First steps

The following cenarios show typical Stackz sessions:
Working with existing lesson files
Create own lesson files

 

Scenario 1 - Working with existing lesson files

Use a predefined lesson file to get a feeling what you can do with Stackz.

  1. Launch Stackz.
  2. Open a lesson file.
    You can open a file from your disk (Menu File|Open...) or directly from the online archive (Menu Wordlists|Online wordlist archive...).
  3. Check if you know the content of the file.
    Click on the button of the document and select Test entire file from the opening menu. This opens the Test Dialog with the first attribute of the first entry visible. Use the round green button to display more attributes of the current entry. When all attributes are visible, press the 'arrow right' button to declare the current test-item as known. The entry is moved to the stack on the right, and its color is refreshed. Continue the test procedure with the remaining entries in the stack, using the keyboard arrow keys left and right instead of mouse clicks on the arrow buttons. When all entries are tested, the Test Dialog is automatically closed.
  4. Edit a stack.
    Use the context menu of the stack (right mouse button) and select Edit. Try to modify an attribute of an entry in the opened Edit Window by using the in-place edit function. To do so, select the attribute and press F2. Close the edit dialog.
    Note for Japanese/Chinese/Korean: If you have an IME installed, you can use it to enter Asian text. If not, you can still enter Japanese Kana with CTRL-SPACE.
  5. Learn the unknown words.
    Selecting Learn entire file from the menu menu opens the Learn Dialog with one entry, and presents the first attribute. Use the round green button to unhide the remaining attributes of this entry. When you feel comfortable with this word, add another one to the local stack by clicking the 'arrow down' button. Now there are two entries in the LearnDialog. Use the green button to repeatedly iterating through all their attributes. Continue to add words and iterate through all attributes until you have five words in the local stack. The next time when you know the presented word, use the 'arrow up' button. This replaces the selected entry with a new one, putting it back on its original stack without any modification. Continue to iterate through the attributes, and using the 'arrow up' button in the case of a known word. This way you can go through the whole stack, getting to know the entries.
  6. Try out the different color modes.
    There are five color modes, all of which can be set with the menu. Try them out after having made the modifications to the file. Note how the meaning of the color-band on top changes:
    - RepeatAdvisor: the color visualizes the time until the next recommended repetitition.
    - RefreshDate: the color visualizes the date of the last positive declaration.
    - SuccessRatio: the color visualizes the percentage of successful test attempts.
    - FailureCount: the color visualizes the number of unsuccessful test attempts.
    - SuccessCount: the color visualizes the number of successful test attempts.
  7. Check out the skill selection.
    Using the mouse, select a few stacks and open the TestDialog on the selected stacks. In the TestDialog, try different skill settings and observe how the presented data fields are different for each skill.

This was a quick tour for getting a first impression of the basic functionality in Stackz.

Scenario 2 - Create your own lesson file

Predefined lesson files do not cover individual learning needs. Here you get a feeling how you can create Stackz files on your own.

  1. Launch Stackz.
  2. Create a new file (Menu File|New...)
  3. Edit the empty field at level 3 using the context menu (right mouse button) and selecting Edit. The empty Stack Edit Dialog appears.
  4. Insert manually a new entry by pressing INSERT. A new entry is added and the caret is placed on its first attribute. Enter a Word there and press TAB to go to the next attribute.
    Note for Japanese/Chinese/Korean: If you have an IME installed, you can use it to enter Asian text. If not, you can still enter Japanese Kana with CTRL-SPACE.
  5. (Japanese and Chinese only) Words can be automatically added from the Dictionary tool. A click on the corresponding icon in the toolbar opens the dictionary tool. Type any word in the text entry field and press Enter. The search results are displayed in the list below and the first item is automatically selected. Use the Arrow key together with the SHIFT key to select the first three results and press INSERT. This automatically copies them to the Stack Edit Dialog. Run some more queries and copy the results of interest to your Edit Dialog. Then close the Dictionary.
  6. (Japanese only) Kanji can be automatically added from the KanjiSelect tool. A click on the corresponding toolbar opens the Kanji Select Dialog. Select some kanji, for example all Joyo Kanji of Grade 1 and insert them to the Stack Edit Dialog. Then Close the Kanji Select Dialog.
  7. Edit one of the automatically inserted Kanji by selecting it and pressing F2. Press Escape to exit in-place edit mode without keeping your changes. Close the Stack Edit Dialog by pressing OK.
  8. You just created a new lesson! Rename its Title from Lesson 1 to something else by cklicking on the name, or using the context menu entry 'Rename'.

This was a quick tour for generating lists.