Explore the World of Software 2: Kids, Adults, Educational

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Explore the World of Soft…ids, Adults, Educational / RocelcoInc-ExploreTheWorldOfSoftware-KidsAdultsEducational-Vol2-Shareware.iso / educate / disk073 / manual.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1991-05-30 | 29.4 KB | 707 lines

DAD'S CHOICE Version 1.0 The Manual The minimum hardware requirements for running DAD'S CHOICE are 256K RAM and color graphics adapter (CGA). A mouse is optional but recommended for the Graphics option. The minimum software requirement is DOS version 2.0 or higher. 1. MAIN MENU WINDOW This window lists all the main options that you may choose from such as Laser Blast, Bug Numbers, Applespider, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, Prealgebra Math and Graphics. There are three ways to select an option from Main Menu. You can use the up or down arrow keys to highlight the desired option then press the ENTER key to accept the option. You can also press the key corresponding to the first letter of the desired option until the option is highlighted then press the ENTER key. Finally, you can use your mouse to highlight the option then press the left button to select. Accept END or press the ESC key to stop the program. Use the right and left arrow keys to select whether or not you want sound. Most math options produce sound to indicate a wrong answer (beep) or a correct answer (tune) when sound is on. 2. LEVEL WINDOWS Some options have level windows. These windows are used to select learning levels. Choose from this menu using the same techniques as in Main Menu. Accept END, press the ESC key, or press the right mouse button to return to Main Menu. 3. LASER BLAST This is an exciting game that entertains and teaches quantity. First, a number of blocks are shown. Then, colored numbers begin to float across the screen. The object of the game is to shoot the correct number with the laser. The correct number is the one that equals the number of blocks. To shoot, simply push the SPACE BAR. To return to Main Menu press ESC. Points are given for each hit. The faster you play, the larger the number of points given. The speed can be increased by using the > key and decreased using the < key. If you want to change the background color just press c. Be careful not to choose a background color that matches the color of one of the floating numbers. If this happens you will not be able to see that particular number. 4. BUG NUMBERS This math suboption teaches the concept of multidigit numbers. You are shown three large boxes. The box on the right will have 0 to 9 large individual bugs. The center box will have smaller bugs grouped in clusters of 10 each. The box on the left will have very small bugs in groups of 100 bugs each. Your job is to find how many bugs are shown on the screen. You must first count the number of large bugs in the far right box. Type this number and press ENTER. This gives you the least significant digit. Next, count the number of groups that contain 10 bugs and enter this number. This gives you the next most significant digit. Finally, count the number of groups that contain 100 bugs and enter this number. This gives you the most significant digit and you're done. Ten points are given for completion. As always, if the sound is on, DAD'S CHOICE will also play you a tune. 5. APPLESPIDER This is a very exciting and intense game that drills you in basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The applespider wants to eat your apple. You must prevent this by using the arrow keys to move the apple out of the spider's way. At the beginning you are given 10 free moves. To get more moves you must solve the equation at the bottom of the screen. For every correct answer you get five more moves and one point added to your score. As your score increases, the spider gets faster. As always, press ESC to stop. 6. ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION This option has four levels of difficulty. In each level the numbers are chosen at random. In Level 1, beside each number, stars are shown whose sum equals the number. For example, suppose you are asked to add the numbers 2 and 3. Beside 2 there will be two stars and beside 3 there will be three stars. To find the answer just count the number of stars, type the answer and press the ENTER key. If you are asked to, for example, subtract 2 from 4 there will be two stars beside the number 2 and four stars beside the number 4. However, two of the four stars beside the number four will be blinking to indicate the two that will be taken away. Also, the two stars beside the number 2 will be blinking. To find the answer just count the number of stars that are not blinking. Level 2 is exactly like Level 1 except that the numbers are larger and the stars are not shown. Level 3 illustrates how to add and subtract multiple digit numbers by stepping you through the process. Again, all numbers are chosen at random. Active elements of the problem are highlighted by flashing the digits. Individual questions in the form of simple equations are shown at the bottom of the interactive window. A flashing cursor at the end of this equation indicates that an input is expected. If you enter the correct value it will be placed in its proper spot. The computer will beep if the answer is incorrect. Level 4 is exactly like Level 3 except numbers with decimals are used. In each of these levels a complete correct answer is rewarded by the addition of 10 points to your score and the playing of a tune if sound is on. You can press ESC to quit and return to Level Menu when you're done. 7. MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION This option also has four levels of difficulty. Level 1 is similar to Level 1 of the Addition and Subtraction option because you must count stars that do not blink to find the correct answer. The difference is that the stars are grouped differently and there is only one line with stars. For example, suppose you are asked to find the product of 4 and 2. At the bottom, where the answer belongs, you will find two groups with four stars each. In other words, the computer has taken the four stars and placed them in the answer line twice. There is a total of 8 stars and they have been placed on the line where the number 8 belongs. If you are asked to, for example, divide 12 by 3 then beside the 12 will be placed three groups of stars with 4 stars in each group. Only one group will not be blinking. So, if you count the stars that do not blink, you'll find the correct answer to be 4. Level 2 is like Level 1 but larger numbers are used and no stars are displayed. Level 3 leads you through long division and/or multiplication with multiple digit numbers. As in Level 3 & 4 of the Addition and Subtraction option, active elements of the problem are highlighted by flashing the numbers. The instructions and questions to be answered are displayed at the bottom of the interactive window. The flashing cursor at the end of this question or equation is an indication that the computer is waiting for an input. Level 4 is identical to Level 3 except that decimals are used. In each of these levels a complete correct answer is rewarded by the addition of 10 points to your score and the playing of a tune if sound is on. You can press ESC to quit and return to Level Menu when you're done. 8. PREALGEBRA MATH This option also has four levels of difficulty. All four levels are basic introductory algebra but the difficulty level does increase slightly with each level chosen. In each level you are asked to solve for the unknown value of Y. Just follow the instructions and answer the questions, and the computer will lead you through the solution. When you see the cursor flashing, the computer is waiting for an input. In all the Math options, the active parts of the equation are highlighted by flashing the numbers. Also, the final correct answer is rewarded by the addition of 10 points to your score and the playing of a randomly chosen tune if the sound is on. Press ESC to quit and return to Level Menu when you're done. 9. REGISTER If you are not a registered owner of DAD'S CHOICE you can use this option to print a registration letter. 10. GRAPHICS Although anyone may find it useful, this graphics module was designed especially for children. With this software your child can draw lines, circles, boxes, arcs, text, or other figures we call macros. The macros can be drawn in one of five sizes -- small, medium, large, extra large, and very large. All these figures and macros can be drawn in one of four colors (back-ground or none, red, blue, and white). Actually the red and blue colors are magenta and cyan but these terms are usually not recognized by children. Once the drawing is complete your child can color-in the drawings by painting them in one of five colors. By placing animation marks in the drawings at strategic locations you can also animate your drawings. This is a little more complicated and may require the assistance of parents. This software comes with six example drawings. These are draw1, draw2, draw3, draw4, draw5, and draw6. You may load them using the FILE option which is located in MAIN GRAPHICS MENU. You may use these drawings to practice deleting or painting. Draw3, Draw4, and Draw6 are animated drawings -- try them! The following paragraphs describe the operation of this program in detail. OVERVIEW This section shows you the logical breakdown of the various options. MAIN GRAPHICS MENU OPTIONS: 1-GRAPH Graph Options: 1-DRAW Draw Options: 1-LINE 2-BOX 3-CIRCLE 4-MACRO 5-END 6-ARC 7-TEXT 2-PAINT 3-DELete 4-CLOAK 5-END 6-ANI. MARK 7-ANIMATE 8-EXPORT 9-COPY 2-FILE File Options: 1-SAVE 2-GET 3-DIRECTORY 4- 5-END 3-ERASE 4-PRINT 5-END FINDING THE INSTRUCTIONS The instructions are always found on line one above the drawing box. If the cursor is visible its position will be shown on line 2 with the x-position first and the y-position shown last. The x-position increases from left to right while the y-position increases from top to bottom. The options will always be shown on the last row, below the drawing box. MOVING THE CURSOR The cursor is a round flashing object that appears in the GRAPH and DRAW options. Its sole purpose for existing is to show you your location in the drawing box. It will not show on your printed drawings. The cursor can be moved using the keyboard or the mouse. If you don't have a mouse you must use the keyboard. KEYBOARD First, let's assume that you don't have a mouse. You may move the cursor one pixel at a time by using the appropriate arrow key. If you want to move in larger steps in the vertical direction, use the PGUP or PGDN keys. To move in larger steps horizontally you must first press the CONTROL key then the left or right arrow key before releasing the CONTROL key. MOUSE Now lets assume you have a mouse and have loaded its driver software. The only way you can move the cursor now is to move the mouse. You'll find that this is much easier and faster than using the keyboard. MAIN GRAPHICS MENU In this menu your options are 1-GRAPH, 2-FILE, 3-ERASE, 4-PRINT, and 5-END. Choose one of these options by pressing the number corresponding to the desired option. For example, if you want to create a graph press the "1" key on the keyboard. In this menu the mouse does not function. All selections must be made from the keyboard. GRAPH When you choose this menu from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU you'll find that your options are 1-DRAW, 2-PAINT, 3-DELete, 4-CLOAK, 5-END, and >. Choose > to see the additional options. These are <, 6-ANIMATE MARK, 7-ANIMATE, 8-EXPORT, and 9-COPY. Choose < to see the first 5 options again. Press c to change the background color. If you don't have a mouse, select the options by pressing the appropriate number key or the > or < key. If you do have a mouse you may also select an option by placing the mouse directly over the desired option until you see an arrow pointing down. When you see this arrow press the left button. Pressing the right button is equivalent to choosing END. DRAW Choose this menu from the GRAPH menu when you want to draw something in the drawing box. Your options in this menu are 1-LINE, 2-BOX, 3-CIRCLE, 4-MACRO, 5-END, 6-ARC, and 7-TEXT. If you don't have a mouse, select an option by pressing the number key that corresponds to the desired option. If you do have a mouse you may select the desired option by placing the cursor directly over the option at the bottom of the drawing box until you see the down arrow. When you see the arrow press the left button. To see options 6-ARC and 7-TEXT you'll have to select >. To see the first five options again you'll have to choose <. After you choose one of these seven options you will be asked to choose a color. Your color options are: 0-None, 1-Blue, 2-Red, or 3-White. If you do not have a mouse, choose the color by pressing the corresponding number key. If you do have a mouse, choose the color by pressing the right button until the desired color is written on line 2 above the drawing box then press the left button to accept it. Remember, the color none is the background color. This color can be changed by pressing the c key on the keyboard. LINE When you choose to draw a line you will first be asked to choose a color. After you have chosen a color you will be asked to move the cursor to where you want the line to start then press ENTER. If you have a mouse, you may press the left button instead of pressing ENTER. Once you've done this, move to the position where you want the end of the line and accept this point in the same manner. Now that you've chosen the color, the starting point of the line, and the ending point, the line will be drawn. After the line is drawn you will be placed back in the DRAW menu. You may then choose another figure. BOX When you choose to draw a box you will first be asked to choose a color. After you have chosen a color you will be asked to move the cursor to where you want one corner of the box to be then press ENTER. If you have a mouse, you may press the left button instead of pressing ENTER. Once you've done this, move to the position where you want the opposite corner to be and accept this point in the same manner. Now that you've chosen the color and two opposite corners, the box will be drawn. After the box is drawn you will be placed back in the DRAW menu. You may then choose another figure. CIRCLE You'll first be asked to choose a color in the manner described above. After you've chosen a color you'll be asked to enter the radius. This radius must be measured in x-axis pixels. The y-axis pixels are further apart than those of the x-axis and a circle will have 0.833 times as many pixels in the y direction. After you've entered the radius from the keyboard, you'll be asked to position the cursor where you want the center of the circle to be and press ENTER. If you don't have a mouse use the arrow keys to position the cursor then press ENTER. If you do have a mouse position the cursor with the mouse then press the left button. After you've done this you'll be returned to the DRAW menu. MACRO Macro refers to a command that draws a complex figure for you automatically --- a house for example. When you choose this option you will see a list of macros to choose from. Select a Macro by highlighting the desired Macro then pressing ENTER. You can highlight your selection by using the up or down arrow keys, by pressing the key corresponding to the first letter of the Macro, or by moving the mouse. If you use the mouse you may select the Macro by pressing the left button after it is highlighted. Once you've chosen a Macro and it's color you will be asked to choose a size. Your choices will be: 1-SMALL, 2-MEDium, 3-LARGE, 4-EXtraLaRGe, and 5-VERYLarge. If you don't have a mouse, choose a size by pressing the corresponding number key. If you do have a mouse, choose a size by pressing the right button until the desired size is written on the second line above the drawing box then accept it by pressing the left button. END Choose this option to return to the GRAPH MENU. ARC You'll first be asked to choose a color in the manner described earlier. After you've chosen a color you'll be asked to enter the aspect ratio. This is the ratio of y-axis pixels to x-axis pixels. Since we know that the y-axis pixels are 1/.833 times further apart than the x-axis pixels, to get a circle we will have to choose the aspect ratio to be 0.833. Next, we are asked to choose the radius. If the aspect ratio that we chose above is less than one, the radius will be measured in x-axis pixels. If the aspect ratio is greater than one, the radius will be measured in y-axis pixels. In other words it is always measured along the longest axis as measured in pixels. After you've entered the radius from the keyboard, you'll be asked to enter the start angle in degrees. This is the angle at which the computer starts drawing the arc. Next you'll be asked to enter the end angle for the arc. You can see that with these two values you can cause the computer to draw a half or quarter arc. Finally, you'll be asked to position the cursor where you want the center of the arc to be and press ENTER. If you don't have a mouse use the arrow keys to position the cursor then press ENTER. If you do have a mouse position the cursor with the mouse then press the left button. After you've done this you'll be returned to the DRAW MENU. TEXT Choose this option if you want to type some text in your drawing. This option supports most ASCII characters including the number characters 0 through 9. You are limited to 22 characters each time you use this option. PAINT Choose this option from the GRAPH MENU when you want to fill in an enclosed area with one of the following colors: 0-NONE, 1-BLue, 2-RED, 3-WHiTe, 4-GRAY, or 5-CHecKerBoaRD. If you don't have a mouse, choose a fill color by pressing the corresponding number key for the color listed at the bottom. If you do have a mouse, you may choose a color by pressing the right button until the desired color appears on the second line above the drawing box. Once the desired color appears written on that line, press the left button to accept it. After you select the fill color you will be asked for the existing boundary color for the area to be filled or painted. If you don't have a mouse, choose the boundary color by pressing the corresponding number key for the colors listed on the line below the draw box. If you do have a mouse, choose the boundary color by pressing the right button until the desired color appears on the second line above the drawing box. Once the desired color appears written on that line, press the left button to accept it. After you select the boundary color, move the cursor to a point within the boundary and press ENTER or the left mouse button. The area within the boundary will then be filled with the color previously selected. Warning - the area must be completely surrounded by the boundary color you specified or the paint will spill over outside the boundary. If you make this mistake you can correct it by going to the DELETE option and deleting the paint. Try to use a border color that is different than the desired paint color. If the colors are the same you cannot change the paint color without deleting the old one. If you try to delete a border while it contains paint it will make quite a mess; therefore, delete its paint first. If you want to paint your drawing it is best if you wait until all your drawing is finished. This allows you to make changes in lines, boxes, circles, macros, and arcs without having to delete the paint first. DELETE When you choose the delete option the last thing drawn will begin to flash and you will be asked if you want to delete it. If you choose yes, the drawing will be redrawn without that object. If you choose no, the next object will flash. This continues until you either choose yes, press the ESC key to escape, or all objects are flashed. When deleting a painted area, the entire paint does not flash. A small circle located around one pixel in the painted area will flash. When deleting a graphics copy, a box will flash around the copied area showing you the graphics that is to be deleted if you choose to. If you have a mouse, pressing the left button is the same as answering yes and the right button is the same as answering no. CLOAK The purpose of cloaking is to hide a piece of a drawing without completely deleting it. This is sometimes easier than going through the delete process. For creating an animated drawing it is an absolutely essential option. This option works by hiding everything within a boxed area that you define. You are first asked to place the cursor on one corner of the cloak area and press ENTER. You are then asked to place the cursor on the opposite corner of the area and press ENTER. Whatever is within the box drawn with these opposite corners will be hidden from view or changed to background color. If you find that not all the enclosed drawing becomes hidden, try it again. Sometimes it will not take it all in a single step. If you don't have a mouse you must move the cursor using the arrow keys on the keyboard. If you do have a mouse you must use it to move the cursor and you may use the left button instead of the ENTER key. END Choose this option to return to the MAIN GRAPHICS MENU. ANIMATE MARK Choose this option if you want to store the current drawing to be used later as an animation screen. This option is be demonstrated in the tutorial which is located in the file tutorial.doc. ANIMATE Use this option to animate your drawing if you have placed animate marks in the drawing as it was created. To stop the animation press number key 5 or press ESC. EXPORT Use this option to export graphics to programs written in Turbo Basic. All the graphics within a box that you define will be stored in a file that you specify. You'll first be asked to place the cursor at the upper left corner of the graphics that you want to export then press ENTER. Next, you'll be asked to place the cursor at the bottom right corner of the graphics and press ENTER. You will then be shown the dimension of an integer array required to store the graphics. You'll need this number when its time to place the graphics in your new program. Finally, you'll be asked to enter a name, with no extension, for a file where the graphics can be stored. After the graphics is stored you'll be returned to the GRAPH menu. The following is an example Turbo Basic program for placing a drawing on the screen. The array dimension was 100 and the file name was draw10. SCREEN 1 DIM GRAPHICSARRAY%(100) OPEN "i",1,"DRAW10.GFL" FOR X%=0 TO 100 INPUT#1, GRAPHICSARRAY%(X%) NEXT X% CLS PUT (50,50),GRAPHICSARRAY% CLOSE 1 END COPY Choose this option from the GRAPH menu by pressing the number key 9. You can use this option to copy graphics to another location in the drawing box. After you choose the COPY option you'll be asked to move the cursor to the upper left corner of the graphics you want to move. Once you have placed the cursor press ENTER. Next, you'll be asked to enter the cursor at the lower right corner of the graphics. Finally, you'll be asked to move the cursor to the upper left corner of the area you want the graphics copied to then press ENTER. The graphics will be copied to this new location. Be careful where you copy the graphics. If you copy it over some graphics that already exists, it probably will not look quite right. FILE MENU When you choose this menu from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU your options are 1-SAVE, 2-GET, 3-DIRECTORY, and 5-END. The keyboard must be used to select these options by pressing the corresponding number key. SAVE Use this option to store or save a drawing to file. After choosing this option you'll be asked to type the name of the file where the drawing is to be stored. Do not put an extension on the file name. For example, do not use something like draw10.dat. Just use draw10. GET Use this option to retrieve a drawing that you previously saved. You'll be shown a list of existing files and then asked to enter the name of the one you want. If you change your mind after choosing this option, just press ESC to quit. DIRECTORY Choose this option to see all the graphics files on the current directory. Press the ENTER key to return to the FILE menu. END Choose this option to return to MAIN GRAPHICS MENU. ERASE OPTION When you choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU any drawing that exists within the drawing box will be completely erased. After choosing this option you may start a new drawing. PRINT OPTION Choose this option from the MAIN GRAPHICS MENU when you want to print your drawing to a printer. This program was not designed with its own print routine. If you want a hardcopy of your drawing you must load your favorite graphics screen dump memory resident program before you load this program. A program like this that supports most dot matrix printers, called GRAPHICS, usually comes with your operating system. When you get your drawing ready for printing, choose the PRINT option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU. Once in the print routine, wait at least 4 seconds, press the SHIFT key then the PRINT key without releasing the SHIFT key. Your drawing will then be printed on your dot matrix printer. When it's completed press the RETURN key to go back to MAIN GRAPHICS MENU. END Choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU to return to the Main Menu. You'll find that this option exists in all the menus. In all cases it returns you to the previous menu. I HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO GET ALL THE BUGS OUT OF THIS PROGRAM. HOWEVER, I CAN NOT GUARANTEE THAT NONE EXISTS. I CAN ALSO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE DISK YOU HAVE DOES NOT HAVE A VIRUS. I CAN ONLY ASSURE YOU THAT I HAVE NOT INTENTIONALLY PLACED ANYTHING IN THE SOFTWARE I WROTE THAT WILL HARM YOUR SYSTEM. WHEN YOU USE THIS SOFTWARE YOU MUST DO IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF ITS USE. If you have questions or comments you may write to me at my permanent address: Dr. Andy Motes 1632 Brooks St. Fayetteville, AR 72701 I will always write back. _______ ____|__ | (tm) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER DAD'S CHOICE is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 or send a Compuserve message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Registration Letter TO: Dr. Andrew Motes Motes Educational Software 1632 Brooks St. Fayetteville, AR 72701 FROM: ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ Please register my copy of DAD'S CHOICE version 1.0. Also, send me my free evaluation copy of your popular children's education program SCHOOL-MOM. I've enclosed the $15.00 registration fee for DAD'S CHOICE. I understand that I can deduct $10 from the SCHOOL-MOM registration fee if I decide to register it. I use 5.25 inch _____ / 3.5 inch _____ disks. (Please check one)