This file is for those who just want to start up Euclid and start playing. If you read this file and are good at "playing around" with programs, then you could eventually learn almost everything about how to use the application.
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System setup:
If you plan on working on a large argument, then you should allocate at least 1000K or memory for Euclid. You may do this by selecting the icon for the program and choosing "Get Info" from the File menu in the Finder. In a box labeled "Current size: " you can enter the amount of memory that the program will use. If, while using the program, it complains about being low on memory, then you should make the memory larger.
The program will run fastest from a hard disk, so you may copy it to your hard disk drive instead of running it from a floppy disk. The program does some safety precautions when saving files, so you should have at least twice as much space on the disk than your data file holds. The program makes an extra copy of the file while it is saving so that if the computer crashes, you can still recover your data.
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How to start:
Launch the app. You must have a database open before you can open a display. If you open only a database, you will only see a smalltalk-like view of the database. This is not very useful, but you can see what's there in some form.
When you open a database, you will be asked to log in. If you haven't logged in before, then create a new user and put your initials or some short (< 4 chars) identifier for yourself.
Anything you create, only you may edit.
If you want to make some claims from your own perspective, then you should define a primitive source for yourself. That means "I say…". If you want to quote someone, or give another persons perspective, then create other primitive sources for them. This means "That other person said…". If another user already created the source that you want to use, then just use that one.
After it is started up, you can set up the default types and default source. Any new object you create will be given the default source and a default type.
Open a display or create a new display for real work.
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Things to know:
The first time you use a database, be sure to login as a new, unique, user. If you use another users login name, and they also make changes, then you and the other user could have problems merging databases. Login sequence is to ensure that merges will always work.
You can't edit any object created by another user.
If you are collaborating, you can merge another persons database into yours by using the Merge Database… command under File. This takes all changes in another database and merges them into the currently open database.
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Things not in the menu bar:
Double-clicking in the drag bar of any object brings up its info page for it. You can change its type, source and name there. The name can be anything to identify the object, but is optional. The default name of an object is its text for text objects and its type for relation and list objects. You can change the name by editing the default name.
To create a relation between two objects, hold the option key and drag between two object. If neither end of the drag is a relation, then a new relation is created between them. If either end is a relation, then only a line will be created.
If you want to create a new relation, where either end is already a relation, then create the relation first (cmd-R or in the object menu) and then link it to its relatives with the option-drag.
The little box on one end of every relation shows which end of the line is its "owner". The owner is always a relation, and it represents the relation which the line is part of. This may sound confusing, but don't worry about it too much. You can see an example of this in the manual.
If you want to "hand drag" (a la MacPaint) the contents of a display window, hold the control key down.
