"Spelling Games"

Prior to playing any of the Spelling Games, a word list must be loaded in the program. The current list name is shown in the main menu screen and also in the title bars of all Spelling Game windows. The List Editor is used to build, save, change, read in, or print word lists. You are presented with many choices: New List, Open List, Built-In List, Save List, Print List, Record List, Help, and Exit. Make your choice by clicking on the desired button.

Use of the List Editor is quite straightforward. Type in the words. You can use upper and/or lower case letters. You can also use a single quote (‘) for contractions or a hyphen (-) for hyphenated words. The and keys move you forward from word to word and the - key moves you in reverse. You can add new words or delete old ones. To delete a word simply blank it out. The program will close up any gaps left in the list. To add a word, type it in a blank space or type over an unwanted word. Click Exit to leave the editor and return to the Spelling Games main menu.

If your word list contains upper and lower case letters, that is you have a Mixed Case list, you need to be aware of how some of the games will work. Consult the individual game instructions for how they perform with Mixed Case lists. If your word list contains only lower case letters or only upper case letters, the games essentially ignore the case of any entered response, that is they are case-insensitive.

New List:
Choose this option to input a new list. The current list is blanked out. Enter as many words as desired. You should save your list (with a new name) when done.

Open List:
Choose this option to read in a list you have previously saved using the List Editor. A dialog box will appear, showing available files. Select the desired file. Once read in, you may edit/save the list. Note, Spelling Game files have the extension .BSL. This is an extension that was used for previous KIDware programs, namely Balloon Speller and Magic Spell Plus. Hence, word lists developed using these programs will also work with Spelling Games.

Built-In List:
Choose this option to use one of the 70 built-in spelling lists. There are ten lists for each grade level from K to 6. To load a built-in list, choose three options: Grade Level (K,1,2,3,4,5,6), List Number (1-10), and Lower Case or Upper Case letters. Make your choices, then click OK. The words are loaded and appear in the editor. The built-in spelling lists cannot be changed. You may, however, read in a built-in list, modify it and then save it to your own disk for future use.

Save List:
Choose this option to save the current word list. A dialog box opens. Enter a name for your word list file, then click OK.

Print List:
Choose this option to print out your list. Make sure your printer is on-line and ready.

Record List:
Choose this option to make audio recordings of your words for use in the Spelling Bee and Magic Hat games. To record words in your list, the list first must be loaded into the List Editor . It is also suggested that the list be saved prior to recording words. Recording requires a microphone properly connected to your computer’s sound card. Consult your sound card documentation for microphone requirements. Consult your sound card’s audio software utilities for help in setting recording levels. This can also be done using the WIN Sound Recorder utility.

At the left of the window is a list box containing the words in your list. Select the word (Active Word) you want to play / record. The Play and Record functions are selected using the two displayed buttons. To hear the active word, click the Play button. The word is heard. (If no recording has been made for the active word, you will hear nothing.)

To record a word, click the Record button. Record the sound by speaking into your microphone. When done, click the Stop button. Your newly recorded word will be automatically played. Click Exit when done using the Record List option. Click Help to see this file.

The program saves recorded word files using the word as the filename and a .WAV extension. If the word is longer than 8 characters, only the first 8 characters of the word are used in the filename. Hence, if two recorded words have the same first 8 letters, the sound files cannot be distinguished. If the Spelling Bee or Magic Hat program cannot find a recorded file, it will create a 0 length file to insure proper operation. Hence, at times you may find several 0 length files with .WAV extensions in the directory where your word list is saved. Please note that any recorded word should not exceed about 5 seconds in length. The Spelling Bee program expects relatively short sounds. If you exceed this length, the programs could stop abruptly.

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