MAGUS Vocabulary
1. Overview
2. Instructions
3. Registration (updated 11/6/98)

1. OVERVIEW

Thank you for trying Magus Vocabulary.  Magus is a tiny program, both in terms of memory required and in terms of screen-size, so it runs perfectly as a break from other projects, and since it is a powerful learning tool as well as a challenging game, it is much more useful than the thousands of 'distraction games' that populate office and home computers.  In addition to those users wanting to improve their vocabulary, Magus Vocabulary can be an invaluable study-aid for users preparing for the verbal sections of the ACT, SAT, or GRE.  

The capabilities of Magus Vocabulary include the following:  

-single or multiple custom entries can be added to the Magus libraries.
-all entries in Magus libraries can be edited or deleted completely at the user's discretion.
- expanded libraries from other Magus users can be assimilated so that only the new words are added to the home-users libraries 
-user can be prompted with a word and choose the correct definition, or prompted with the definition and choose the correct word
-2500 word library 

As of 11/6/98, Magus Vocabulary is freeware.  If the program helps you, you may send a donation of $5 (US) to the address at the end of this file, but it is not necessary.  Your comments and suggestions are very important, so do not be shy about dropping me an email (klemmonds@aristotle.net).

2. INSTRUCTIONS

Once Magus Vocabulary is installed, its operation is simple: use the keyboard or mouse to select the choice that corresponds to the word or definition given.  Sometimes there will be more than one choice that seems right; sometimes two choices will be almost synonymous.  Choose the one which most closely corresponds to the cue word or definition.  If you've ever taken the GRE, ACT, or SAT, you know that they love to use minute, sometimes even questionable discrepancies to judge an answer.

File Menu Items

ADD 
Use this to add a word to the Magus libraries.  Words are limited to 20 chars; definitions are limited to 72 chars.  You must specify what type of word (noun, verb, adjec) you are adding.  If you later find an error in your entry, use the Edit an Entry function to to change or delete the entry.

BATCH ADD
Use this to add more than 1 word to the Magus libraries at a time.  Length limits are the same as the ADD function.   The only drawback to batch adding is that all of the words have to be of the same type - nouns or verbs or adjectives.

EDIT AN ENTRY 
Use this to edit any word or definition in the Magus libraries.  An input box will appear asking for the word to be edited.  You must enter the word exactly as it appears in the library (case-sensitive).  If the word is mispelled in the library, you must type in the mispelled word to bring the entry up in the edit window.  If the entry is not found, than the word as printed did not appear in the libraries.  When the entry is found, the entry window appears with the word and definition of the entry you chose to edit.  You have three choices from the edit window: 
		
Cancel - to cancel the entire edit prodedure
Apply - to place your changes into the library when you are done editing the word or definition  
Delete - to completely remove the entry from the libraries

Option Menu Items

SELECT FROM WORDS/DEFINITIONS 
Use this to specify whether you want to be prompted with a word and choose the correct definition, or prompted with a definition and choose the correct word (default is to prompted with a word).

SCORING  
If selected, a score will be kept in the bottom right corner of the screen.  Correct responses are worth 20 points; incorrect responses take away points.  The higher your score, the more points an incorrect response costs.

ASSIMILATE A LIBRARY
Magus users can share their library additions.  If another Magus user sends you a library that they have improved with new entries, you can assimilate their improvements without overwriting your own additions.

When someone sends you an improved library, make sure you know whether it contains nouns, verbs, or adjectives (if you don't know, open the library with a text-editor and find out).  There is no need to move the donated library to your Magus directory, but if you do, make sure it is renamed to something else besides 'noun.lib,' 'verb.lib,' or 'adjec.lib.'  (If you move the library to your Magus file and it is named one of these, your home libraries will be overwritten with the new libraries.)

You will be prompted for the path and name of your home libraries.  The path is the same directory that Magus.exe resides in; the filename will be 'noun.lib,' 'verb.lib,' or 'adjec.lib,' depending on what type of words the donated library contains.  Note:  It is not advisable to mix word-types in libraries; Magus becomes much too easy.  It is always advisable to save your original libraries before assimilation using an *.old extension, especially if the person donating the library is the type of person to add lewd or questionable entries to the library.  If you find a corrupt or sabotaged library, simply erase the *.lib files in your Magus directory and rename your *.old files to *.lib.

After the assimilation function is finished, you will be shown how many new words have been added to your library from the donated library.  Once assimilation is done, you can delete the donated library.

3.REGISTRATION
Since 11/06/98, Magus Vocabulary has been freeware.  The complete, registered version is 100% free.  If the program helps you, or you like it, feel free to send a $5 donation to:
Kit Lemmonds
1525 Clifton St. #35
Conway, AR 72032

Donations are in no way required (they just help defray the costs of the Visual Basic package I used to write Magus).

Libraries are data files.  They cannot carry viruses or harmful code.  You can download libraries from anywhere without worrying about crashing your computer.  Of course, always check a library with a text-editor to make sure it isn't corrupt or sabotaged - otherwise you could find Magus displaying nonsense words, incorrect words/definitions, or other undesirable mischief (all of these can be easily corrected, of course).  Since additions can be made to the Magus libraries at any time, and Magus Vocabulary is distributed on the public domain, I cannot take responsibility for the contents of any libraries.

I hope Magus Vocabulary helps you.  Feel free to email me with your comments, questions, or suggestions.  If enough interest is expressed, I will make suggested changes to Magus Vocabulary and incorporate them into the next version.  Have fun.

Send questions, comments, or suggestions to:
			klemmonds@aristotle.net

 Setup Program:
	Created with The Self Extracting Setup Wizard
	Get it Free at http://www.epix.net/~sirmango/ 



