
                           *The Math Quizzer*
                               Version 2.1
                           Copyright 1989/1990
                             by James Miller


     The Math Quizzer version 2.1 is copyrighted by James Miller.
     See REGQUIZ.TXT for registration information.

     The Math Quizzer is guaranteed to do absolutely nothing but take up
     space on your disk. I have tried the program on as many machines as
     I could lay my hands on and it has worked fine on all of them. I
     will claim no responsibility for problems of any sort that might
     occur during the use of The Math Quizzer.
     You are granted a limited license to use this program.  You may freely
     distribute or copy this program as long as all components are
     distributed together on one disc or in some archived form.  If you
     like the program and use the program, then registration is expected.

About The Math Quizzer:

     The Math Quizzer was originally started simply as something to do to
for the fun of it. The idea was to come up with a little program for my
nieces to practice addition and subtraction.  The Math Quizzer version 1.0
was released into public domain as the culmination of that particular
project.
     After a year of the program being in the public domain, version 1.6
was released under the Shareware concept.  Over the last year a few small
modifications have been implemented and more recently I have added command
line options and a Grade card screen.  See History.Txt for a breakdown by
version number.

I am assuming that in most cases an adult will first be using this program
and then teaching the child how to use it. Therefore the instructions are
written for adults.

What is The Math Quizzer?:

     The Math Quizzer is designed to encourage kids grades 1 to 6 to do
mental computation of simple math problems.  It does this by presenting the
problem in a flashcard like format.

How to use The Math Quizzer:

     The Math Quizzer is simple to use.  My nine and eleven year old nieces
were able to use it with no help at all.  Basically just type Quizzer at
the DOS prompt and follow directions that appear on the screen.

The Math Quizzer is designed for use on a system that supports use of a
40 column display; however, the program will detect the absence of graphics
and operate in 80 columns.  In 80 column mode all activity will take place
on the left hand half of your monitor, with the exception of the Grade card
screen which will occupy most of your display.

The following is a more step by step procedure as well as more in depth
description of all options:

See the section on Command line options at the end of this text for how to
use command line options.

At the title screen you will be asked "Do you want instructions? (Y/N)".
Answering Y will display the instructions file (This file) while N will
prompt the program to ask for your FIRST name. The program will use this
information to either read your previous game information from the disk, or
will use it later to save your game information.

If you have previously played The Math Quizzer the program will load your
previous scores.  If this is your first time the program will ask you your
age.  This information is used to automatically set your level.  Levels can
be changed once the program has begun.

Remember, The Math Quizzer will turn on all caps and the numeric keypad for
you and will remember to turn them off when you exit the game.

Next the problem selection screen will appear.  Just type the number
next to the kind of problem you want. The program will not let you type a
number not listed and will not let you ask for a problem type not available
for your current level of play.

This brings us to the Main play screen of The Math Quizzer.

On the lefthand side of the screen you will see "Your Grade" and "Your %".
These indicate the current Grade and percentage during this play.
On the righthand side of the screen you will see "Best Grade" and "Best%".
These indicate the score from the last game that YOU played.
If your current score exceeds your best score, then the program will
go ahead and update your best score and percentage.

In the center of the screen is the problem box.  All problems will appear
in this box.  It is the "flashcard area".


<T>ime: ON

      On is the default when the program begins, but can be turned off by
      pressing T while there is no problem in the box or can be set to Off
      using a command line parameter.  Once a problem is called you cannot
      turn the Timer on or off until the problem has been answered.
      This is to prevent the timer from being turned off when
      answering problems in timed mode. ( I discovered that most kids would
      just turn the timer off on a tough problem ).
      Remember the timer can be turned off or on before or after answering
      a problem, but not during the problem.

      The default length of time for a problem to be answered is 10
      seconds.  This can be changed when from the command line by using
      the proper parameter.  You will be able to set the timer for 5
      seconds or higher.

<F>lashcard: ON

      On is the default when the program begins.  Flashcard can be turned
      off or on by pressing F at anytime the Main screen is up. It can also
      be turned off using a command line option when the program is started.
      When Flashcard is on, the answer must be input all at once. For
      example if the problem where 10 + 2, then the answer must be typed in
      as twelve (12), pressing first the one then the two. If Flashcard
      were off then the opposite would be true. Turning Flashcard off
      allows the user to calculate the problem by rows. So the answer must
      be input by row.  In this case, pressing the two and then the one.
      It is best when Flashcard is off to think of it as putting the answer
      in backward.  On some larger problems, when Flashcard is off, you may
      notice a problem if the last number input is greater than 9.  It must
      be input backwards.  In other words if the problem were 456 + 621
      then the answer would be 1077.  In Flashcard Off mode this must be
      input by pressing first 7 then 7 then 0 then 1.


Press <SPACE BAR> for problem

      Pressing the spacebar will bring up the next problem.

Press <C> to change your problem selection

      This takes you back to the problem selection screen and allows you to
      change the type of problem you want to answer.

Press <L> to change your level

      This will take you to the level selection screen which will allow you
      to change your current level.  You may select a higher or lower
      level, as you desire.  The screen will show you your current level.
      All level selections have a corresponding guide to help you in your
      level selection.

Press <Q> to quit The Math Quizzer

      This selection will take you to the Grade Card  screen.  You will be
      able to review your progress here compared with your last game.
      From the Grade Card screen, pressing the Space Bar will take you to
      the Quit screen.  Here you have several options.

      1) Save best grade and percentage
         This option will save the grade and percentage on the righthand
         side of the screen.  It is best to save this if you have been
         having trouble answering problems and if the score is less than
         100%.

      2) Save your grade and percentage
         This option will save the grade and percentage on the lefthand
         side of the screen.  It is best to use this option in most cases
         as it is the real average of what your percentage of correct
         answers has been.  This gives you a goal to play against next
         time.

      3) Go back to playing screen
         This lets you change your mind and return to the game.
         Bear in mind that the number of problems in a game will be
         tracked.  You can go to the grade card screen as many times as you
         like and still return to the playing screen to finish a game.
         Once a game has been completed, using this option begins another
         set of problems.

      4) Start over with a different player
         This will restart the program to allow a new player.  This will
         save your score and level and reset all values for the new player.

How to use the command line options:
        The following are the various command line options and what each of
        them will do.  You can use upper or lower case, it will not matter.
        You must use the correct syntax for the parameters to work.

        The following is an example of using proper syntax on these
        options.
        At the 'C' prompt:

        C>Quizzer /T:OFF/F:ON/p:12/n:Sally /s:off /L:15 /i:1

        You will notice that case is mixed and that spaces between
        parameters do not matter. The preceding '/' and the following ':'
        must be in place for the parameter to work correctly.

        PARAMETER                 WHAT IT DOES

        /T:ON or OFF            Setting this parameter to either On or Off
                                will change the default for the Timer to
                                OFF or to ON.  Mostly this would be
                                used to set the Timer OFF.  Using ON was
                                allowed to enable the user to remember what
                                options he chose.

        /F:ON or OFF            Same as above, but will set the default for
                                Flashcard option.

        /P:xx                   Sets the number of problems in a game.
                                xx is any number you chose.  The default
                                for the game is 30 problems.

        /N:xxxxxxxxxxx          Allows input of the user name from the
                                command line. xxxxxxxx is the name of the
                                user in this example.

        /S:On or Off            This option allows you to bypass the
                                opening screen.

        /L:xx                   This parameter allows you to set the length
                                of the timer.  xx is a number you chose no
                                lower than 5.

        /I:x                    This parameter lets you make the selection
                                for the type of problem you which to
                                practice.

The use of these options from the command line or from a Batch file will
help you make better use of the program and allows a certain amount of
customization.  If you desired, using these options would allow you to go
directly from the command line to the play screen without any additional
input.


If you follow the prompts as they appear on screen you should have no
trouble running The Math Quizzer.

If you have any questions or suggestions, or if you would like to register
The Math Quizzer, I can be reached by the following methods.
Remember, registration is only $10.00.

Regular US mail:(This is always subject to change)
   James Miller
   904 Manchester Dr.
   Idabel, OK
   74745

Compuserve I.D.   73100,2267  (The most reliable method)

Voice phone (405) 286-6860
  Please no calls before 8 am or after 10 pm Central time!

Thanks for trying The Math Quizzer!

(Note: this file can be edited with a regular ASCII word processor to
shorten it for your own referance from the program)


