WordDraw Documentation
Introduction
WordDraw is a program for teaching children how to write words. It animates the drawing of the words and provides an optional template (dotted lines) for children to trace over. New word lists can be created in the Memo Pad application and imported into WordDraw.
Table of Contents
WordDraw shows the word on the top and has a drawing area on the bottom for the child to write in. Tap the on-screen buttons to go to other words, press the down arrow key to move to the next word, or tap on the silk screen menu button to bring up several options, including the ability to set user preferences or move to a specific word list or word. Tap on the Show Me button to see an animation of the word being drawn. Tap on the Try Again button to erase your writing and start again. Check the Dots box to see outlines of the letters or uncheck it for a blank writing area.
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Options Menu |
WordDraw has only 3 menus (tap on the menu silk-screen icon just above the Datebook hardware button), an Options menu, a Beam menu, and a Help menu.
The Options menu has the following choices:
- Preferences... - Displays the WordDraw Preferences screen where you can set various user preferences. The Graffiti shortcut for this option is "/R".
- Draw User Word... - Allows you to enter any word for WordDraw to display. The word can have up to 30 lower case letters, upper case letters, apostrophes, hyphens, periods, and spaces. The word is not saved in the current word list. The Graffiti shortcut for this option is "/W".
- Go To Word/Set... - Allows you to go directly to any word in the current word list. These are presented in sets of 20 words. The Graffiti shortcut for this option is "/G".
- Select Word List... - Allows you to choose a WordDraw word list to use. The Graffiti shortcut for this option is "/S".
- Delete Word List... - Allows you to delete a WordDraw word list.
- Import Memo... - Allows you to import a Memo Pad record into a new WordDraw word list. The memo should begin with #WordDraw listName, where listName is the name of the word list. Each word should be on its own line in the memo. Words can have up to 30 lower case letters, upper case letters, apostrophes, hyphens, periods, and spaces.
- Set VFS Directory... - Displays a screen on which you can set a specific directory where WordDraw should search for word lists. Tap on the "Card Default" button to use the current external card's default directory (usually "/PALM/Launcher"), tap on the "Alternative Directory" button to use "/PALM/Programs/WordDraw", or enter any specific directory you want. If you don't use the card's default directory, you will need a utility such as Filez (freeware) to place files there. (NOTE: for PalmOS 5.0, you may need to use the Alternative Directory to get things to work.)
- Registration... - Brings up the Registration screen. Unregistered copies of WordDraw are restricted to the first 5 letters of the alphabet and the numbers 1 to 5. See the sections below on Paying for and Registering WordDraw.
The Beam menu has the following choices:
- Beam WordDraw - Beams the WordDraw application (WordDraw.prc) to another Palm handheld device.
- Beam Current Word List - Beams the currently selected WordDraw word list to another Palm handheld device. The word list cannot be on an external card.
- Beam WordDraw - Beams all WordDraw word lists in main memory to another Palm handheld device. Word lists that are stored on external cards are not beamed.
The Help menu has the following choices:
- WordDraw Help... - Displays a very brief help screen.
- About WordDraw... - Displays version and other information about WordDraw. The Graffiti shortcut for this option is "/I".
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Preferences |
The Preferences options are:
- Sound - Sound can be set to Off (no sounds), On (medium volume), or System (respect the Game Sound volume level set in the Preferences application).
- Animation Speed - The speed at which WordDraw draws words can be set from Slowest to Fastest.
- Auto Animate - Animate the drawing of the word when the model is first displayed. If unset, you can still tap on the Show Me button to show the animation at any time.
- Word Case - Sets the case of the letters to UPPER (all upper case) or Lower (all lower case unless capitalized in the word list).
- Hardware Btns - The 4 main hardware buttons on your PalmOS device can be handled in 3 different ways: Off (ignored), On (WordDraw uses the buttons on its drawing screen as follows. Datebook = Previous letter/number, Address = Show Me, To Do = Try Again, and Memo Pad = Next letter/number), or System (handled by the Palm operating system. Will launch whatever application was set in the Buttons preference panel).
On color devices, tap on the Set Colors button to set the colors used for the Model (the word that WordDraw writes), the Drawing (the word that you write), or the Dots (the optional outline that WordDraw writes).
There are currently 10 word lists bundled with WordDraw:
- WD_Kindergarten - Kindergarten level words
- WD_1st_Grade - First grade level words
- WD_Dolch_Words - 220 Dolch words (basic words that are difficult to spell)
- WD_Animals - Animal names
- WD_Clothes - Types of clothes
- WD_Geography - Geographical terms and names
- WD_Human_Body - Names for parts of the human body
- WD_Musical_Intruments - Names of musical instruments
- WD_Sports - Names of sports
- WD_Time - Time and date-related words
To select a word list in WordDraw, tap on the menu button and choose the "Select Word List..." menu option.
You can also create your own word lists in the Memo Pad applications and use the "Import Memo..." menu option.
WordDraw is $5 shareware. All future upgrades are free.
See the Purchasing.html document or tap on the i (information) button on the WordDraw Registration screen for details on how obtain a registration code.
Once you have your registration code, go back into WordDraw and use the Registration menu option to bring up the Registration screen. Enter the code and click on the OK button. You should get a confirmation window indicating that you're all set. Thanks!
In the "Apps" folder, the file WordDrawDoc.pdb is a Doc-formatted version of this file. This file can be installed on your PalmPilot for reference if you have any Doc reader installed. You can download the free PalmReader (http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/product/reader/browse/free).
In the "Docs" folder the following files can also be found:
- WordDrawDoc.html - Documentation for WordDraw readable in a web browser such as Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer.
- WordDrawDoc.txt - Documentation for WordDraw readable in any text editor.
- VERSION.txt - Release history for WordDraw.
Many thanks to:
- My son Kevin - for inspiring this program and for not destroying my Handspring Prism.
- My son David - for sleeping enough to let me write it.
- My wife Jade - for all her support during this (and all of my other programming endeavors).
WordDraw Version 1.0.2, August 11, 2004
WordDraw is Copyright (C)2003-2004 by Robert Jen.
The latest version of WordDraw and other PalmPilot and Macintosh software can be found at http://www.rjen.com (specifically http://www.rjen.com/Pilot/WordDraw.html). Questions, comments, and any other email can be sent to the author Robert Jen at mailto:rjen@rjen.com. Your feedback is much appreciated.