Open Window Software News February/March 2003 A Free E-mail Newsletter From Open Window Software Featuring Tips On Using The WinFlash Suite, HandyCards And ProUpdater Contents: 1) Full XP Themes Support In Version 7.00.08 2) WinFlash's Category Feature 3) New Freeware Fraction Problem Generator 4) Automatically Backing Up Your Home Network 5) Make WinFlash's Main Window A 'Floating Tool Bar' 6) Free Upgrades For Referrals 7) Study Tip --------------------------------------------------- 1) Version 7.00.08 Available Since our last newsletter, we've released two minor updates. These updates affect all three versions of the program - Basic, Scholar and Educator. Version 7.00.08, including the changes from version 7.00.07, contains fixes for the following problems: 1. We've added full support for Windows XP themes. If you're running XP, it's worth downloading and installing the new version JUST for the improved appearance! 2. Again, for XP, we've modified the program so that users of the machine who do not have Administrator-level rights can still use the .FLZ and .FLT file types. 3. We've fixed a bug that allowed duplicate choice possibilities when using the Automatic Multiple Choice From Standard Pairs and the A First Followed By Q options together. 4. The table view in the editor now updates correctly on its initial use with the SECOND and subsequent files opened on a new startup of WinFlash. 5. Some vagaries with the enable/disable of the 'Redisplay Intro' button have been corrected. 6. Display issues of some of the dialogs when Large Fonts display setting was used has been corrected. 7. And yes, we FINALLY managed to get the spelling of California's state capital correct in the Capitals demo file :-) If you would like to upgrade your installation, download the new version from our website and install it into the same directory as your current version. This will not change any of your decks or settings, but will simply replace the .exe file with the newer version. --------------------------------------------------- 2) WinFlash's Category Feature One of WinFlash's features that gets less use than it should is Categories. It's very easy to include this designator on each pair that you create - just type the category name (up to 20 characters) into the Category Of This Pair box on the right-hand panel of the editor. After you've typed in a category you can assign it to any subsequent pair by simply selecting it from the drop down list contained in this box - click on the little down-pointing arrow at the right side of the box to access this list. When you begin a new deck, consider what the best way to use the Category designator might be. For example, if you're taking a foreign language course you might use the Categories to indicate which chapter the vocabulary words were from. With a little more thought, though, you might see that you can include the TYPE of vocabulary word (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) AND the chapter with a bit of shorthand: Ch12 - V for Chapter 12 Verb, etc. Spending a few minutes working out the way you'll organize the cards by category when you begin will pay dividends in increased flexibility in using the deck. Later, when studying, you can use the Options|Pair Order and Size|Use Named Range option to include a specific subset of the deck's categories for focused study. You can use Categories for filtering cards for printing or for export to your PDA. You can also use Categories to select pairs for inclusion in a new deck created using the Create Composite .FLS File tool's filter settings. See the Create A Composite .FLS File help topic for detailed information on using this feature. --------------------------------------------------- 3) New Freeware Fraction Problem Generator This month I initially decided to offer a deck for math study - fractions, to be specific. After creating a dozen or so pairs it became obvious that this was a REALLY tedious undertaking. So, as is often the case with programmers, I decided to write a tool to create them. As is ALSO often the case with programmers, writing the tool took MUCH more time than just writing the fractions study file would have. But hey, it was WAY more fun :-) Using the generator, you can create .fls study files with from 3 to 5000 pairs that include fraction problems in reduction, addition, and multiplication. You can also adjust the complexity between easy, medium, and hard. You can download this file (~593Kb) by clicking on the link below: http://www.openwindow.com/ftp/fractions.exe Just run the file, select the type, complexity, and number of pairs you want, click Create File and give the new file a name. In a wink you'll have a deck to use to study fractions. I hope your young student(s) will forgive me for creating this monster!! --------------------------------------------------- 4) Automatically Backing Up Your Home Network Backing up your data is one of those dirty little chores that we tend to prioritize off of our todo lists until it's too late... Our hard disk crashes and all of our data, including that todo list, suddenly takes a giant step back into the past - to the state of our last restorable backup. Your last one was when? If you're like me, the only way you can get around this is to totally automate the process. The good news is that if you have a network with at least two computers on it you can delegate this chore to the Windows Task Scheduler. You'll also need backup software that will run unattended (we suggest ProUpdater, of course :-)). http://www.openwindow.com/pages/winupd8r.htm We've long ago decided that backing up EVERYTHING on our computer is an unnecessary waste of storage space. The really irreplaceable stuff is the data you create with your applications. Everything else can be restored by reinstallation - albeit a somewhat time-consuming exercise. It's a GREAT help if you can organize your data files a bit. At Open Window we use a simple structure like the example below: C:\ | |- LarrysData | - Word Files | - Excel Files etc.. You can, of course, create further sub-directories such a Business, Personal, Volunteer, etc. under each application directory. Another approach is to reverse the hierarchy above like this: C:\ | |- LarrysData | - Business | - Personal | - Volunteer etc.. with the applications listed below each category. Either way, this approach places the vast majority of your data in a hierarchical directory structure below a single top directory - LarrysData in the above example. Let's say you have a two-computer network, one belongs to Larry and the other is used by Mary and the kids, Joe and Lucy. To back up both machines we can simply copy the directory LarrysData to the family machine and the directories MarysData, JoesData and LucysData to Larry's machine. Assuming we're running the backups from Larry's machine and that the family machine's hard drive is mapped as drive F:\ on Larry's machine we could do this with four simple entries using ProUpdater's Batch File Mode: DirPair1=c:\LarrysData!f:\LarrysData DirPair2=f:\MarysData!c:\MarysData DirPair3=f:\JoesData!c:\JoesData DirPair4=f:\LucysData!c:\LucysData Now, making sure that we leave both machines on overnight, we can use Windows' Schedule Task function (Programs|Accessories|System Tools|Schedule Tasks) to run the backup at, say, 1:00 am every morning. For more detailed instructions on setting up this type of regimen, see ProUpdater's help file. There! You're now protected against data loss from a disk crash on either machine. In our next newsletter we'll offer some suggestions on expanding this system to guard against a REAL catastrophe - the loss or destruction of your whole network in a single mishap! Note: Leaving your machines on 24x7 uses very little power (assuming you turn off your monitors when you're not using them) and most experts agree that the disks last longer when spinning continuously than when they're being turned on and off every day. Continuous operation allows you to use the Task Scheduler to perform OTHER tasks during the night as well. Virus checking, defragging and checking the disk for errors are three other maintenance tasks that tie up the machine and can be scheduled to automatically run at night. --------------------------------------------------- 5) Make WinFlash's Main Window A 'Floating Tool Bar' One of the tech support questions we get fairly often goes something like "I'm always losing the Q or A dialog 'underneath' the main window - how can I easily get it back?" The best way to fix this is to avoid the issue entirely. Since WinFlash remembers the size and location of its main window from the last session, just resize the main window so that it's only tall enough to show the menu and the speed buttons. Make it just wide enough to show all of the menu items. Now reposition it in an out-of-the-way location - I prefer the upper left corner of the screen. Now whenever you open WinFlash it'll start up as this unobtrusive 'toolbar' - allowing you access to all of the controls without getting in your way once you start to work with your decks! --------------------------------------------------- 6) Free Upgrades For Referrals Have a friend that could use WinFlash? We'll give you a free upgrade to the next release of your version of the program if your friend buys the program and mentions your name in the Comments section when they place their order. A great way to help out your friend and get the next major release gratis! --------------------------------------------------- 7) Study Tip If the course you're studying uses a companion text, be sure to copy the 'check for understanding' questions that are included at the end of each chapter into your WinFlash study deck. It would be hard to do poorly on an exam if you can answer all of these questions correctly! If the course is highly lecture-based you'll need to take good notes. After each lecture try to create 3-5 likely exam questions that were covered in the lecture and enter these in your study deck. Use the Category field to group the questions for later focused study. --------------------------------------------------- Need Help? Have A problem? Check out our online listings of the latest releases and the problems that they've solved. For WinFlash programs see: http://www.openwindow.com/pages/wfprobs.htm For ProUpdater see: http://www.openwindow.com/pages/puprobs.htm If your issue isn't covered there, please send e-mail to support@openwindow.com and we'll do our best to resolve your problem. --------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE: Send e-mail to service@openwindow.com with SUBSCRIBE as the Subject. UNSUBSCRIBE: Simply send an email to service@openwindow.com with REMOVE as the Subject. This newsletter is a free service of Open Window Software and is Copyright © 2003 Open Window Software. All worldwide rights reserved.