MAVIS BEACON TEACHES TYPING The full documentation, typed for DOC DISK NUMBER 6 by SEWER RAT. Thankyou to Manuel K. for the original instructions. IMPORTANT Before you can use MAVIS BEACON TEACHES TYPING, you must run the Installation Program. You will need a blank disk. This disk will be formatted and erased, so only use a disk you do not care about. To install the program, just follow this procedure : 1. Boot your ST from the disk labeled Disk 1. 2. Start the program called INSTALL.PRG by double clicking on its icon. 3. Follow the instructions on the computer screen. When you are done, you will have an installed DATA DISK. STARTING THE PROGRAM With ONE 3.5 inch disk drive : - Insert the disk labeled Disk 1 and turn on/reboot the computer. - When the desktop appears, double click on the icon labeled MAVIS.PRG - When the program asks you to insert the data disk, eject Disk 1 and insert your installed DATA DISK (see above). Click OK and wait for the remainder of the program to load. With TWO 3.5 inch disk drives : - Insert the disk labeled Disk 1 into the A drive. Insert the installed DATA DISK (see above) into the B drive. Then turn on or reboot the computer. - When the desktop appears, double-click on the icon labeled MAVIS.PRG and wait for the program to load. RUNNING THE PROGRAM The first dialog box has three choices : MEET MAVIS, HELP FOR NEW USERS and START THE LESSONS. To make a selection, simply point at the choice and press the left mouse button. - MEET MAVIS presents a guided tour of the program ; first time users should make this choice - Choosing HELP FOR NEW USERS demonstrates the context-sensitive help system and lets you see all the help topics for the program - The first time you choose START THE LESSONS, you will be asked for information about yourself and your typing abilities (See GETTING TO KNOW YOU below). MAVIS BEACON TEACHES TYPING keeps a list of all users and their progress. Mavis uses this information to identify you later on. GETTING TO KNOW YOU This is where Mavis learns your name, basic skills and interests. All of this information is important and must be entered : - Your name : Type in your first name. Then type the Tab key to move the cursor down, and type in your last name. - With the mouse, click inside the box next to y Čour age bracket. - Click on the box that best describes your typing skill : - A beginner is someone who is brand-new to typing. - An intermediate typist is someone who is familiar with the layout of the keyboard, but perhaps doesn't know the correct fingering, and types less than 20 words per minute. - An advanced typist is someone who already knows how to type well and wants to work on improving speed and accuracy. - Practice time : The normal length of a session is 30 minutes, after which Mavis will let you know that you have worked enough for the session. If you would like longer or shorter lessons, click on the line showing 30 and enter the new time. When you have filled in all the necessary information, click the OK button to see the lesson plan for your first lesson! SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS Once you have signed in, all you need to remember are three simple things : - MAVIS BEACON TEACHES TYPING has been designed for extreme ease of use. To learn how to type quickly and well, simply follow the suggestions Mavis makes on the CHALKBOARD by clicking in the box labeled YES, LET'S DO THAT. This begins a lesson. You may exit the program by clicking on the box labeled NO, LET'S DO SOMETHING ELSE and then choosing EXIT THE PROGRAM. - If you are unsure about what to do next, simply press the HELP key on the keyboard. This will bring immediate help information. You will also be able to select from the complete list of all help topics if you want more information. - Clicking the left mouse button will cause the MAIN MENU of choices to appear. Select any of the choices by pointing and clicking with the left mouse button. THE CHALKBOARD The lesson plan for the next lesson is always shown on the chalkboard. Read the suggestion carefully. You may accept the suggested lesson by clicking on YES, LET'S DO THAT on the lower left corner of the Chalkboard or view your options by clicking NO, LET'S DO SOMETHING ELSE. OPTIONS If you click on the button labeled NO, LET'S DO SOMETHING ELSE on the Chalkboard, a dialog will pop up which gives alternative selections to Mavis' current lesson. These alternatives may vary from lesson to lesson : - PLAY A GAME/DO A LESSON INSTEAD : If you like the Chalkboard suggestion, but would rather play a game or do a lesson (depending, of course, on the suggestion), make this selection. The game or lesson will begin when you make your selection. - MAKE ANOTHER SUGGESTION : This will cause Mavis to suggest the 'next best' lesson. A new chalkboard message will appear. - REPEAT ORIGINAL SUGGESTION : If you have chosen MAKE ANOTHER SUGGESTION, and then decide that Mavis was right all along, this button will restore the original Chalkboard message. - REPEAT LAST LESSON : If you have just finished a lesson, and feel you could do better with one more shot at it, this is the button for you. The lesson suggestion from the past lesson will be put on the Chalkboard again. - MAKE YOUR OWN LESSON : Making this selection lets you design a custom lesson for yourself. There are many choices in the MAKE YOUR OWN LESSON dialog box. Just click on the box of the choice you want to change. Here are your choices : - Lesson Type (Choose one). Choosing this makes the lesson either a GUIDED TOUR (Keys and Fingers) lesson, a KEYBOARD (Classroom/Workshop) lesson or a RACE GAME lesson. - Emphasis On. Speed or Accuracy : If you select one of these buttons, the lesson will be geared to concentrate on speed, accuracy, or general (both) - Lesson Text From. This choice determines where the lesson text should be drawn from. There are many choices, including the Guiness Book of World Records, Fun Facts, Fiction and others. One option (Keys : ...) allows you to type up to 10 characters which will be used to create a lesson containing a large number of these characters (You will be prompted for the characters later). You may even use text from your own text file (any ASCII file) by selecting the box labeled YOUR OWN FILE (In this case, a file selector dialog will appear when you click OK. Just choose the file you want to use). - Lesson Length. Either you or Mavis may choose the length of a lesson (a "word," when calculating typing lesson length, is 5 typed characters). You X may change the lesson length by clicking on the "+" or "-" box. - Timed Lesson. This is a chance to give yourself an added challenge by selecting the number of seconds you would like your lessons to last. For example, you may choose to give yourself a two minute drill or even a five-minute workout. A value of 0 means the lesson will not be timed. Select the time by clicking on the "+" or "-" box. - Target Speed. This will set the speed of the metronome for a lesson or the pacer car speed for a game. If you do not set the speed, it will be set to a value close to your current average typing speed. - Text Format. This choice sets up the lesson for special modes of presentation : - Regular Drill : A standard drill exercise - Barrier Drill : Mavis puts up a "barrier" so that you can only look eight characters ahead. This helps develop "chaining" skills. - Transcription : The lesson will not appear on the screen. Instead, it will be printed on your printer and you will type the lesson by looking at the printed page. This is great practice for typists who will be doing mostly transcription typing. - Pattern Typing : Common letter patterns will be highlighted in the lesson. You must type the entire pattern correctly before moving on, or the cursor will move back to the beginning of the pattern. - Shift Key : Every word in the lesson will start with a capital letter. - EXIT THE PROGRAM posts a second menu, with the options QUIT and DELETE A USER. WHAT TO DO IN A LESSON When the drill or game starts, just follow the instructions. At any time, you may interrupt the lesson and bring back the MAIN MENU by clicking the left mouse button. The lesson will resume after you have finished using the MAIN MENU. THE MENUS Clicking the left mouse-button at the Chalkboard or in a lesson brings up the MAIN MENU. Here are the choices on this menu : - HELP will pop up an informative message. After you have read the help message, you can click on the DONE button to go back to what you were doing. Or, you can bring up the list of all help topics by clicking on the OTHER TOPICS button. - KEYS AND FINGERS is a great way to improve on your fingering technique. The keyboard comes up on the screen. Type any key and the "guide hands" show you the correct fingering. - LEARNING AIDS lets you see the "gadgets" used in the WORKSHOP such as the metronome, meters, clock and others. For each of your choices, there is a box under the heading AUTO. If this box is set, Mavis will decide how to set that gadget. You can uncheck any of the boxes, which will highlight the button to the right of it.