MarkBook® section 10-4
Path to the Word Processor, Fit Values and the Comment Bank Editor MarkBook® section 10-4
Path to the Word Processor, Fit Values and the Comment Bank Editor 
Specify the path to
your word processor in the Path to Word Processor window. Once specified,
click Save. When needed, MarkBook will launch your word processor with
one click, and simultaneously load your current comment bank. MarkBook automatically spell-checks your comments but the
word processor may also check grammar. MarkBook can
transfer a text comment into any other Windows software product. This includes
spreadsheets like Excel or QuattroPro, data bases like FileMaker Pro, word processors, etc. The issue
addressed with this screen is one of available space in the receiving software.
You don't want to create a comment that turns out to be too big for the
receiving product to print. This error may not be discovered until after a first
printing. Select a Fit Parameter, if known, from the available list. These
sizes are the upper limits of an external report card which will receive your
student comments once generated and saved in MarkBook. Each line is editable.
Click on a subject of choice, or use Other 1 and Other 2 to create your own
subject and fit parameters. Edit the Description, Width, Lines,
and Font Size cells as you see fit. Check the cell at the left that says Use
RED text to ... Click Save in the lower right
when complete. Now, MarkBook will warn when you exceed the size of the
available space in the receiving software's report. The MarkBook
installation CD has a self-extracting zip file to install numerous comment banks
in addition to the one already installed. Many of these are subject-specific.
Use these as a starting point for building your own banks. If you have one or more comment banks
that you would like us to publish, please send them as Email attachments to mail@markbook.com. Please provide a brief
description and suggested grade level. Click on Comment Bank Editor in the
Comments pop down menu
to get to the following screen. Your default comment bank, COMMENTS.BNK will load into the lower white window.
Or, you may get a dialogue box asking you to locate the bank. It will be in the same directory where you
installed MarkBook. Open any bank with the editor. In this example, comment numbers [1] to [24] have been turned on by selecting File
at the upper left and then clicking Turn Comment Numbers On. They can be turned off as well using the same procedure.
Note that this editor has its own drop-down menus.
Also note that the Large Font view has been selected for the editor
window but the bank is shown in the regular font.
This user has decided to add a new comment remark to the bank and
has typed it into the white window in the Comment Editor box. Note the use of Substitution Characters to merge
any student's name and gender pronouns into the comment. Note too that the remark can be multi-sentence and lengthy.
The size of the remark shows above the editor window to the right. If you know
the maximum space allowed in an external report card that will eventually
receive this remark electronically, this numeric value will give you an estimate
of whether or not this newly created remark will fit. Please leave ample room
for the substitute characters. They will enlarge the actual comment once merged.
For instance, if your report card can handle 204 characters maximum, then this
comment will be too big after the name and gender pronouns are merged. To help find
comments within a large bank, each is cross-classified. This new comment must be given a Type at the upper right. Note the existing subject/behaviour types, (ACHievement, ART, ATTendance, plus ATtitUde,
and
numerous others not shown). Select one of these or type in a
any new Type code as you see fit. These Type classification codes may be up to five
alpha-numeric characters in length. Similarly, create
or select a Level up to five alpha-numeric characters in length. In this
example, the teacher has selected a negative Level. Once both Type and
Level are identified, save the new comment to the bank by clicking the Add to Bank button. Each bank can hold up to
7500 comments. When you exit this screen, MarkBook will prompt you to decide if you wish to replace the previous bank with this new bank containing your new
comments, or not. Each new comment is added to the bank and sorted by Type, then Level, and then
alpha. Consequently, this new remark will NOT be #1297 in the overall list. Edit any existing
remark by double clicking it into the upper Editor box, modify it, and
click the Replace current Comment button. The button remains grey until you put an
existing remark into the editor window.
If there is a spelling mistake or grammatical error in any remark, it will show
with a red squiggle underline. Edit it. If you are
building a paragraph to transfer into another form of report, please recognize
that all other electronic report cards have a maximum print size for any
comment.
To guarantee that your new remark will fit, edit the Fit value from this screen.
The Check Fit Using: drop down menu compares the size of the new comment against
that upper print limit, if known. Delete comments that you will never use
by dragging them to the trash can in the lower part of this screen. When finished, save your newly edited comment bank.
Once saved, the deletions are permanent. However, if you are using MarkBook's
network version, it would be prudent NOT to delete comments that others may be
using. While you are
limited to 7500 comments in any bank, there is no limit as to the number of banks. Create additional banks containing subject-specific comments as you see fit. This teacher has
banks for multiple subjects. To open another bank, click on File and select Open a
Bank. A dialog box will appear as in this image. Click on the bank of choice.
You have several useful options from the File pop down menu in the Comment Bank Editor task bar:
Make a particular bank your default by clicking Make [XXX] the DEFAULT BANK. This selected bank will be the first to open each time.
To remove the display of comment remark numbers as seen in the second image in this section, click Turn Comment Numbers Off. This will remove the sequential number in front of each comment remark on your screen. If off, you can turn them on again. Print a list of your comments in each bank by clicking Print [XXX]. This printed list will be useful for editing and selecting comments for individual students. Exit the Editor by selecting Save and
Exit
in this File menu or in the upper task bar on the Editor screen.Asylum Software's Home Page | Send Us Email | LockerManager | MarkBook CNX for handheld computers | Why Use Class Management Software? | Start of the MarkBook Manual | Order a printed MarkBook Manual | LogiNotes (MarkBook En Français) | Bar Coded Attendance | MarkBook's Home Page | Electronic Report Cards | Order MarkBook