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TOUR.DOC
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1994-04-15
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Fundamentals
Screen Layout/Landmarks
Crossword Creator's main screen, is divided into five major
sections:
Menu Bar - Crossword Creator's "control center". All of
the program's major functions are invoked
through pull-down menus.
Puzzle Window - Where you design your puzzles. You cannot move
the cursor outside of the puzzle window
boundaries, nor can you type in other areas of
the screen. The DOS filename of the current
puzzle is displayed in the top boundary.
Guide Window - Displays tips on how to design a puzzle. If
you are ever unsure about "what to do next",
glance at the instructions displayed here.
Status Window - Contains various facts about the current
puzzle: number of clues, cursor coordinates,
available memory, etc.
Dialog Box - Displayed when CWC needs to prompt you for
additional information, or inform you about
something.
Try this now
1. Start Crossword Creator. An opening copyright screen is
displayed while the program loads and initializes itself.
2. When initialization is complete, the main screen is
displayed. Note the major elements described above.
3. To end the program, press the ALT key, and release it. Then
press F (for "File"), followed by X (for "Exit").
Using the Keyboard
Crossword Creator is, essentially, a specialized word-processor
and a good deal of your time will be spent typing on the
keyboard. Since this tutorial is not intended to be a primer on
computers, we'll assume you already know what the keyboard is,
how it works, and what all the keys do.
However, Crossword Creator uses keystroke combinations and
sequences that may be unfamiliar to you, and it's important that
you interpret them correctly when they're referred to in the
documentation or on the screen.
CWC uses a simple notational convention to describe multi-key
keystroke combinations. When the keycap names are joined
together with a "+" (for example, Ctrl+P), it means that you
should first press and hold down all of the keys, then release
them together.
When you see keycap names joined together with a "-" (for
example, Alt-E-C), it means that you should press and release the
keys in sequence.
The F1 function key is the universal HELP key. You can display
help at any time in Crossword Creator by pressing F1.
The ESC key is the universal CANCEL key. Pressing ESC dismisses
a dialog window, discarding all changes.
Try this now
1. Start Crossword Creator.
2. From the main screen, press Alt-F-P. The "Print" dialog box
is displayed.
3. Press ESC. The dialog box is dismissed.
4. Press Ctrl+P. The "Print" dialog box is displayed. Note
that this "shortcut" bypassed the interim menu selections.
5. Press F1. A help window is displayed, presenting more
information. Scroll through the text by pressing PgUp/PgDn
or the cursor arrow keys.
6. Press ESC. The help window is dismissed.
7. Press ESC. The dialog box is dismissed, and you are
returned to the main screen.
Using the Menus
Crossword Creator, like all computer programs, is simply a
collection of related functions that help you accomplish a
specific task. In that sense, CWC can be thought of as a
"toolbox" for building crossword puzzles, and to use those tools
you must select them from the menu bar.
In its neutral state, the menu bar appears along the top line of
the screen. Each word in the menu bar is associated with a group
of related tools. To activate the menu bar, press the ALT key.
Once activated, each word in the menu bar displays a highlighted
letter. Pressing one of these "hotkeys" displays a menu of the
related tools. Each of the menu items also has a highlighted
letter, and pressing one of those hotkeys will invoke the
corresponding tool.
Some tools have a "shortcut" keystroke, displayed to the right of
their menu name. You can bypass the menus and invoke these tools
directly by pressing the shortcut key. If a tool's menu name
ends with an ellipsis ("..."), it means that you will be prompted
for more information before the tool is invoked.
Try this now
1. From the main screen, press ALT. The menu bar is activated
and the hotkeys become highlighted.
2. Press F. The File menu is displayed.
3. Notice that the "Open" menu item ends with an ellipsis, and
that the shortcut key for "Open" is Ctrl+O.
4. Press O. The "Open" dialog box is displayed.
5. Press ESC.
6. Now press the shortcut key for "Open", Ctrl+O. The "Open"
dialog box is displayed immediately, bypassing the File
menu.
7. Press ESC. You are returned to the main screen.
Using Dialog Boxes
To make use of a software program you must be able to interact
with it. In Crossword Creator the exchange of information
between you and the computer is handled primarily by dialog
boxes.
As its name implies, a dialog box establishes a "conversation"
between you and the software so that you can input information,
as well as receive it. Almost everything you do in Crossword
Creator has a dialog box associated with it, so it is very
important to understand how they work.
Dialog boxes are easy to recognize because they "pop-up" in the
center of the screen. You will also notice that each dialog box
contains a unique set of controls, similar to the dashboard of a
car or the front panel of a microwave.
Crossword Creator uses five different controls, each one
specialized for a particular kind of input. The following
graphic illustrates how each type of control is used.
Text Box - Used for typing freeform text. A text box is
like a "mini" word-processor because you can
type words, delete and insert characters, move
the cursor, etc.
In the example, the name of the person making
the reservation has been typed in.
List Box - Used for making a choice. A list box is a
"single choice" control because you may select
only one item from the list. To make a
selection, use the cursor arrow keys to
highlight your choice, then press ENTER.
In the example, "American" has been selected as
the airline.
If a scroll bar is present on the right-hand
border, it means that the list contains
additional items that are not visible.
However, you can scroll through the entire list
using the cursor arrow keys and the PgUp/PgDn
keys.
+-------------------- reservation --------------------+
| |
Text | + Name --------------+ + Seat Location -----+ |
Box ---------- | Joe Businessman | | ( ) Window | |
| +--------------------+ | ( ) Center | ----- Radio
| | (o) Aisle | | Buttons
| + Airline -----------+ +--------------------+ |
| | American | |
List Box | +--------------------+ + Special Needs -----+ |
with | | Alaskan ^ | [ ] VIP Security | |
Scroll Bar --- | American | | [X] WS Journal | ----- Check
| | Delta v | [X] Laptop PC | | Boxes
| +--------------------+ +--------------------+ |
| |
Command +-----------------------------------------------------+
Bu