ExamWritePad

[ass17]

****NEW****

 

ExamWritePad16.zip

Attached is version 1.6

 

Added - Ability to enter in Candidate Name, Centre Number, Candidate Number, Exam Paper details (title & code) at print time.

You can also enter in your Centre Number into the config file so that pupils don't have to fill it in.

Added - Page numbers are now added to the footer of each printed page

 

------------

If all is well then THIS is the final version, unless people start requesting more features or post bugs...

 

 

Also remember that a new build number starts a new backup folder, so please delete any older version folders within c:\programdata

 

 

And

backups/recovery files will save every 1 minute, by default, automatically (and on application close).

Other saves are to be done manually by clicking save (whether you have saved the file or not).

 

 

So in theory if you never save the file manually the previous versions on offer should allow you to restore right up to the exact point at which you last entered something.

 

ExamWritePad16.zip

[svardy]

The font size can be changed in the config file. It is set to 12 by default as recommended by JCQ.

 

In terms of alignment, what specifically are you referring to so I can look into it.

 

In terms of the save locations it can be changed to anywhere else because Windows 10 permission issues. The "C:\ProgramData" folder is about the only folder any user has access to. So this will have to stay. The default save location is always the users desktop so it clearly visible to the user.

 

In terms of backups, when you launch the program it will delete any autosave backups that are over the 24 hour threshold (just incase of any emergencies). Currently what we are planning to do is after the final exam to be taken on a computer, we will come back 24 hours after the last exam finished and run ExamWritePad, It will then clear all backups, thus you shouldnt have any left in the ProgramData folder.

 

We were thinking more of the display settings for students so they can see the text they are writing better?

 

In terms of formatting, we were thinking things such as bold or bullet points/numbering. I think alignment such as centre and right/left alignment for things like letter writing in English.

 

I was wondering whether it could be an option for us to change the default save location through the config file as we use exam accounts which we currently save exams to their Home drive for easier printing.

 

I think the main issue for implementing it for us would be the text display size.

[mavhc]

In terms of the save locations it can be changed to anywhere else because Windows 10 permission issues. The "C:\ProgramData" folder is about the only folder any user has access to. So this will have to stay. The default save location is always the users desktop so it clearly visible to the user.

 

Wouldn't this cause 2 exam accounts on the same machine to share data? I would have expected it to be saved in %appdata%

[ass17]

Wouldn't this cause 2 exam accounts on the same machine to share data? I would have expected it to be saved in %appdata%

 

No not really, because only one person can use a computer at anyone time, so not data sharing, for example if a student take an exam in the morning, when a student sits at the computer for the afternoon, there will be no auto-recover backups available because the gap between the morning exam finishing and the afternoon exam starting is normally 1 hour 30mins, ExamWritePad will only show upto the last one hour.

 

Another issue is that on Windows 10, on a standard user account type, it cant create folders within the %appdata%, get access denied, so Programdata was the best compromise.

[ass17]

We were thinking more of the display settings for students so they can see the text they are writing better?

 

I take your point on-board, and will allow it to be changed for screen purposes only :-)

 

In terms of formatting, we were thinking things such as bold or bullet points/numbering. I think alignment such as centre and right/left alignment for things like letter writing in English.

 

If JCQ guidlines allow programs like notepad to be used then bullets/numbering cannot be done, so is it essential? I suppose what you have to think about is that if a student sitting an exam on paper has to write bullets by hand then why should someone on a computer given the option to bullet for them by the click on a button, its almost a form of help, borderline cheating.

 

I was wondering whether it could be an option for us to change the default save location through the config file as we use exam accounts which we currently save exams to their Home drive for easier printing.

 

I could do this but you would have to specify hardcoded path like "H:" or a UNC path like "\\server\folder". Is this all you would need?

[svardy]

I take your point on-board, and will allow it to be changed for screen purposes only :-)

 

 

 

If JCQ guidlines allow programs like notepad to be used then bullets/numbering cannot be done, so is it essential? I suppose what you have to think about is that if a student sitting an exam on paper has to write bullets by hand then why should someone on a computer given the option to bullet for them by the click on a button, its almost a form of help, borderline cheating.

 

 

 

I could do this but you would have to specify hardcoded path like "H:" or a UNC path like "\\server\folder". Is this all you would need?

 

We have our Home drives set to "H:" so that would be great for us!

 

Thanks for all your work on this! You're doing a great job!

[ass17]

We have our Home drives set to "H:" so that would be great for us!

 

Thanks for all your work on this! You're doing a great job!

 

Your wish shall be granted, DefaultSavePath will be blank in the config, which means it will point to users desktop, but you enter in a hardcoded path then that will take precedence.

 

I have added in the config a default "Screen Font Size" and changed Select Background Options to "Screen Options" so now you CAN customize the screen background color and font size.

 

This will be available over the weekend as I'm off home now :-)

[mjs_mjs]

 

1. Background colour change for Dyslexia students

 

 

 

Hiya, great work on this - thought you might like to know that the colour change is probably for Irlens syndrome and probably not Dyslexia (I have both!) Home This is a common misconception.

[ass17]

Hiya, great work on this - thought you might like to know that the colour change is probably for Irlens syndrome and probably not Dyslexia (I have both!) Home This is a common misconception.

 

Thanks for the info,

 

So does Meares-Irlen Syndrome co-exist with autism or dyslexia, in most cases?

 

Irlen is a visual processing disorder where dyslexia is a more a language based disorder (spelling, writing, pronunciation). If I have undrrstood it correctly.

Edited April 8, 2016 by ass17

[mjs_mjs]

I'm not sure it's a form of anything - it's a 'perceptual problem'. It's worth noting that you can have one without the other, and that often Irlens only get's picked up when you're with a professional for some other reasons, which leads to a general perception of a link, that may not actually exist.

 

"Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual processing disorder caused by the brain's inability to process specific wavelengths of light." Dyslexia or Irlen Syndrome?

 

For me personally, i can see a distinct difference between what i see as being a "i struggle to concentrate in certain lighting conditions" (usually sharp black and white's, and sometimes while driving at night on roads with no street lights) and my dyslexia. But it's different for everyone. I developed many coping mechanisms before being diagnosed at uni, such as buying all my uni books second hand, so the paper was grubby and not bright white, not sitting under fluorescent tubes, (quite sensitive to colour temperature when reading), and hi lighting the text as i read on screen (so i read when inverted). For me this is distinct from from my dyslexia, which means i do things like move letters from the end or start of one work to the next when writing sentences, or if i write 'the end' i might miss one of the e's out and things like that, mixing up b's and d's, p's and q's, 3's and 8's, 5's and 6's when hand written... and the general apparent struggle with reading/writing. But it really is all different person to person. I hope this snippet helps, there are many others on the forum who are also dyslexic, and i bet there are also some with Irlens

[ass17]

It's been a great insight to something I would have said was symptoms dyslexia. Just goes to show I don't think enough is made of Irlens to put it on the same level as dyslexia in terms of know conditions.

 

Certainly I will change my descriptive on the background colour change, remove dyslexia for something like "Irlens or any other visual processing problems".

 

I wish you all the best and again thanks for the info [emoji1]

[mjs_mjs]

I wish you all the best and again thanks for the info [emoji1]

 

no, thank you for adding the feature in

[svardy]

****NEW****

 

[ATTACH]36042[/ATTACH]

Attached is version 1.6

 

Added - Ability to enter in Candidate Name, Centre Number, Candidate Number, Exam Paper details (title & code) at print time.

You can also enter in your Centre Number into the config file so that pupils don't have to fill it in.

Added - Page numbers are now added to the footer of each printed page

 

------------

If all is well then THIS is the final version, unless people start requesting more features or post bugs...

 

 

Also remember that a new build number starts a new backup folder, so please delete any older version folders within c:\programdata

 

 

And

backups/recovery files will save every 1 minute, by default, automatically (and on application close).

Other saves are to be done manually by clicking save (whether you have saved the file or not).

 

 

So in theory if you never save the file manually the previous versions on offer should allow you to restore right up to the exact point at which you last entered something.

 

[ATTACH]36042[/ATTACH]

 

Hi, Was there a reason for the Candidate number being added at print time instead of onload at all? It's is just we print off for students and we aren't always handed the details or exam information. So it would be better for us if they could enter it when they start the exam.

 

Thanks again for all the work!

[ass17]

****NEW****

 

ExamWritePad17.zip

 

Attached is version 1.7

 

Changed - "Set Background Colour" option has changed to "Screen Options" to allow for new added feature below.

 

 

Added - Ability to change the screen font size for the purpose of readability. This can be also set as default in the config file.

 

 

Added - Candidate Info box can now be shown at load as well as at print. Just change the config file option "ShowCandidateInfoScreenOnLaunch" from 0 to 1

 

Changed - Changed backbround colour description information regarding an inaccuracy. "Dyslexia" has been changed to "Irlen's Syndome". Thanks for @mjs_mjs for this!!

 

 

------------

If all is well then THIS is the final version, unless people start requesting more features or post bugs...

 

 

Also remember that a new build number starts a new backup folder, so please delete any older version folders within c:\programdata

 

 

And

backups/recovery files will save every 1 minute, by default, automatically (and on application close).

Other saves are to be done manually by clicking save (whether you have saved the file or not).

 

 

So in theory if you never save the file manually the previous versions on offer should allow you to restore right up to the exact point at which you last entered something.

 

ExamWritePad17.zip

[svardy]

****NEW****

 

[ATTACH]36072[/ATTACH]

 

Attached is version 1.7

 

Changed - "Set Background Colour" option has changed to "Screen Options" to allow for new added feature below.

 

 

Added - Ability to change the screen font size for the purpose of readability. This can be also set as default in the config file.

 

 

Added - Candidate Info box can now be shown at load as well as at print. Just change the config file option "ShowCandidateInfoScreenOnLaunch" from 0 to 1

 

Changed - Changed backbround colour description information regarding an inaccuracy. "Dyslexia" has been changed to "Irlen's Syndome". Thanks for @mjs_mjs for this!!

 

 

------------

If all is well then THIS is the final version, unless people start requesting more features or post bugs...

 

 

Also remember that a new build number starts a new backup folder, so please delete any older version folders within c:\programdata

 

 

And

backups/recovery files will save every 1 minute, by default, automatically (and on application close).

Other saves are to be done manually by clicking save (whether you have saved the file or not).

 

 

So in theory if you never save the file manually the previous versions on offer should allow you to restore right up to the exact point at which you last entered something.

 

[ATTACH]36072[/ATTACH]

Hi, This is so good the changes you made!

 

I am now starting to feel like a nagging person! ha ...

 

Is there a way for the Candidate info for the header to be saved within the saved file? I have noticed that if you create a file with the candidate info, then open it on a different machine it doesn't keep it's header information.

 

Also a member of staff has pointed out to me that some Students also require the text display colour to be different also as part of Irlens.

 

Again thanks for your work!

[ass17]

I'll see what I can do for you, but makes sense regarding both requests [emoji1]

[Semple1]

Hi,

 

Looks good.

 

Can you add a line spacing option? Some papers/markers specify this.

Also, maybe a DefaultOpenPath like the save function in the settings file?

 

Thanks.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Semple1
Extra Request

[ass17]

New version coming tomorrow!! Line spacing cannot be done as yet with textboxes or richtextboxes, no support for it in Visual Studio. But I will keep looking for a way to do it!! :-)

[ass17]

****NEW****

 

Attached is version 1.8

 

Added – Ability to Double Line Space Print – If you need to turn it on the please do so in the config, setting “DoubleLineSpacingPrint” to “1”. This feature is EXPERIMENTAL because it I have had to cheat slightly and use a webbrowser control with CSS to get the line spacing.

 

Under JCQ guidance 8.8 Word Processors - double line spacing for exams is advisory and NOT compulsory.

 

Added - Ability to change the screen font colour for the purpose of readability. This can be also set as default in the config file under “FontColour”, please use RBG values for example black = 0,0,0

 

Added - Candidate Info can now be save with the saved ExamText file. This because the file format has now changed to an XML based format but still using the .ExamText file extension. (Auto backup recoveries still only save the textbox data, thus do not included the candidate info).

 

Added – “DefaultOpenPath” in config file so you can specify where to open you files from.

 

Added – Error handling has now been added to the candidate info screen so you cannot have blanks fields before printing.

 

Changed – Menu Bar colour is a few shades lighter so you can see the button text labels clearer.

 

ExamWritePad18.zip

 

------------

If all is well then THIS is the final version, unless people start requesting more features or post bugs...

 

 

Also remember that a new build number starts a new backup folder, so please delete any older version folders within c:\programdata

 

 

And

 

backups/recovery files will save every 1 minute, by default, automatically (and on application close).

Other saves are to be done manually by clicking save (whether you have saved the file or not).

 

 

So in theory if you never save the file manually the previous versions on offer should allow you to restore right up to the exact point at which you last entered something.

[ass17]

I would also like to know if people would prefer an "Auto-Save" feature, it will work along the lines of if the file has been saved, it will then auto-save every minute, but if the user makes big error they can still recover from a auto-backup file which as you know backups up the textbox state every minute.

[Rob_D]

This is awesome. Trying to sell our exams officer on it at the moment.

 

The autosave would be really good IMO.

[ass17]

This is awesome. Trying to sell our exams officer on it at the moment.

 

The autosave would be really good IMO.

 

ok, so that is a +1 for autosave.

 

To sell it to an exam officer, just say its offers less than wordpad but more than notepad, with auto recover (saved every minute) in case of computer failure. It adheres to the JCQ and CIE framework/guidance on Word Processors. It also offers visual assistance with people with Visual processing problems like Irlens syndrome, in terms of being able to change the background and font colour on screen.

 

Our exam officer is already sold!!

[svardy]

Auto-save sounds like a good idea too!

 

We're going to run it on some internal exams to see how it works but our Exams officer seems OK with it.

[ass17]

Ok will do, auto save coming up in version 1.9

[svardy]

Along with the auto-save would it be possible for it to prompt to save on open, after the Candidate details have been entered?