PC-FASTYPE(Tm) Version 4.0 Copyright 1990 Trendtech Corporation Welcome to PC-FASTYPE ===================== PC-FASTYPE is a typing tutorial program SPECIFICALLY designed for IBM-PC and PS/2 styled keyboards on computers running under MS-DOS. The quick-start instructions below will get you going right away. PC-FASTYPE also requires COLOR. You MUST have a Color/Graphics Adapter Card (CGA) or equivalent (EGA/VGA) on your computer or PC- FASTYPE won't work. If you have a HERCULES Monochrome Graphics Card, see "HERCULES" below. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: PC-FASTYPE is distributed on one 360KB 5.25" floppy, or one 720KB 3.50" mini-floppy and requires the following minimum equipment to run properly: o IBM PC, XT, PS/2, 286, 386, or IBM Compatible o MS-DOS - All versions from 2.0 and up o 256KB Memory o Color Graphics Adaptor card (CGA) - EGA/VGA supports CGA o 1 Floppy disk drive; 3.5" or 5.25" o Keyboard: either the 101-Key Enhanced with the bar-shaped enter key, or the AT-Style with the large L-shaped enter key. TO LOAD: From Floppy Disk Drive: Place the disk in drive A: and type: ENFT to start PC-FASTYPE with the 101-Key Enhanced keyboard ATFT to start PC-FASTYPE with the AT-Style keyboard followed by the ENTER key. For example, the command: A:> enft will start PC-FASTYPE from the A: floppy drive for the 101-Key Enhanced keyboard. Fixed Disk Drive: First create a sub-directory then copy the entire contents of the disk to the new directory. Change to the new directory and type ENFT or ATFT followed by the ENTER key. TO RUN: After the introductory screens are displayed and the tables loaded, the Main Menu will be displayed. The menu selector bar will be resting on the 'Begin Typing' selection. Just press the enter key or function key F10 to start a typing drill of the HOME keys. To return to the Main Menu, press the Escape key or the F1 function key. WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO: For DRILLS: Place the fingers of each hand on the home keys (ASDF JKL;) and type each letter as you are prompted for it. The initial letters you will be prompted to type are the home keys. The selection of these letters for you to type is random, the number of characters you have to successfully type is displayed before you start. When the drill is finished your WPM and other statistics will be displayed in the text panel. For EXERCISES: lines of text will be displayed above the screen keyboard; type each character that is pointed to by the house-shaped cursor () and when you reach the  symbol or end of the line, press the enter key (for "carriage-return"), or the space bar. When you finish typing the exercise your WPM and other statistics will be displayed in the text panel. SELECTING MENU ITEMS: Use the arrow keys (cursor keys) to move the menu selector bar up and down the menu. Select the drill, exercise, or option by pressing the enter key when the item you want is highlighted by the menu selector bar. You can use the function keys as a short-cut. WHILE RUNNING: MENUS: There are 5 drill, exercise, and feature selection menus and 3 sub-menus for selecting additional keys to learn. The primary menus can be displayed by pressing function keys F1 to F5 anytime while the screen keyboard is displayed. ape key: Pressing the Escape key anytime during a drill or exercise will cause the drill or exercise to terminate and your current WPM to be displayed; pressing the Escape key again will display the menu where you started the exercise. QuickHELP: ALL menus have the QuickHELP Facility available. For all menus, the function key F1 is always the HELP key. When you select HELP, a QuickHELP Facility Menu will be displayed; the selector bar will rest on the item that matches your help request. Follow the instructions given on the bottom of the menu. DATED SOFTWARE: If today's date is a year or more later than the file dates on this distribution disk than please contact Trendtech Corporation for information about the current version of PC-FASTYPE. Shareware tends to "acquire a life of its own" once it's distributed; not all vendors will bother to acquire the latest version from the author. That is why you should buy Shareware from a disk vendor who is an authorized "Associate Member of the A.S.P." CAVEATS: * PC-FASTYPE will run on most compatibles; however, it will NOT run on a PC equipped with a Monochrome Display Adaptor (MDA) card. * PC-FASTYPE does not behave well with memory resident programs (TSR's) such as SIDEKICK or SUPERKEY. Those programs intercept the keystrokes before passing them on to PC-FASTYPE. This inherent delay may cause your typing session scores to be skewed thus causing inaccurate WPM ratings (Lotus METRO does this). Certain keystroke combinations may lock up your PC. We recommend that you test PC- FASTYPE with each of your memory resident programs and disable those that appear to cause problems while using PC-FASTYPE. HERCULES: PC-FASTYPE Version 4.0 will work on a PC equipped with a Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adaptor card IF you also use a Color Graphics (CGA) emulator program called "HGCIBM". This CGA emulator program can be purchased from most disk vendors. You can also purchase it from Trendtech Corporation for $10.00. Just let us know when you register, and include the additional cost with your registration fee. OLD-STYLE PC KEYBOARD: If your PC is equipped with the older "classic" style PC keyboard, the one with the vertical ENTER key, we have a keyboard display you can use with this version of PC-FASTYPE. Let us know if you want this keyboard display, and include an additional $5.00 when you register. DOCUMENTATION: The PC-FASTYPE User Guide is distributed on diskette as a self- extracting 'ZIP' file. This means the User Guide text has been 'compressed' to save space on the disk. SELF-EXTRACTION of PC-FASTYPE User Guide: ZIP'd files can be 'un-compressed', or reconstructed without the need for special programs. A self-extracting ZIP file is an executable file with a .EXE extension. By simply typing in the name of the self-extracting ZIP file, the User Guide reconstruction process will be performed. To print the PC-FASTYPE User Guide perform the following steps: 1. Copy the file named FTDOC.EXE to your hard disk or to another floppy. 2. Make that drive the default drive, and at the prompt type in the following command: ftdoc the User Guide will extract itself into a printable document. 3. You will now have a file called FASTYPE.DOC on your disk. Verify this by typing 'DIR FASTYPE.DOC' at the prompt. 4. To print the User Guide on your printer, first make sure you have enough paper - the User Guide is about 50 pages long. Be sure your printer is turned ON, and the first page is positioned at top-of-form. Then type the following command at the prompt: copy fastype.doc prn 5. Your printer will print the PC-FASTYPE User Guide on about fifty pages of paper. REGISTRATION: PC-FASTYPE IS SHAREWARE If you find PC-FASTYPE useful and use it to increase your typing speed and accuracy, then you are required by the terms of the Licensing provisions to pay for it by registering your use of it with the program's author, Trendtech Corporation. Registration costs $25.00 plus $3.00 for shipping and handling payable in U.S. Funds drawn on a U.S. bank, and can be paid by check, credit card, postal money order, or authorized Purchase Order. Print the form REGISTER.FRM for quick registration. It has the single-user license, detailed Order Form, and a Comments Form. There is more detailed licensing provisions in the USER GUIDE. Registration information is also available in the PC-FASTYPE QuickHELP Facility when you run the program. TRENDTECH CORPORATION, Inc. PC-FASTYPE Registration P. O. Box 3687 Wayne, New Jersey 07474-3687 Registrants will receive either a writing style guide, or a printed User Guide, an up-to-date version of PC-FASTYPE with a personalized registration code, a thank-you letter, and technical support by phone or letter. OTHER LICENSES: Educational Site, Corporate Site, Network, and Right-to-Copy Licenses are available. Read the LICENSE section of the User's Guide for details. VENDORS: Disk vendors, user groups, and clubs please read the VENDOR.DOC file for detailed information about distributing PC-FASTYPE. INQUIRIES: Inquiries can be telephoned to (201) 694-8622; leave a message on the answering machine along with your name, address and daytime phone number, and a short message. You will be contacted with a reply. VIRUSES: You can only be sure of getting a top-quality virus-free version of any Shareware product by obtaining your copy directly from the author, or from a disk vendor who is an Associate Member of the Association of Shareware Professionals, or from a reputable BBS service. Be suspicious of any program you download from a BBS whose file dates or copyright notices are more than two years old; if it's a Shareware product, contact the author directly for an updated copy. TO PRINT THIS FILE: You can print this readme file to your printer by simply issuing the following MS-DOS command at the prompt: 1. First insert the PC-FASTYPE disk in drive A. 2. Then make sure your printer is turned on and the paper is set at top-of-form. 3. Type: COPY A:README.TXT PRN: ** PC-FASTYPE is a trademark of Trendtech Corporation, Inc. Copyright 1983-1990 by Trendtech Corporation, Wayne, NJ All Rights Reserved ______________________________________________________________________ *** End of README File ***