Thank you for downloading the development version of MacFlash!
I have had trouble with keeping beta testers on this project, and although I cannot find any more problems with these programs, I feel it is still necessary to release this as a development version, partially to see what bugs still exist, and partially to see what the interest level is for this program.
Because this is a development release, I claim no responsibility for any damage that this software may do to your system. Use these programs at your own risk! Again, I have tried to verify that no damage will be done to your computer, and that the program will work as stated in the documentation. And judging by the response that I have gotten on the program, no one else is experiencing any disk thrashing or the such.
Included with this archive are MacFlash, the application used to create decks, MacFlash Quizzer, the application that will quiz you on this decks, MacFlash ReadMe, the docs to these two programs, and this file. Also, I have included 3 sample decks, showing the abilities of the program. The first is an amino acid deck, the second is a French noun deck, and the thrid is a spoken German noun translation deck.
Please send me your comments and suggestions! My email address is mneylon@engin.umich.edu. I would like to know if I should continue to development MacFlash in some of the directions I have included in the main docs, and in any other directions that you might suggest.
Also, if you have any decks that you think others would benefit from, please send them to me as well! I will, of course, give you credit for it.
Again, thank you for downloading this program!
ATTENTION PREVIOUS USERS OF MACFLASH! (1.0d8 NEWS!)
- 1.0d5
I have changed the type code for decks (as the one that I was using falls under Apple's default set). The program (as of 1.0d5) will accept decks made before this change, but will now only
save out in the new type. I highly recommend that you open all your decks and save them out under the same name just to get the new type in there. Alternatively, if you are in the know, you can just change the deck type from 'deck' to 'DECK'.
-1.0d7
As of 1.0d7, I have changed the preferences format of the Editor program a bit (in further hopes of improving the program down the line). This change will definitely screw up your old Editor preferences, so it is highly recommended that you either delete your old Editor preferences file, or make sure that when you first run the program, you immediately change the preferences. If you don't do either of these, the program will crash the first time you try to edit a new card.
Also, as of 1.0d7, I have changed the format of the deck file. I have put lots of thought into the change, and with this new change, I do not expect to have to do anything special again with the file format. I have tried to make sure that this version (1.0d7) reads the old format as well as reads and writes the new format, but please be warned that I think there still might be a few bugs. I will keep the old format code around until I release 1.0 final. I
suggest that if you are actively using MacFlash that you keep version 1.0d6 and backup copies of your decks around while trying out 1.0d7. Although I have looked for and removed bugs, I cannot promise everything is bug free. I apolize for any inconvience this may cause, but this was a necessary change to building a better program.
-1.0d8
The 1.0d8 release of the MacFlash program is mainly a bug fix release, fixing crashes and other problems that were experienced using the Editor under 1.0d7. There are some other changes in the program, but that aren't fully implemented yet. The biggest change is that the preferences on the Quizzer have now been separated, and alot of the menu clutter was cleaned up. If you DO experience any problem with either program, always try deleting the apropriate prefs, restarting the program, and immediately setting the prefs up again. As an aside to this, the Quizzer prefs, when made from scratch will produce a funny look to the main Quizzer window; just set your prefs to your taste, and the window will take care of itself. This should be taken care of in the next version (when I will add the ability to adjust the entry field's text attributes.) Also, I wanted to get one more release out before I switch to the new version of CodeWarrior, just to have a 'solid' base.
- 1.0d9
I am nearly there to a full release. Version 1.0d9 should clear up most bugs that others have reported that I cannot link to the lack of error checking in the program. Unless anyone finds a serious bug, or suggests an important update, the next version of the program will either be the first full release, or will be the last development version before release (in order to test out the error checking features). After release, I'll begin to look into the more complex suggestions that others have offered at this point.
Until next release...
Michael K Neylon/ MacFlash ReadMe First! / 1/31/96
