Categories

Questions

General

1. WCB creates multiple files. Some are of type .wct and others are of type .wcg. What are these files?
2. Can I make the sidebar logo a link to a web site?
3. Can I make changes to the generated course (HTML)?
4. Can I change the color of my bullets to match the color of my sidebar?

Editing Course Content

1. After I created a course, I went back to WCB to update the course. All I see is the course tree. How do I access my content?
2. How do I move a bullet page, a Tell Me More article, or a chapter?
3. How do I format the text (i.e. bold or italic)?
4. How do I get a blank line between paragraphs? Can I put a blank line between bullet points?
5. How do I get two or more spaces between words in a paragraph?
6. How do I copy and paste between documents?
7. How do I add sub-bullet points?
8. How do I create a bullet point (other than using a dash) for sub-bullets?
9. Can I modify the instruction page ("How to Use This Course" page) so I can use my customized instructions in all my courses?
10. Can I specify a different font for the course?
11. Can I have more than one Try This on a page?
12. Can the welcome text on the Glossary page be changed?
13. Can I put a line between the chapter summary and the chapter table of contents?

Importing Content to your Course from Other Sources

1. How do I add Dreamweaver pages to ReadyGo WCB?
2. I added my Dreamweaver page but the graphics did not come over. What can I do?
3. I added my Dreamweaver page to ReadyGo WCB. The background graphic on the page did not display. What can I do?
4. I have an article I wrote in MS word. How do I integrate it into my course?
5. I have an animated PowerPoint presentation. Can I play it in my ReadyGo WCB course?

Managing Courses

1. How do I view a course I created?
2. Can I post the course to a web server using FTP tools other than the one in WCB?
3. Where should generated files be saved?
4. When I generate a course, why aren't the course source files (.wct and .wcg) saved?
5. How do I distribute a course on a CD-ROM?

Graphics, Sound, and Other Multimedia

1. How do I convert a .BMP or other graphic formats into .JPEG or .GIF format?
2. How do I embed sound files on a page in the course?
3. How do I resize my graphics?
4. The graphics on the page appear fine in Internet Explorer, but do not show up in Netscape when viewing course over the web. What is wrong?
5. Can I display more than one image on a page?
6. Can I use large video files (.avi) in a course?
7. How do I make my sound file smaller?

Tests

1. Can I specify that students can only take a test once?

Answers

General

1. WCB creates multiple files. Some are of type .wct and others are of type .wcg. What are these files?
Answer
When you generate a course, WCB creates a series of HTML (.htm) files along with graphics. These are what the end-user/reader will see. However, ReadyGo WCB also needs to store your work in a format that it can manipulate. For this, it creates what are called "native source" files. This is similar to MS-Word. When you print from an MS-Word document, the end-users receive the printed piece of paper. However, your on-going work is stored in a .doc file. With ReadyGo WCB, there are two source files. The .wct (orange icon) file contains the text and configuration portions of your course including tests, glossaries, etc. The .wcg (green icon) file is usually larger. It contains all the graphics, multimedia, and style sheet components.
2. Can I make the sidebar logo a link to a web site?
Answer
Yes. Choose Edit > Course Properties. Click the Graphic/Audio button for the sidebar logo. Choose Local Image + link to URL for the Graphic Element Type field. This is useful, for example, to give the student a quick link to the corporate web site.
3. Can I make changes to the generated course (HTML)?
Answer
Any changes you make to the generated course will be overwritten the next time you generate the course so it is a good idea to make all HTML edits within WCB.
4. Can I change the color of my bullets to match the color of my sidebar?
Answer
You can use your own custom bullet graphic for your courses. Choose Customize > Colors and Graphics from the menu bar, and select your own bullet graphic to replace the default bullet graphic. Select Page Bullet and click Select to find the file on your computer.

Editing Course Content

1. After I created a course, I went back to WCB to update the course. All I see is the course tree. How do I access my content?
Answer
To access a chapter, you will need to select the chapter number from the pull-down on the toolbar that lists the chapters or you can double-click the icon for the chapter or page you want to edit in the course tree.
2. How do I move a bullet page, a Tell Me More article, or a chapter?
Answer
In the course tree, click the icon for the element you would like to move, and drag-and-drop this element to its new location. If you want to move something to the beginning of the course, it is sometimes necessary to drop it on the first chapter, and then move the first chapter to be after the content that you just dropped.
3. How do I format the text (i.e. bold or italic)?
Answer
Click the text box containing the text you want to edit and click the Visual Edit tab for that edit box. At this point, the dialog's toolbar will have more buttons enabled. You can format the text using the format buttons on the toolbar.
4. How do I get a blank line between paragraphs? Can I put a blank line between bullet points?
Answer
Enter two carriage returns anywhere that you want a blank line.
5. How do I get two or more spaces between words in a paragraph?
Answer
All browsers condense multiple blank space characters to a single one between words. If you want to have multiple spaces, you can type in the HTML code for a non-breaking space. The HTML code for a non-breaking space is   The following example shows how you can have two spaces on your page.

Example:  This will put two spaces after the colon. This will look like the following on your page:

Example:  This will put two spaces after the colon.

6. How do I copy and paste between documents?
Answer
To see the copy and paste menu, click your right mouse button on the icon in the outline view for the content you want to copy. A menu will appear giving you the option to copy content or paste it. From within WCB, you will be asked what content you want to copy. When you are ready to paste into WCB (for example, in another course), left-click in the outline view to select the location where you want to insert the content. Then right-click to see the pull-down menu with the Paste option. You can also use shortcut keys to cut and paste from an other application into Web Course Builder. The shortcut keys on a PC are as follows:

Ctrl+c = copy Ctrl+v = paste Ctrl+x = cut Ctrl+z = undo

To copy and paste from a document, select the text to be copied. Hold down the Ctrl key, and press the c key. In Web Course Builder, click in the destination area. Hold down the Ctrl key, and press the v key. Your text should now appear. Don't concern yourself with jagged lines. ReadyGo Web Course Builder needs to read two carriage returns to provide a line space.

7. How do I add sub-bullet points?
Answer
ReadyGo Web Course Builder supports six levels of indentation on bullet pages. Just to the left of the text dialog where you input content, you will see four arrows. The up and down arrows allow you to move the content before the previous bullet or after the subsequent one. The right and left arrows increase or decrease the level of indentation for the current bullet. There is a number below these arrows that tells you the current indentation level for that bullet. You can change the graphics used for each bullet point by specifying graphic images in Appearance > Colors and Graphics (Bullet Pages tab).
8. How do I create a bullet point (other then using a dash) for sub-bullets?
Answer
To identify a bullet point character, choose Start > Programs > Accessories > Character Map. Scroll through the various fonts until you find the one you want. Select it and then press the Copy button. Click in the destination location in Web Course Builder and press Ctrl+v (Hold down the Ctrl key and press the v key). Alternatively, click on the Visual Edit tab for the text entry area that is currently active, and use the "Bullet Point" or "Numbered List" format options available on the toolbar. Note: With the numbered lists, you might see an item numbered "0". This is only a quirk in the way the visual editing mode functions. When you generate the course, or if you toggle to Text/HTML mode and back to Visual Edit mode the numbering will appear correctly.
9. Can I modify the instruction ("How to Use This Course") page so I can use my customized instructions in all my courses?
Answer
Yes. Make your changes to the HTML in the instruct.ht1 (instr1.ht1 if you are using style sheets) file located in Program Files\ReadyGo folder. All new courses will use your updated instruction page. If you wish to turn the instruction page off, go to either the Course Properties page (double-click on the closed book icon) or under Appearance > Labels and Text. Then select the "Omit Instructions as first page of course" option.
10. Can I specify a different font for the course?
Answer
Yes. Choose Appearance > Fonts to change the fonts used for the course. You can also specify the fonts in a style sheet or by editing specific content using the Visual Edit mode. Use of the Visual Edit mode is discouraged because if you choose, at a later date, to modify the fonts on a global basis, you will have to return to each location with manually placed formatting, and will need to update/remove it. If you want to specify a certain font (color, size, face) for multiple text entry areas, ReadyGo recommends using the style sheets. Please contact ReadyGo Support for assistance with this.
11. Can I have more than one Try This on a page?
Answer
To add additional Try This exercises on a page, add a custom sub-page and then, for the icon that serves as the link to the page, use the appropriate Try This graphic that matches the template you are using.
12. Can the welcome text on the Glossary page be changed?
Answer
Yes. Choose Customize > Labels and Text from the menu bar. About half-way down the dialog box, you will see the text for the glossary page welcome. You can edit this text here.
13. Can I put a line between the chapter summary and the chapter table of contents?
Answer
You can add a blank line by entering two carriage returns at the end of the chapter summary content. If you want a horizontal line, enter the HTML code for a horizontal rule <HR> at the end of your chapter summary. Alternatively if you are using style sheets, you can add a bottom border to the chapter summary CSS rule in your course style sheet.

Importing Content to your Course from Other Sources

1. How do I add Dreamweaver pages to ReadyGo WCB?
Answer
From the course outline/tree view, click to select the page preceding where you want to add the Dreamweaver page. Right-click at this location, and from the menu that appears, choose Import HTML File. A new dialog will appear with several options as to how to add the DreamWeaver page. Select these options and then browse to find the Dreamweaver file you want to include from your hard drive. Click OK.
2. I added my Dreamweaver page but the graphics did not come over. What can I do?
Answer
ReadyGo WCB attempts to import graphics that are used by your Dreamweaver file. Unfortunately, ReadyGo WCB can not identify all the possible types of codes put into Dreamweaver documents to link to graphic interactions. To fix any missing graphics, you may need to do one or all of the following:
1. Add the graphics manually to the graphics archive. Choose Edit > Graphics Archive from the menu. Add the graphics associated with the Dreamweaver page.
2. In the Dreamweaver page you just imported, click the Advanced button. Delete any carriage returns that might interfere with the JavaScript code.
3. In the HTML code that was just added, find links to the images/multimedia (tags such as "img", "object", "embed", "video", "audio"). Insert "../graphics" to the path for the individual files, e.g. <.img src="file.png"> becomes <.img src="../graphics/file.png">
3. I added my Dreamweaver page to ReadyGo WCB. The background graphic on the page did not display. What can I do?
Answer
If you background graphic did not display, you may need to do the following:
1. Manually add the graphic into Web Course builder. Choose Edit > Graphics Archive from the menu. Browse to find the file containing the necessary graphic, and add it to the course.
2. In the Dreamweaver page you just imported, click the Advanced button. and add "../graphics" to the source path for your background graphic.
4. I have an article I wrote in MS word. How do I integrate it into my course?
Answer
There are several ways to do this, depending on what results you would like. In order to be able to change the content later (and maintain uniform formatting with the rest of your course), go to the document in Microsoft Word, select the content, and copy it. In Web Course Builder, paste the article into one of the text entry areas. If you paste it into the "Text/HTML" mode, the formatting will be removed from the content. This is sometimes an advantage because now the content's formatting will be more uniform with the rest of the course. You can also switch to the "Visual Edit" mode, and then right click to select Paste Special. At this point you may get several options on how to paste the content. If you paste as a "Rich Text Format" document, most of the formatting will be maintained. If you choose one of the graphic formats ("Metafile", "Device Independent Bitmap", etc.) only the first page of your document will appear. In this case, it will appear as a snapshot of your document, and you will not be able to modify it.



Alternatively, you can save the Word file as a web page (HTML) from directly within MS-Word, and import the content through the outline view (right-click and select "Import HTML page"). The most popular way of brining MS-Word documents, however is to save the document as a PDF and then attach the PDF file using the Graphic/Audio button, selecting "Plug-in/Embed" as the graphic element type, and specifying the display width and height (e.g. 600x400). When using PDF, the document appears most like it would if it were printed.

5. I have an animated PowerPoint presentation. Can I play it in my ReadyGo WCB course?
Answer
Using Office 2003 or later you can save PowerPoint as a fully automated web presentation with audio.

1) From PowerPoint, choose File>Save As.

2) Choose Save as type: Web Page.

3) Choose the "graphics" directory for the course where you have created your ReadyGo course as your output directory. Doing so will simplify the upload to the server.

Note the name of the presentation as created by PowerPoint, e.g. Presentation1.htm. You will need this below. If you have multiple presentations that you are adding to your course make sure each one has a unique name.

4) Select Publish. Within PowerPoint there is a menu to specify options for your presentation.

5) Press the Publish button.

6) On the page within the ReadyGo WCB course where you want the animated PowerPoint presentation to play type:

"<iframe SRC="../graphics/name_of_presentation.htm" width=600 height=400>

If you are adding the presentation to the main page, the FAQs page, or the "Help" page, omit the '../' before "graphics" in the link. That is, the code should look like:

<iframe src="graphics/name_of_presentation.htm" width=600 height=480>.

You can also set the width to be 80%, and the presentation will scale with the browser size.

Managing Courses

1. How do I view a course I created?
Answer
There are a few different ways to view a course you created.

1) Generating a course converts the material you input into web pages (in HTML) To generate a course, click the Generate Course button on the toolbar. When the generation is completed, you are asked if you want to view your course. Click Yes to open your course in your web browser.

2) Once you have saved and generated your course, you can choose Publish > Browse Course from the menu bar to display your course in your browser.

3) You can also find the course on your computer, and double-click index.htm to open the course in your browser. Can't find your course? Look in \program files\readygo\courses\your-course-name.

2. Can I post the course to a web server using FTP tools other than the one in WCB?
Answer
Yes, any FTP (File Transfer Protocol) tool will work. Transfer the entire folder (with all sub-folders) where you generated your course.
3. Where should generated files be saved?
Answer
It is very important to generate each course to a separate folder. The generation process is comparable to the "print" process in MS-Word. If you overwrite one course with the contents of another, you may lose the first course, and your second one may be left with a bunch of files that it doesn't use.
4. When I generate a course, why aren't the course source files (.wct and .wcg) saved?
Answer
By not automatically saving the course every it is generated, WCB allows you to preview your course without committing yourself to them. Once you are satisfied with how your course appears, you can save the source files. If you are unhappy with your most recent change, and you haven't saved the source files, simply exit from the course without saving it, and then reload it into WCB.
5. How do I distribute a course on a CD-ROM?
Answer
ReadyGo provides a program called browse.exe that will automatically launch the course in the student's browser when they insert the CD into their computer on an MS-Windows PC.

When you generate your course, WCB automatically places a copy of the files browse.exe and autorun.inf into the root directory of your course.

To put your course on a CD-ROM: 1) Load the course into your CD-writer software. You must have the files index.htm, autorun.inf, browse.exe, etc., in the root directory of your destination CD.

2) Set the root directory of the course to be the root directory of the CD.

3) Burn the CD.

Graphics, Sound, and Other Multimedia

1. How do you convert a .BMP or other graphic formats into .JPEG or .GIF format?
Answer
If you have a recent Windows system you can convert a .BMP using Microsoft(R) Paint. You can also use other graphics software.
2. How do you embed sound files on a page in the course?
Answer
Click the Add Graphic button and choose "Plug-In/<EMBED>" as the Graphic Element Type. You can leave the Plug In Type field blank. Specify the size of the media player on the page by including the height and width. We recommend 150 by 200 pixels. Find and select the file containing your sound, and add it to the course.
3. How do I resize my graphics?
Answer
You can specify a height and width for the graphic when you click the Add Graphic button or you can resize the image using any graphics software. When using the "height" and "width" fields within ReadyGo WCB, you can increase or decrease the values to enlarge or shrink the image. If you leave either of these fields blank, the browser will automatically scale the image to maintain its original aspect ratio (for bmp, gif, jpg, and png graphics).
4. The graphics on the page appear fine in Internet Explorer on my computer, but do not show up when viewed over the web. What is wrong?
Answer
The most likely cause is that there are spaces in the graphic file names. Remove any spaces in the file names, add the graphics back into your course and generate the course. Also, many (of the better) web servers use operating systems that care about capitalization of file names. MS-Windows does not care about capitalization, and, in fact often changes the file name/type case from what you originally input. So, you may see a graphic named "file1.gif", but internally MS-Windows has called it "file1.GIF". If you make links to "file1.gif", and put the course on a server that is not an MS-Windows server, the browsers won't be able to find "file1.gif" because it doesn't exist. To fix this, either make sure that the file name/type is explicitly "file1.gif" or change the link to point to "file1.GIF".
5. Can I display more than one image on a page?
Answer
Yes. You can use any one of the multiple "Graphic/Audio" buttons to add graphics to the page. You can also copy a graphic being displayed in another application, and paste it into a dialog in ReadyGo using the "Visual Edit" mode. To paste, right-click in the area where you want to place the image, and select "Paste Special". After the image has been pasted, click the "Done" tab for that edit box, and WCB will ask you how you want to convert the image for web viewing.

Another option is to use the HTML code: <IMG SRC="../graphics/graphic_name.gif"> on the page summary area or bullet text area in WCB. Make sure you copy your graphic file to the graphics directory for the course.
6. Can I use large video files (.avi) in a course?
Answer
Large .avi files in courses built with ReadyGo Web Course Builder: Issues and Recommendations.
Issues
1. When you save a course with a large video file (15MB or larger), the software appears still for a while. This is because it takes a while to write 5MB of information to the archive, but it's a necessary step in course generation. If the software window is closed at this point (after you choose File > Save, but before the hourglass disappears), the archive file is not completed and when you try to open the same course, you will get an error message or the course will not open.
2. A properly saved course will take a while to open when you have large video files in the course. This is because files are retrieved from the archive and written into a "tmpxxxx" directory for processing changes to the course.
3. Windows 98 takes much longer than other operating systems to complete the archive write procedures for large video files.
Recommendations
1. If you are not creating a course for CD-ROM delivery, make sure that the bandwidth your students will have is adequate to view the files of the size you are including. Test the prototype course over the connection that your students will use as follows:

   - If you are preparing the course for the local network, run the course over the network to verify adequate performance

   - If you are preparing the course for the web, post the prototype course on the web server and view it over the same connection that your students will most likely have (56K, DSL, T1, and so on)

2. While ReadyGo Web Course Builder is closed, delete all the "tmpxxxx" directories in the ReadyGo temporary directory (this is typically C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\readygo).

3. To avoid long periods of archive writings: a) Complete your course development and then add any large videos you want to the course. b) Generate the course with the large videos. c) In WCB, remove any large videos from the course. c) Save the course (without the large video files). This leaves you with a course that has the videos in it and a source file that has all your work except for the large video files (no write waiting).
   Note: If you want to make changes to the course now and regenerate the course to the same directory where you have your current course files, the video files that you removed will no longer be in the course. You need to make any changes and repeat this procedure to add your large video files back into the course and save the course source files without the large video files.
7. How do I make my sound file smaller?
Answer
The easiest way to make your sound file smaller is to open it in Microsoft® Sound Recorder and save it in a format that will reduce the file size.



1) Choose Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder.

2) Open the sound file whose size you want to reduce.

3) Choose File > Save As.

4) Click the Change button next to the Format field at the bottom of the Save As dialog box.

5) Click the Attributes arrow and choose 11kHz, 8bit, Mono.

6) Click OK.

7) Click Save.

This will probably reduce the size of your sound file by half with minimal quality loss. If you are serious about your sound file quality and you want the file size to be smaller, then you might want to convert your file to MP3 format using sound editing software of your choice. See ReadyGo's course on sound optimization for more details.

Tests

1. Can I specify that students can only take a test once?
Answer
Yes it is possible to limit the student to taking each test only once if you are using ReadyGo Server-Side Testing (SST). However, it is worthwhile to consider the effect of this. What if the person inadvertently clicks the Submit button? How will you allow them to re-take the test?

Our recommended approach is to allow students to take the tests as many times as they want. When the reports are created, you are given both the first score and the best score. You (the course administrator) can then choose which value to use.

To enable limiting the number of times a student can take a test, go to the test page for each test. Click the Test Configuration button. On the right side there is an area called SST Generated Only. In the Maximum number of times the test can be taken field, specify the number of times students can take the test.