Copyright: Copyright ©1998 by Macmillan Computer Publishing.  All rights reserved.


Display Properties

Before running Flash Cards, check to make sure that the font size property used by your system is set to "Small Fonts", as shown below.  To display this dialog, here's what to do:

a. Press the Start button in the task bar.

b. Select Settings, then Control Panel

c. When the control panel window appears, double-click the Display icon.  The settings tab provides the fonts setting shown below.

"Small Fonts" must be selected in the Font Size combo box.


Exit Flash Cards

Since the Flash Cards test is not scored, it doesn't offer an Item Review screen, or Examination Score Report screen.  When you reach the last question in the test, the Next button is disabled.

To exit Flash Cards, press the close box in the upper right hand corner of the window.


Flash Cards Online Reference Guide

Flash Cards is a member of the Top Score application suite, developed exclusively by Macmillan Computer Publishing.  Flash Cards is a learning tool that helps you study for certification exams.  It displays practice questions, and requires you to type in answers.  Flash Cards does not provide a series of multiple-choice answers to choose from.  Flash Cards tests your ability to comprehend questions, and builds memory skills.  You can reveal the correct answer to each question, and link from questions to online reference material.

The Flash Cards user interface is simple and intuitive.  The links below document major procedures and interface elements.

Start Flash Cards

The Welcome Screen

The Options Screen

The Questions Screen

Exit Flash Cards

Before running any Top Score application, please check the Display Properties of your video card to make sure that small fonts are used.


Start Flash Cards

To launch Flash Cards, use Windows Explorer to open the directory on the CD-ROM which contains the test.  Flash Cards runs directly from the CD, and does not require a setup program.  Double-click FLASHCARDS.EXE to run the program.

Select a Course

If more than one course is available, Flash Cards will lists the names of courses, as shown below.  To proceed, click on the name of a course.  Then press the OK button, to proceed to the Welcome screen.  If you are running the Practice Exam from the Top Score Navigator, the Welcome screen will appear automatically.  You do not have to select a course manually.


TestPrep Navigator
The Top Score Navigator tracks reading assignments, quiz scores, exercises, and exam scores, across multiple course modules.  The Top Score Navigator is normally not included with single-course tests, such as those developed for a book.


TestPrep application suite
Top Score Application Suite

Applications in the Top Score application suite include: Study Cards, Flash Cards, Chapter Quiz, and the Practice Exam.  As a rule of thumb, you should run Study Cards first to become familiar with the questions.  Next, use Flash Cards to enhance your recall, before running the Practice Exam to simulate an actual test environment.  And of course, you should take Chapter Quizzes immediately after reading a chapter.

Study Cards introduces you to the question set, using a multiple-choice answer format.  You can reveal the correct answers and link to the electronic book from within this application.

Chapter Quizzes test your understanding of material recently read.

Flash Cards use a fill-in-the-blank metaphor to present questions.  Since Flash Cards does not present a list of possible answers, it tests your memory and analytical skills.  Flash Cards also reveals correct answers and links to electronic books.

The Practice Exam emulates the look and feel of many certification tests.  Like Study Cards, it uses a multiple-choice format.  The Practice Exam does not reveal correct answers, or link to references within electronic books.  You can not determine the number of questions asked, or limit the number of objectives covered.


The Options Screen

The Options screen allows you to set default parameters for the test, including:

Which objectives will be covered.  Questions are selected only for the objectives you select.

The amount of time you will have to complete the test.

The total number of questions which will be asked.

Start the Test

Select Objectives will be Covered

The left side of the screen lists major objectives for the test.  Objectives are the major topics covered by the exam. Flash Cards selects questions only for objectives which are checked.

By default, all objectives are selected, which means that questions will be chosen at random from all objectives.  The checkbox next to each objective name indicates whether the objective will be selected.  At least one objective must be selected from the list.  The Select None button unchecks all objectives.  The Select All button checks all objectives.  By selecting only a few objectives, you can focus on specific areas of study.

Set the Amount of Time Allowed to Complete the Test

By default, the Time Limit field is preset to the number of minutes you have to complete the actual certification exam.  To change this, enter another number into this field, to specify the number of minutes allowed for the test.

Set the Total Number of Questions which will be Asked

To change the number of questions that will be selected from the database, enter a number into the Number of Questions field.  By default, this field displays the number of questions that are asked on the actual exam.

The maximum number of questions you can enter into this field varies depending upon the number of obectives selected, and the total number of questions in the database.  If Flash Cards can't select the number of questions you want, it will select as many as it can from the objectives you have selected.  Feel free to experiment.

Start the Test

When you are ready to proceed, press the Start Test button, at the bottom right of the screen.  A dialog box will appear, containing the message:  "Selecting a random set of questions from the database.  This may take up to a minute."

The amount of time needed to select a random set of questions from the database depends on the number of questions in the database, the speed of your computer, and the speed of your CD-ROM drive.  On most systems, this process takes approximately 20 seconds, but may take up to a minute.


The Questions Screen

The Questions Screen appears once you have set options for the test, and have pressed the Start Test button.  The major components of this screen are as follows:

Question Area

Answer Area

Show Answers Button

Show References Button

Exhibit Button

Previous Button

Next Button

Status Bar

Question Area

Questions are displayed against a green background at the top of the screen.  A scroll bar appears next to questions that do not fit entirely within the display area.   Be sure to read each question carefully.

Answer Area

Unlike other practice tests in the Top Score suite, Flash Cards does not present a list of answers to choose from.  Instead, you type answers into the white answer field on the screen.  In this way, Flash Cards works like the "flash cards" decks you used in school.  Remember those?  Two times 3 is...

The answers you type are not evaluated by the program, and the Flash Cards test is not scored.  For many people, the task of typing in answers serves to enhance memory.  If typing is not your thing, don't worry.  When you think you know the correct answer, press the "Show Answers" button.  Typing in answers is optional.

Show Answers Button

When you press the Show Answers button, Flash Cards displays correct answers against a yellow background.  Additional feedback may also appear, to tell you why a particular answer is correct.  When using Flash Cards, we recommend that you press the Show Answers button for each question.  This will tell you whether your answer is correct.

Show References Button

The Show References button displays a reference that tells you where to look in the book for background information.  For example, "See Chapter 1, Planning".  If electronic reference materials are available, pressing the Show References button will display a list of topics that you can link to in an electronic file, and a new button, Goto, will be displayed.  To jump directly to a reference in the electronic book, select a topic in the list, and press the Goto button.  Or just double-click on the topic cross reference.

The Show Reference button is not available if the exam databases does not contain cross-reference information.  Also, Flash Cards chooses questions from the database which are appropriate for its metaphor.  For example, Flash Cards does not select questions which require you to "select the best answer", or to determine "which of the following is true".

Exhibit Button

Some questions may refer to an Exhibit.  Exhibits are external files, such as text files or bitmaps, which Flash Cards opens in a floating window.  To open an exhibit, press the exhibit button.  Exhibits are most often used to display code fragments, diagrams, and other visual elements. The Exhibit button is greyed unless an exhibit exists for the current question.

Previous Button

Pressing this button takes you to the previous question asked.  You do not have to answer to current question before pressing this button.

Next Button

Pressing this button takes you to the next question selected from the database.

Status Bar

When answering questions, take note of the status bar at the bottom of the screen.  It displays a prompt indicating the type of response you should make to answer the current question.

Since the Flash Cards test is not scored, it doesn't offer an Item Review screen, or Examination Score Report screen.  When you reach the last question in the test, the Next button is disabled.  To exit Flash Cards, press the close box in the upper right hand corner of the window.  Or, press the Exit button.


The Welcome Screen

The first screen which appears in Flash Cards is the Welcome screen.  Its presents information about copyrights, and displays the name of the test.  This screen contains 3 buttons:

The Help button displays this help file.

The Exit button terminates the program.

The Next button advances to the next screen.