Lesson 4: Intermediate Document Editing

Use your PC to Master Japanese and Chinese

Lesson 4: Intermediate Document Editing

The Dictionary Window

Examine the user dictionary window to see the user dictionary(4- 7):

Press Alt+W then 2 to switch to the user dictionary window. Note the titles on the Window menu for the permanent windows (1-5).

Initially, the user dictionary contains errata from the various dictionaries, as well as examples of various types and modes of entries. You can add entries which will be searched each time the word and phrase dictionary is searched.

Scroll through the dictionary.

Note the area at the end, which is where the Translate | Add Selection to User Dictionary command places new entries. You can move and arrange these entries as you like. The order is not important, and you can have multiple entries with the same pronunciation.

The Dynamic Glossary Window

Repeat the above process with the dynamic glossary(4- 6) window (Alt+W then 3).

Like the user dictionary(4- 7), the Keyboard | Add Selection to Dynamic Glossary command places new entries at the end. You can move and arrange these entries as you like. We recommend inverse frequency order (the most-used at the top). Although you can have multiple entries with the same key, only the last entry is active, and the other entries with the same key are ignored.

Pasting and Deleting

Copy and paste various fragments of the Chinese examples sentences in the Lesson1.ch0 document at the end of the practice section. The basic steps are: select the text, select the copy or cut command, position the insertion point, then select the paste command.

Selecting Text

Practice click and drag selection by first clicking on the beginning of the selection, then holding the left mouse button down while moving the mouse until the desired text is highlighted (selected). Select a fragment, then select Edit | Copy or press Ctrl+C to copy the text to both the internal and the Windows clipboard.
Click the Left Mouse button to position the insertion point on a blank line under the last practice line in the Examples for Typing section. Press Enter then Up to make a blank line if necessary.
Select Edit | Paste or press Ctrl+V to copy the text from the internal (but not the Windows) clipboard. Done!
Practice copying and pasting words selected by double clicking.
Practice selecting text using the keyboard by positioning the insertion point, then pressing and holding the Shift key, then using the Arrow keys to make the selection. Smart Characters forgives releasing the Shift key. To extend the selection, just press and hold Shift again, and use the Arrow keys.

You can also make a keyboard selection without using the Shift key at all:

Position the insertion point, then press F8 or select Keyboard | Extend Selection. Use the arrow keys to define the selection in a leisurely fashion: there is nothing that has to be held on to.

Typing Replaces a Selection

The lesson document is ruined! To fix it, delete it all at once:

Select some new text, then press the `g' key (or any letter key). The selection is replaced by the key you just pressed. This is traditional Windows and Macintosh behavior.

Un-Doing

OOPS! Didn't mean it! You spent hours constructing that sentence, don't let it be annihilated by a stray `g' key.

Select Edit | Undo (press Ctrl+Z, or click the toolbar button) twice to delete the `g' and to restore the text. The first time deletes the `g.' The second restores the selection.

Drag and Drop

Move the first sentence at the beginning of the example to the end of the section, in blatant disregard of the author's intentions. Although you could use standard cut and paste, we will experiment with drag and drop editing. For this, you must use the mouse:

Use the mouse to select the sentence wo shi meiguoren. Include the period at the end. Note that the insertion point hides during a selection.
Click and hold the Left Mouse button inside the selection. The insertion point re-appears and tries to follow the mouse cursor. At the same time, the mouse cursor itself has acquired some rectangles (the text), which you are now dragging.
Keep holding that Left Mouse button while moving the cursor until the insertion point is at the end of the paragraph. Let go of the mouse button.

Observe that the text has been cut from the beginning and pasted into the end of the paragraph. Also note that the paragraph does not reform itself automatically to the margins. To reform the paragraph:

Use the arrow keys (the mouse won't do) to move the insertion point above or below the current line to reform the paragraph, or use the Right Mouse button speed menu to select Reform Paragraph.

The drag and drop editing function uses the internal clipboard for cutting and pasting, which means you can paste the item you just moved.

Position the insertion point then press Ctrl+V repeatedly to paste the sentence. Note that the line scrolls each time you paste the block. Move the insertion point up or down to reform the paragraph.

You can continue to paste until you run out of room in the current window.

Pasting from the Windows Clipboard

There are two ways to paste text and objects between applications. The first simply uses the Windows clipboard to transmit text or graphics. The second uses a special feature of Windows, Object Linking and Embedding. Experiment with simple copying and pasting.

Launching a Task

First, launch Windows Write:

Select the main frame system menu (the rectangle to the left of the main frame title bar) to drop the top level window system menu. Select Switch To and note the accelerator key Ctrl+Esc. From the Task List dialog, select Program Manager to switch to it.

If the Task List dialog does not appear, you are out of memory. You can still switch to Program Manager by holding the Alt key and repeatedly pressing Tab. Let go of the Alt key when you see Program Manager. To run Write, you will have to stop another application (other than Smart Characters).

Use the Program Manager Window menu to switch to the Accessories group. Locate the Write program icon (if you have deleted it, you use (File | New to re-install the icon to c:\windows\write.exe). Launch Write.

Copying Text from Write

One of the oxymorons of Windows is that all applications work alike, so that if you learn to use one, you can use them all:

Use the Write File | Open menu to open c:\sc\sc.wri, a simple read-me file that discusses object embedding and linking. Observe the three embedded objects: a package to launch Smart Characters for Students version 2.9, an embedded object, and a linked object.

The package works to launch Smart Characters 2.9 installed on drive c: only. You can use the Object Packager to change the drive. The linked object can be changed by selecting Write's Edit | Links | Change.

Use the mouse to select the plain text paragraph under the title Embedding, then press Ctrl+C or select Edit | Copy to copy it to the Windows clipboard.

Switching between Tasks

You can switch tasks by clicking on a task's window, however, sometimes you cannot see the window, or the mouse is too much trouble, and Alt+Esc doesn't work (out of memory). Instead:

Press and hold Alt then press Tab repeatedly until you see the Smart Characters logo. Release Alt to switch to Smart Characters. This method always works to switch tasks, even when you run out of memory for the Task List dialog to display. Activate the Lesson1.ch0 document window (click it with the mouse, or use the Window menu).

Pasting Text with Paste Special

Because Edit | Paste pastes text from the Smart Characters internal clipboard, we have to use the Edit | Paste Special command:

Position the insertion point on a blank line (make one if necessary) and switch to English input mode. Almost all text from windows uses English.
Select Edit | Paste Special (not Edit | Paste) to open the Paste Special dialog. Select Text for the Data Type, then select Paste (not Paste Link).

Apply Paragraph Formatting

Edit | Paste Special | Text | Paste pastes "text" as plain text, without formatting or word wrap. Make the pasted text into a paragraph:

Select the entire paragraph using the mouse. Select Format | Format into Paragraph to apply paragraph formatting, removing the hard line breaks, and inserting soft line breaks to wrap the paragraph to the margins and indents. The Make Paragraph command on the speed menu functions identically.

Page Size, Margins, and Indenting

The way the document looks on the page is controlled by the Page Size and Margins and Paragraph formatting controls.

Select View | Zoom | Fit Page to view the entire page as it will be printed. Make the document and main frame windows large enough so you can see the page as clearly as your system will allow.

Default and Local Formatting

Some kinds of formatting can be changed on a paragraph or character by character basis.

Select Format | Character to display the Character Format dialog, and the controls that apply character formatting. This dialog is really three dialogs in one, controlled by the Font Group selection. Use the Arrow keys or click the radio button to set Font Group to each of the font groups: English, Notes (and pronunciations), and Chinese characters.

As you switch between these groups, note the changes to the values in the dialog box. For example, the default point size(D- - 6) for English and Chinese characters is 12 points, while it is half that, 6 points, for notes and pronunciations. Note that Apply Format can be set to Default (from the beginning of the document), From Cursor (onward from the insertion point through the text), or to a Block (around selected text).

Select Format | Paragraph to display the Paragraph Format dialog, and the controls that apply paragraph formatting. Note the same choices for Apply Format. Repeat for Format | Tabs to display the Set Tab Stops dialog.

Global Formatting

Page Setup and Annotations formatting apply to the document as a whole, and remain constant throughout the document. You are already familiar with Format Annotations, so try Page Setup:

Select Format | Page Setup to display the Page Setup dialog, where you select or define new forms (page size, margins, footnote settings, and writing direction) which, together with templates (used by File | New), help to maintain consistency from document to document.

You may not have seen a Writing Direction control before. It is now set to LR-TB, which means left to right, then top to bottom. Experiment with vertical writing by selecting a vertical form:

Select Form | Vertical 8.5x11 to switch to vertical writing on a standard US page. Note that the insertion point and mouse cursor switch to horizontal shapes. Also note the behavior of the arrow keys.
Select Form | Standard 8.5x11 to switch back to "normal" writing.

You can create your own forms by simply entering a new form name. The new form takes its initial properties from the previously current form.

Formatting with the Ruler

Sometimes it is more convenient to use other controls to format a document, so that you can see the effects of your changes instantly.

Select View | Ruler to display the ruler above the document. Note the triangular symbols for left and right indent, and the symbol for first line indent (the top half of the left triangle). The upside-down "T" figures are the default tab stops.

Tabs are a type of paragraph formatting that can be applied to one of three levels. However, the ruler applies paragraph tab and indent formatting only around a selection (highlighted text) if one exists, or from the insertion point forward if there is no selection. Global tab stops and indenting are applied using the Format menu. Apply a larger indent to the recently pasted English paragraph:

Select the English paragraph. Avoid selecting any portion of the next line or paragraph.
Grab the Left Indent control (lower small triangle) with the mouse, and move it from the 1 inch mark to the 2 inch mark. Grab the Right Indent control (large triangle) and move it from the 7.5 inch mark to the 6.5 inch mark. The paragraph becomes doubly indented. Note that the first line indent has retained its relative position.

Create a Hanging Indent

Grab the Left First Line Indent control (upper small triangle) with the mouse, and move it to the 1.5 inch mark.

Add a Bullet

Hanging indents don't look so great by themselves, so add a bullet:

Press an arrow key to cancel the selection, then position the insertion point at the beginning of the hanging indent. If pressing an arrow key does not cancel a selection, press the F8 key (Extend Selection) to toggle BLOCK F8 selection mode.
Press F12 or Side + - to access Punct input mode. The insertion point displays the punctuation symbol ( ).
Press the e key to enter a diamond symbol ( ), then press Tab to position the text even with the indent. Press Up or Down to move the insertion point off the line, and to reformat the paragraph.

Hanging indents cause tricky insertion point behavior. Initially, the paragraph starts out indented the same as the previous paragraph. Next, the indent formatting we just added moves the text to the left. Finally, text displays to the right, overlapping the original starting point, so that two parts of the text display in the same position. The mouse does not attempt to decide when clicked in the area. The Arrow keys will move through the text, and jump over the format codes. The Home key alternates between the beginning of the line before and after the indent format codes.

Position the insertion point on the first line of the hanging indent, then repeatedly press the Home key to move the insertion point back and forth. The hidden characters window alternates between English and Format, while the status line shows the line position indicator alternating between 0 and approximately 20, the width of the format codes.

Viewing Format Codes

Because Smart Characters formats documents by adding format codes(D- - 3) to the text, you can view, edit, and define your own codes for special purposes.

View the format codes by selecting View | Codes. Take a look while repeating the last step of moving with the arrow keys. Observe also the hidden characters window, and try Alt+Arrow keys for finer movement. Press Ctrl+F1 to toggle the codes window on and off. Leave the window off.

Adding Character Formatting

Try adding some character formatting, like bold, italic, and a new typeface.

Select an example phrase and click the bold button on the toolbar to make it bold. Select some other text and click the italics button. Click the cursor inside the formatted areas and note that the bold or italics buttons are depressed.
Select an example phrase on the first line and select Format Char from the Right Mouse speed menu. Set the font group to Chinese Characters, then set the Point Size to 16.
Select the phrase Embedding an object, then select Format Char from the speed menu, set the font group to English, then set the Point Size to 24. Did you inadvertently get the star as well? Text selection is tricky in the vicinity of a hanging indent.

Note that the point size(D- - 6) exceeds the line height. It is acceptable to interfere with the previous line.

Select Format Char again and examine the selection under typeface. The typefaces registered in the example document are Times New Roman, CombinedMing and Arial (a Helvetica look-alike). Select Arial. If Arial is not registered, register it by selecting Add Typeface from the Windows Typeface dialog. Note how Arial is wider than Times. Set the Point Size down a tad to 20 points.

Removing Formatting

"Ugly, ugly, ugly! Shame on you! Eighteen typefaces in the first paragraph alone! Don't you know anything about graphics design?" screams the designer.

Remove the paragraph formatting by selecting the English paragraph, then selecting Format | Remove Codes | Paragraph. The paragraph resumes its former shape.
Remove the character formatting by selecting the Chinese text you formatted (selecting more doesn't hurt), then selecting Format | Remove Codes | Character. The text resumes its former appearance.
Really clean up by selecting the English paragraph, then click the Eraser button on the toolbar (or pressing Delete). OOPS, second thoughts! Click the Undo button and get it back, just to make sure that you could if you wanted, but you don't, so reselect the paragraph and delete it for good.

Extracting Glosses

Sometimes it is useful to be able to annotate a document and then extract the glosses. With Japanese text, the word order is so different from English that the result is nearly impossible to read, but with Chinese, it is almost reasonable:

Select a quantity of Chinese text, then select Learn | Extract Glosses. The glosses are copied to the internal (but not the windows) clipboard.

Create a New Document

Select File | New to create a new document window. Base the document on Normal.sct, the default template. Select Edit | Paste or press Ctrl+V to paste the glosses into the document. Note how the paragraphs are preserved.

Pasting Smart Characters Text

Select the text in the new window and use the Edit | Copy command or press Ctrl+C to copy the glosses into the Windows clipboard. Double click the child system menu to close the new window (don't save the file).
Press Alt+Tab to switch to Write (if not still running, launch it again from the Program Manager) and position the insert point at the end of the Sc.wri document. Select Paste Special, then Text, and finally Paste to paste the glosses. Read them without reference to the Chinese to get a certain feeling for the story. This is like the feeling someone who knows no Chinese at all would get from reading the annotations alone.

Break Time with Instant Vocabulary

Any time you see a Chinese character that arouses your curiosity, take some time to explore it using Query, and Instant Vocabulary:

Press Alt+Tab to switch to back to Smart Characters. Use Translate | Select Dictionaries to verify that Chi201rv.dic or Chi201wd.dic is installed. The student dictionary does not have enough matches to make an interesting lesson.
Locate the lun4 character and place the insertion to the right of it so that it shows in the hidden characters window. Press F2 or select Query from the Right Mouse button speed menu.
Activate and adjust the list window for a reasonable display. You can zoom and size the window as you like. If you prefer to view in black and white, select View | Display | Black & White. Scroll through the list. Click the lightning bolt to turn hypertext mode off and display an insertion point. The lightning bolt selects both View | Display Mode | Hypertext | Hide and Status Indicators | Line. Spend a minute getting an idea of the typical uses of the character.
With the list window active, select Learn | Vocabulary. Note the Nothing Retrieved or Selected dialog. Select Convert file to vocabulary lesson, then OK to convert the contents of the list window into a new vocabulary lesson view window. Select OK to close the Conversion Complete notification dialog.

Resize the Window

Go through a few cycles using the window as it is leaving the menus at File Drill Setup. Click and drag the Vocabulary Lesson View title bar to move the window to the upper right hand corner of your screen. Drag the left bottom edge to size it so that the title bar just displays. Because the flashcard gets crowded out at small sizes, select Setup and set both Show History and Show Status to unchecked, hiding the windows. Resize the vocabulary window again, or resize the flashcard window to fit.
Go through a few more cycles, noticing how the menus have become abbreviated to accommodate the smaller size. Adjust the window size to accommodate the largest vocabulary entry. Resize the main Smart Characters main frame window and move it underneath the vocabulary lesson view. Kill the hidden characters window, which demands to be always on top.
Select Setup | Tutor to invoke the Vocabulary Tutor Preferences dialog. Experiment with the FlashCard Zoom controls to change the size of the characters used in the drill.

Launch some other application and do something completely different (i.e., get back to work). Every few minutes, do another few rounds with the vocabulary lesson.

Saving Instant Lessons As...

When you are done, you can close the vocabulary lesson, and quit Smart Characters. Use File | Save As to save any instant lessons, otherwise they will be discarded.

Turn Hidden Characters On

If you are not quitting, have turned off the hidden characters window, and want to enter text, select View | Hidden Characters to reinstate the window.

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Last Modified: March 23, 1996