FishCard is a flash card review program.  It works like regular flash
cards by showing you the question, and when the user "says" he or she is
ready, it shows the answer.  It also gives the user the option of
putting a copy of the card in a separate file to review later.

The original version of FishCard was written in early 1996 with
HyperCard on the Macintosh.  I had an old program called Flash Card
which allowed multiple choice review, but nothing like regular flash
cards, which just shows the question, then the answer.  The intention of
the import and export features was to allow simple conversion between
the return-delimited Flash Card format and the FishCard format.

I decided that a MS-DOS version would be nice, as well, and would make a
good first serious entry into the PC shareware market.  And here it is. 
The MS-DOS version originally had a different interface than the
Macintosh version, but FishCard 2 for Macintosh introduced an interface
similar to the MS-DOS version.  The file format is cross-platform, so if
you can get files between a Mac and DOS machine (not very difficult
anymore), the files will work flawlessly.  Note that FishCard 2.1 for
Macintosh introduced a modified file format, this format is now used by
FishCard 1.1 for MS-DOS.  Files created or modified with versions of
FishCard using the new file format may not display correctly using the
old version.

As in the Mac version, although FishCard asks for a "Question" and an
"Answer", there is no need to stick to this.  For example, I have a
FishCard file where the "Question" is really a word or phrase in
English, and the "Answer" is the equivalent in Spanish.

To create new FishCards, select "Create New FishCards" from the main
FishCard menu.  You will then be asked if you want to create a new file
or add to an existing file.  Select the appropriate option.  You will
then be asked to enter a file name.  If you chose to add to an existing
file, the file name must be the name of an existing FishCard file, which
usually end with the extension ".FCD".  You will then see the green
double box, which is where you work with FishCards.  The upper portion
is the "Question" area, and the bottom portion is the "Answer" area. 
When you are entering FishCards, the words "QUESTION" and "ANSWER"
appear above each section as a reminder.  You type your question, press
return or enter, then your answer, then return or enter again.  You will
be asked if you would like to enter another FishCard.  Pressing "Y" will
repeat the process until you answer "N", at which point your FishCards
will be saved and you will return to the menu.

Once you have saved a FishCards file, you can review it at any time by
choosing "Review FishCards" from the FishCard main menu. You will then
be requested to enter the name of your FishCards file.  Once you select
the file, you will be shown the first question.  When you choose "show
Answer" by pressing "A" you will be shown the answer.  At any time, you
can choose "Stop" and the computer will stop showing the FishCards.

While the answer is displayed there is a choice named "Review". The
intention of the Review choice is to allow you to select certain
FishCards to be reviewed later.  This is especially useful if you have a
200 card list, and you only want to practice the 20 you are having
trouble with.  The cards you select will be saved in a file with the
name you enter the first time you select "Review" while going through
cards.  The FishCard will be kept in the original file as well.  The
review file is completely independent and does not need the original
file.  You can also use the "Review" choice on files that are themselves
Review files.  If you use the "Stop" button, any FishCards marked for
review will still be saved.

The "Import" option on the FishCard screen allows you to import a
return-delimited text file and save a copy as a FishCard file.  I
created this feature to import some files from an old (1985) program
called Flash Card.  The "Delete first pair?" prompt is asking you if you
want to delete the first pair.  Some programs, like Flash Card, use the
first entry in their file as prompts. Since FishCard does not use
prompts, it offers to delete them.  If you choose not to and the file
had prompts like this, they will appear as the first FishCard (which
could be useful in reminding you what the "question" and "answer" really
are).

The "Export" option has the exact opposite effect.  It converts a
FishCard file to a standard return-delimited text file, and offers to
allow you to add prompts.

Beyond the ability to add to an existing file, there is currently no
built-in way to edit a FishCard file, but there is a way.  A FishCard
file is really a plain text file readable by most word processors
(including Edit and the Windows NotePad).  However, it can be difficult
to edit because there are embedded codes to separate the question from
the answer.  This is useful if all you want to do is correct a spelling
error, or something similar.  The easier way is to Export it to a text
file, make your changes with any program that supports text files, then
Import it back to FishCard.  You can also use FishCard 2 for Macintosh,
which has a built in editor.

FishCard is free.  However, I still ask that people register FishCard. 
Registered users can choose to receive email notices when I update
FishCard.

To register, run the enclosed REGISTER program.  It will ask for some
information, then print out the registration form.  There is no need to
write anything on the form unless you need to correct an error.  Put the
form in an envelope and mail it to me at the address below.

Alternatively, you can register via my web site (URL below).

If you have any questions, comments, bug reports, suggestions, or
anything else, you can contact me via e-mail or postal mail.

My e-mail address is:  dsm42@iname.com
My World Wide Web site is at:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/1342/index.html

My postal mail address is:
David S. Mueller
223 Hookano St
Hilo, HI 96720-6216
USA

David S. Mueller

12/18/1999

