This section of the guide covers the basics of launching and exiting DIWE. As you become comfortable with the modules, you will see that the software’s environment facilitates not only your own writing but also your entire class’s collaborative exploration of the three primary stages of the writing process: Invention (pre-writing), Composition (writing a draft), and Revision.

The rest of this guide explains how DIWE facilitates practice in these three general stages of writing and an understanding of their interconnectedness. While learning a new computer program might be confusing at first, remember that the focus of this course is writing, not computers.

Starting The Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment

To start using DIWE:

1. Open the Daedalus folder from either the network disk drive or your local disk drive; its location depends on your classroom setup. Your site may have a shortcut on the desktop, you may choose the icon from a program group in the program manager, or you may find the program listed in your Start Menu. If you can't find the Daedalus program at your site, ask your teacher for help.
2. Double click the Maze Icon for DIWE 5.3 to launch the program.
3. The first thing you will see is the Log In dialog box (shown below).

The technique you'll use to log in will depend upon whether you have ever logged in as a user in the class before.

If you have never logged in before

If you have logged in before

1. Click on the List Names button in the login dialog to view a list of all the writers who have logged into the program. (Alternately, you can type your name in the boxes and move on to step 4).
2. Use the scroll bar to move up or down in the list until you find your name.
3. Click on your name and choose the OK button.
4. Next, type your password in the password box.
5. After you've typed the password, choose the OK button.
6. If you are registered for more than one class, select the instructor for the class which you want to join, and click the OK button.
7. Once you've logged in, you'll see the program's splash screen and then the Launcher . If your instructor has a class assignment, it will appear on your screen.

Changing Your Login Password

You can change your login password whenever you like by choosing the Change My Password Command under the Utilities Menu. If you think someone else has learned your password, follow these instructions to change it to something new.

1. Select the Change My Password... command from the Utilities Menu. The following dialog appears:

Using DIWE's Tools

The modules that collectively form the Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment are available on the Launcher by icon, and are listed by name under the Activity menu at the top of the screen (shown left).

Choose any of the commands to begin using the related tool. Any activity window may be selected and brought to the front by either clicking on it or by selecting that the open window name from the Window menu.

The Launcher command under the Window menu hides or shows the Launcher. To bring the Launcher to the top, choose among the listed open Windows under the Window menu. The buttons on the Launcher function just as the commands on the Activity menu do, taking you directly to the tool in the program which you select. The Question Mark button opens the User Help file.

Using DIWE's On-line Help

DIWE's on-line help files works much like the on-line help file for your Windows operating system. There are two on-line help files available from the Help menu: Program Help and Character Help. Program Help includes details on how to use the commands and tools in DIWE. Character Help explains how to use accented and special characters in your documents in DIWE.

When you choose either of these commands, the help file will open automatically. The help file has a row of buttons which you can use to navigate and work with the information. These buttons are available in the help files:

Initializing Diskettes

Before you can save work onto new diskettes, you must first initialize, or format, the disk. Only initialize new diskettes since this process will erase any existing documents on your disk.

If you initialize a diskette you've been using on a Macintosh machine outside your DIWE classroom, you will erase all the Mac files you have on the diskette. If the Macintosh you're using has special software (e.g., PC Exchange) which lets it read PC diskettes, however, you can save files in Windows DIWE to a Macintosh diskette and then use the diskette on your Macintosh machine as well. Remember that only files which are saved as *.TXT (ASCII Text) and *.RTF (Rich Text Format) can be opened by other word processors.

Naming Files

When opening a file or saving files, you must give a valid file name that is an acceptable length and that contains valid characters. The basic file name should generally be no more than eight characters long. Windows 95 and Windows NT will allow longer file names; however, these longer filenames will not appear in full to Macintosh or Windows 3.11 computers. If you're likely to move between platforms or between versions of Windows, the safest choice is to use an eight-character filename.

You may use the following characters:

The following characters are not allowed:

When naming your files, you should follow a convention that makes it easy for you and for your instructor to identify and find your files. Your filename might contain your three initials and a description of the assignment, or it might include an abbreviation of the date and your initials. Some examples of valid filenames include:

PC1-BBT.RTX LKM-9#20.PGF bib1PMH.BIB

What the file names represent:

The three characters that follow the period (.) are called the file extension. The file extension is used by the program to identify the kind of file you are opening or saving. Filename extensions are as follows:

Moving Between Platforms

PC/Windows computers format diskettes differently from Macintosh machines. As a result, you will need to special software to work with PC diskettes on a Mac. Most Macintosh machines will have either PC Exchange or Access PC installed, so you'll be able use a PC-formatted diskette on a Macintosh machine. There is also software for Windows which will allow you to read or convert files on a Macintosh diskette (e.g., MacDrive 95, Mac-In-Dos Plus, or MacOpener); if one of these pieces of software is installed on your Windows machines, you'll be able to use Macintosh-formatted diskettes on your Windows machines.

Once you have the computers you're working with set up so that you can read your diskettes, there are some guidelines to keep in mind:

• Use an 8.3 filename if possible (e.g., paper1.txt). Windows and DOS are based on filenames which have an eight character filename and a three-character file extension. Macintosh file conversion software usually cannot interpret long Windows filenames. Instead, the Windows filenames you have chosen will be truncated. You'll see the same truncation of filenames occurring if you use long filenames on a Windows 95 machine and then look at your files using Windows 3.11. In these cases, the files are still available and can be used, but their names may no longer be clear. Test the specific machines you're working with to find the best filenaming convention for your situation.
• Remember that the fonts in your document may not convert from one platform to the other. Some fonts are available for both Mac and Windows ¾ Times New Roman and Courier, for example. Many other fonts are available on one platform only, however. Since your font may not transfer from a Macintosh program to Windows DIWE, be sure to check your documents for appearance before you print or turn them in.
• DIWE is a not cross-platform program. While there are DOS, Macintosh, and Windows versions of DIWE, these three programs use different file formats so they are not compatible. In other words, you cannot make a BiblioCite file with the Macintosh version of DIWE and then open it with the Windows version of DIWE.

Quitting The Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment

Quitting DIWE will close all modules and documents. To exit the application, select Exit under the File menu. DIWE will prompt you to save any files that have not been saved before exiting.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of writing involves formulating a topic that’s manageable and stimulating. Invent uses tested and recommended question series to carry you through the invention phase.

Successfully using Invent requires a bit of patience and motivation. Invent won’t answer prompts for you—as the writer, only you have the authority and expertise to respond to the questions. It can be daunting at first, but remember that working with the application will hone your problem-solving skills and help you discover your writing’s strengths and weaknesses.

Next Question and Previous Question move you back and forth through the prompt series. If a question is unclear, select Show Explanation from the Invent menu, to view a dialog that explains the prompt more fully.

The three menu commands are also represented by buttons in the Invent Window. Use the Next button and the Previous button at the bottom of the Invent Window to move back and forth among the questions. Use the Explain button to display additional information about the question.

Using Invent Effectively

There are three keys to using Invent effectively. First, you must define your writing task as specifically as possible. The more specifically you start, the more Invent can help, although it can also help you to narrow a topic. Before you start Invent it’s best to have a sense of your essay’s scope -- its audience, purpose, even its thesis. Are you writing about literature or about current events? Are you trying to persuade, inform, or explore? Are you writing a research paper or doing literary analysis?

The second key to using Invent effectively is flexibility. Be open to re-reading your responses, to changing them, to changing your thesis statement or your topic. Don’t be a slave to correctness in matters of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You’re typing notes to yourself and only you have to read them. Don’t feel locked in to the series of questions, either. If you don’t want to answer a question because it seems irrelevant or repetitive, skip it. If a series of questions isn’t helping you, try another.

And the third key? Be serious and thorough in your answers, and stay focused on your topic. The computer may seem to understand your answers, but of course it doesn’t. You’re really writing to yourself and for yourself. If humor helps your thinking, use it freely, but don’t do it to impress anyone but yourself. You may wish to avoid some questions simply because they look too hard, but if you push yourself just a little, you’ll often find yourself thinking of new ideas and stretching your topic in new ways. Being repetitive is actually helpful when you’re inventing. If you find yourself continually going back to some point, you may ask yourself why. Is it because the point is central to your thinking? Or are you just giving the safe and obvious answers?

Starting Invent

There are two kinds of Invent Files. Follow the instructions for the particular kind of Invent File you are working with:

• A file which includes Warm-Up Text
• A file which goes directly to the questions (with no Warm-Up Text)

The differences between these files have to do with the way your teacher has set the questions up for your class.

Starting New Invent Files Without Warm-Up Text

To start a new Invent file, which does not include a specific topic:

Starting New Invent Files with Warm-Up Text

To start a new Invent file, which does not include a specific topic:

• Choose the Yes button to save your text. The Save As dialog box will appear. In this box, navigate to the location where you want to save your text and give your file a name then select the Save button to save your warm-up text.
• Choose the No button if you do not want to save your text.
• Choose the Cancel button if you want to continue writing in the Warm-Up window.

Saving Invent Sessions

Use the Save or Save A Copy commands under the File menu to save your work in Invent or Respond.

When you decide to close the window or decide to quit before you've saved your changes to the document, you’ll be asked if you want to save your responses from this session.

Using an Invent File with Daedalus Write

You can open the file containing your Invent answers in the Write word processor – to begin assembling a draft of your paper, as well as to print copies of your answers. When you save your work in Invent, two versions of the file are saved. You can open the ASCII Text version (*.TXT) with the Write or with another word processor.

To open your Invent file in the Write word processor:

Once the file is open, you can begin editing or you can use Cut, Copy, and Paste under the Edit menu to move information between the files.

Mailing Invent Files

Printing your Invent Answers

Once you’ve gotten far enough with your pre-writing and invention activities to begin writing, you’ll need a word processor. That’s where Write comes in. Opening Write puts you in the core of The Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment. All of DIWE’s modules use the editing functions and styles of Write, making use of the application easy and eventually second nature to you. When you write in DIWE, you can concentrate on your writing, rather than the complex workings and commands of most word processors.

Write's Menu Commands

The Write menu offers the following commands which change the appearance of your word processor documents:

1. Open the Write word processor by choosing the Write command from the Activity pull-down menu, choosing the New command from the File menu, or choosing the Write button from the Launcher. When you begin the word processor, a new file is automatically created.
2. If you're already using Write and need a new file, use the New command from the File menu.

1. Under the File menu, choose Open.
2. In the File-Open box which appears, choose the Write document you want to open by clicking on its name with your mouse or using your keyboard. Remember, you can change directories and drives if necessary to find the file you want to open.
3. Use the file type pull-down list to display files saved as ASCII Text (*.TXT) or Rich Text Format (*.RTF). DIWE shows files saved by with the Write word processor by default (those with a *.PGF file extension).
4. Once the name of the document you want to open appears in the rectangle below the "File name" label, choose the OK button and your file will open.

NOTE: The Write word processor will open nearly any file, but the file you open may contain control characters. See page * for information on saving your documents so that you can use them with the Write word processor.

3. There are three ways to indicate your choices in this dialog:

By changing the options for alignment, you can modify how the paragraphs are aligned, or justified, on the page. See page * for examples.

Modify the line spacing for the selected paragraph by clicking the round button beside your choice. See page * for examples.

Modify the indentation for the selected paragraph by typing the amount of indentation in the appropriate box.

NOTE: Indentation affects only the selected paragraphs in your document. To offset your entire text from the margins, use the Document Layout... command (See page *).

If you'll be opening your files both with DIWE Write and with another word processor, be sure to choose the *.TXT or *.RTF file extension from the file type pull-down list. Check the manual for any other word processors you use for details on how to save using *.TXT or *.RTF.

4. The Respond menu will appear on the menu bar.
5. If you've chosen a paper on diskette or a turned in document, the text of the document you've chosen will cascade behind the Respond Question Window, which will show questions at the top and a space for your comments at the bottom. You can use the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands as you compose the answer. Use the Explain button or command for more information about the question. Once you've finished typing your response, use the Next or Previous button to consider another question in the series.
6. You can use the Cascade command or one of the Tile commands in the Windows menu to arrange these windows so they are easier to work with. You can also use the Windows menu to switch between the document you're viewing and the Respond questions. Use Zoom box in the upper right corner of these windows to make the windows larger. Click the Zoom box again to make them smaller.

You can open the text file (with the *.TXT extension) with Write or another word processor. You can also use the Import Text... button in Mail to send the text file to another person in your class (see page *).

You can open the prompt file (with the *.RTX extension) with Respond, so that you can continue answering the questions.

Using this method, you can mail *.PGF, *.TXT or *.RTF files. Remember that you cannot mail files which are saved as database formats. Specifically, *.BIB, *.INV, and *.REV files cannot be mailed.

See "Importing Text Files to Mail Messages" on page * for a simple method for inserting an ASCII text file in a mail message