The Box v2.0 - Read-Me file. ---------------------------- Author: Nick Ramsay Date: Nov. 7th 1999 Copyright: FREEWARE (YEAH!) Just don't try to make financial profit from it without asking my permission! (nramsay@spice.or.jp). 1) What is The Box? 2) Setting Up The Box. 3) Using The Box. 4) Making Vocabulary Files. 5) Trouble Shooting. --------------------------------------------------------------- 1) What is 'The Box'? 'The Box' is a simple program to help you memorize words. It works like a pile of vocabulary flash cards. Take the first card off the top and if you get the word right, throw the card away. If you get the answer wrong, the card goes to the bottom of the pile. The cards are divided into groups and The Box keeps a score. Before you can move on to the next group (or level), you need to get a chosen percentage of the cards right! It gets more and more difficult because your score (percentage) is carried over to the next level. By the way, YOU make the flash cards! Don't worry, it's easy! --------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Setting Up The Box. Firstly, I should tell you that I haven't tested The Box on any machine other than my own. I use Japanese Windows 95, but it should run on an English system no problems. Download and unzip The Box. (I use WinZip, but anything will do). You will see the executable program 'Box2.exe', this read-me file and a few example vocabulary files. Generally, it's best to keep all your new vocab files in the same directory as Box2.exe. Double-click on Box2.exe and the program will start. If it doesn't, email me right away! (nramsay@spice.or.jp). --------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Using The Box. The Box is pretty easy to use. First, you need to open a vocab file. (You'll see how to make them in part (4), but for now, just try an example file.) Once you have opened a file. Click on the 'Options' button. You will see an options box. Here you can set the percentage needed to pass each level and the number of questions in each level. You can also change the language order (Language One -> Language Two or vice-versa). The last option is 'randomize'. This will randomize the questions in each level. Click OK to exit the options box and now just press 'GO'! That's it really. NOTE: Levels don't have to be evenly divided. EG. 20 words can be split into four levels of 6, 6, 6, and 2 if you want. Also note that The Box 2 can be controlled with the keyboard. -Alt+letter opens the menus. -Ctrl+letter activates most controls. (The short-cut keys are shown in the menus). -Enter operates the OK/Next button. --------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Making Vocabulary Files. This is really easy. The Box uses simple text files with simple text. You should open the example files and have a look! Use Notepad. It's in Start Menu/Program Files/Accessories. Write Language One on the left and Language Two on the right. Separate them with a plus sign. NOTE - Don't put any spaces around the plus sign! Good examples: dog+inu cat+neko near the station+eki no chikaku in front of the station+eki no mae If you have a Japanese system like me, you can use kanji and kana, eg: station+駅 beef+牛肉 As you can see, 'The Box' lets you use single words and sentences, NOTE - Make sure you save your file as a '.txt' file! It's best to save it to the same directory as Box2.exe. --------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Trouble Shooting. Basically, don't expect a bug-free program. This is just a hobby of mine after all. If you treat The Box nicely, it will run fine. So don't make sentences too long. Also, don't make files with more than 30 words or sentences. If you get strange errors when you try to start the test. Try reseting the program and press GO again. If it still complains (for any reason), the following may be the cause: - You forgot to put plus signs between the two languages in the file. - You have left a blank line at the top of the file. - You didn't save it as a .txt file. - You used plus signs in the wrong places. - You put spaces around the plus signs. - You made a spelling mistake in the file. The biggest flaw with the program is that the answers you give must match the answers in the vocab file EXACTLY! So make sure you include punctuation and spaces in your answers if that's what you used in the file! They must be in the same case too. Other possibilities, include the use of kana instead of kanji (or vice-versa) even though the answer is the same, or using polite forms. Examples of possible problem matches: Answer on file - Hello mate! (Upper case H, one space, exclamation mark) Answer you give - hello mate. (Lower case h, two spaces, full stop) Answer on file - 名古屋 (Nagoya) Answer you give - なごや (Nagoya) (English Windows won't recognise the above characters - sorry!) Answer on file - hashirimasu (polite 'to run') Answer you give - hashiru (dictionary form 'to run') SO BE CAREFUL!!! --------------------------------------------------------------- Please email me your thoughts, opinions and ... complaints! email: nramsay@spice.or.jp homepage: http://www.spice.or.jp/~nramsay/ (don't forget the squiggle!) Have fun! Nick Ramsay.