Category : Science and Education
Archive   : TDT110.ZIP
Filename : TDT.DOC

Personal Test Development Toolkit

Copyright(c) 1991, Practical Programs
All Rights Reserved















































Practical Programs
1013 East Dimond Blvd, Suite 141
Anchorage, AK 99515











Table of Contents

Section Page


1. Introduction.........................................1

2. How to use TDT.......................................2

3. Getting Started......................................5

4. The File Menu........................................5

5. The Test Menu........................................6

6. The Editor Menu......................................7

7. The Options Menu.....................................8






























i

1. Introduction

a. The Personal Test Development Toolkit is designed to allow
you to create and take multiple choice tests on your PC. It features
a pull-down menu interface complete with dialog boxes, a full-featured
editor, mouse support, a printer spooler, and extensive on-line, context-
sensitive help.

b. Disclaimer

(1) Practical Programs shall in no way be held responsible for
any damage incurred while operating the Personal Test Development Toolkit.
All responsibility lies with the user of the software.

(2) This software is NOT for sale. You are granted a limited
license to use the software described in this manual. The software may
be used or copied only in accordance with the terms set forth herein.

(3) You may not make any changes or modifications to the Personal
Test Development Toolkit, and you may not de-compile, disassemble, or
otherwise reverse-engineer it. You may not rent it or lease it to others.
You may not remove any of the copyright notices.

c. This program is being distributed under the shareware marketing
concept. You not only may copy and pass this program around; you are
encouraged to do so. You may only distribute the shareware copy. Copying
and distributing the registered version is prohibited. The shareware
version is fully functional and not "crippled" in any way.

d. Once you have used the shareware version for 30 days, you must
register it with Practical Programs to continue using it. Once the
registration fee has been received, Practical Programs will send you a
serialized, registered copy of the latest version. You will also receive
advanced notice of any upgrades and, upon your request, will receive
information about our other products. In addition, you receive free
technical support.

e. Technical support is available in four ways. First, you can
write us for help. Second, you can call us at (907)344-2925, Monday
through Friday (except holidays) from 6am - 6pm Alaska Time. Alaska
Time is four hours behind East Coast time. Another technical support
avenue is through our BBS. The BBS is reached by calling (907)344-2925,
24 hours weekends and holidays, and from Monday through Friday from
6pm-6am Alaska Time. The last way to get technical support is by leaving
a message to CompuServe ID # 72460,346.

f. The Personal Test Development Toolkit was written to be as
user-friendly as possible. In order to get right into test development
without having to read the entire manual, we suggest you read the two
sections entitled "Getting Started" and "How to use TDT". When you're
ready to get started, don't forget your best friend, the on-line Help
system that's available at the press of the F1 key.

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How to Use TDT

2. The Personal Test Development Toolkit was designed to be as easy
to use as possible. It doesn't matter if you are using the mouse or
keyboard.

a. Menus.

(1) Mouse. To use the menus with the mouse, merely place
the mouse cursor on the menu item you want and click the left button.

(2) Keyboard. To open a menu on the main menu, hold down
the Alt key while pressing the letter of the menu you want. For example,
to open the File menu, hold down the Alt key and press the "F" key.
Once the menu is opened, you can move the highlight bar with the arrow
keys. Once the highlight is on the selection you want, press the Enter,
or Return, key.

(3) Shortcut Keys. Shortcut keys are one or two key
combinations that you can press to choose items without having to travel
the menus. The following shortcut keys are available in Personal TDT:

F1 - Brings up context-sensitive Help.

F2 - The same as picking the Open option from the File
menu.

F3 - The same as picking the Go option from the Test
menu.


F4 - The same as picking the Edit option from the Editor
menu.

F5 - The same as picking the Append option from the
Editor menu.

F6 - The same as picking the Remove option from the
Editor menu.

F7 - The same as picking the Testing option from the
Options menu.

F8 - The same as picking the Printer option from the
Options menu.

F9 - The same as picking the Colors option from the
Options menu.

Alt-M - This allows you to move dialog boxes around the
screen.

Alt-Z - This "zooms" the Help dialog in or out.

b. Dialog Boxes. There are several types of dialog boxes in
Personal TDT. They are usually used to either display a message to you
or to get information from you.

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(1) Moving. You can move all of the dialog boxes in Personal
TDT. This comes in handy particularly when the answer dialog box covers
part of the question window.

(a) Mouse. Place the mouse cursor anywhere on the top
line of the dialog box. Anywhere, that is, except for on the arrow on
the right side (Help dialog box only), or the little square on the left
side. The two symbols are the "Zoom Icon" and the "Close Icon" discussed
later. Once you have the mouse cursor placed on the top line, press the
left mouse button and, while keeping the button pressed, move the dialog
box to the desired location. To stop moving the dialog box, simply
release the left mouse button.

(b) Keyboard. Hold down the Alt key and press the "M"
key. You will see the border around the dialog box change from double
lines to single lines. Use the arrow keys to position the dialog box
where you want it, then press the Enter, or Return, key to end the
process.

(2) Closing. All of the dialog boxes may also be closed.
"Closing" a dialog box means removing it from the screen. One way of
closing them are to press one of the buttons in it. This is a preferred
way of closing the box as you have finished using it normally. The
buttons for each dialog box are discussed later. In this section, we
want to examine the way of closing the boxes without making a normal
choice. In other words, aborting the dialog box.

(a) Mouse. Place the mouse cursor on the close icon
(the little square on the top of the dialog box at the left), then
click the left mouse button.

(b) Keyboard. Press the Esc key.

(3) Zooming. The Zooming function is available only for the
Help dialog box. When you "zoom" the Help dialog box, it is expanded to
fill the entire screen. Using the zoom function again will resize the
Help dialog box back to its previous size.

(a) Mouse. Position the mouse cursor so it is over the
zoom icon (the arrow on the top line of the Help dialog box at the right).
The press the left mouse button.

(b) Keyboard. Hold down the Alt key while pressing the
"Z" key.

(4) Scrolling. Scrolling is the ability to move the "view"
of the Help dialog box to see more text. This ability is only necessary
and, therefore, available in the Help dialog box.

(a) Mouse. Position the mouse cursor on either of the
scroll bars. The scroll bar to move the view left and right is on the
bottom of the Help dialog box. The scroll bar to move the view up and
down is on the right side of the Help dialog box. Once you've placed
the mouse cursor on the appropriate scroll bar, press the left mouse
button to move the view.

(b) Keyboard. Use the arrows keys to move the view.

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c. Help Dialog Boxes. As you can see, an important part
of the Personal TDT is its on-line help. There are actually two
help subsystems, one for the editor and the other for all other
functions. The reason for this is that the mouse is not active
during editing.

(1) Editor Help. Simply press the F1 key. You will be
presented with an index of help subjects concerning the editor.
Use the arrow keys to move the highlight over the subject you want,
then press the Enter, or Return, key. Press the Esc key to exit
the Editor Help.

(2) Main Help. There is one more help feature that was
not discussed in the Dialog Box section above. You will see in
some Help screens that some words are highlighted. These are links
to other help screens. If you wish to see that other help screen,
then:

(a) Mouse. Place the mouse cursor on the highlighted
word and double-click (rapidly pressing the mouse button twice) the
left mouse button.

(b) Keyboard. Use the Tab key to highlight the linked
word you want. Then press the Enter, or Return, key.

d. Informational Dialog Boxes. Several dialogs boxes do
nothing but display information or get basic input from the user
by way of their push buttons. The most common push buttons are
labeled 'OK', 'Yes', 'No', and 'Cancel'. Select these buttons in
the following ways:

(1) Mouse. Place the mouse cursor over the chosen button
and press the left mouse button.

(2) Keyboard. There are two ways to do it with the key-
board. First, you can use the Tab key to change the highlighted
button. When the button you want is highlighted, press the Enter,
or Return, key. The other way is to press the highlighted letter
for the button you want to press. For example, when presented with
a dialog box that has a 'Yes' and a 'No' button, press the "Y" or
"N" key to make your selection.


e. Other Dialog Boxes. There are several types of dialog
that have unique properties such as radio buttons, lists, and text
inputs. Each is described later.








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3. Getting Started

a. Copy all files into one directory. For our example,
we'll use the directory C:\TDT. If the directory doesn't exist,
then you must create it. We'll assume you are currently at the
C:\> prompt and the disk containing the Personal Test Development
Toolkit is in Drive A:.

Step 1 - Create the subdirectory:

MD TDT

Step 2 - Change to the subdirectory:

CD TDT

Step 3 - Copy the files:

COPY A:*.*

b. To start the program, simply type TDT and hit the Enter, or
Return, key.

c. You can add the subdirectory to the PATH statement and then
invoke TDT from anywhere on the hard drive.

d. If you have a line in your CONFIG.SYS file that reads
similar to the following:

DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS

Make sure you change it to:

DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS/NUMHANDLES=128


4. The File Menu

a. The first item on the File Menu is the Open selection. You
select this option to open an existing test file or create a new test
file.

(1) To open an existing file:

(a) Mouse. Place the mouse cursor above the file you
want then double-click (press the button twice quickly) the left mouse
button.

(b) Keyboard. Press the Tab key to move the highlight
bar into the file listing. Use the arrow keys to highlight the file
you want, then press the Enter, or Return, key.

(2) To create a new file, type in the name (with a .TST
extension) then press the Enter, or Return, key. A dialog box will
pop up asking if you wish to create a new test. Press the "Y" key
or click the mouse on "Yes".

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NOTE: Each test actually consists of two files: one with a .TST
extension and another with a .DBT extension. They must be
in the same subdirectory in order to access the test properly.

b. The next item on the File Menu is the Ch Dir selection.
This brings up a tree structure that you can use the mouse or arrow
keys to traverse. Press the Enter, or Return, key to select a
directory.


c. The last item on the File Menu is the Exit selection.
Selecting this item exits Personal TDT.


5. The Test Menu

a. The only option on the Test Menu is Go. Go starts the
test administration process. Go is not accessible unless a test
file has already been opened.

b. When you select the Go option, this is what happens:

(1) You will be presented an information dialog box that
will tell you the number of questions in the test. Press the OK
button to proceed.

(2) If you have selected the random sequence option
(see Options Menu Section), you will be presented a window telling
you that the program is performing the randomization. The time it
takes depends upon the number of questions in the test and the
speed of your computer. When randomization is completed, you will
be presented with an information dialog box telling you the process
is done. Press the OK button to proceed.

(3) You will then be presented the question window, with
the answer dialog box overlaying it. Press the appropriate button:

- A : You are choosing answer "A"

- B : You are choosing answer "B"

- C : You are choosing answer "C"

- D : You are choosing answer "D"

- Reference : This brings up an information dialog
box with the reference for the question, if any.

- Quit : This quits the test administration.

(4) If you answer correctly, you are presented the next
question. If you answer incorrectly, you are presented a dialog box
that contains the correct answer. You may check the reference by
pressing the reference button. If you have the Print Missed Questions
option set to Always, then the question, answer, reference, and your
incorrect answer will be printed. If the Print Missed Questions option
is set to User-Selected, then there will be an extra button on the
information box labeled "Send to Printer". Press this button if you
want it printed.

6


(5) When you either run out of questions or quit the test
administration, you will be presented with a dialog box that shows
your score. If the Print Missed Scores option is set to Always, your
score will be printed. If the Print Missed Scores option is set to
User-Selected, then there will be an extra button labeled "Send to
Printer". Press this button if you want it printed.

(6) If you missed any questions and the Review Missed
Questions option is set to Always, you will automatically be brought
back into the test administration process to re-take the questions
you first missed. If the Review Missed Questions option is set to
User-Selected, you will be presented with a dialog box asking if you
wish to review the missed questions. Press the "Yes" button to
to re-take those questions.



6. The Editor Menu

a. The first item is the edit selection. When you select this
item, it brings up a question window with the first question. The
question window is overlaid with the edit dialog box. There are
several buttons on the edit dialog box:

- Text: Press this button to bring up the question editor. You
may then edit the question and choices.

- Answer: The current answer is displayed on the top border of
the control dialog. Press the Answer button and you will be presented
the same answer dialog box you have in the Append mode. Press the
button corresponding to the answer you wish to change to.

- Reference: Pressing this button allows you to change the
reference for the question.

- Delete: Pressing this button will mark the current question
for deletion. The word DELETE will show on the top border of the
control dialog. If the question is already marked for deletion, then
pressing this button will un-mark it.

(Questions marked for deletion are permanently removed from the file by the
Editor|Remove selection item.)

- GoTo: Pressing this button allows you to enter a question number
you wish to go to. If the number you enter is out of range, then you will
stay at the current question. The current question number is displayed on
the top border of the control dialog.

- Search: Pressing the Search button enables you to search for a
question based on a text string. The search is case-insensitive. Once the
string is found, you are returned to the control dialog and the new question
is displayed. If you wish to search on the same string again, press the
Search button once more. The text you entered does not disappear. The
search starts with the question following the one currently displayed.

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For example, you are looking for a particular question that
you know contains the phrase "What is the difference". You press the
Search button and enter the phrase. TDT finds the first instance of
the phrase and returns you to the control dialog. You find that this
is not the question you wanted so you press the Search button again and
continue the search until you either find the one you want or there
are no more matches.

- Previous: Pressing this button simply changes the currently
displayed question to the one before it. If it is already on question
#1, then no action is taken.

- Next: The opposite of Previous (clever, huh?). It will change
the currently displayed question to the next one. It if is already on the
last question in the test data base, then no action is taken.

- Quit: Pressing this button takes you out of the Edit mode and
back to the main menu.


(b) The second item on the Editor menu is the Append selection.
When you make this selection:

- you are placed in the editor. Enter the question and possible
answers. Press the F2 key to save, or the Esc key to abort.

- You are then presented with the answer dialog box. Press
the button corresponding to the answer you want.

- Next comes the reference dialog box. Enter the reference
for the question, then press the Tab key to highlight the button you
want, then press the Enter, or Return, key. Mouse users can enter
the reference then place the mouse cursor on the button they want and
click the left mouse button.

- You will then be placed back into the editor. Go through
the same steps outlined above until you are finished entering questions.
When you want to stop entering questions, press the Esc key while in
the editor.

(c) The last item on the Editor menu is the Remove selection.
The Remove selection will physically remove from the test data base
all of the questions you have marked for deletion.

7. The Options Menu

(a) The options are chosen through the use of radio buttons and
input lines.

- Radio buttons allow for only one selection for the option.
To change the setting of a radio button:

-- Keyboard users. Use the Tab key to highlight the
option you wish to change, then use the arrow keys to move the dot
to the selection you want.

-- Mouse users. Place the mouse cursor over the dot,
press and hold down the left mouse button, move the dot to the option
you want, then release the left mouse button.

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- Input lines are like the reference dialog box. Simply
type in the information you want, then use the Tab key to highlight
the Save, Cancel, or OK buttons. Then press the Enter, or Return,
key.

(b) The first item on the Options menu is the Testing selection.
The Testing selection has the following options affecting the way
tests are administered:

- Question Sequence. You can choose either "In Order" or
"Random".

- Review Missed Questions. "User-Selected" means you will
first be asked if you want to review missed questions. "Always"
means you will automatically be presented the missed questions.
"Never" means you will not be presented review questions.

- Print Missed Questions. It has the same options as does
"Review Missed Questions". They just pertain to the printing of
missed questions.

- Print Scores. It has the same options as does "Review
Missed Questions". They just pertain to the printing of the score.

(c) The second item on the Options menu is the Printer selection.
The Printer selection has the following options affecting the way the
printer behaves:

- Pause After Printed Page? Choose 'Yes' when you are using
a printer where you have to load pages manually, and 'No' otherwise.

- Eject After Each Printed Page? Choose 'Yes' to cause the
printer to issue a formfeed when printing is done, and 'No' otherwise.

- Use Print Spooler? Choose 'Yes' to activate the print
spooler and 'No' to deactivate it. The print spooler allows you to
continue with the test while any missed questions and scores are sent
to the printer. NOTE: If you change the setting of the print spooler,
you need to save the settings, then exit TDT. When you re-enter TDT,
the print spooler will be set to your specifications.

- Margin. Enter the left margin for printing here. All text
will be preceded with the number of spaces you specify. The default is 0.

- Lines Per Page. Enter the number of lines per printed page
here. The default is 66.

(d) The last item on the Options menu is the Colors selection.
Each component of TDT is listed. Use the Tab key to move between the
windows (or use the mouse). When you select a component, move to the
color window and change the foreground and background colors. If you
want the new color combinations to be used each time you start up TDT,
then make sure you Save them.

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