MathWhiz Version 1.0                                       March 22, 1994
====================

MathWhiz is a FREEware mathematics quiz program for Windows 3.1.  With it
you can test your ability to solve problems in Addition, Subtraction,
Multiplication, and Division.  It has many adjustable parts to it, such as
size of quiz, timed quiz, number ranges, and times tables.


0) Files
=========

MATWIZ01.ZIP contains the following files:

CMDIALOG.VBX    - Visual Basic Common Dialog Box Control
COMMDLG.DLL     - Common Dialog Function Library
DEFAULT.MWP     - The Default MathWhiz user profile (or, Setup)
GAUGE.VBX       - Visual Basic Gauge custom control
GRID.VBX        - Visual Basic Grid control
MATHWHIZ.EXE    - The executable MathWhiz program
MWREADME.TXT    - This file



1) Installation
================

    a)  First, unzip MATWIZ01.ZIP to a "work" directory.
    
    
    b)  Then, copy CMDIALOG.VBX, COMMDLG.DLL, GAUGE.VBX, and GRID.VBX
        to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
    
    c)  Then, copy MATHWHIZ.EXE, DEFAULT.MWP, and MWREADME.TXT to
        the directory you want to keep it in.  

    d)  Start Windows and from the Windows 3.1 Program Manager "File" menu,
        choose "New" and "Item"

    e)  Then, pick MATHWHIZ.EXE from the appropriate directory and click on 
        "OK.  The MATHWHIZ icon should appear in the Program Manager
        window that had been selected.



2) Running MathWhiz
====================

Just double-click on the icon to run it.  You will see the MathWhiz Main
Window.  At this point you can click on the "Start" button for a medium-
level, 10 problem quiz or you can change the program settings by clicking
on the word "Setup" in the upper left corner of the window.

MathWhiz can also be run from DOS by "cd"-ing to the proper directory and
just typing "MATHWHIZ".  It will take care of invoking Windows for you.


The Quiz
--------

When you click on the "Start" button, a math problem will appear and the
"Start" button will turn into a "Stop" button.  You can use this to stop
the quiz at any point. The program will wait for you to type in your answer
to the problem.  You let the program know you are done by pressing "Enter"
or by clicking on the box where you entered your answer.  Then the program
will check your answer and tell you whether it's right or wrong.  At this
point, a large "Go!" button will appear.  To go on to the next problem, you
may click on this button or just press the "Enter" key on the keyboard.

If the timer is enabled (see Setup, below), the program will lose its
patience after the number of seconds you entered and you get the problem
wrong unless you happen to have typed in the correct answer but didn't type
"Enter", yet.


End of Quiz - Report Card
-------------------------

When you have answered all the problems on the quiz, your "Report Card"
will be displayed in a new window.  The Report Card shows how many problems
you answered correctly and tells what percent you got right.  It also shows
the problems you got wrong in the box on the bottom half with the answer
you gave and the correct answer in parentheses.

When you are done looking at your Report Card, you can click on one of the
four buttons:
    
    New Quiz    - Starts a new quiz with the same Setup
    Setup       - Switches you to the Setup Window so you can change things
    Print       - Prints out a copy of the Report Card
    Quit        - Exits MathWhiz

    

3) Setup
=========

When you click on "Setup", you will see another window:  The Setup Window.
From here, you can do many things.  There is a default Setup that is
included with the game (the file called DEFAULT.MWP) that gets loaded when
you start.  You can change this to have whatever values you like.


Load Previous Setup
-------------------

If you want to load an old Setup, click on the "Load" button and enter the
name of the Setup you want and click on the "OK" button.


Save Current Setup
------------------

If you have made changes and wish to save the Setup that is currently on
the Setup screen, click on the "Save" button and enter a name for the
Setup.  Click on the "OK" button when you are through.


Timer
-----

To activate the timer, click on the box to the right of the "Timer in
Seconds" box and enter the number of seconds permitted for each problem.
To Disable the timer, enter the number zero (0) in the box.


Timer Visible
-------------

To have the timeclock be visible during the quiz, make sure this box is
checked.  If it is not checked, the clock won't be displayed and you will
only know it's there if you take too long to answer or at the end of the
quiz when you get your total time on the report card.  If the value of the
timer, above, is set to zero, this box has no effect.


Number of Problems
------------------

Click on and fill in this box for the number of problems you want in the
quiz.


Times Table
-----------

If you wish to be quizzed on a certain times table, you can fill in the box
to the right of the "Times Table" label with a number between 1 and 15.  If
you put a number in here, the "Number Ranges" (see below) grid will become
disabled.


Operations
----------

These are located on the left side of the large box on the bottom half of
the screen.  To change which operations (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division) are in the quiz, click on the check boxes marked
"Add", "Sub", "Mul", or "Div".  If you see an "X" in the box, that operation
will be included in the quiz.


Number Ranges
-------------

To the right of the operations is a grid you can fill in with the low and
high values for the problems for each type of operation.  The numbers you
type will appear in the wide box just below the grid.  They are moved to
the highlighted box in the grid when you press "Enter".  You can use the
mouse or arrow keys to select the various boxes in the grid but the values
won't be changed unless you first enter the numbers and type "Enter".

Please bear in mind that the numbers for a given operation must be at least
apart.  E.g. if your Low Value for Add is "0" then your high value must be
4 or higher.


Done
----

When you are finished making changes you can click here to get back to the 
MathWhiz Main Window and try a quiz with your new Setup.  But, first, SAVE
your Setup if you think you want to keep it.



4) The Making of MathWhiz
==========================

MathWhiz is FREEWARE.  You may not sell it or buy it!  The only price you
must pay is to try to get it to places where Math might have a hard time
getting to.

MathWhiz was written by me, Richard Murray, of Hatfield, Pa, USA using
Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, Professional Edition, version 3.0
during the very nasty Winter of '94.  It was written to help my kids with
their math skills.  They tried it out quite a bit and offered lots of good
suggestions (like, "Make it more like Wolfenstein!").  When I finished it
they both pronounced it "kind of boring", but they will learn to love it
because I've started a contest for them to do a 50-problem quiz at their
own levels with none wrong in less than 5 minutes to win (for them) big
bucks.

If you find it useful or have ideas for making it less boring or just
better, please let me know via mail or phone.  If you're a VB programmer
or hacker and have concrete suggestions on how to get around some of the
rough spots in the program, write or call.

         Street Address:    Rich Murray
                            ISCG
                            575 E. Swedesford Road, Suite 200
                            Wayne, PA 19087

         Internet:          Murrayr1@phu020.cis.smithkline.com

         Phone(ans. mach.): (215)989-7043


The Future
----------

I'm hoping to introduce record-keeping, so a person can plot his/her
progress.

I'd like to add some artificial smarts that can spot patterns of weakness
in various areas (very blue sky).

Some music or cheering or noise and lights might be nice.  Wish they didn't
have to be bloated WAV files.

Solve for "x" simple algebra

etc, etc, etc.



Known Limitations
==================

