Open Window Software News Spring/Summer 2009 A Free E-mail Newsletter from Open Window Software Featuring Tips on Using the WinFlash Suite, HandyCards and Flashcard Exchange Contents: 1) WinFlash v11 Released 2) WinFlash v11 Feature Review 3) Free Upgrades for Referring Your Friends 4) Study Tip - Take Breaks While Studying 5) How To - Get the Most Out of Glossary Buttons 6) Study Tip - Continue Leitner Review of Languages Over the Summer 7) Latest In-line Program Updates --------------------------------------------------- 1) WinFlash v11 Released We released the .00 version of WinFlash v11 shortly after our last newsletter was published. We're very pleased with the high rate of upgrades from our existing users. Thank you for continuing to support the development of the WinFlash programs! For those of you who've not yet upgraded, we've included a review of the new features in the next section. Remember, upgrade pricing is only $7.95, $11.95 and $15.95 from an older version of Basic, Scholar and Educator, respectively, to the corresponding v11 program. --------------------------------------------------- 2) WinFlash v11 Feature Review Here's a look at what we've added to v11. The following new features are available in all three WinFlash versions: * Categories - Maximum number of Categories increased to 200 * Leitner Box 0 Pool - The pool allows adjustable feeding of new pairs into active use * Leitner Missed Pairs - Choose to have Leitner missed pairs repeated until promoted or not repeated until the next day * Skip It... - A Skip button has been added to all Question dialogs allowing you to postpone answering the current pair without penalty. Can be disabled if desired * Editor Panel Splitters - Splitters have been added to the editor's Question Text, Answer Text, Hints/Comments and QuickDeck panels. Arrange each panel to apportion the space where you most need it * Subscript/Superscript - Access Subscript/Superscript functionality directly from two new speed buttons in the editor * Paste Special - Paste Special (unformatted) added to editor right-click menu * Additional Editor Browse Buttons - First and Last buttons have been added to the editor's Previous and Next buttons grouped in the same area and ordered as First,Previous,Next,Last * Enhanced Character-inserter - The inserter can access all fonts and characters available on your computer - now it's automatically set to the font where the cursor is positioned * Paste-from-clipboard Graphics - Quality vs file size of paste-from-clipboard graphics can be adjusted on the Associated Files tab * Used File Paths - Option for full/short/filename only paths in Used Files list - toggle entry on File menu * Multiple Monitor Displays - WinFlash is now compatible with use on multiple-monitor display systems __________________________________ The following new features are available in WinFlash Scholar and Educator: * Unicode Glossary Buttons - Glossary Buttons have been enhanced to accept Unicode characters * Leitner Box Status - Pairs' Leitner box status is now displayed in the editor's Table View - you can edit the box value by double-clicking on it * Table View Sorting - The editor's Table View can now be sorted by any desired column - including Category and Leitner Box __________________________________ The following new features are available in WinFlash Educator: * SAPI5 - The improved quality of SAPI5 is now supported in Educator's text-to-speech (TTS) functionality * Independent TTS Engines for Q & A - Independent engines can be assigned to the Questions and Answers. This allows, for example, an English-optimized engine to be used for the Questions and a German-optimized engine to be used for the Answers. TTS for Question and Answer can be enabled independently and the engine for reading the Intro TTS can be selected to be either of the two engines * TTS Export - TTS can now be exported to a single file or file per pair. The output can be programmed for any combination of QText, AText, QAudioFile and AAudioFile giving total flexibility in exporting your content for audio study * Pop Up Mode - When enabled, WinFlash minimizes itself after each completed pair, popping up with a new pair after a programmable interval. Generate a continuing stream of Q&A's while working on other projects * Study Session Timer - Session elapsed time optionally shown on main window. More comprehensive data on study time is displayed in the Advanced Statistics for the file * Advanced Statistics Sorting - Advanced Statistics can now be sorted by any desired column - including Category and Leitner Box * Direct-record Mp3 - Store your audio recordings as either .wav or .mp3 format with three-level quality selection * Audio for Introduction - A recorded file may now be stored for the Introduction Note: Old .FLS and .FLU files will work just fine with v11. Simply open them with the new program and the new entries for the .FLD file will be automatically created the first time you open the file in v11. However, files created with v11 may NOT be compatible when used with older versions. See Backward Compatibility in the help file for detailed information on this topic. --------------------------------------------------- 3) Free Upgrades for Referring Your Friends Quite a few of you have earned free upgrades to v11 by referring your friends to us! Have a friend that could use WinFlash? You can earn a free upgrade to the next release of your version of the program (v11 if you haven't upgraded yet or v12 when it's released if you're already at v11). Just have your friend mention your name in the Comments section when placing the order. A great way to help out a friend and get the next major release gratis! --------------------------------------------------- 4) Study Tip - Take Breaks While Studying Avoid that zombie feeling by taking short breaks when you're studying. If you have to close out of WinFlash for a while, use the Options|Q&A Modes|Settings Common To All Modes|Resume Previous Session on Opening Study File setting. This will keep your place for you so you won't need to start over when you reopen the study file after a bracing walk around the block for some air. --------------------------------------------------- 5) How To - Get the Most Out of Glossary Buttons Many users who are not using WinFlash to study foreign languages assume that the Glossary Buttons aren't useful in their use of WinFlash. While it's true that the example in the help file shows the buttons being programmed with accented characters such as those that would be used in the study of the French language, glossary buttons can be used for much more than this! Let's say you're creating a study file to help you learn the capitals of each state. Open the Glossary Editor by clicking the Edit Buttons... button on the Question tab of the editor. Then enter "What is the capital of ?" (without the quotes) in the Button 1 edit box. Change the Button Face Labels selection to First Two Characters to help remember what's on the button. Now click OK and you'll be returned to the editor. The label on the first button will now read "Wh". Select any unwanted text in the Text For Question edit area and then click the "Wh" button. It will insert the string "What is the capital of ?" into the edit area and all you need to do is click just behind the question mark and type in the state for the question. Whenever you're faced with repetitively entering large portions of each pair's content, consider using the Glossary Buttons to help you out. --------------------------------------------------- 6) Study Tip - Continue Leitner Review of Languages Over the Summer (This tip is a repeat from a previous newsletter - for our newer users who didn't catch it the first time around) Many of you use WinFlash to learn and maintain fluency in a foreign language. For most language students, this endeavor spans multiple school years. You'll do yourself a huge favor by NOT letting your WinFlash language files gather electronic dust over the summer vacation. With the Leitner system's highly efficient use of study time, you can review your files every week or so for half an hour and continue to maintain and improve your vocabulary. Since you aren't adding new words, the time invested in this maintenance operation is minimal and will pay big dividends when the fall semester starts! --------------------------------------------------- 7) In-line Program Updates Since the Last Newsletter The 11.00.04 update to all WinFlash versions addresses the following issues: 1. Popup mode is now turned off when accessing Editor 2. Superfluous display of previous answer in Popup mode is corrected 3. Disabled menu items first when closing file 4. Title bar information is now correct in .flr file results display 5. Speech sliders now correctly update tooltip on slider movement 6. Major corrections and enhancements were made to Glossary Button capabilities 7. Made the Organizing Your Study Files help topic easier to locate 8. Clarified Run Pair by renaming to Preview Pair 9. Corrected button location problem when character inserter was resized The 11.00.03 update to all WinFlash versions addresses the following issue: 1. Corrected bug which could cause the program to hang under certain circumstances when the editor was closed using the red button on the title bar rather than the 'Close' button in the main body of the editor The 11.00.02 update to all WinFlash versions addresses the following issues: 1. Corrected gFlash export problem with incorrect extension 2. Added export support for older HandyCards For PalmOS v1.x programs 3. Added 'persistence' for Used Files filename format selection The 11.00.01 update to all WinFlash versions addresses the following issues: 1. Corrected program error caused by pressing glossary button when cursor was not in edit box 2. Added import/export support for gFlash for iPhone and BlackBerry The 11.00.00 update to all WinFlash versions is the initial release --------------------------------------------------- Need Help? Have A problem? Check out our online listings of the latest releases and the problems that they've solved: http://www.openwindow.com/pages/wfprobs.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 (c) 2009 Open Window Software. All worldwide rights reserved.