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PROFESSIONAL SCRIBE (Pro~Scribe) "Scribe" from Latin scribere: To write Pro~Scribe: To write with the skill of a pro PS Express: To get you there fast PS EXPRESS (PSE) Version 4.6 New with Version 4.x .................... * Built-in compatibility with WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft Word. If you use these word processors, you no longer need to convert files to Ascii format before running Pro~Scribe. * An on-line Thesaurus, plus a second program to help you customize your thesaurus. BE SURE to read the next two pages and "Customizing Your Thesaurus" for details. * Increased capacity in the Frequent.Wrd option (from 50 to 100 words; at the request of a user). The Frequent.Wrd option: - Helps ensure your results are "realistic" - Prevents Pro~Scribe from nagging you about words you're sure your audience understands. +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Want to get up and running quickly? | | * Look quickly at page 'a' (Installing & Running Pro~Scribe) | | | | * Then read page 1. There we suggest you STOP reading and | | run PS. Compare YOUR results with results from various | | types of writing: Kid's Books, Newspapers, Technical, etc. | | | | Running PS once or twice, and comparing your writing with | | others can help you: 1) See how PS can help, 2) Better | | understand PS' guidelines and the rest of our discussion here. | | Above all, have fun! | | | | Pro~Scribe was formerly called Maxi-Read. PS Express was qwikMR.| +------------------------------------------------------------------+ Copyright (C) 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 RWS & Associates 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117 Phone: (415) 863-0530 (10-5 Pacific time please) Two Manuals . . . ================= Pro~Scribe (PS) has two manuals. This one describes how to install and run PS, and a little about what to look for in your results. The second manual, "Effective, High Impact Writing," is sent to registered users (along with PS Express, and other enhanced fea- tures.) "Effective, High Impact Writing," has more tips to help you improve your writing. For your reference, here are it's sections: SECTION 1: Effective, High-Impact Writing * Define Effective, High-Impact Writing * The Feedback Void. How PS/PSE fill it * Examples of common writing mistakes SECTION 2: Our Guidelines in Perspective, Examples of Results * How your writing can handicap your ideas * Our Guidelines: Examples, Putting them into perspective SECTION 3: More Effective Writing; Managing Writing Mistakes * Clarity of thought breeds clarity of style * Writing as you speak, the most important skill? * Managing complex writing. * Word Wasters, and other common errors SECTION 5: Getting the Most From Your Results * Your Main Job: Decide IF it needs work, WHAT to work on * Use, Use, Use the RGL options. * Ignore our list of Complex Words. * Do serious editing on paper, not in your word processor ==================================================================== The Pro~Formance Pro~Scribe System and Manual Are Protected by U. S. Copyright Law: [Title 17 USC]. All Rights reserved. Pro~Formance, P~F, Pro~Scribe, PS, PS Express and PSE are Trademarks of RWS & Associates SideKick, DESQview, WordStar, IBM, WordPerfect & Microsoft Word are Registered Trademarks of: Borland International, Quarterdeck Office Systems, MicroPro International Corp., International Business Machines Corp., WordPerfect Corp. and Microsoft. ==================================================================== Pro~Scribe --- User-Supported Software (To register, see the last few pages of this guide) ======================================================= Thank you for taking the time to try Pro~Scribe (PS). PS is user- supported software. That means several things for you and for us. YOU : : : You get to try PS out before you invest, to see if it helps, to see if you like it. And when you register . . . We try to say "Thanks" for your honesty and support by sending you much, much more! This manual is used for all versions, to give you an idea of the increased power you'll receive. Registered users receive: * PS EXPRESS (PSE), the "memory resident" version of PS, plus a separate manual to help you use and customize PSE. - PSE is fantastic! Call it up from INSIDE your word processor for help when you need it most--while you're writing. - PSE lets you analyze and edit your writing as you go. It saves enormous amounts of time and frustration: you polish sections as you write, while your thoughts are fresh in your mind. * WordPerfect (5.x) and Microsoft Word compatibility. Pro~Scribe reads WordPerfect and Word files directly. You no longer need to save Ascii versions just for Pro~Scribe. * The latest version of Pro~Scribe and PS Express with: - MUCH easier editing. The latest version highlights complex words and Word Wasters line-by-line! It shows you what to edit, and gives you suggestions on what to do. - An ON-LINE THESAURUS for help with those long, complex words in your writing. Another program to customize your thesaurus. - Support for "FREQUENT.WRD," a separate file you customize to ensure your results are realistic, and to prevent PS from nagging you about words you think your audience understands. * "EFFECTIVE, HIGH IMPACT WRITING," a separate booklet with tips to: 1) improve your writing; and, 2) get the most of PS and PSE. WE : : : By registering, you do 2 things. First, you say "Thanks"--for the months of time we spent developing/refining a program you find useful. Second, your support makes it possible for us to continue: to develop, expand and support software you enjoy. Without your support, we can't continue. It's that simple. Can't Register? : : : Some people use "user-supported" software and don't register. Are you one of them? If so, you have your reasons (maybe you forgot). But maybe you can find a way to say "Thanks" anyway. We need your support to continue; and "support" comes in many forms. * Suggestions and comments help a lot (handwritten is fine). Let us know what you found useful, and what we could do to improve PS. * If you can't register, a gift of $10 (or ?) would help. It's a simple way to say thanks and help support our efforts. ============================ Contents ============================ System Requirements, Installing Pro~Scribe, Running Pro~Scribe ...................... a PS in Brief, Plotting Your Scores ......... 1 How Your Writing Can Handicap Your Ideas .. 2 Effective Writing: Your Role & Pro~Scribe's 3 What to Look For in Your Results : : : Grade Levels ............................ 4 The Words You Use ....................... 4 Sentence Length ......................... 5 Word Wasters ............................ 5 Deciding What to Analyze .................. 7 Let's Go, Pro~Scribe's Menus, Your Options 8 Typing in Text, PowerTyping ............... 9 Importing (reading in) Text Files ......... 10 Controlling Analyses, FREQUENT.WRD, Tips .. 11 Your Results / Your Results Options ....... 12 Options: Use/Use/Use RGL & Patterns .... 14 Complex Words ................. 18 Word Wasters .................. 19 Printing Results .............. 19 Customizing Your Word Wasters ............ 20 Customizing FREQUENT.WRD ................. 21 Customizing Your Thesaurus ............... 22 Writing as you Speak, More Writing Help ... i License and Warranty ...................... ii Programs by Pro~Formance .................. iv Ordering P~F Programs ..................... vi =====================- System Requirements -====================== a Computer: IBM PC/XT/AT/PS2 or 100% compatible DOS: 2.1+ Required Memory: PS (256k), PSE (10k). Monitor: Any (Color makes results more "interesting.") A printer's needed to print results. Both PS and PSE "write directly to the screen" for maximum speed. Set up any "windowing" programs you use accordingly. Pro~Scribe runs fine in DESQview. We urge you NOT to use PSE in a DESQview window. It may or may not work. If not, your system may require a re-boot. ================- Installing Pro~Scribe (2 Steps) -================ STEP 1. You can run PS from any drive or directory. But, it MUST find 5 files: PS.Exe, PSHelp.Scr, Wasted.Wrd, Frequent.Wrd & PSThes.Ths. These files MUST be together on the same drive/directory. * You can tell PS where to find these files by typing this line at the DOS prompt BEFORE running PS: SET PSDir=drive:\directory\ * Replace "drive:\directory\" with the path to PS's "required" files. Example: SET PSDir=C:\PS\ Note "\" at the end, and NO spaces. * The easiest way to handle this is to add this line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Then you never have to worry about it. If you don't do this, it might help to run PS with a 2-line batch file. For example, create a batch file (eg., RUNPS.BAT) with these lines: SET PSDir=C:\PS\ \ Then, to run PS, C:\PS / just type RUNPS STEP 2. (Optional) To Print this manual, at the DOS prompt, type: "PrintMan <cr>." Set your printer to 66 lines per page first. =======================- Running PS -============================= You can start Pro~Scribe in two ways. Type either: PS PS starts at the Options Menu. All options available. PS "FileName" Type PS, a space, then a filename. (eg., PS Test.Txt) However you start, the 1st thing you see is "Setting Up.." while PS loads it's "required" files (help, wasted words, thesaurus, etc.) The "user-supported" version of PS next displays a special screen. ========================- Definitions -============================ Grade Level: A measure of writing complexity (6 = Elementary, 12 = High School Senior, 16 = College Graduate) NOTE: We mean "reading grade level." Many High School graduates read at the 8th-9th grade level. Complex Words: Words with 3 or more syllables, 9+ letters Complex Writing: Writing beyond the "comfort range" of your audience. Word Wasters: Words & cliches which are weak wordy or wrong. Passive Voice: One of the most prevalent Word Wasters. RGL: Running Grade Level: line-by-line summary of writing Pattern Summary: A graph showing the variety & complexity of writing, and how closely it matches an "ideal" pattern. ========================- PS in Brief -======================== 1 A good way to see how PS can help YOU is to compare your writing style with others. PLEASE STOP READING. PLOT YOUR OWN RESULTS. Below are examples of Pro~Scribe's results for various types of writing. The best way to see how PS can help is to try it on a sample of your writing. Then compare your results to those below. This will also show how easy PS is to use, and help you understand the discussion below. Please stop reading and: * Run PS. Press [B]egin Analyses. Then press [I]mport or [T]ype. - Import 1-2 samples of your text files. - Or, Type 2-4 paragraphs into PS, examples typical of your style. * From Pro~Scribe's Results Summary and Pattern Summary, find your scores on the scales below. Write in YOUR results below. - Find your Pattern Summary by pressing [R]GL (Running Grade Level). When PS shows you the Graphic Summary, press [P]attern. The table below shows PS' results for various publications. From each publication we picked 3 samples of text, on 3 different topics from 3 different authors (to reduce bias from the topic or author's style). Each sample had about 400 words. We left space for you to write in YOUR results, BEFORE you start using PS/PSE, and AFTER using them for a while (to see how you improved). From PS' Results Summary, find and write in your: * Grade = Overall Grade Level (Complexity) of writing * Words/Sent = The Average # of Words per Sentence * Syl/Word = The Average # of Syllables per Word * % Sesquip. Words = The % of Sesquipedalian (complex) words Words/ Syl/ % Sesquip. == Pattern == Grade Sent Words Words Match % >16 ================================================================== Our Guidelines 8-10 15-20 < 1.6 < 10% 90+ < 20% ================================================================== Government Reports 20 22 2.1 27% 49 68% Tech. Journals 19 22 2.0 26% 54 64% Wall St Journal 15 23 1.7 23% 66 39% New York Times 12 26 1.5 13% 76 27% USA Today 9 18 1.5 10% 90 6% People Magazine 8 14 1.5 10% 86 7% Children's Books 7 14 1.3 8% 64 0% YOUR Scores-Before % % YOUR Scores-After % % ================================================================== From your Pattern Summary, draw Vertical Lines showing the per- centage of your sentences falling at each grade level. Write in your "Match" and "Complexity" scores. (Asterisks show the "Ideal.") +-----+---Your Pattern-BEFORE-----+------Your Pattern-AFTER-------+ |Match: Complexity: % >16 |Match: Complexity: % >16| |---------------------------------+-------------------------------| |50%+| | | |40% | * | * | |30% | * | * | |20% | * | * | |10% | * | * | + 5% +--*------------------*------+---*-------------------*-------+ Grade: 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ | 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ 5-7 11-13 17-19 | 5-7 11-13 17-19 =- How Can PS Help You? How your Style Can Handicap Your Ideas -= 2 The top line (1st table above) shows our guidelines or benchmarks. They reflect writing styles average adults are comfortable with, styles which tend to be most effective in business and everyday writing. How do your scores compare? Which type of writing does your writing style most resemble? Is that appropriate? Notice USA Today closely matches PS' guidelines. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, intended for more educated audiences, show more complex styles. And while we might expect Technical Journals to be more complex than everyday writing, these were examples of poor technical writing. More on this below. In general, your ideas are being handicapped if your writing has: * An overall Grade Level higher than 8-10 - Many people can deal with text written at higher levels. But they have to work harder and strain more to grasp your ideas. * Words with MORE than 1.5 - 1.6 syllables per word, on average. We don't often think about syllables. "Effective, High Impact Writing" explains. * A high percentage of complex, "sesquipedalian" words (10% or more). - Complex words are too abstract to create pictures in the mind. * More than 15-20 words per sentence, on average - Long sentences tax one's memory (hard to grasp what you're saying). * A low Personal Index score, less than 30. Writing as you speak (using personal pronouns, contractions, etc.) engages your audience, as a good salesperson would. In addition, PS' Pattern Summary shows whether your writing has variety (or if your sentences show grade level "sameness"). The Match Score measures how closely your sentence pattern matches an "Ideal" pattern. A LOW Match Score suggests your writing: lacks variety, has a high percentage of complex sentences, or both. Our Guidelines Our guidelines are useful for most business and everyday writing. You say you write for a different audience? The tables above can help you decide which scores on each scale are most appropriate in your situation. ALL of Pro~Scribe's guidelines are meant to be used FLEXIBLY. But consider this: * Business letters, memos and reports often show Grade Levels of 13+. Their sentences average 25-35 words; and they often come across as formal, dull and stiff, lacking a conversational style. * Technical writing often shows Grade Levels of 16+, and 30-40 words/sentence. Yet Bell Labs found GOOD technical writing had Grade Levels of 10-12: complex ideas needn't be expressed complexly. * Popular newspapers and magazines, on the other hand, usually show Grade Levels of 8-10, with 17-19 words per sentence. Some sentences are very short, some very long. But they consistently average 17-19. We don't suggest a "See Spot Run" writing style. A 40 word sentence isn't wrong. But, Complex sentences, or several long ones in a row can lose your audience. Nor do we suggest all writing have the consistent cadence of a military march. Consistent quality, not monotony, is our goal. =====- Effective Writing: Your Role, and Pro~Scribe's -===== 3 Pro~Scribe and PS Express are meant as heuristics, to prompt you: * To think about what you want to say, and how you say it * To tinker, experiment, revise (Latin "visus," to see a new way) PS/PSE can help if you believe you said something worthwhile, worth the time to improve. They can even help those who feel they communicate easily and effectively. As one of Pro~Scribe's users said: "I'm a seasoned writer; I write well. (But) I'll freely admit--Pro~Scribe has improved my writing!" Most anyone can benefit from periodically running their work through PS. Pro~Scribe's scrutiny, at least once in awhile, helps keep our skills sharp, our writing on track, our focus keen. One of PS' reviewers said, "(PS) won't turn sludge into poetry." Nor will it turn bad ideas into good ones. Finally, progress isn't an automatic sort of thing, like a spelling checker or thesaurus. PS/PSE tell you when things are wrong, they can pinpoint writing errors, they can suggest ways to improve your writing. But the choice is always yours. You decide: which writing style fits your purpose and audience; take our suggestions or ignore them. With a little effort, PS can help give most any writing more clarity, appeal and impact. And improvements can happen very quickly, especially with PS Express in hand! What PS/PSE Do For You Our goal is Effective Communication, not just Good Writing. Writing is one form of communicating. Yet, what we learn from PS can help the way we talk (informally), the way we speak (formally), and even the way we think. The separate "Effective, High Impact Writing" gives details, and shows how the way we think or feel affects the way we organize thoughts, choose words, even choose a writing style. PS, along with Rudolf Flesch, Robert Gunning and William Strunk Jr., define effective writing as: easy to understand, elegant, varied and "written as you'd speak." (We use "elegant" the way engineers would: compact, efficient and devoid of needless, verbal ornaments.) The more engaging your writing, and the easier it is to follow, the easier it is for you to get your ideas across. As Douglas Mueller said, "The less energy your reader wastes decoding your language, the more he'll have left for your brilliant ideas." We built PS to give you feedback on whether your writing: * Is within the reach of your audience, or is overly complex * Is efficient and compact, or full of needless words and jargon * Has a conversational tone, or comes across as formal and stilted To help you get the most from PS'/PSE's feedback, "Effective, High Impact Writing" discusses each of the ways PS/PSE look at your writing. It explains where PS'/PSE's benchmarks come from, how to use them, and how to set your own benchmarks. It offers tips to improve your writing in several ways (words, sentences, Word Wasters). And it has more examples of PS' results for different types of writing: Kid's Books to Newspapers to Technical Articles. ============- What to Look For in Your Results -============= 4 Grade Levels ============ Both PS and PSE show you the overall "reading" Grade Level (GL) of your writing. This is a useful measure of the overall complexity of your writing style. But, Pro~Scribe's Running Grade Level (RGL) option can help even more. * The RGL shows the complexity of your writing line-by-line. * When looking at a document with more than 1 page, focus on the RGL. Even when the overall Grade Level suggests your writing's OK, the RGL results can reveal sections or lines which need work. The Words You Use ================== Our words strongly influence the complexity of our writing. That's why PS/PSE gives lots feedback on our words: (3 & 4, PS only.) 1. # of Syllables per Word 2. % of Long, Complex Words 3. List of complex words found 4. RGL reports flagging complex words PS/PSE "estimate" the number of syllables in a word by looking at the patterns of vowels in it. The English language has no fixed rule which governs how some words are pronounced (sometimes the suffix "es" is pronounced ("fixes"), sometimes it's not ("likes")). Long, complex words have 9+ letters; they generally have 3+ syllables. Our definition of "long" is arbitrary. Some programs flag words with 6 or more characters; some use 10; some focus on words with 13 letters. We tried to strike a balance, to give you lots of feedback without nagging you about many common, easily understood words. How long should words be? How many long, complex words can a reader handle at one time? PS/PSE suggest these guidelines: * The Average Number of Syllables per Word should be 1.6 or less. * Long, Complex words should number no more than 10%, on average Do these seem too low? How did you arrive at these guidelines? While the English language has many thousands of words, we use less. * 500 words make up about 65% of everything we say, write or read! This statistic comes from research on the frequency of word use. * The 500 Most Frequently Used Words are short: - They have 1.3 syllables, on average. - 400 have 1-5 letters, 13 (3%) have 8 letters, 0 have 10 or more! - Examples: (#s show a word's rank in the word frequency list) I(1) Was(10) Them(100) Off(200) Pretty(300) Thoughtlessness(86,400) Still not onvinced? Consider this. For an average 17-word sentence, notice how "small" changes in syllables/word make "big" differences in reading grade levels. Do you see why we say stay under 1.6? Syl/word: 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade: 6 8 12 15 18 21 23 26 28 continued . . . Sentence Length 5 =============== PS/PSE suggest sentences range from 15-20 words, on average. But, striving for specific sentence length is nonsense! Complexity matters, not length. If your ideas require long, complex words, manage Grade Levels by adding shorter words to break up consecutive long words. In other words, create LONGER sentences. * Sentence Length is not the problem. Complex sentences are. That's why RGL options are so valuable, they show complexity line-by-line. * Several long sentences in a row can frustrate and tire a reader. * In general, readers grasp short sentences more easily than long ones. Master both for variety, punctuation and style. Word Wasters ============ We all make writing mistakes, at least once in awhile. And there are several different "traps" we fall into. We call these traps "Word Wasters," words or phrases that are wordy, confusing, often misused, or just plain unnecessary. We group them into 5 categories: (Examples shown in quotes) * Wasted Words - using many words when 1-2 would do - "Please make an attempt .." when "Please try .." would do. * Misused Words - often just wrong - "Irregardless", "Prioritize" * Tongue Waggers - complex words when simple ones will do. "Erroneous" instead of "Wrong" * Verbs-To-Nouns - turning verbs into nouns, often by adding "ize," "ment" or "tion" ("Finalize," "Give consideration") * Passive Voice - obscures who does what. "At your earliest convenience, contact me by phone" is weak and wordy compared with "Call me soon." Each of these writing errors complicates our ideas. And every word that doesn't support your purpose wastes a reader's time, weakens their interest. PS scans your work for Word Wasters (up to 200), then shows which were found, and how often they appeared. It also gives you tips and comments: what's wrong, what to use instead. See "Customizing PS' Word Wasters" for details on how to customize these Word Wasters to suit your own needs. ===============- Effective Writing in Summary- =============== 6 Effective writing, communicating well, has elements of both art and science. Maybe you'll have only a few things to work on. Or maybe improving your writing requires changing the way you THINK (better organized, more forceful, take more risks). This is not insignificant. * Choose 1-2 things that MOST deserve attention, set priorities. Develop a strategy, and focus on these until PS/PSE show they're going away. * When satisfied with your progress, choose 1-2 more. * And beware overload and action-paralysis. PS and PSE give lots of specific feedback about the art and science of your writing. - Too much feedback can overwhelm, paralyze, lead to inaction. - Select what to look at based on your needs and strategy. Some Final Comments (See Effective, High-Impact Writing for more) * Short sentences are NOT our goal; avoiding difficult ones is. - Indeed, short sentences may be Very Hard to grasp (have high Grade Levels) if they have several long, complex words. - 40 word sentences aren't wrong, as long as they're not complex, or followed by several more "40 worders." * Likewise, we DON'T urge you to avoid long words: they carry much of our meaning, our ideas. But, writing is easier to follow, is less tiring, when you mix long, complex words with short words. * Finally, consistency is CONTRARY to our objective of variety. - We would argue for consistent quality, consistent effectiveness. - But effective writing has both short AND long, easy AND complex sentences, intermixed for variety and style. - When in doubt, when you want to drive home a major point, strive for low Grade Levels: compact sentences, each word carefully chosen. ===============- Deciding What to Analyze -=============== 7 Analyze as much text as you like. But now that you have PSE, we urge you to focus paragraphs or sections. We urge you: NOT to focus on sentences, NOT to rely too much on analyses of large reports, chapters, books, etc. (except with RGL reports). * With PSE it's easy to analyze sections, even single sentences. - Occasionally it helps to examine a sentence. - But frequently looking at single sentences may lead to mono- tony: lines one after another with the same style and rhythm. * Focus on paragraphs or sections to focus on ideas and strategies. - Your purpose drives your writing strategy which drives PS' results. The purpose or theme of the section may affect the style you choose, which can affect the results you get. - Editing or revising are often easier when your goals and strategy are clearly in mind (ideas form and conclude). - Editing sections is less tiring and frustrating than dealing with large portions of text. Use PSE regularly; edit sections as you go. This may eliminate the time-consuming write/edit/ re-write cycle. * Analyzing entire reports, chapters, books, etc.: - IS helpful to see if you make the same types of writing mistakes throughout. It helps you see patterns. - But, overall results (eg., Grade Levels) can mask the fact that some sections are quite easy to grasp, while others are very difficult--the Average looks fine. For these reasons, we urge you to use PSE to focus on paragraphs and sections. Then use PS to look at the whole thing, paying close attention to Running Grade Level (RGL) and Pattern summaries. ================- What PS & PSE Need From You -================ PS and PSE must accurately count words, sentences and syllables. WORDS: are a group of letters followed by a SPACE. * Be sure each word/punctuation mark is followed by a space. * Words with hyphens (-) count as 1 word. Numbers count as 1 word. SENTENCES: are "end-of-sentence" marks (.?!;) FOLLOWED by a space. * By "sentence" we mean a "complete thought." So end-of-sentence marks includes ";" as well as ".?!". * Remove punctuation from abbreviations (e.g. type "Dr" not "Dr."). If you don't, they'll COUNT AS SENTENCES. ($9.95 is OK -- NO Space) SYLLABLES: are counted by looking for vowels. This is "approximate." * English has no fixed rule which governs how many words are pronounced: "es" is a syllable in "Fixes" but not "Likes." "Dot" commands some word processors use (eg., WordStar) shouldn't affect your results. They're periods, but aren't followed by a space. Similarly, both PS and PSE ignore or "strip" graphic or control characters before they analyze. Control symbols are often used by word processors for underlining, bolding , etc. Ignoring/stripping them ensures they don't distort results. It may also mean text may print differently when you ask for Running Grade Level reports. But, some things may distort results. * Numbered/lettered sections (A. or 1.) are sentences: period+space. * Section headings or chapter titles: 1) Count as sentences; OR, 2) Are treated as part of the next sentence, depending on if they end in .?;! * These distortions may be trivial in a long document. Their effects can be strong in short pieces. ==========- Let's Go: Pro~Scribe's Three Main Menus -========== 8 Pro~Scribe has three menus. Options Menu ............ At the first (Options) menu, you can choose to [B]egin Analyses, view Help Screens, or quit (exit to DOS). Choose options by pressing the 1st letter of the option you want, shown in brackets or highlighted. For example, at the Options Menu, press [B] to [B]egin Analyses. Help Screens are available at the Options Menu, or when you're entering/importing text or looking at your results. Analysis Menu ............. When you ask to [B]egin Analyses, PS asks if you want to [T]ype text in Directly, or [I]mport a File. * To import a file, enter a file name, or press [F5] to choose from a directory. * Import Ascii, WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) or Microsoft Word files. - Registered users receive support for WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft Word files. If you haven't registered and use one of these word processors, save your file in Ascii format then run PS. (Save it with a different file name so you don't over-write the file with all your formatting, graphics, etc.) - If Pro~Scribe "thinks" you're analyzing a WordPerfect (5.0) or Microsoft Word file, it asks you to confirm. Press [Y]es or [N]o. Results Menu (PS examines your writing twice) ............ PS quickly analyzes your writing and displays a Results Summary. While you're looking at these results, PS quickly scans your text again. This time it scans for the long, complex words you used, and counts how often each appears. (Press any key to stop or cancel this second pass.) * When the 1st pass starts, PS displays its Results Screen showing: % Completed, and the # Words and Sentences it's found so far. * In a few seconds, PS displays your Results, and begins pass #2. * When pass #2 ends, PS displays your Results Options: [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint Results [H]elp [Q]uit We'll discuss your Results Options shortly. Here are some guidelines for Typing in text or Importing files. ================- Typing Text in Directly -================ 9 Type or "PowerType" text into Pro~Scribe. Either way, PS saves text in a file called Txt.Tmp. This is important for several reasons: 1. Be sure there's enough disk space to hold your text. A rule of thumb: # of lines times 80 (20 lines needs 1600 bytes) 2. Once you've looked at your results, edit Txt.Tmp with your word processor. Edit sentences and words, or asterisk (*) words to control PS' analyses. Then Import Txt.Tmp to see results. 3. To save a long piece, enter sections, rename Txt.Tmp each time (eg., Sec1), then "concatenate" the sections. Example: COPY SEC1 + SEC2 ALLTEXT. (See COPY in your DOS manual) 4. To save your work, RENAME Txt.Tmp - it'll be re-used next time. Tips & Guidelines (<cr> means press Return or Enter) * Use a style that's comfortable: all caps, all lower case, etc. * Press <cr> at the end of each line, or enter up to 254 characters. * Asterisk (*) words to tell PS/PSE to treat them as 1-syllable words. * If you want to analyze a long piece, and you can't import it, we recommend you enter 3-4 "randomly chosen" samples (about 10-15 lines each), then average the results. * Press F1+<cr> for Help, or glance at the bottom of your screen. * When you press <cr>, the line you just typed is IMMEDIATELY stored. You can't re-edit it. So look over each line before pressing <cr>. * To see your results, type a space after the last end-of-sentence mark, then press <cr> 2-3 times. PowerTyping "PowerTyping" refers to using other programs to "cut & paste" text from, say, your word processor's screen into PS. Programs offering cut & paste include SideKick (NotePad), DESQview (Mark & Transfer), Snipper (a free, "public domain" program from PC Magazine), and others. PowerTyping has advantages of PSE, the power of Pro~Scribe. PowerTyping lets you "type" text into PS without typing it at all. It makes it very easy to analyze sections of a longer document without having to manually type in each section. And it's FAST! In tests we ran, we listed 20 Lines of text on the screen, copied them into SideKick's Notepad, ran PS from a "cold start", PowerTyped in the 20 lines, and were viewing results, ALL WITHIN 90 SECONDS! DESQview took 25 seconds: PS was already running in a DESQview window. If you plan to use PS a lot, and DON'T have one these programs, we urge you to get one. Grab Snipper. Consider DESQview; its advantage: BOTH your word processor and PS can be running at the same time in different "windows." You can run sections of text through PS, see the results, then switch back to your word processor to edit your text, or mark some more. Notes on PowerTyping : : : * Be sure your text does NOT have 2+ consecutive blank lines. Two in a row tell PS you're DONE TYPING. PS treats letters that follow as "commands" -- No damage but lots of beeping will occur. * DESQView and SideKick let you add more and more text to what's already marked. Snipper works with "1 screenful" at a time. * If PS has trouble with your word processor's files, and your word processor can't save ASCII files, SideKick, DESQview, etc. could let you easily PowerType sections (or ALL) of your file into PS. ==============- Importing an Existing File -============== 10 Pro~Scribe reads Ascii, WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft Word files. (WordPerfect & Microsoft Word support: registered users). Compatibility with WordPerfect and Word is about 95%. A few con- trol characters sometimes creep in. These usually matter little. If you use another word processor: * Try Importing a file. PS may be able to handle it as-is. * If Pro~Scribe has trouble with it: - Most word processors have an option to save ASCII files. Save it in ASCII (with a DIFFERENT name), then Import it. * If you still have trouble getting word-processed text into PS, you can type all or sections of it into PS. OR, . . . * You can "PowerType" sections of your text, or the whole thing. Be sure to read the section on "PowerTyping" on the last page. * Finally, you could BEGIN by typing text into PS, perhaps in sections. Since PS saves what you enter in Txt.Tmp, you can later load it into your word processor for editing and final formatting. Just be sure to rename Txt.Tmp if you want it saved; PS will reuse the file next time. Use a word processor other than WordStar, WordPerfect (5.0) and Microsoft Word? Pro~Scribe's results may be OK, even if PS can't handle everything your word processor stores in its files. * PS does strip control and graphics characters. * Occasionally an extra word or a few extra sentence marks creep in. In a long piece, effects of these are minimal. For short pieces, focus on RGL reports, Complex Words and Word Wasters. * These extra words/characters may affect formatting of text when PS prints Running Grade Levels. But, the format is less important than the RGL results. Tips & Guidelines (<cr> means press Return or Enter) * At the Analysis Menu you'll be asked for file name to Import. - Include a Drive/Directory if the file's not on the current drive. -- If the Drive+Directory+Filename requires more space than is provided, don't worry. PS scrolls the line as you type. - To choose from a directory of file names, Press [F5]. -- PS asks for the Drive and Directory to search. Press <cr> for a directory of the Current drive. -- PS also asks "Which Files?" Press <cr> to list all files. Or, use Wildcards (* or ?) to search for specific types of files. Example, enter "*.DOC" for files with a "DOC" extension. -- Use cursor keys to move to the file you want, and press <cr>. * To analyze SECTIONS of a text file, you have four options: 1) Focus on RGL reports - a Line-by-Line summary of your writing. 2) Many word processors let you "mark" sections or blocks of text and "write them out to disk." You could do this with several sections of a longer file, then Import each section. 3) "PowerTyping" on the last page describes ways to "cut & paste" sections of text off your screen, and PowerType them into PS. 4) As a last resort, you can type each section into PS. * RGL reports may format text differently than your word proces- sor. That's because lines may be longer than 80 characters. We reformat these to show as much text as possible. ==============- Controlling PS'/PSE's Results -============= 11 Any word beginning with an asterisk (*) or found in the file called FREQUENT.WRD: will count as a 1-syllable word regardless of its actual length. In other words, it won't be counted or listed as a Sesquipedalian word, nor will it be flagged in RGL reports. << There must be NO space between the asterisk and the word - for example: *Sesquipedalian. >> The FREQUENT.WRD file contains up to 100 words which, if found, PS won't nag you about. Include words familiar to YOUR audience, or long words common to everyday English (eg., sometimes). See "Customizing Frequent.Wrd." (Frequent.Wrd is used by PS, not PSE.) How Does This Help Me? Suppose a long word appears many times in your text. (Examples: Company names: "Harnisphluggel;" technical terms: "mesenterium"). You think your audience understands it. Or you think they figured it out the first time it appeared. If left untouched, PS and PSE would add to the syllable count (4 or 5 in the examples) each time it found the word, making your text seem less readable than it is. To avoid this distortion, put the word in Frequent.Wrd, or after the word appears once, "asterisk it" whenever it appears again . Your word processor's Search and Replace function makes it easy to asterisk words. You Should Also Know..... To ensure that PS and PSE correctly count words, syllables and sentences, they "strip" or ignore all control characters, non-essential punctuation, blank lines, and characters with ASCII values below 32. What remains are the letters A-Z, numbers, and a few other characters. You may notice the effects of this in two areas: 1) If you ask that your text be printed (with RGL), blank lines (like those found between paragraphs) won't normally be printed. And formatting may differ from your original (eg., Tabs missing.) 2) If you ask to see Complex Sesquipedalian Words, they may not appear quite as you typed them. =======- Pro~Scribe's Results & Your Results Options -======= 12 PS scans your text twice. It quickly does the first scan, then displays a Results Summary and the phrase "Scanning for Complex, Sesquipedalian Words." You may "Press Any Key" to cancel the 2nd scan for complex words. Here's an example of PS' Results Summary: +------------------------- Results Summary -----------------------+ |Overall |Very Complex | Difficult | OK for Average Adults | Simple | | |Summary |__________________________________________#_______________| | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Grade Level 8 | +-----[ Index Summary ]-----+ | | Flesch Index 84 |P 0|______+______+______+_#____|100 G| |Personal Interest Index 58 |O 0|______+______+_#____+______|100 O| | % Sesquipedalian Words 8 |O 15|______+____#_+______+______|0 O| |# of Syllables Per Word 1.3|R 2.3|______+______+_____#+______|1.0 D| |# of Words Per Sentence 16 | 18|_____#+______+______+______|7 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Sentences: 278 Words: 4448 Personal Words: 6% Word Wasters: 14| +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ The Results Options menu appears at the bottom of your screen. It looks like this; we'll return to it shortly. [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint [H]elp [Q]uit ==================- Interpreting your Results -================== PS' Results Summary shows your results numerically and graphically. The graphs make it easy to see at a glance if a score is on the Poor/Low or Good/High ends of a scale. These scales help you decide "IF" your writing needs work ========================================================= Overall This graph is based on the overall Grade Level. Interpret Summary the labels like this: * Very Complex = Ph.D.s may follow you (but may not) * OK = OK for most average adults * Simple = Usually Grade Levels below 6-7. For Kids? Grade 12=High school 16=College 17+=Watch out! 999=Who wrote this? Level * 999 is rare and means text is extremely complex. * Grade Level is based on the Flesch Index. Flesch This normally ranges from 0-100. But, it can be negative Index (very complex text), or exceed 100 (very simple text). * The Flesch Index is often used to evaluate text books. * It's gaining popularity in business and other settings. * Rudolf Flesch wrote widely on clear, effective writing. Personal This is a variation of another Flesch idea. "Writing as Interest you speak" raises your Personal Interest score. Your score Index is HIGH when you: - Use personal pronouns and contractions - I, he, can't - Use words showing gender - Sister, Father, Brother * To Interpret: 5=Dull, 40=Interesting, 90+=I'm yours! * "Personal Words," at the bottom of the Results Summary, shows what percentage of your words matched these types. - A moderate/high percentage of Personal Words (8% +) gives text an interesting, friendly appeal These scales help you decide "WHAT" to fix. 13 =========================================== Avg. # of A number higher than 1.6 may mean your words are too Syllables heavy: too many complex words for your sentence length. Word - If your goal is to reduce Grade Level, focus on this 1st. It has the strongest effect on Grade Level. You can: 1) Find easier synonyms for complex words; or, 2) Add shorter words to LENGTHEN your sentences: to break up consecutive, complex words, or give the reader a break from their effects. Percentage Long, complex words (9+ characters/3+ syllables) of Sesqui- - A score of 10% or more suggests: "Get out the thesaurus" pedalian Too many complex words for the length sentences you use. Words - Press [C]omplex Words to see which complex words were found, and how often each appeared. - Press [F5] to view synonyms for complex words. Avg. # A number higher than 15-20 words/sentence may suggest of Words a problem - at least for business and everyday writing. Per Sen- - But, complexity is more important than length - LOOK AT tence the Running Grade Level (shows complexity line-by-line) - Focus first on difficult sentences, then long ones. Finally, PS' Results Summary shows the number or percentage of Words, Sentences, Personal Words, and Word Wasters found. MORE IMPORTANT than the Results Summary, however, are the RGL and Word Waster options. They're useful even when the Results Summary suggests everything's OK. RGL (Running Grade Level) reports should become your most vital tool. Why? See the next page. ======================- Results Options -=================== 14 While viewing PS' Results Summary screen, you have these options: [R]GL [C]omplex Words [W]ord Wasters [P]rint Results [H]elp [Q]uit =========================================== Use, Use, Use RGL and Pattern Summaries =========================================== Earlier we suggested: * Short sentences are NOT the objective; avoiding difficult ones is. * Effective writing is varied, not monotonous in style. PS' Running Grade Level (RGL) and Pattern reports speak to these. We hope they become indispensable to you. They help you spot which sections or sentences are complex ("What" to fix), and which are OK. They also make editing MUCH easier by flagging com- lex words and Word Wasters. Finally they help you see if your writing is varied, or if you limit your style. Running Grade Level means: Pro~Scribe displays your text, and prints a grade level for each line with at least one end-of- sentence mark. The grade level applies to all text since the last grade level was printed. Here's an example. (We print 72 characters/line. So some sentences seem truncated or incomplete.) Running Grade Level for: TEST.TXT The 1st 72 characters per line are shown RGL In a dynamic economy there is always a gap between job demands worker skills. Through most of its history, the U. S. has man ... 7 keep that gap small. But not anymore. The nation is facing a ... 8 monumental mismatch between jobs and the ability of Americans to do them. ... 10 Changes in instructional requirements for manufacturing-related work have been particularly dramatic. In some instances, they ... 22 have been so extensive and widespread that they have triggered changes in the structures of institutions and organizations engaged in the delivery of education, training and retraining services or the emergence of new instructional providers. ... 21 The first few lines, from a Business Week article, are readable by most everyone (grade levels of 7 & 8). The second section, from a government report, had grade levels of 22 & 21 (much more complex than the Business Week article). Yet both the article and the report discussed the same topic: the growing gap between worker skills and the needs of business. Patterns like this in our own writing would suggest: 1) congratulate ourselves on the first section; and, 2) take a 2nd (and 3rd?) look at the second section. And if we had asked that Complex Words and Word Wasters be flagged, Pro~Scribe would have led us to specific words and phrases to revise. 15 You have 3 RGL options. We urge you to choose [T]ext and Graph which gives you all 3. Ask for an [R]GL report and PS asks you: * [T]ext and Graph? - This prints text on your screen (and printer if you like) with: -- Grade Levels beside each line with end-of-sentence marks (.?;!) -- Complex Words and Word Wasters flagged in EACH LINE (optional) - When done printing the text, PS will show you a... * [G]raphic Report? - This is a summary of up to 156 sentences/lines showing which sections are complex, and where complex thoughts are bunched. - When viewing the Graphic Report, press [P]attern Summary. -- It shows the variety of your sentence styles: if you mix complex, simple and moderately complex sentences. -- How closely this pattern "Matches" an "ideal pattern" When you ask for [T]ext and Graph, PS: * Asks if you want Complex Words/Word Wasters flagged. We urge Yes -- to make editing much easier. (Registered versions only.) * Asks if you want the report also printed on your printer. * Prints about 20 lines on your screen, then pauses. Press [N]on Stop to move quickly to the middle or end of a document. If you press [N]on Stop, you can "Press any key to pause." PS flags Word Wasters by printing <WW> followed by the Word Waster it found and a comment. Complex Words are flagged on your screen in reverse color (very easy to spot). But on your printer, complex words are shown with a ">" in front of them. These are harder to spot. One way to deal with this: 1) First print the RGL report on your printer. 2) Now, do the RGL report again, but this time don't print on your printer. Instead, use the highlights on your screen to help you find the ">" marks in your printed text. Highlight these in the printed text. While viewing the RGL Graphics report, PS asks you to: Press: [P]attern Summary or [Q]uit The Pattern Summary shows: 1) If your writing has variety; 2) If you tend to use a similar style sentence-after-sentence; and, 3) Complexity, the percent of sentences with Grade Levels over 16. The Match score compares the variety in your writing to an "ideal pattern"-- a few at grades 1-4, a few above grade 13, but most in the range of 5-10. How Do the RGL & Pattern Graphs Help ME? 16 They give you an easy-to-read "picture" of the landscape of your writing. They show you, on one screen, a summary of hundreds of lines of text. They help you easily spot complex sections. And both graphs show whether your writing is varied or (monotonous?). Earlier, under "A Brief Overview" we showed you Pro~Scribe's results for samples of various publications. Here are RGL and Pattern Summaries for 2 extremes: kid's books & technical articles (condensed to fit side-by-side.) RGL For: RGL For: Kid's Books (Grade Level = 7) | Technical Journals (Grade = 19) +-------------------------------|-----------------------------------+ | | IIIIIII II II<- Grade=20+| | |II I IIIIIIIIIIIII III | | |II I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII | |-------------------------------|II-I--IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII------------| |.= . |II=I =IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII | |.=.... . . .. ... |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII | |.=..... . .. . ........ |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII | |.=..................... |II=I.=IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII | +===============================|===================================+ In the Technical writing, vertical lines running to the top of the graph ("I" here) show sentences with grade levels of 20 or more! The dashed line across each graph is at grade level 14. Most text should be below this. Note the consistency (low variety) in both. Note in the technical writing the reader gets few breaks: writing is heavy line-after-line. Does YOUR writing resemble this? Do sections? What would you do about it? Pattern Summary =============== Match: 66 Complexity: 0% >16 |Match: 54 Complexity: 64% >16 |----+-----------------------------|-------------------------------| |50%+| I <-- 72% of sentences | | | | I | | |40% | I * <-- Ideal Pattern| * 40% --> I | | | I | I | |30% | * | * I | | | I | I I I | |20% | I I * | * I I I | | | I I | I I I | |10% | I I I * | I * I I | + 5% +--*-------------------*------+---*-------------------*-------+ Grade: 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ | 1-4 8-10 14-16 20+ 5-7 11-13 17-19 | 5-7 11-13 17-19 First look at the "Ideal Pattern" -- shown with asterisks. Note that 30-40% of sentences in the Ideal Pattern are at grades 5-7 or 8-10. There are a few at 11-13, and fewer still at 1-4 and 17-19. 17 The Ideal Pattern has some variety, a mixture of easy, moderate and difficult sentences. But our examples here show low variety-- the "horizontal spread" is narrow. This shows up in Match Scores which compares the pattern against an "ideal." Match scores for these examples were 66 and 54 (Low and Very Low). And note in the technical writing, 64% of the sentences had Grades > 16! Interpret your Pattern Summary Match Scores roughly like this: 10-40 (Very Low), 41-65 (Low), 66-80 (Moderate) 81-90 (High) 91+ (Very High). Note we don't start at 0, and the scale is "top heavy." The lower the match score, the more your sentence pattern deviates from the "ideal pattern." And deviations on the complex side lead to lower Match Scores than deviations on the easy side. This is another way to alert you to the possibility your writing may be beyond your audience. Summary In summary, the RGL and Pattern graphs show the "landscape" of your writing. They help show you whether there's variety in your style, where text is complex, if it fits your audience. They're particularly useful when analyzing a long document. Here overall results may not reveal variety or sections differing in complexity. Limitations * To allow room to print Grade Levels, PS prints the 1st 72 columns of text, truncating longer lines. * The RGL appears whenever at least one end-of-sentence (EOS) mark is found. It reflects ALL text since the last EOS mark. - If 2+ EOS marks appear in a line, the RGL will be based on ALL sentences found. Examine that section; see if some sen- tences are more complex than others. - The RGL may mislead with sentence "fragments"--as when the last words of a paragraph fall on a new line. Usually, just ignore these. * RGL reports may be formatted differently than your word proces- sor shows them. That's because lines may be longer than 80 characters. We reformat these to show as much text as possible. - PS occasionally "breaks" lines mid-word. That's because PS reads text files in big chunks, which sometimes end in the middle of a word. * PS stores up to 200 complex words. This may not be enough for long documents (15+ pages). Unique words near the end may not be flagged. * PS may not flag Word Wasters that begin on one line but end on the next--because it analyzes each line separately and looks for complete phrases. So be sure to check the Word Waster summary to ensure you spot all Word Wasters in your writing. ===================================================== Complex, Sesquipedalian Words; Your On-Line Thesaurus 18 ===================================================== When you press [C]omplex Words at PS' Results Options menu, PS displays the words it found with 9+ letters/3+ syllables (approx.). We call these "Sesquipedalian Words." You might want to consider synonyms for them. "Effective, High Impact Writing" suggests you ignore this option. PS and PSE are imperfect; neither flag SHORT, complex or unusual words. They miss "fissile" and "oblate spheroid," which may slow a reader. Conversely some words PS flags may not seem complex to you. We opted to print more rather than fewer words to give you as much feedback as possible. If you think a word's simple, not complex, you can ignore it, or: * Put the word in FREQUENT.WRD (See "Customizing Frequent.Wrd") * Revise your text, put an asterisk in front of it; then re-run PS. - The asterisk tells PS "treat me as a 1-syllable word." - Your word processor's Search and Replace function makes this easy. - You can do the same with PSE while inside your word processor. The FREQUENT.WRD file contains up to 100 words which, if found, PS won't nag you about. Include words familiar to YOUR audience, or long words common to everyday English (eg., sometimes). See "Customizing Frequent.Wrd." PS prints a maximum of 200 Sesquipedalian Words, up to 18 char- acters per word. Numbers in parentheses show how often a word was found. The "Percent Sesquipedalian Words" may not always coincide with the number of Complex words printed. Pro~Scribe's 2nd pass is more particular about what it flags. Your On-Line Thesaurus While looking at your list of complex words, press [F5] to see synonyms. See "Customizing Your Thesaurus" for details on how your thesaurus works, and how to customize it. This is NOT intended as a complete thesaurus. Only root words with 9+ letters are included. =========================================== Word Wasters 19 =========================================== Word Wasters are words or phrases which are: weak, wrong or wordy. The last line of your Results Summary shows how many Word Wasters PS found. See "Customizing Word Wasters" to add your own or change PS' Word Wasters. Press [W]ord Wasters and PS displays: (Note example below) * Each Word Waster found * How often each was found * A comment, often suggesting how to revise 4 Example(s) of Wasted Words. (# = how often phrase was found) 2 THE FACT THAT............ WW Use Since or Because 1 CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO... WW Use Remind you, Show you, or Point out 1 FORESEEABLE FUTURE....... WW Fuzzy cliche. Be more specific (WW, TW, VtN, MW or PV refer to one of PS' 5 Word Waster categories.) If PS finds more Word Wasters than fit on one screen, it pauses until you press a key. If you want "hardcopy" of your Word Wasters, make sure your printer is on. Also ensure: 1) your printer is set to the top of the page (nothing in the buffer); and, 2) you're using fixed spaced (Not proportionally spaced) fonts. Then press [Shift-PrtSc]. =========================================== Printing Results =========================================== Press [P]rint Results to print PS' Results Summary on your printer. PS will ask "Want Sesquipedalian Words printed also?" Press [Y]es or [N]o. PS checks your printer (LPT1 only) to see if it's on, has paper, etc. If not, you'll see "Check Printer. When ready, press a key. [Esc]=Quit." To abort printing, press [Esc]. Printing other results was covered in the appropriate section. * Press [R]GL at the Results Options Menu to print your Text-with-RGL * Press [Shift-PrtSc] to print Word Wasters when shown on your screen PS has no option to print RGL or Pattern Summaries. Shift-PrtSc may work. But many printers don't support the "screen graphics" characters PS uses. SUGGESTION: : : Print all PS results with Fixed Spaced (NOT proportionally spaced) fonts. Pro~Scribe's charts look terrible when printed with propor- tional fonts. ========================================================= Customizing Word Wasters 20 ========================================================= You may change or add to Pro~Scribe's list of Word Wasters by editing the file called Wasted.Wrd (included in your PS package). * Include your own "pets"--jargon/phrases you want to avoid. * Have a particular problem you want help with? Just load PS up with many examples of the mistakes you often make. PS will help you eradicate them. * Want to eliminate the jargon or fuzzy language in your business, department or classroom? Add your own phrases, then ask your staff to run all their work through PS. * Do you edit other peoples' work? Add the jargon they use, the types of mistakes they make. Then send them Pro~Scribe's results with your comments. * Change the Comments--make them stronger or more specific. PS loads Word Wasters from a file called Wasted.Wrd (which PS must find in the same directory as PS.Exe and PSHelp.Scr). Wasted.Wrd is in ASCII format, which nearly any word processor or editor can read and edit. Please follow these guidelines closely. * BEFORE editing it, make a backup copy!! BE SURE you save it in ASCII. If not, your editor may embed formatting symbols that'll throw PS off. * 1-9 RESERVED. PS won't read the 1st 9 lines (tips for you). * PS reads Wasted.Wrd until it either reads 200 Word Wasters, or finds 2 ampersands (@@) in columns 1-2, whichever comes first. - TURN OFF PS' Word Waster feature by putting @@ on line 10. - The last line in Wasted.Wrd looks something like this (Note @@@) @@@@@@ 200 (Maximum) Reached - Don't move or change this line @@@@@@ * Your list of Word Wasters MUST begin on Line 10. * Each line has 2 parts: The Word Waster (Phrase) to scan for, and Comment (suggestions, tips, explanations, etc.). - They MUST BE: Enclosed in quotes (""), Separated by a comma. "Acknowledge receipt of", "WW Use -We got, We received-" "Not in a position to", "WW Use -Can't- as in -We can't-" - The Phrase PS searches for is on the left, Comments on the right. - COMMAs between them tells PS it reached the end of the Phrase. - The QUOTES around them ensure that commas inside (see 1st Comment) aren't treated as the "end" of a Phrase or Comment. - Avoid punctuation! And be sure to use Quotes ONLY to surround. DON'T use apostrophes ('); use hyphens instead to delimit. - For NO Comment, type double quotes like this: "Your Phrase","" * The "WW" in Comments above is the key to 1 of our 5 Word Waster categories. * MAXIMUM # of Characters: Phrase: 35 (27 printed) Comment: 47 Wasted.Wrd has about 150 Word Wasters, and many lines like this - "","". To add your own phrases, just move your cursor between the quotes and type. If you reach the 200-phrase limit, and want to add more, scan Wasted.Wrd for phrases you rarely or never use. Replace these with your own. ========================================================= Customizing Your FREQUENT.WRD File (Registered Version) 21 ========================================================= PS flags the long, complex words you use. But, some long words may be easily understood by your audience. Examples would be words that are part of everyday English (eg., "sometimes" or "understand"), or terms and phrases your audience understands (like technical terms, company names). PS shouldn't nag you about such words; now it doesn't have to. When you first run PS, it looks for a file called FREQUENT.WRD. If it finds the file, PS reads in up to 100 words it WON'T flag as complex--either in the list of Complex Words, or in RGL reports. (PS may, however, still count these words when it computes syllables/word & Grade Levels) PS looks for Frequent.Wrd in the same directory as PS.Exe and PSHelp.Scr. If PS can't find it, no error message will print, and PS will flag all words with 9+ letters, 3+ syllables. Frequent.Wrd comes to you with about 30-40 words. We chose these from research on "the most frequently-used words" (our 30-40 are in the top 1000). Because they're found in everyday English, they should be easy for most to grasp - despite the fact they have 9+ letters. YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE FREQUENT.WRD. * Add your own long words (9+ letters) you're audience understands * Replace or edit the ones we included * Frequent.Wrd is in ASCII format, which nearly any word processor/ editor can read and edit. BEFORE editing it, make a backup copy!! * BE SURE you save it in ASCII (DOS Text). If not, your editor may embed formatting symbols that'll throw PS off. * 1-7 RESERVED. PS won't read the 1st 7 lines (tips for you). * PS reads Frequent.Wrd until it either reads 100 words, or finds 2 ampersands (@@) in columns 1-2, whichever comes first. - The last line looks something like this (Note @@@@@@) @@@@@@ Your word processor should show this line is #58 @@@@@@ * Your list of words MUST begin on line 8. There must be only 1 word on each line. Don't include phrases with 2 or more words. * Upper or lower case is OK, it doesn't matter. PS converts all text to upper case before it does any analyses. If you reach the 100-word limit, and want to add more, scan Frequent.Wrd for words you rarely or never use. Replace these with your own. ========================================================= Customizing Your Thesaurus (Registered Version) 22 ========================================================= Pro~Scribe always flagged those long, complex words that fog up your writing. Now, to make it even easier to get that fog out, we added an On-line Thesaurus. We also added another program (PSThes.Exe) so you can customize your thesaurus. (NOTE: Because we added the on-line thesaurus, we eliminated the "List of Synonyms" that was in earlier versions (you now have 1100+ words versus 150). This reduced the size of the Help Screen file, so PS should now also load faster when you run it.) How Pro~Scribe's Thesaurus Works ................................ Once Pro~Scribe analyzes your writing and scans for complex words, it displays its Results Menu: [R]GL [C]omplex Words ... etc. When you press [C]omplex Words, press [F5] to "Check For Synonyms." PS looks for synonyms for the the 1st complex word shown on your screen. If PS can't find an exact match, it'll check a 2nd time scanning for the first few letters in the word. At the bottom of your screen you'll see one of these messages: * If PS found the word (or a partial match) you'll see: [N]ext [W]rite to File [Up/Down]=Browse Through Thesaurus [Esc]=Quit * IF PS found no match you'll see: This word wasn't found. [W]rite to File [Any key] = Continue * Press [N]ext Word to move on to the next complex word that was shown on your screen. If you keep pressing [N]ext, PS will keep going until it gets to the last complex word it found, even those you haven't seen on your screen yet. * Press [Up/Down] cursor keys to browse through the thesaurus. This is handy when PS scanned for a partial word. If PS didn't land on the right word, it may be just a few words further down. - For example, suppose PS couldn't find "circulates" (ends with "s"). On it's 2nd scan, it would look for "circu" -- the 1st half of the word. It might land on "circular." Press the Down cursor and "circulate" might be right below "circular." * Finally, press [W]rite to File to ask PS to save the complex word AND synonyms in a file called PS-Syn.##. ("##" would be a number from 1-999 as in PS-Syn.1) - Print the "PS-Syn" file, or load it into your word processor. Use PS' suggestions to help you get the fog out. (For words not found, look them up elsewhere and add them to your thesaurus.) - Each time you run PS and "Write synonyms to a file," PS creates a new file. If "PS-Syn.1" already exists, PS will try "PS-Syn.2" then "PS-Syn.3," etc. until it finds a number not yet used. If you already have 999 "PS-Syn" files (unlikely), PS will change to "PS-Synon." - One "PS-Syn" file is created in each PS session. That means if you analyze several text files in the same session, all synonym information will be saved in the same file. (File names WILL be printed so you can tell which words came from which text file.) If you need this data in separate files, exit/quit PS after each file's analyzed, then re-run PS. Customizing Your Thesaurus (continued) 23 The thesaurus itself is a file called PSThes.Ths. It must be on the drive/directory you're logged onto when you run PS (or on the "path" you declared with SET PSDIR= -- see the Installation section of the manual for details on SET PSDIR.) To customize your thesaurus, run the PSThes.Exe program. You can: * Add new words (and synonyms), or Edit existing words (or synonyms) * Browse through the thesaurus, or Find words (scanning for 1 or more letters or a whole word). * Save a new sorted thesaurus after Adding/Editing words (Important!) PSThes.Exe is very easy to use. The menus and messages explain what to do. Here are some general guidelines. * Make a backup copy of PSThes.Ths before running PSThes.Exe. * The thesaurus file (PSThes.Ths) must be on the drive/directory you're logged onto when you run PSThes.Exe. * If you Add new words or edit existing words, you MUST Save the changes or PS won't be able to find the words later. Here's why. - Your thesaurus must be in alphabetical order. But, when you add new words, they're put at the end of the PSThes.Ths file--not in alphabetical order. - If you Edit a word, it might now be out of alphabetic sequence. - Sorting/Saving re-writes PSThes.Ths in the right order. - When you save a new file, the original thesaurus file is renamed PSThes.Bk. A new PSThes.Ths file is then created. This requires enough free disk space to create a new file. If there's too little disk space for a backup file, you won't be able to add new words. - You needn't save if you only edit Synonyms (not the target word). * Important - Add words only if they have 9 or more letters. Remember, we're looking for synonyms for what PS defines as complex words-- those with 3+ syllables/9+ letters. Add shorter words only if you think your writing will contain longer variations, as when you add "ing" or "ment." - You can Edit but not delete words. PSThes won't accept blanks. * Tips - To choose options, press the 1st letter of the option you want: [A]dd new word [E]dit a word or synonyms [S]ave [B]rowse (or find) - When you ask to Edit, you're asked to type in the word to edit. -- You can type in just a few letters, or the whole word. -- If you type in a few letters and PSThes can't find the word, press [Esc] and try again (type in more letters/the whole word). - When you ask to Browse, you're asked where you want to start. You can type in a letter, a few letters or a word. To start, say, at the beginning, enter "A." -- Press Up/Down cursor keys to move up/down through the thesaurus. -- While browsing you can press [E]dit to edit what you see--the word or synonyms. - Everything you enter is automatically capitalized. i ============- Ingredients of Writing As You Speak -============= "Writing As You Speak" raises your Personal Interest Index. "Effective, High Impact Writing" has a complete section on this. It lists the ingredients of "Talking on Paper." PS scans for 65-70 personal pronouns, contractions, and gender- specific words. Pronouns include: I, Me, My, Mine He, Him, His She, Her, Hers They, Them, Their, Theirs You, Your, Yours We, Us, Our, Ours We also include contractions like - I'm, He's, She's, and You're Other contractions include: can't, won't, shouldn't, wouldn't, etc. Gender-specific terms include: father, mother, brother, etc. =========- Additional Reading On Effective Writing -========== For further help improving your writing style, consider these books. Find them in soft or hard cover editions, and at libraries or book stores. AUTHOR BOOK TITLE ====== ============================= Rudolf Flesch * How to Write Plain English * Say What You Mean * The Art of Readable Writing * Rudolf Flesch on Business Communications * Why Johnny Can't Read - And What You Can Do About It * How to Write, Speak and Think More Effectively Richard Lanham * Revising Prose Robert Gunning * Take the Fog Out of Writing * More Effective Writing in Business and Industry William Strunk Jr. * The Elements of Style Joseph Williams * Style ===================- LIMITED LICENSE -=================== ii Pro~Scribe is "user-supported" software -- NOT "freeware." We grant you a limited license to use Pro~Scribe (PS) only in the manner described below. You may not modify or alter PS without our prior written approval. And when you register, we say thanks by sending you PS Express (which is terrific!!), as well as more capability, an "Effective Writing" manual, and more. See the first few pages of this manual for details. Permission to Use and Copy Pro~Scribe If you ARE a registered user of Pro~Scribe: - You sent your registration fee - We sent you the latest versions of both PS and PSE. - You're granted a full license to use PS for both personal and business purposes. We'll try to inform you of updates to PS/PSE. If you're NOT a registered user: - You're granted a limited license to try Pro~Scribe out for a limited trial period. If, after this trial period, you want to continue using Pro~Scribe, you must register as described below. - Running PS 15-20 different times should allow you to decide if PS will be useful. Therefore the trial period is set at 20 PS sessions. PS will pause when you run it beyond this period. Bulletin board SYSOPS, computer clubs, and shareware distributors may copy/distribute the user-supported version of PS, provided: (a) Your adds/literature/company name DON'T have the letters "free." "Free," "freeware," etc. misrepresent "user-supported software." (1) It's distributed UNmodified (All files & Copyright notices intact) (2) You include all files mentioned in ReadME.Bat including: PS.Exe, PSHelp.Scr, Wasted.Wrd, PSManual.Doc, Whats.New, etc. (3) You charge nothing for the software manuals, etc. You may charge up to $10.00 to cover distribution and handling. (4) You clearly state your fee is NOT payment or registration for the software. (5) You clearly encourage contributions/registration by stating that continued use justifies sending contributions to the developer. (6) The copy you have does not state distribution is prohibited. EACH COPY USED IN A CORPORATION, BUSINESS OR TRADE MUST BE REGISTERED This means, if you're using PS for any business purpose or in the context of conducting business, you must register to use Pro~Scribe. TO REGISTER . . . A registration form's at the end of this manual. Two Questions About Registering . . . iii IF I GOT A COPY FOR NOTHING, WHY SHOULD I PAY A REGISTRATION FEE? or, I GOT Pro~Scribe FROM A COMPANY THAT "SELLS" SHAREWARE PROGRAMS. I PAID THEM FOR Pro~Scribe. WHY SHOULD I REGISTER WITH YOU? These are good questions. Here's a response. (Our response applies to user-supported software in general, not just PS.) PS is distributed as "user-supported" software. You can "try it out" to see if it suits your needs BEFORE paying for it. And "user-supported" software is often a terrific value - you pay only for the software, not the overhead of advertising, handling, etc. Finally, your contribution makes it possible for us to continue developing ideas, and offering the results to you at reasonable prices. These efforts are made possible because people like you (1) are honest; and, (2) understand that developers simply can't go on if they get no support. In short, if you fail to even acknowledge contributions other people make (say "Thanks"), or support their efforts (even modestly), the spigot will be turned off. The only one to lose will be you (and the "shareware distributors"). Since you made no contribution anyway, the developer loses nothing. In response to the second question, many firms now "sell" user-supported software (or shareware). They charge you a fee for their time, and for the cost of sending you a disk. NONE of the fee you give them goes to the person who developed the software. So when you pay $2.00 - $5.00 for a disk full of software, you are NOT supporting the person who's time was spent conceiving of and developing ideas you're now finding useful. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITED WARRANTY This product is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. The entire risk as to the results and performance of this product is assumed by you. We warrant only that any disk(s) we send you is free from physical defects and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of 90 days from the date shipped. Our entire liability and your exclusive remedy as to the disk shall be, at our option, to either (1) return the purchase price or (2) replace disks which don't meet our limited warranty. Neither Pro~Formance nor RWS & Associates, nor any of their officers or employees shall be held responsible for: failures of this program to satisfy any needs, damages due to using MM, or any effects the use of this program has on you, your business or operations. PS, its manual and its support files may be modified or changed from time to time. PS may contain operational inaccuracies or typographical errors which may be corrected by future versions if any. Registered owners may be notified of available updates. We reserve the option to modify PS and registration fees. Send correspondence to: RWS & Associates 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117 Programs by Pro~Formance iv Here's a brief summary of some of our programs. For details, write: Pro~Formance 132 Alpine Terrace San Francisco, Ca. 94117 .................................................................. Professional Scribe (Pro~Scribe) PS Express (PSE) .................................................................. Pro~Scribe and PSE help you improve anything you write (or help you improve the writing of others -- your staff, students, etc.) (You know about these already.) .................................................................. Mail Call (also see P~F Form below) MC Express (MCE) .................................................................. Mail Call (MC) is a full featured mailing assistant. Add names to a database, then Browse through them, Search, Print, etc. Print: * Envelopes (several sizes) * Mailing Labels (several sizes plus a "roll-your-own-size" option) 1 to 99 copies of each label, 1 to 3 columns across * Personalized Documents (like "mail merge form letters") * Reports, Phone books, Appointment schedules, etc. * Labels with Any text Mail Call offers UNlimited capacity -- use as many database files as you want. And its "Mail Merge" option lets you Import or Export names to files used by word processors or other database programs. MC Express is a "RAM-resident" program that lets you: 1) print envelopes while INSIDE your word processor; and, 2) lets you "write out" names and addresses to a file you can later "import" into MC (no re-typing). (MCE is optional and works with HP LaserJets, Original through Series II.) .................................................................. P~F Form (see Mail Call) Form Design (PFD) // Form Master (PFM) .................................................................. Form Design and Form Master are a complete form system: form design, math, print, database and "auto-edit" features all built in. Design, edit and print forms with P~F Form Design. (samples included) * Draw lines or boxes, in several styles * Math options (+-/*) add "spreadsheet" convenience and accuracy * Fill areas with shading * Enter text, auto-centered inside boxes if you like * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shading * Vary fonts, type styles, line spacing Then use either PFD or PFM to fill them out and print them. * PFM pulls names, addresses, etc. from your database, putting them right where you want them. * Auto-Edit lets you quickly skip through a form, editing just fields you "tagged." For example: On order forms-- Quantity, Description, Price per Unit, Tax, Total. * Press a key to do all the calculations for you!! continued . . . . P~F Form (continued) v Produce high-quality, professional looking forms in minutes with an HP LaserJet (+/500/Series II or later). And you DON'T need expensive LaserJet font cartridges or soft fonts for lines, boxes, shading, etc. We use the LaserJet's built-in features for these. "But, I don't have a LaserJet," you say. Not to worry. PFD/PFM have two other printer options so they work with any printer. Finally, PFD/PFM will work with the same database files as Mail Call--letting you can manage most every piece of paper in your office. Forms: Invoices, Purchase Orders, Personnel Forms, Work Orders, Work Schedules, Travel or Expense Reports, Accounting Forms, Application Blanks, etc. As Well As: Letters, Memos, Envelopes, Mailing Labels, Person- alized Documents, Reports, Client or Employee lists. .................................................................. P~F Presents .................................................................. P~F Presents is a DESKTOP PRESENTATION system with 2 programs: P-Screen and PFP. With P-Screen you: (The next page has more on P-Screen) .................. * Design screens (or "slides"). * Save screens in libraries (or print them or save as Ascii files) With PFP you: ............. * Create presentation agendas ("slide shows") which can include: - Menus which "branch" to various parts of your presentation, depending on the option your viewer selects. For example: -- Which product do you want information on? -- Which topic (in a tutorial) do you want to review? - Timed slides (PFP pauses, then automatically shows the next) - Special effects: animation, sound, loops, exploding windows * Display your presentations, or let others do it by themselves. A "use monochrome" option lets you display presentations on virtually any monitor. Possibilities: .............. * Sales presentations * Management/Staff briefings * Training programs * Tutorials or Demos * Meetings * Highlight product information * Highlight investment opportunities * Advertise on disk * Customer information * Tourist guides * Restaurant guides * Directories (Names, phone #s) And on and on and . . . .................................................................. Pro~Formance Screen Design (P-Screen) .................................................................. P-Screen is a screen: "design," "library/database" and "display" system all in one. Use it to design screens for programs you write, or for program demos, prototyping, word processing, batch files, etc. Design * Draw/Join lines or boxes, in several styles * Fill areas with shading, or Paint entire screens or selected areas * Enter text, auto-centered inside lines or boxes if you like * Quick, easy block options: Copy, Move, Erase, Shade, Paint, UnDo Save/Load/Libraries * Save screens to or Load screens from Ascii files or Libraries. Since you can load Ascii files, you can use most any "screen capture" program to save EXISTING screens to disk. Then, load them into P-Screen, add color, then save them to a library. * Libraries give you the convenience of 1 file to store up to 50 screens -- in color, complete with names and descriptions. Using Libraries in Your Programs, Demos, etc. * We supply three routines to display your screens. Call one to read screens from libraries, another to display your screens. (These routines work with QuickBASIC 4.0 +.) * It's easy to write programs to access screen libraries. - You can load and display 1 screen at a time. - Or load 2 or more screens into arrays, then pop them up instantly. .................................................................. The Survey Catalyst (TSC; a commercial program, not Shareware) .................................................................. The Survey Catalyst is for anyone who works with attitude or opinion surveys. It helps you create surveys in minutes or hours--not days! * TSC includes a database of thousands of survey items--like items used in most Fortune 1000 companies' employee surveys. - You can review items, edit them or add new ones. - OR, when you see an item you want to add to a survey, just press a key and add it--fast and simple. * TSC also comes with dozens of response scales. When you print surveys, TSC prints the right response scale--automatically. * And speaking of printing, TSC's many options let you create "camera-ready" copy--as you want it, fast! - Group items by Category, by Response Scale, or Randomize them. - Print response scales Above or Beside items (or not at all). - Print key punch instructions (optional) - Print a title--at the top or bottom of each page. - Or, print your survey "to a file"--to dress it up later. ----------------+------[ To Order : : : :]-----+----------------- ____ Copies of P~F Presents (P-Screen\+ AND PFP\+) ... $_________ ** $49 per copy ($75 without the Pro~Formance copyright introducing each presentation. Call about custom options.) ____ Copies of P-Screen: Programmer's Edition ........ $_________ ** $25 per copy ____ Copies of Mail Call + (MC\plus) ................ $_________ ** $45 per copy WITH MC Express MCE works with HP LaserJets, original through Series II. ** $40 per copy WITHOUT MC Express (MCE) ____ Copies of P~F Form (Both PFD\+ and PFM\+) ....... $_________ ** $45 per copy (Note the "packages" below) ____ Copies of Professional Scribe Writing Assistant . $_________ ** $35 per copy (for BOTH Pro~Scribe & PS Express) ____ Copies of BOTH P~F Form and Mail Call\+ (17% off) $_________ ** $75 for PFD, PFM AND Mail Call and MC Express ($4/shipping) ____ Shoot the works. Send 1 of each .......(25% off) $_________ ** $149 for the works (+ $10 shipping) ____ Send information on The Survey Catalyst Add $2/copy shipping/handling (Non-U.S.: $8) $_________ California residents, please add 6.5% tax $_________ Total enclosed........ $_________ (NON-U.S. orders: International Money Orders please. U.S. Funds) (We reserve the option to adjust registration fees.) -----------------+-------[ Mail to ]-------+---------------------- Name: _____________________________ Today's Date: ___________ Company: __________________________ Phone: ( ) _____-______ Address: ________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _________________________________________________ -----------------+-------------------------+---------------------- Send this to: Pro~Formance 132 Alpine Terrace Please make your check payable to: San Francisco, CA. 94117 R. W. Smetana (415) 863-0530 (10-5 Pacific time) -------------------+-------------------------+-------------------- Which version of Pro~Scribe do you now have? __________________ Where did you get your current copy of? __________________ My Computer's a:_________________ My Printer's a:________________ My Monitor is: (circle one) Mono / Color We'd appreciate your comments & suggestions (use the other side).