For most users, the syntax of these two examples covers 90% of vocab entries. At some stage, however, most users will want to add prompts in square brackets, to resolve ambiguities. Advanced users might also want to add pictures, audio, or mnemonics, or indicate that an item should only be tested in a particular direction, or only via multichoice. This Help file explains how to indicate such preferences and additions via a list file. Note that adding advanced content can also be done via the Edit Dialog, which is initially easier - no syntax is needed. The main advantage of doing it via a list file is that the resulting list can then be shared with others. Also, once the syntax is understood, teachers creating lists will find it much quicker to type lists into a word processor, cutting and pasting the tags as needed, rather than to edit the items individually through the graphical interface.
If some of the syntax described in this Help file seems complicated, just remember that help is always available through typing shortcuts. We recommend that you edit your lists within the Cerebware Text Editor. Choose 'Text... New... New Plain Text File' to switch the program to Text Editor mode. The upper window of the Trainer, which is usually where the history of your activities appears, converts to a simple text editor. When typed in this main editor window:
The first and fourth tags refer to audio files - the files should have the suffix '.au', and be in Java audio format, or '.mp3', and be in MP3 format. The files should reside in the audio subfolder of the Vocab Trainer folder. The tags should simply consist of the file name (without the full path). As explained in 'Setting up audio', there are two types of audio that can be associated with each vocab item. If the audio tag appears alone or as the first tag in curly braces, it is interpreted as contextual audio. If it is the fourth field (including blank fields), it indicates pronunciation audio.
die Geschichte : the story {HPSW1.3.au}
die Geschichte : the story { HPSW1.3.au | | | Geschichte.au}
Missing fields can be left blank, or filled with spaces. If the only field of interest is the pronunciation field, for instance, then the first three empty fields must be represented by vertical lines:
die Geschichte : the story { | | | Geschichte.au }
The second field within braces is reserved for sentence tags, and normally matches the first field, but minus the '.au' or '.mp3' file suffix. It consists of a chapter name ('HPSW1' in this example) and a sentence number ('3'). See 'Linking to a book chapter' for more details.
die Geschichte : the story {HPSW1.3.au | HPSW1.3}
The third field is reserved for 'footnotes'. These are explanatory text or HTML files that are loaded when the vocab item first appears. The text/HTML files can include explanations of where the item came from, hints about its pronunciation or usage, comments on the structure of the containing sentence, or grammar principles that should be reviewed before proceeding. The footnote tag should not include a file suffix. For instance, to load the file 'GermanGrammar\The Dative Case.html', the tag should just contain 'The Dative Case'. When the item appears, the Cerebware program will look for an HTML file or standard text file corresponding to the name of the footnote, searching the Themes and Grammar folders of the relevant language, and displaying the first matching file it finds. For instance, the following line tells the Cerebware program to load and display the introductory file 'GermanGrammar\Harry Potter Glossary.html' when the first word of the glossary is encountered:
ein : a { | HPSW1.1 | Harry Potter Glossary }
The footnote can also be used as a category/theme marker by adding footnote tags to the first and last items in the theme. (See 'Using the Edit Dialog'.) The footnote tag for the first item should match the theme name, and the last item should be tagged with 'END'. Note the two vertical lines.
der Hund : the dog {|| Animals |}
... more items ...
die Katze : the cat {||END}
Footnotes can also link to online content, making it easy to build up a virtual textbook of useful links. Here is what a link to a Spanish article about suffixes might look like:
el hombrecillo : the small man { |LSDVP1.53 | ^http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/spanishdictionary/suffixes.html }
Note that the address appears exactly as it would in your browser, complete with an 'html' suffix. This does not mean that the 'html' suffix should be added to regular grammar tags, such as 'Pronouns'.
To avoid seeing the long web address during actual use of the flashcard, enter a synonym such as "Suffixes", in quotation marks, before or after the web address.
el hombrecillo : the small man3 { |LSDVP1.53 | ^"Suffixes" http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/spanishdictionary/suffixes.html }
el hombrecillo : the small man4 { |LSDVP1.53 | ^ http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/spanishdictionary/suffixes.html "More suffixes"}
During normal testing, the linked web page does not load automatically (which might be annoying), but it can be reached with a single click of the 'Grammar &' button, which goes purple to indicate that linked content is available. Clicking the button launches your default browser to show the page. When typing or pasting the address, it becomes a live hyperlink as soon as you add a space at the end. Ctrl-click the link to test it straight from the Text editor.
(A similar syntax can be used to add bookmarks to the Grammar menu. Click 'Edit Topics' under the Grammar menu, and add a line for each bookmark like this: "Suffixes" http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/spanishdictionary/suffixes.html )
In summary, the grammar tag can contain any of the following:
The image tags should refer to image files that reside in the images subfolder. Supported formats include GIF and JPG files. The tags should include the appropriate file suffix (such as 'cat.gif'), but the full path name is not required for files in the images folder. Online images can be referenced with their full address, 'http:\\... etc'. Further details on use of the images can be found in 'Using the Edit Dialog'.
The mnemonic text differs from the other 'round' tags in that it does not refer to a file name but contains the actual mnemonic text. Most users will add their own mnemonics as needed, via the Edit Dialog, so this field can usually be left out.
Missing fields must be represented as blank spaces. For instance, the mnemonic text always appears after two vertical bars, within round brackets, so if one or more pictures is missing then it may appear as follows:
foreign phrase : English phrase ( | mnemonic.gif | mnemonic text)
foreign phrase : English phrase ( | | mnemonic text)
Cerebware uses the tag 'Definite articles' to mark this group of items as a single lesson accessible from the Grammar menu. It also displays a file (uploads it from disk to screen), 'Definite articles.html', when the first item of the lesson is encountered. What if the designer of the lesson wants to display another file, 'Uses of lo.html', when 'lo' is reached, but still wants these five items to stay within the same lesson? Adding a new footnote tag to 'lo' would normally create a new category running from 'lo' to the 'END' tag. To suppress this, and to upload the file without changing categories, add a tag prefixed with the upload symbol:
el <= the [masculine singular] {||Definite articles}
la <= the [feminine singular]
lo <= the [neuter]{||^Uses of lo}
los <= the [masculine plural]
las <= the [feminine plural] {||END}
When these items appear in a test, the student will face a question of the form:
English: dog (kanji)
Japanese:
But what if the flashcard must test the kanji-pronunciation relationship and does not have an 'English' side? Standard prompts would cope with this poorly:
犬 [pronunciation] : inu [kanji]
This item, when testing in the forward direction, would look like this:
Japanese: 犬 (pronunciation)
English:
The desired answer, 'inu', is not actually English. A better question would look like this:
Kanji: 犬
Pronunciation:
The 'Pronunciation:' in the second line is an alternative heading (overriding the default 'English:', and it can be indicated within a prompt by use of the hash symbol.
犬 [#Pronunciation] : inu [#Kanji]
Note that the heading tag for the kanji side says 'Pronunciation', and the tag on the pronunciation side says 'Kanji'. This might seem back-to-front but makes sense if you consider that the flashcard must give clues about what is on the other side, and the alternative heading is a type of prompt. In fact, this example is very similar to the earlier one using standard prompts ( 犬 [pronunciation] : inu [kanji] ). The difference is that the prompt text is not merely displayed as a hint, in parentheses, but is promoted to become a heading, overriding the default 'English:' or 'Japanese:'. Normal prompt text can also be placed inside the square brackets, along with an alternative heading, but it must appear before the hash symbol:
犬 : dog [common form #Kanji]
Multiple dependencies can be separated by vertical lines. The following line means, do not test this item until both 'dog' and 'inu' are known - it will only be shown when at least one item bearing 'dog' is known, and at least one bearing 'inu' is known. These do not have to be on the same card. The suggestion to hold a card back may be overridden if the Trainer does not have enough spare cards.
犬 : dog [#kanji] || inu | dog
Warnings and other comments are separated from the definitions by < angled brackets > .