questions. You are given the options to
print as many COPIES of each page, of both the questions and answers,
that you may desire. You need not do either, if you do not want to,
and can simply answer the screens prompts with a N, to bypass doing so.
If you print a page and then press N to NOT PRINT extra copies of your
created page, or NOT TO PRINT the answer sheet that should accompany that
page, the following occurs.
1 - If your created page was a compilation of a variety of saved
questions, from more than 1 Data base group, you will have to
RE-COMPILE those same questions again, if you want more copies
of the same page, in the future. So make certain that you make
sufficient copies, the first time. Remember that, compiled or
composed tests (those made by selectively printing questions
from a variety of Data bases), ARE NOT SAVED as a compiled
group of questions, and DO NOT EXIST as a unique group. Once
a page of questions have been COMPILED, in this manner, the
COMPILATION exists in the form of the printed PAGES, and the
INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS still only exist (in the file), in their
original and INDIVIDUAL DATA BASES.
2 - If your created page was the result of printing from a SINGLE
Data base, and you printed with the A key, which prints all of
that Data bases questions, in the order they were originally
entered, you can simply retrieve that SAME Data base in the
future and press the A key to print yourself more copies.
Page #9
3 - The creation of more ANSWER sheets is basically the same
situation. The ANSWER sheets of course, only being able to
be printed AGAIN once you have printed the original QUESTIONS
page AGAIN.
THE 2 MODES OF THE RETRIEVAL SCREEN :
The 2 modes are called the BROWSE MODE and the CHANGE MODE.
When you view the MENU screen, and press the 2 key, you will access the
screen where you will enter the ID (name), of the question group, that you
wish to retrieve. This is the name, number or combination, that you
originally typed on the 1st line, when you created the Data base for a
particular group of questions and answers. This is the only criteria by
which you are able to retrieve records from any Data base. You will enter
the ID and press enter. If you ever forget what you originally entered, you
can access ALL records and browse through them, by entering ? in place of an
ID name or number. In this case, the 1st test question and answers that you
created will be displayed, and you can browse, with the left & right arrow
keys, to look at all records created in all Data bases. In this manner, you
will be able to locate the record whose ID you forgot, press the C key to
enter the Change mode, and see what the original ID actually was.
Once you have entered an ID, and pressed enter, the records that match your
ID will be retrieved in a 1st IN, 1st OUT order. As mentioned, you will
browse with the left and right arrow keys. At this point, you are in what I
call the BROWSE mode. In the BROWSE mode the following functions are active.
ACTIVE BROWSE MODE COMMANDS:
1 - Browse with the left and right arrow keys.
2 - Press P to print any retrieved record that you have browsed to. This
is referred to as SELECTIVELY printing. Once the P command has been
entered, and the data has been sent to your printer, you are returned
to the BROWSE mode again, and can continue to BROWSE and print.
3 - Press A to print ALL records that are retrievable, meaning all that
match this sessions specific ID retrieval criteria. Like browsing,
the printing will also be done in a 1st IN, 1st PRINTED manner.
TERMINATING THE PRINTED PAGE AT LESS THAN A FULL PAGE:
4 - All printing will not terminate at the exact END of an allowable
printed page. If it DID, the page numbering would all be totally
automatic, and there would be no need to MANUALLY NUMBER a page.
When it occurs that you are DONE printing to a specific test page,
and you HAVE NOT automatically actuated the prompts regarding the
MAKE MORE COPIES and PRINT ANSWERS options, you know that you have
NOT numbered that particular page yet. To manually terminate,
number a page, and access these COPIES and ANSWERS options, just
type the # sign, and press the ENTER key. This is done by holding
down the SHIFT key, as you type the 3 key. This will cause your
page to be numbered, in sequence with any previous printing, and
will offer you the indicated PROMPTS. Failure to do this will
result in an UN-NUMBERED page, and a loss of the opportunity to
print more COPIES, or either the questions or answers. Note that,
as long as you do not return to the MENU, by pressing M, or return
to the RETRIEVAL screen, and then press Y, while in the RESET screen,
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you can continue to retrieve other Data bases, browse through them,
etc, in search of possibly MORE questions to add to those already
printed on the page, and then at anytime that you decide there are
no more that you wish to ADD, you can type the # and press ENTER,
to number the page, and access the noted options.
RESETTING THE PAGE NUMBERING AND NAME TO NULL.
It is worth mentioning again, so I will do so.
The ONLY ways you can RESET the question and answer numbering, the
page numbering, or the name that you have given a particular test,
is by returning to the MAIN MENU, by pressing the M key, or by
returning to the retrieval screen, and then pressing Y, when you
are presented with the RESET screen. If you stay away from the
MAIN MENU, and always remember to press a N, when in the RESET
screen, you can retrieve any number of Data bases, browse, print,
alter, etc. and you will still retain the same page, question and
answer numbering, and the test name you entered.
CHANGING QUESTION TYPES, ON THE PRINTED PAGE:
You will note that, everytime you CHANGE QUESTION TYPES, on the
printed page, a NEW header will print, stating the NEW type of
questions being printed, and the numbering will start over from
#1, for the new type. If desired, you can have any number of
groups of the SAME TYPE, spread through any compiled test, but
each time, the numbering will again start at #1, for that groups
questions and answers. Each answer page is always NUMBERED and
identified by NAME, exactly like the question page, that it is
applicable to.
5 - Press M to return to the MENU.
6 - Press Q to quit the program and return to DOS.
7 - Press H to access the COMMANDS HELP SCREENS. There are two of them.
The first describes the commmands active in the ENTER mode, and the
second describes the commands active in the RETRIEVE mode. You may
press any key, while viewing the 1st screen, to get to the 2nd, and
then press any key while viewing the 2nd, to get back to your point
of origin. You will return to the same line that you were on when
you originally typed H to access the HELP screens, and everything
will be exactly as you left it.
8 - Press N to return to the ID name entry screen, where you can enter
a NEW ID name, to retrieve questions and answers from another Data
base. This is a handy feature to use, during printing, if you
would like to create a single test, that has questions that are
a part of many different Data bases. Just press N, enter a different
Data base ID name. NOTE: DO NOT return to the main MENU, by pressing
the M key, if you are compiling a test from many Data base sources. If
you do, when you return to the BROWSE mode, you will start over from
scratch, with all page and question numbering beginning again at 1.
Be sure to press N and not M. Once you have pressed M, returned to
the RETRIEVAL CRITERIA screen, and entered a new Data base ID name, &
pressed the ENTER key, you are presented with the RESET OPTIONS
SCREEN. This is the screen that allows you to choose from the
following options.
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A - Press Y to start a NEW test, and type in a NEW name for the
test that you are about to create. This RESETS the page and
question numbering to start again from #1, and clears all
Data from the memory area where the previously created test
had caused it to be stored. You would press Y any time you
were initially entering the RETRIEVAL MODE, if planning on
printing a test, and any time that you returned to the
RETRIEVAL SCREEN after having created a previous test, if you
plan to create ANOTHER test of a DIFFERENT name. Once you
press the Y key, the cursor will reside on the line where
their are 10 dashes, and you can enter a NAME for your test.
It can contain no more than 10 characters, and this entered
name is ONLY DISPLAYED at the bottom of the printed test
page, and is not SAVED, or MADE A PART OF any saved record.
B - Press either Y or N, if simply entering the RETRIEVAL MODE
to BROWSE, ADD TO, SUBTRACT FROM, or in some other way ALTER,
an existing Data bases question(s). Differentiation between
the pressing of Y or N is only necessary if you have plans of
PRINTING a test.
C - Press N, once you have retrieved your NEW Data base, IF you
desire to ADD questions from the NEW Data base, to the test
that you are already compiling and keep the PRESENT TEST
NAME, PRESENT PAGE NUMBERING and PRESENT QUESTION AND ANSWER
NUMBERING intact, and continuing on, in its present manner.
If your desire is to do as was just stated, and you
erroneously press Y, you will be prompted to enter a NAME for
your test. You can, of course, type in the same name that
you were using previously, so that will be ok again, but the
PAGE, QUESTION, and ANSWER NUMBERING will start from 1, and
NOT from where you left off on the previously compiled test
pages.
9 - Press the C key, to access the CHANGE MODE. While you CAN NOT print
after accessing the CHANGE MODE, you can do a variety of things.
Initially, as one would expect from the name, you can CHANGE THINGS.
When you press the C key, the appearance of the screen temporarily
changes to more closely resemble the original ENTRY screen. The
cursor will be blinking on the 1st line (the ID name line), and you
can press JUST ENTER, with no other Data being typed in, to retain
the Data on the cursor line AS IS, and move on to the next line. If
you are ADDING, SUBTRACTING, or CHANGING, just progress to the line
desired, take your action, press ENTER, and then access the SAVE
OPTIONS MENU by typing S and pressing ENTER (from any line), and you
can SAVE the altered record back to the file. This does not create a
NEW record, but simply saves the ORIGINAL record, but this time it
is saved containing any alterations that you have made. The following
features also exist:
ACTIVE CHANGE MODE COMMANDS:
A - You can CHANGE THE TYPE of question, by typing a different
number, on line #2, than was there before. If you do this,
any line(s) that contained Data that was ONLY related to the
PREVIOUS question type, will be voided of their Data, and
contain only the dashes. You can then progress forward,
using the ENTER key, to the line(s) that the selection of
the NEW QUESTION TYPE require you to fill. The reason that
these lines are voided of Data automatically, is because,
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once you CHANGED TYPES, you would not have access to these
lines with the cursor, and be unable to type a SPACE and
press ENTER to manually void them of Data.
B - You can type BU and BACKUP, 1 line at a time, through those
lines that are accessible for your present question TYPE.
Typing BU does NOT affect any Data on the line previously.
You can backup as far as you wish, and progress forward again,
using the ENTER KEY ONLY, to retain the existing Data on the
lines that you BACKED UP OVER.
C - You can type Q, or M, followed by ENTER, to QUIT or return to
the main MENU. Note that returning to the MENU will reset any
existing Data, and it will be as though you were entering the
program initially.
D - You can type a SPACE and then press ENTER, to void a line of
all of its Data, if it's a line that is allowed to be blank.
E - You can press S and ENTER, from any line (without affecting
any Data already on that line), to access the SAVE OPTIONS
MENU. This MENU is white flashing letters on a red
background. The functions of this menu are identical in both
the ENTER, and the CHANGE modes. This menu is NOT accessible
from the BROWSE mode.
F - You can type H and press ENTER to access the COMMANDS HELP
MENU screens, of which there are two. The 1st relates to the
ENTER mode, and the 2nd to the RETRIEVAL mode. Pressing any
key, in the 1st, gets you to the 2nd. Pressing any key, in
the 2nd, gets you back to your point of origin, with no
changes having taken place.
G - While normally you would not do so, it could be that you would
have reason to desire to change a specific questions ID name.
If you do, there is a variance that must be explained. When
you originally accessed a Data base, you did so by typing in
the ID name, for that Data base, and retrieving it. If you
then press the C key, to access the CHANGE mode, and once you
are there, you CHANGE the ID name, you will be RE-SAVING your
altered question record, back to file, under a DIFFERENT ID
name. As with any other alteration, once you RE-SAVE the
altered question record, you are returned to the BROWSE mode
again. HOWEVER, THIS TIME you will find that you are BROWSING
in the NEW ID NAME DATA BASE. The program changes the
retrieval criteria to MATCH the ID name, as it is on the
question record, at the time that it is RE-SAVED. This is a
necessary quirk, to keep the program from freezing up, if you
were to ever change the LAST record saved under a specific ID
name, to a different name, basically voiding your file of any
records that relate to that particular ID name.
Changing the ID name, is a method that can be used to take
saved question records OUT OF one Data base, and ADD THEM TO
a different Data base. It is also a way that you can take
records OUT OF one Data base, and create a altogether NEW Data
base, by changing an existing question records ID name to an
ID name that does not presently exist in your file.
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H - You make any modifications desired, by simply Re-typing the
Data on a line. Remember that once you type anything, in the
way of a modification, you must Re-type the entire line. Only
Data that you RE-TYPE will be displayed on the line, & saved
to the file, when the record is RE-SAVED. If you do not alter
a line, but just press the ENTER key, then the Data on the
line remains unchanged, and will be saved to file intact, as
it was originally.
Please remember that it is the 1st Data entry line that qualifies any
record as being a part of any given Data base, and allows it to
retrieve along with ALL other records that have been SAVED with that
SAME ID name, on the 1st Data entry line.
Also note that you CAN NOT PRINT from the CHANGE mode, and the N
key, or browsing with the arrow keys, ARE NOT active functions.
AN EXAMPLE SESSION, FOR CREATING A DATA BASE, AND ENTERING A QUESTION.
1 - Type Go, when in the directory containing the program. The MAIN
MENU will display. You press the #1 key, to access the ENTER mode.
2 - The ENTER screen displays, with the cursor blinking on the 1st line,
which is the ID name entry line. 10 characters are allowed, and that
is why only 10 dashes comprise the entry line itself. Type in some
form of identification, that makes sense to you, and somewhat describes
the TEST or DATA BASE that you are about to create. The name may be
a CLASS, SUBJECT, GRADE, SEQUENCIAL NUMBER FOR A TEST, A CHILDS NAME
WITH AN ACCOMPANYING NUMBER, ETC. Use your own code or method, in
establishing these names, and make it a common practice to WRITE THEM
DOWN, in a note pad that you will keep for just such a purpose. Choose
your ID name, type it, and press the ENTER key.
3 - The cursor now resides on the 2nd line, which is the line where you
select whether your question series is to be TRUE AND FALSE, MULTIPLE
CHOICE, or FILL IN THE BLANKS. The screen shows which number, 1 thru 3,
you are to press to establish a question TYPE. Type the number of your
choice, and press the ENTER key. Printing, to the right of the 2nd
entry line, will appear on the screen, that will identify the TYPE that
you have selected.
4 - The cursor now resides on the 3rd line, which is the line where you enter
a description of the Data content, subject, etc, that best relates to
the questions series that you are about to compose. It may be as simple
as just MATH, or READING, or it can expound on specifics of the subject,
such as MATHEMATICS AND DEALING WITH FRACTIONS ADDITION, ect. Once you
have typed your description, press the ENTER key. This entered Data
will print to the printed page, when your test is eventually printed, so
that it is there both to identify, and remind you, of the subject matter.
5 - The cursor now resides on line #4. Lines 4 and 5 are the lines where you
enter your question. If your question is the FILL IN THE BLANKS type,
you will type a question, leaving the appropriate blank spaces, in which
the student can place the answers. If the children to be tested are
fairly young, allow more space than normal, as they seem to always need
it. If your question TYPE requires the addition of a choice of answers,
such as multiple choice or fill in the blanks types do, you will have
the opportunity, in the following lines, to enter these choices. You
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will also have an opportunity to enter the correct answer for the
multiple choice, by entering A, B, or C, and for entering the T or F, if
your question is of the true and false type. Use 1 or both lines, for
your question, being cautious not to extend your wording beyond the
dashes, which indicate the number of characters you are allowed on each
line. When done on one line, press the ENTER key, moving you to the
NEXT line, and continue. If no entry is required on the 2nd line, just
press the ENTER key alone, to move on.
6 - The cursor now resides on the 1st of 3 lines, that are labeled A thru C.
That is to say, IF YOU HAVE SELECTED MULTIPLE CHOICE, you will access
these lines. If your question TYPE is FILL IN THE BLANKS, the cursor
will skip down to line 10, where you will enter the words to fill in
the blanks, and if your TYPE is true and false, the cursor will skip to
line #9, where you will type the correct response, (T or F), for the
particular question you have created. If you have access to lines 6
thru 8, (having selected the multiple choice as a question TYPE), you
just type in the 3 choices, (one in each of the 3 lines), that you
wish to give the student, regarding your created question. If you
wish to give less than 3 choices, just press ENTER alone, rather than
enter any Data, to move on. When you have progressed beyond line
8, the cursor will blink on line 9, where you will type in an A, B or
C, to indicate the correct answer choice.
7 - If your question was a FILL IN THE BLANKS, you would not access lines
6 through 9, but would have jumped ahead to line 10, immediately after
having completed the creation of the question itself. Once there, as
was mentioned, you would type in the words, that would be correct
answers, for your created BLANKS. Keep them in the same order, as
would be correct, for the blanks themselves.
8 - When printed, all answers given, become a part of the ANSWER sheet,
but are totally vacant from the QUESTION page itself.
9 - If you notice an error, on a line already completed, you can do one
of two things, to correct it. 1 - Type BU and press ENTER, as many
times as necessary to re-access the erroneous line, and correct it.
2 - Complete the total entry, access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, and then
press the R key to REDO your entry. Then move forward, using only the
ENTER key, access the erroneous line, correct the error, and type S
again, to re-access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, and then press S to SAVE
your record to file.
10 - From any line, at any time, you can press S to access the SAVE OPTIONS
MENU and SAVE your record, REDO it, etc. If, at any time prior to
ever pressing the S key, while viewing the SAVE OPTIONS MENUS blinking
text, you decide to press M or Q, all actions taken on that record are
automatically aborted, with no affect taking place on any saved record,
and with none of that particular questions entries being retained. It
will be as though you never started entering Data for that particular
question at all.
Remember, DO NOT confuse the typing of M for the MAIN MENU, with the
typing of S to access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU. The actual SAVING routine
is comprised of the typing of the S key and then ENTER, to access the
SAVE OPTIONS MENU, and then the single typing of the S key, to actually
SAVE the questions record to file. If you mistakenly access the MAIN
MENU, meaning to access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU, you will null all of
the Data entered for that particular question, and have to start it
over.
Page #15
11 - Once you have SAVED the questions record to file, all lines from #4
through #12 are cleared of Data. The cursor returns to the screen at
line #4, and you can immediately begin to enter your next question.
When and if you desire to change the question TYPE, just type BU and
ENTER, two successive times, to backup to line #2, and select the new
type. The accessible lines will change, to accomodate the newly
selected question TYPE. If you desire to change the ID name, so that
you can start to create a DIFFERENT Data base, just backup to the 1st
line, enter the NEW ID name, and continue. The next question SAVED
will be using the NEW ID name, and be in a separate Data base, or it
will become a part of an existing Data base, if the name that you
selected as NEW, already exists. In this manner, you can ADD TO any
Data base that already exists, it that suits your needs. Any and all
question records, that were SAVED using the same ID name, will all be
a part of the SAME Data base, regardless of the point in time that
they were created and added to that Data base.
AN EXAMPLE SESSION OF RETRIEVING A RECORD AND ALTERING IT:
1 - Once viewing the MAIN MENU screen, press 2 to access the RETRIEVAL
mode. You will be asked to enter the ID name of the Data base that
you wish to access, and retrieve.
2 - Type the ID name, and then press the ENTER key. If there is no such
name available, you will be told so, and you can try again.
3 - Once the program decides that your entry is legitimate, a screen called
the RESET screen is displayed. If you are only going to BROWSE, LOCATE
a specific record, and ALTER it, it makes no difference whether you
type a Y or a N, at this screen.
4 - Now the 1st question record, that matches your retrieval ID name
criteria, will be displayed. Assuming that there are more than 1 that
matches your retrieval criteria, you can use the left and right arrow
keys to BROWSE through all that match. Of course, initially, you can
only browse with the RIGHT arrow key, as the record displayed is the
1st that matches, so there are no matching question records to the LEFT.
Once you BROWSE, with the RIGHT arrow key, you can BROWSE BACK, with the
LEFT arrow key. Browse to the record that you wish to ALTER, and when
it is displayed, press the C key. The appearance of the screen will
change, and the cursor will be blinking on the 1st line (the ID name
line). You progress forward, using just the ENTER key, if you want to
leave a lines Data AS IS, or you can enter NEW Data. You can also VOID
a line of its Data, by typing a space, and then pressing ENTER, if it is
a line that is allowable to be left as a blank line.
5 - Once you arrive at the line that you wish to alter, alter it, press ENTER
and then type S and press ENTER again, to access the SAVE OPTIONS MENU,
where you can RE-SAVE the record, by typing S again. As always, you can
also type R to REDO, M for the MAIN MENU, or Q to QUIT.
6 - Once you have RE-SAVED the altered record, you are back in the BROWSE
mode, again. You can continue to browse, return to the main menu, quit,
alter another record, etc.
7 - If, when you altered the record that you just SAVED, you altered the ID
name line, you will find that you are now browsing in the NEWLY ALTERED
ID names Data base, instead of the one that you originally used to
retrieve the record in the first place. This was explained earlier.
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AN EXAMPLE OF RETRIEVING AND PRINTING A TEST FROM A SINGLE DATA BASE:
Everything is basically the same as the above example, except that when you
are viewing the RESET screen, after having entered the ID name retrieval
criteria on the retrieval screen, you MUST press the Y key, and then the
cursor will reside and blink at the name line with the 10 dashes. You then
type in a name, that you wish to be printed at the bottom of each page of
the test that you are about to print, not to exceed 10 characters, and then
press the ENTER key.
As before, the 1st record entered, that matches your retrieval criteria,
will be displayed. You have the option of printing ALL records in that
particular Data base, or of Browsing, and selectively printing an individual
record, here and there, throughout the Data base. To print ALL, you would
just press the A key. To selectively print, you would Browse, find a
record you desire to print, and press the P key. Then you would Browse
some more, find another record to print, and press the P key again. It is
the DISPLAYED record that will print, when you press the P key.
With either type of printing, once a sufficient number of questions have
been fed to your printer, to accomodate a FULL PAGE, the program alerts
you to this fact with a beep and an alert banner on the screen. The alert
asks if you wish to print more copies of this particular page. If you
type N, it then asks you if you wish to print an answer sheet for this
particular page. If you press N the program simply awaits your further
printing of more questions, for the next page.
If you answer Y to the MORE COPIES prompt, the program will start to print
another copy, and the prompt banner remains on the screen. If you want
yet another copy, press Y again, and so on. When you have ordered a
sufficient number of copies, press the N key. Now you are asked about
printing an answer sheet. If you press the Y key, the answer sheet is
printed, and you are again prompted about printing another copy, until your
response is N. Then the program automatically sets up, and waits for you to
give more printing orders for questions, while the answer sheet is being
printed. You will continue in this manner, being prompted identically for
each FULL page printed. When you are DONE, if your last question has not
advanced you to the FULL page condition, you must type the # and press the
ENTER key, which will then number the final page, and again give you the
MORE COPIES options for questions and answer sheets. Type the # character,
by holding down the SHIFT key and pressing the #3 key, at the same time.
If, at this point, you wish to print a different test, using a different
Data base, just press the N key, returning to the RETRIEVAL screen, type the
ID name of the NEW Data base that you desire to retrieve, answer Y in the
RESET screen and type the NAME to be printed at the bottom of each of the
NEW test pages, and press the ENTER key. Then the routine is the same as
before. If you happen to press N in the RESET screen, you will not have an
opportunity to type a NEW NAME, and your next test would have the same NAME,
and its PAGE NUMBERING and QUESTION NUMBERING would start from where you
left off, in the previous test. Typing Y, in the RESET screen, lets you
type in a NEW NAME, and RESETS all of the PAGE, QUESTION and ANSWER
numbering.
AN EXAMPLE OF CREATING A SINGLE TEST FROM A MULTIPLE OF DATA BASES:
Little changes from the basic routine above. You still access in the same
manner, type the Y, enter a NAME to be printed at the bottom of the page,
browse and print with the P key, or press the A key to print ALL that match
your retrieval criteria. So let's assume that you did everything the same
as for the previous example. NOW, instead of being ready to terminate the
Page #17
test, typing the # and pressing ENTER, let's say that you want to ADD some
questions that exist in a DIFFERENT Data base.
Being careful to press the N key, and not mistakenly press the M key, you
would return to the RETRIEVAL screen, enter the ID name of the NEW Data
base that you want to select questions from, and NOW, when the RESET
screen displays, you would type N. This `pressing of N' retains the NAME
of the test being compiled, as well as the QUESTION, ANSWER, and PAGE
NUMBERING. The 1st matching record, for the NEWLY selected Data base, is
displayed, and the procedure is identical to the previous one. If you
select all that you want to print from the NEW Data base, and want to
select still MORE questions, from another Data base, just repeat the same
procedure. When you are finally done compiling all of the questions that
you want to, THEN type the # and press ENTER, and follow the same responses
one more time, as far as the MORE COPIES, and ANSWER SHEET prompts are
concerned.
THE MANY BATCH FILE OPTIONS THAT ARE A PART OF THE CRE-A-TEST:
A BATCH FILE is a file that can automatically cause many commands and many
functions to take place, with just a single input command, from the user.
To activate one of the following BATCH FILES, just type the name of the
BATCH FILE, (as displayed below), and press the ENTER key, while in the
directory containing the CRE-A-TEST files. Each BATCH FILE prompts any
insertion, or removal of floppy disks required, and fully explains what
the BATCH FILE will DO. Each also gives you the opportunity to ABORT
the BATCH FILE, after accessing it, without having to USE IT, if you
feel that the explained function of the BATCH FILE, is not something that
you wish to continue with. If you view the directory containing the
CRE-A-TEST files, you will see that the BATCH FILES all end with the BAT
extension, but it is not necessary to type the period or the letters BAT.
For instance, if a BATCH FILENAME is INSTALL.BAT, just type INSTALL &
press the ENTER key, forgetting about the . and the letters BAT.
INSTALL:
Placing a floppy disk, containing the CRE-A-TEST files, in any floppy
drive, or in any directory on your hard drive, and then going to that
floppy drive or hard drive directory and typing INSTALL, will install the
complete program to a directory on your C: drive, by the name of CREATE1.
When it is installed, you will be in the CREATE1 directory, where you can
just type the word GO, and press the ENTER key, to run the program.
SAVEA or SAVEB:
Once you have created a file of saved records, you will want to put them
on a BACKUP disk, just in case you have a computer crash, etc. It is a
good idea to actually have 2 backup disks, because backup disks can be
damaged or become corrupt, from time to time, which (without a 2nd backup)
would mean that you would lose all of your created files on the disk.
While in the directory containing the CRE-A-TEST files (which is always
the case with any of these BATCH FILES), you can save your records back to
either the A drive or the B drive floppy backup disk, by running one or
the other of these BATCH FILES. Your created records will be copied to
the floppy disk, in the selected drive, and any previously saved records
will be written over on the disk. Thereby retaining only the latest, most
updated record file.
As with any program that creates records, the size of your records
file will gradually increase. It is possible that they could increase to
such a size that a single floppy disk can not hold them, while you would
probably have plenty of space on your hard drive for them. Keep an eye on
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the size, and consider the MAKEDISK BATCH FILE possibilities, as they are
explained later, if the size of your TESTS.REC file gets overly large. If
you allow the size of your file to exceed the capacity of a floppy disk,
there is no way to separate just SOME records, to make it fit. Short
of using a program such as PKZIP, to compress the files and then save them
to a floppy, you would be unable to make a backup disk, as the records for
the program are all in ONE FILE. They ARE NOT individual records, with
individual names, and CAN NOT be saved to a backup floppy disk one at a
time, on an individual record basis.
Considering that each record, regardless of what amount of Data it
contains, occupies slightly more than 350 bytes, and that a double sided
high density disk has about 1,440,000 bytes of storage space, this means
that you will be able to save approximately 4100 questions on a single
floppy backup disk. This is quite a few questions. With the further
explanation of the GETA, GETB, and MAKEDISK BATCH FILES, you can evolve
your own method of backup. You can create a pair of backup disks for
specific classes, or subjects, or types of questions, ie true false, etc.
Any division, of this sort, would mean that you could backup 4100 question
records on each backup floppy, for each of your selected divisions. With
the ease of using the GETA or GETB, and the SAVEA or the SAVEB BATCH FILES,
it is not inconceivable that you would want to do this. Study these BATCH
FILES, and decide for yourself, on a course of action, if the size of the
TESTS.REC file looms its head as a problem for you.
Of course you can always install the complete CRE-A-TEST progrm in
different directories, on your hard drive, and use each directory for a
specific type of question, and appropriately SAVE each directories TESTS.REC
file, to an appropriately labeled pair of backup floppy disks. There are
many ways to solve this SIZE problem.
GETA and GETB:
These files work in an opposite manner to the SAVEA and SAVEB BATCH FILES,
in that they GET DATA from the A or B drive floppy backup disks, and copy
that data to the CREATE1 program directory, on your Hard Drive. The SAVEA
and SAVEB BATCH FILES, do the opposite. These two BATCH FILES are used to
UPDATE the files in the CREATE1 directory of your Hard Drive, from a disk
in either the A or B drive, that has been SAVED TO previously, by the using
of the CRE-A-TEST program on a different computer. Homes with more than
1 computer, and computer user, will find these files to be quite handy.
CLEAR:
This file simply deletes all records from the present directory that you are
in, when you run it. You then have just the CRE-A-TEST program, totally
void of any records in any file. The use of this BATCH FILE prompts you to
be certain that you have all of your records SAVED to a BACKUP DISK, before
you move on, and actually USE the CLEAR BATCH FILE.
PRESERVE:
This BATCH FILE does 2 things. #1 - It creates a directory, on your C: drive,
by the name of CREATE2, and it then copies the entire CRE-A-TEST program to
that directory, and includes all of the records that you have in your
TESTS.REC file. THEN #2 - It deletes (erases), the TESTS.REC file that is
in your original CREATE1 directory, and there, you start again from scratch.
This is a way of having your original file of records easily accessible in
another directory, (which would operate in the identical manner as the
original), and clearing the original directory of records, so you can start
fresh, have fewer records to browse through as time goes on, and some
question records become rather OUTDATED, and UNUSED. You still have access
to the original records, and can go to the CREATE2 directory and browse or
print tests, etc, just as before.
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MAKEDISKA and MAKEDISKB:
This BATCH FILE simply copies the entire CRE-A-TEST program, and whatever
records you have saved to file, at the point in time of your using this
file, to a floppy disk, in either your A or B floppy drive. The purpose
of this is to actually be able to have floppy backup disks that would not
only contain your BACKED UP records, but would also contain the entire
program. In this manner, you could backup your records, to a pair of these
floppy disks, until you had a fairly full disk, and then delete the records
from your hard drive and start over. You would be able to insert a floppy
disk and actually run the program from the floppy, rather than from your
hard drive, with all functions of the program still active, except that, if
you were using the floppy backup in the A: drive, you could not use the
GETA or SAVEA BATCH FILES, etc. You would be able to create, print, etc,
just as you could originally. The program runs somewhat slower, and a bit
jerky, from a floppy disk, but it is not TERRIBLY bad. It is just
something that you can consider, and therefore, it is an available option.
If you do decide to give the MAKEDISK option a try, remember not to SAVE
records back to that disk again, unless what you have already saved is
included in what you are again saving to that backup disk. In this case
it would simply be UPDATING the floppy backup, which would be OK. But if
you delete the records from the Hard drive, that are on the floppy backup,
and then later SAVED the NEWLY created records on the Hard drive, to the
Floppy, you would overwrite the original, and have nothing left on the
floppy disk but the NEWLY created records. Know what you are doing, so
that you do not OVERWRITE and lose valuable records.
PRINTDOC:
This BATCH FILE simply cause the PRINTING of these DOCS, and the ORDER.FRM
file.
That's about it. Once you go through the routine a few times, it will become
second nature to you, and extremely simple. The versatility is great, and
it gives you the opportunity to use your own imagination, in the creation of
your individual Data bases. Undoubtedly, over a period of time, you will
find that you will evolve into a pattern, that is probably not what it was
when you started out with the program. Fortunately, with the CHANGE mode,
you will find that you can quickly CHANGE and ADAPT any FORMER PATTERN of
creation, to your NEW one. Therefore, your initial entries will not prove
to be futile, and become outdated. Happy testing!!!
Any comments, or suggestions that you wish to make, will be appreciated. Just
direct them to the attention of FRED R.BARBEE, C/O UTIL-DISKS CO. N13602
INDIANHEAD DRIVE, MINONG, WI. 54859, or call (715) 466-5405 or 466-4994.
If you are presently using the SHAREWARE version, and checking it out, you
can get a better idea of the functioning of the program when a FULL page
is fed to the printer, etc, by simply printing the same questions more
than once. Print them a multiple of times and make more copies of both
the questions and answers sheets, to get a better feel. Change the ID name
of some, to create different Data bases, and then access all Data bases &
combine the questions to make a single test, etc. I know that 20 questions
is not a large allowable amount, but by repeating the printing, in this
manner, you can see the full function of the program. Please consider
purchasing the REGISTERED version, which will allow the entry of 20,000
questions. If you order we honor Mastercard, Visacard, and Discover.
Ordering by PHONE, you will be given a Code that you can IMMEDIATELY enter
that will CONVERT your Shareware version to the Full Registered version.
This means you do not have to wait for return mail, to have the Registered
version of this program. Note that the cost of the registered program is
only $15.00. If purchasing by credit card, there is an additional $2 chg
for processing. Thank you.
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