Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/w3_apps/mb12.arj/ENGLISH.HLP

Text File | 1992-03-17 | 20KB | 583 lines

/hIntroduction to Memory Builder
/mMAIN

Memory Builder is a program which can help you to memorize any type
of information which can be expressed as a question and answer.  Some
examples of suitable topics are foreign language vocabulary, geography
facts, and math formulas.

Memory Builder is essentially computerized Flash Cards.  Memory Builder
allows you to makes up a Learn file, which is a Windows-compatible file
containing questions and answers separated by the '*'.  Thanks to Memory
Builder's built-in editor, these Learn files can be created with an ease
and speed not found in any other memorization program available.

Memory Builder has many advantages over ordinary flash cards:

1)  Learn files can be made up and learned quickly.

2)  Learn files can be stored for any length of time.  You will
no longer have to make up new flash cards when the finals come around.

3)  Learn files can be made into icons which can be started from the
Program Manager.

4)  Input errors are easy to find because you can look at and correct
many questions and answers on the screen at the same time.

5)  Memory Builder has a consistent foreign accent interface, so that
once you become familiar with the procedure,
you can easily enter any type of accent.

/hUsing &Help
/mALL

You will often find the Help Window easier to use when it is put next to
Memory Builder on the screen.  This can be accomplished by moving the window
to an area of screen that Memory Builder is not
using.  You can leave the Help
Window there as long as you like,
and several Help Windows can be used at the same time.

The font and point size can also be changed.
To do so pull down Font, and then
click on the font that you prefer.  To select
the point size, pull down Size
and select the point size you prefer.

/hUsing Foreign Accents
/mALL

Accents can be used in all areas of Memory Builder except when entering file
names. To type an accented character, you press CTRL and a number from
1-6, release the keys and press the key of the character to be accented.

example: You press CTRL+1, release the keys and press e to get Θ.

       To accent a capital letter simply press SHIFT and the letter as you
 normally would.

example: You press CTRL+1, release the keys and press SHIFT+e to get ╔.

The following chart shows which keys to press for the different accents:
\l

\l       CTRL+1 character
\l       = forward accent   [ Θ ]
\l       CTRL+2 character
\l       = backward accent  [ α ]
\l       CTRL+3 character
\l       = hat accent       [ ε ]
\l       CTRL+4 character
\l       = two dots         [ ÷ ]
\l       CTRL+5+character = [π,⌡]
\l       CTRL+6+character = [σ,°]
\l
\lother characters:
\l       CTRL+1+ c = [ τ ]
\l       CTRL+1+ n = [ ± ]
\l       CTRL+1+ s = [ ▀ ]
\l       CTRL+2+ s = [ º ]
\l       CTRL+2+ c = [ ⌐ ]
\l       CTRL+1+ r = [ « ]
\l       CTRL+1+ p = [ ╢ ]
\l       CTRL+7+ a = [ µ ]
\l       CTRL+7+ o = [ ≡ ]
\l       CTRL+2+ y = [ ■ ]
\lspecial punctuation:
\l       CTRL+1+ ! = [ í ]
\l       CTRL+1+ ? = [ ┐ ]
\l       CTRL+1+ " = [ ½ ]
\l       CTRL+2+ " = [ ╗ ]


       To accent a capital letter simply press SHIFT and the letter as you
 normally
would.
example: You press CTRL+1, release the keys and press SHIFT+e to get ╔.

/hUsing The Edit Window
/mALL

The Edit Window functions like any other Windows Editor except that it allows
you to use Foreign accents [see Using Foreign Accents], and make a Persist
Icon from an Edit Window [see Persist Icons].

From the Program Menu that is available from an edit window, you
can open another edit window [Edit], go to a learn window
using the contents of the edit window you have open [Learn],
change to Spanish or French [Setup], look at prior drill scores
[Scores], massage your mind with colored boxes [Boxes], save your present
position in the edit window [Make Persist Icon], close the window [Close],
and close Memory Builder [Exit].

From the File Menu that is available from an edit window, you can
clear the window [New File], save the contents of the window to disk
[Save], save the contents to disk with a new name [Save As], and print the
contents on the line printer [Print].  When you attempt to close a window,
close Memory Builder, or clear the window, Memory Builder will warn you if
you have not saved the contents of the current edit window.  When you
use Save As and another file exists with the same name, Memory Builder
will warn you of this fact.

When you click on the Edit menu, you will see familiar Windows functions
such as Copy, Cut, Paste, Clear, Search, and Replace.   Copy and
Cut will remove text to the Windows clipboard.  Paste will
retrieve text from the clipboard.  With these functions,
text can be copied, cut and pasted from edit window to edit window.
   The search and replace windows can be dragged with the mouse to any
part of the screen, even outside the Memory Builder frame windows.

The Windows window contains standard Windows functions to manipulate
windows.  Tile means place open windows like tiles on a floor.  Cascade
means place windows on top of one another so that only the titles
of covered windows are visible.  Close All means close all Memory Builder
windows and leave only the frame window visible.  Arrange Icons would
apply if you had minimized various Memory Builder windows and had dragged
these icons around the screen.  Arrange Icons will arrange the icons
along the bottom of the Memory Builder frame screen. The Windows window shows
 all open
Memory Builder windows.  You can bring other open windows to the top
by clicking on the appropriate item.

The Help window provides help for topics specific to the Edit window
as well as some general topics.

The arrows will move the caret within the window.  Control End will
move to the end of the text.  Control Home will move to the beginning.

/h   Loading a File
/mEDIT

       To load a file pull down the File menu and select Open File.  If the
 editor
already has a file, you will be asked if you want to save it.

/h   Saving a file
/mEDIT

       To save a file pull down the File menu and select Save File.

/h   Saving a File under another Name
/mEDIT

To save a file under a different name, pull
down File and select Save As.  A box will
appear in which you can type in the new name.

Note: The old file will not be deleted.

/h   Organizing Learn Files
/mEDIT,LEARN

To organize learn files for a subject you are taking, you
should take advantage of the file management capabilities
of Widows and MSDOS.

Under Windows and MSDOS, file names can contain up to eight
characters followed by a period with an extension of
up to three characters (12345678.123). Directories are files which
contain other files.

For organizing the material you want to memorize, we
would suggest that you first make up subdirectories for each subject.

For example you might have the subdirectories:
D:\mb\SPANISH, D:\mb\GEOGRAP, D:\mb\ENGLISH, etc.
This assumes that you have installed Memory Builder
on Drive D in the directory "mb".  You do not have
to put data files in the memory builder directory.
You could make up subdirectories such as D:\SPANISH,
D:\GEOGRAP, or D:\ENGLISH.   Windows and MSDOS do not
distinguish
between upper case and lower case file names.  We give
file names upper case letters as a matter of style.
Directory names can have extensions, although as a matter
of style, we do not give directories extensions.

Give your Learn files sortable names.

When most Windows programs list files, they
will list 9 after 10 since they see the 1 in
the 10 before the 0.  So, instead of naming
two files SPAN9 and SPAN10 it would be
better to have SPAN09 and SPAN10 since these
files will appear in the proper order when viewed
in a file open window.

The rule to follow is this: give files which refer
to 1 through 9 names which have the numbers 01, 02, and
so forth.

Another point is that learn files which contain more than
fifteen to twenty items are difficult to review when you
don't know the material.  The rule you should follow would
be to put approximately fifteen items in each file, and then
start a new file.

Learn files should have the extension ".LRN".

Example.  Your Spanish Book has 30 chapters, and there will be
about 30 words in each chapter you will want to memorize.

Step 1.  With the file manager, make up a Directory called "SPANISH".

Step 2.  With the editor, make up a new file,
and enter 15 or 20 words you want to memorize,
separating the question from the answer with a *.

Step 3.  Save this file with the name "CH01A.LRN" (Chapter 1, file A).

Step 4.  Make an other new file, and add 15 or 20 more words.

Step 5.  Save this file with the name "CH01B.LRN".

Continue in this way day by day with your lessons.
Eventually, you will have a directory
of files which might look like this:

\l      CH01A.LRN
\l      CH01B.LRN
\l      CHO2A.LRN
\l       ...
\l      CH09B.LRN
\l      CH10A.LRN
\l      CH10B.LRN
\l      CH11A.LRN

If you use the "01", "02", for the name of files for chapters less than
10, the file names for chapters 10 and above will sort correctly.  And,
of course, if you fine some more words for chapter one, you can make
up a file CH01C.LRN, and this file will appear in the correct place
in the directory.

The ".LRN" extension is necessary for Memory Builder to correctly use
the Make Icon feature.  However, Memory Builder will load any file
that is entirely text into the editor, and will try to run any text
file through the learn module if you ask it to.

/hUsing the Learn Window
/mEDIT

To start the Learn Window
pull down the programs menu and select Learn.

If you select Learn from within an edit window,
learn will use the contents of that window.  Otherwise
you will be asked to select a learn file.

Learn assumes that questions are separated from answers
with the star *, for example, question*answer.

A window will appear containing two edit
fields.  The first, labeled "question" will
display the first question in the Learn file,
and the second, labeled "answer" is where
you must type in the answer.

The questions that you answer incorrectly
will be marked so that they can be asked
again on the second pass.  This cycle will
continue until there are no questions
marked wrong.

When Learn decides whether an answer is correct or not,
it ignores leading and trailing spaces and more than
one space between words.  Learn also treats upper case
letters as if they were lower case, and vice versa.
However, learn does take account of accents.  Thus Θ and
╔ are considered the same letter, but e,Θ,Φ,Ω,and δ are
all different letters.

/hUsing the Learn Window
/mMAIN

To start the Learn Window, pull down the
programs menu and select Learn.

If you are not in an edit window, a box will appear with a file listing
from which you may select the file you wish to learn.

A window will appear containing two edit
fields.  The first, labeled "question" will
display the first question in the Learn file,
and the second, labeled "answer" is where
you must type in the answer.

The questions that you answer incorrectly
will be marked so that they can be asked
again on the second pass.  This cycle will
continue until there are no questions
marked wrong.

/h   Using The Edit Button
/mLEARN

       The edit button allows you to edit the current question.  Then the
Edit button is pressed, the border of the box marked Question will thicken
and anther box marked Correct Answer will appear.  To edit either the
question or answer simply click on the Question or Correct Answer box, and
edit the text within.
       When finished, press ENTER then click on the Edit Button once more.
The question will be asked again.  Just press ENTER and continue on to the
next question.

note: An edited question is always marked wrong, and will be asked again
on the next round.

/h   Using the Next and Last Buttons
/mLEARN

The Next and Last buttons are provided for
the purpose of moving back to a question
you pressed ENTER on by mistake, or for just
moving through the file.

Note: Pressing Last after entering your
response to a question is not the same as
ENTER.  The question will be marked wrong.
Also, if you are on a round other than the
first, pressing Last will take you to the
next question in the file, not the next one
you got wrong.  Exercise caution when using
these buttons since you may lose your place
in the file through they're use.

/h   Using Hard or Easy review
/mEDIT,LEARN, SETUP

In the easy review mode, the learn window eliminates questions
after you provide a correct answer, but continues to ask
the questions you have missed until you answer every one
correctly.

In the hard review mode, the learn window eliminates only
questions that you answer correctly on the first pass, but
thereafter asks the entire list of questions that were missed
on the first pass until you answer all of these questions correctly
on one single pass.

The hard review mode is designed to ascertain that you have mastered
material you already know.

The hard or easy review mode can be selected in the setup window.
The default is easy.

/h   Using the Error File
/mEDIT,LEARN, SETUP

Memory Builder adds questions missed on the first pass to a review
file.  The name of this file can be chosen in the setup window.  The
error file is never erased, if you need a new blank file, you can either
change the Error file's name in Setup, or you can delete the current
Error file which is by default "MISSED.LRN".

/h   Creating Learn Files
/mEDIT

The Learn file is one of the most important
elements of Memory Builder.  Each Learn file
contains the questions and answers that you
will be asked when you Learn a file.

Learn files are made up of a question and
answer separated by a *.

Example: You have a quiz on the verb Avoir in
the present tense tomorrow.  You would
probably make up a file that looks something
like this:
\l
I have*j'ai

you(singular)have*tu as

he has*il a

we have*nous avons

you(plural) have*vous avez

they have*ils ont
\l

/h   Reviewing a Large Amount of Data
/mEDIT,LEARN

To review a significant amount of data that you already know to
some extent, for example a 1,000 word vocabulary list before you
final exam,  you might proceed as follows:

1. Review each file in the easy mode, changing the name of the
error file when it exceeds twenty words.

2. Review the error file in the easy mode.

3. Review each file in the hard mode.

4. Review the error file in the hard mode.

For 1,000 words, the above procedure might take two or three nights
two hours per night.  At that point, you will have a very high level
of mastery of those words.

/hUsing the Score Window
/mALL

When you drill a learn file all the way to completion,
Memory Builder writes your score into a score file.

You can change the name of the score file in the Setup
window.

You can look your scores in the Score window.

The score window has the following features.

If you select an item in the score box by single clicking on the
line, you can then load the file into the learn window by clicking
on learn, or into the edit window by clicking  on edit.

If you double click on an item, you can immediately load the file
into learn.

The columns in Score have the following meanings.

"file"  The full name of the learn file that you drilled.

"user" The name of the user enter in the field "Your Name" in the
setup window.

"1ok"  The number of correct answers on the first pass.

"tot"  The number of questions in the file.

"date"  The date you drilled the file. (The last drilled learn file
appears first in the Score window.

"sec/?" The average number of seconds needed to answer one question.

"%ok1"  Percent correct on the first pass.


/hUsing Memory Builder In French Or Spanish
/mALL

To change the language that Memory Builder uses do the following:

       Pull down the Programs menu and select Setup Window.  Now click on
the button of the language you want Memory Builder to use.

/hThe Deep Freeze Icon
/mALL

The Deep Freeze Icon will "awaken" Memory Builder's
previous session.  This is useful if you suddenly have to
turn the computer off or exit Windows while you're right in
the middle of learning or entering your Spanish vocabulary for
the next day.

To use the Deep Freeze icon, while editing or learning a
file, exit Memory Builder by either closing the main
window or by pulling down programs and clicking on Exit.

When you want to "awaken" Memory Builder, click on the
Deep Freeze icon instead of the Memory Builder icon.
Memory Builder will start up the editor or learn window
just as you left it.

/hMaking a Persist Icon
/mMAIN,EDIT,LEARN

A Persist Icon is an icon that
will start Memory Builder with
a specified file on a specific
question in the editor or in
Learn.

To make a Persist Icon, pull
down the programs menu and
select Make Persist Icon while
editing or learning the file
you wish to make into an Icon.

A window will appear
containing an edit field and
four radio buttons.  The edit
field is where the Icon's
title is entered, and the radio
buttons decide whether the Icon
will begin in Edit or Lean, and
whether it will begin with the
current question or the first.


/hColored Boxes
/mALL

The Colored Boxes program was developed by
Hans Freidman, a german psychologist as part
of a relaxation program to reduce stress in
people operating in high stress environments.

The program uses a proven technique to
lengthen the gama and alpha brain waves,
which are believed to affect blood pressure
and pulse rate.

To use the Colored Boxes program pull down
the programs menu and click on Colored
Boxes.  A window will appear and boxes of
varying color and size will begin to enlarge
towards the screen.

Slow your breathing down to the point where
you are letting out and taking in about eight
breaths a minute, all the while staring at
the boxes.  Continue this until your mind
goes completely blank.  At this point you
have completed a lantyographic cycle.  The
colored boxes program is done, however you
may continue with the program as long as you
like.

/hCautionary notes
/mMAIN

Memory Builder uses files prepared in a Windows editor.  Files
prepared in an MSDOS editor will work for ordinary letters
but will have the accents wrong.  Files prepared on editors that
have formats that include embedded control characters (such as
Word Perfect) will not run on Memory Builder.   The technical
name of the file format for Memory Builder is MS Windows ANSI
text.

The files that come with Memory Builder that have extensions ".HLP",
".REG",and ".DIA" are all text files, and can edited with the editor.
However, we would not recommend editing these files, since even
slight changes can cause operating problems up to and including a
system crash.

You should install Memory Builder only with the SETUP.EXE program
which comes with Memory Builder.   Installing Memory Builder by
other means, and using registration numbers from other machines,
will cause serious problems.

/hHow to get more help
/mALL

You can write to:
\l
Ben Smith, Inc,

59 Bartlett Avenue,

Arlington, MA 02174
\l
 or call us at [phone].  If we
are unable to answer the phone, leave a message and we will
call you back.