Actions associated to the Media Objects

Frame_print
 


animate
:
It generates an animation using the cards of a panel with various images. It will be necessary to key in several values in the Value field.

As regards the panel that contains the cards, the usual format to introduce in the Value field is panel(panelname). As regards the cards we would like to include in the animation, we will key in start stating the values of the card which begins the animation and the values of the card that finishes it, i.e. start (1,4) produces an animation that includes cards 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Regarding the cards we want to make a loop with while an audio file is being played, it is necessary to associate the audio file to the media of the first card; then, we must use the word loop showing the initial and final cards of the loop, i.e. loop(3,4)

Finally, as regards the cards the appear at the end of the animation, we must key in the word finish and it will work in the same way as start , i.e. finish(4,1).

In case we would like to have an interval between cards, the word delay will have to be used; for instance delay(100,100,150) allows 100 milliseconds while the first card is being shown, 100 milliseconds between the first and the second card and 150 milliseconds before the third card is being shown. The delay is always stated in milliseconds. If only one figure is keyed in for delay , this value will be valid for all the cards. If fewer figures than cards are indicated, it is the value of the last card the one which is regarded as valid for the rest. If there happens to be more figures than cards, they are simply ignored.

Needless to say, it is not necessary to use all these values, but let's see them all in an example:

Action=animate, Value=panel(Help) delay(100,100,100,20,20,20,20,30), start(1,7) loop (7,8) finish(7,1)

Let's take into account that we have associated an audio file to a media included in card 1. This means that an animation with the cards of the panel called Help will be generated. There will be an animation from card 1 to card 7, with a loop between cards 7 and 8 while the audio file is being played, and finally, when the audio stops, there will be an animation from cards 7 to 1.

autorecord:
The designing tool includes its own sound recording system, so it is not necessary to use an external sound recorder, such as the Windows one.

This action uses the new Java sound recording system. It is the convenient recording system when no graphic recording interface is wanted in our design. It includes two different ways of carrying out our recording:


1.- Autorecord action must be selected when we would like to save the recording into a file; in the Value field we will have to key in the name of the file where the recording will be saved. In order to have it played afterwards, we will use Action play.

2.- Autorecord is also selected when we would like our recording to be virtually saved in RAM, but now the Value field must be empty. However, the media object must be named in this case. In order to have the recording played afterwards, we will use Action ramPlay

clear:
(GapFilling): It clears the filled in gaps in an active card and gets them back to their initial condition.

(HangMan): when in a current card, it shows the hangman drawing in its initial position (panel Pictures ) and all the letters are hidden in the panel HiddenWord .

(MultipleChoice): when in a current card, if we are doing an exercise with checkboxes, all the marked ones are cleared out, even if they have already been checked.

clearAll:
It works in exactly the same way as clear , but it applies to all the cards in a frame.

check:
It checks the right answers and clears out the wrong ones. If the introduced parameter is VERIFY=atEnd , it will check all the cards in a frame, but it will be necessary to tick at least one checkbox per Answers panel.

If the introduced parameter is VERIFY=anyTime , it only checks the active card at any time.

continue:
(Dialog): It plays any audio file included in a current card, so it will be essential for its correct running that only one media per card has an audio file associated to it. When it ends, it goes on to the next card and repeats the action, and so it does until it reaches the last card. If this action was already being carried out, when it is called again, its execution is stopped.

courseLink:
If we are designing a linear course, it goes to the next defined frame in the course order. If we are designing a complex course, we will have to key in a name in the Value field and to associate that value to a frame from the Courseware>Properties Menu. There is also a predetermined next value which can be personalized.

Course_edit:
It edits the course structure in xml

Course_next:
It will go to the next course of the project (*.cxml)

Course_prev:
It returns to the previous course, provided you have already fulfilled a course within the same project.

Course_reload:
It reloads the course

execute:
It runs the file predetermined in Value , i.e. Value=write, and opens the program associated to its extension.

Frame_edit:
It edits the active frame in xml format

Frame_print:
It prints the active frame

Frame_reload:
It reloads the active frame

Frame_select:
It opens a screen with the available frames within the project so that we can select another frame to browse.

GoToCourse:
It gives access to another course within the projects folder. In the Value field we must key in projectname/course.cxml. If the Value field looks like file:/[X]:/projects/projectName/xml/courseName.cxml”Insert the CD”, the course will be searched for all throughout the disc units, from c: to z:. If the course is found, it is executed, but if it is not found, a dialogue box with the message “Insert the CD” will pop up. In this dialogue box there are two buttons. By clicking OK, a new search throughout all the units will start. By clicking Cancel, the whole search is cancelled.

hypertext:
Hypertext is rather a utility than an action itself. In a media we can determine hyperlinks to a website, to another frame, to an application and so on. The procedure is as follows:

1. The media in which we are going to create hyperlinks must be named hypertext , that is Object=hypertext.

2. The text that we are going to use as hypertext must have the following format: [string|href=path], where string is the sensitive text, which will allow us to create the hypertext, and path is the name of the resource at which we are going to aim our link.

Example: in the label field of a media, we will key in this text: “I'm going to switch on to [malted|href=http://www.cnice.mecd.es/malted]”. When we run it, the text on the screen will be “I'm going to switch on to malted”; by clicking on the word “malted”, the browser will open and we will have access to the website whose URL is www.cnice.mecd.es/malted

A Further example: If in the previous example we key in “xml/malted.xml” instead of www.cnice.mecd.es/malted , when clicking on the word malted the frame malted.xml will open, as long as there is a frame with such a name within the xml folder in the current project.

JavaScript:
It is only valid for the applet or for web browsing. Value=alert(“Java Script Message!”)


next:
It works in the same way as previous, but it goes on to the next card.

openURL:
It opens the website predetermined in Value. It can refer to a local site or to a remote one.

Value=http://www.cnice.mecd.es/malted

play:
It plays an audio file, both with autoRecord action (non-graphical recording interface), and with record action (graphical recording interface). The name of the file to be played must be predetermined in the Value field, i. e. Value=audio/correct.mp3

popOutCourse:
It opens a blank window with the specified course, provided we key into the Value field the name of the course, i.e. Value=xml/mycourse.cxml

The course must be saved within the same project where the frame which calls it is saved, into the xml folder as stated above. If there is no such course, a dialogue box will appear on the screen informing of this condition.

popOutFrame:
It opens a blank window with the specified frame, provided we key into the Value field the name of the frame, i.e. Value=xml/myframe.xml

The frame must be saved within the same project where the frame which calls it is saved, into the xml folder, as stated above. If there is no such frame, a dialogue box will appear on the screen informing of this condition.

popOutText:
It opens a dialogue box with the text previously predetermined in Value . We can also open a text file that belongs to the project by keying in its relative path, i.e. Value=text/filename.txt

If we do the latter, a dialogue box with a text area showing the file content will open. If we leave Value empty, the dialogue box that opens will be empty. If we write a text in the label field, that text will be shown over the media and also as the title of the dialogue box that opens when clicking the media. If we leave the label field empty, the media will be shown without a text and the dialogue box will be show this heading: Malted Message. This message can be personalized by the teaching unit's designer by adding a doubly quoted “myTitle” in the Value field.

previous:
It returns to the previous card from the panel that has been predetermined in the Value field. The text we are going to key into the Value field must have thisformat: panel(panelname), where panelname is the name of the panel that contains the cards.

ramPlay:
It plays a recording which has been previously saved in RAM memory. It can be both applied with (record Action), or without (autorecord Action) a graphical recording interface; it is essential to take into account that the name for both the recording media object and the Value field must be the same.

recap:
(Dialog): It goes to the first card of the panel called Main and plays all the existing audio files; that is why only one media in each card must have and associated audio file). When it ends, it goes on to the next card and so it does until it reaches the card which was active when this action was executed. If this action was already being executed, it stops by calling it again.

record:
It records sounds with a graphical interface; its running works exactly in the same way as winRecord action.
Again, there are two possible ways of applying the action:

1.- if we would like the recording to be saved into a file, we must select this action and key in into the Value field the name of the .mp3 file where the recording will be saved. In order to play the sound later, we should apply the play action . This is our recommended option .

2.- If we would like our recording to be virtually saved in the RAM memory, this is again the action to select, but leaving the Value field empty, although it will be necessary to name the media object. In order to play our recording later, we should apply the ramPlay action.

Retry:
(Memory) It works in the same way as clear and it is only applicable in the Memory interaction. It is used to start the activity from scratch. In the Value field we should key in the name of the panel, i.e. Value=panel( Main ).

return:
It is an action used in popoutframes to close the active frame. For intance, in the GapFilling interaction, in Frame Properties we introduce the parameter gapPopOutFrame and its value will be the frame containing the media that has Action=return, i. e. Value=”xml/framewithReturn.xml”.

As a result, when we doubleclick a gap, the tool calls the popOutFrame named xml/framewithReturn.xml, which includes buttons with Action=return, and Value=”value1” or Value=”value2”, etc. When the student clicks one of those buttons, the popoutFrame closes and returns the Value, filling in the gap.

RTS_AB_connect:
Connection to the Asset Base in order to import new courses from RTS.

RTS_about:
It provides information about MALTED system

RTS_exit:
It closes Malted RTS

RTS_help:
It opens Malted RTS use and navigation.

runAllDialog:
(Dialog): it goes to the first card of the panel called Main and plays all the existing audio files; that is why, in order to have it running smoothly, there should be only one media per card with an audio file associated to it.

When it ends, it goes to the next card and so does it until it gets to the last card. If it was already executing the action, this action stops when being called again.

setCourseVariable:
It allows the designer to predetermine a variable all throughout the course. This variable can be used in conditional hyperlinks, so that the course follows the path dependant on the variable, i.e. sex: male or female; depending on the clicked option, the students will follow a different path. Once the variable has been predetermined, setCourseVariable must be selected when creating hyperlinks between frames. You can see an example in the CourseExamples project.

setFrameVariable:
It allows the designer to predetermine a variable for a frame, for instance, the number of clicks, and so on. When creating hyperlinks, setCourseVariable must be selected. You can see an example in the CourseExamples project.


setLang:
It selects a language; this action will only be available provided that the same option has been activated in the .cfg project folder of the unit. You can check project.cfg

You can use it to change the language in the current frame, although it is necessary to include texts with the corresponding language suffix, i.e. text_es.txt, for Spanish or text_en.txt, for English, etc.


show:
It shows a specific card from a specific panel. It will be necessary to predetermine two values, the name of the panel, i.e. panel(panelname) and the card we would like to show, card(x); x can stand for the name of the card or the number that indicates its position in the panel. Example: panel(Options)card(correct) or panel(Help)card(5)

solve:
(GapFilling and Crossword2): it shows the solution to the exercise.

verify:
(GapFilling): it shows a dialogue box with the score the students have obtained in the exercise.

It highlights the right answers in blue and the wrong ones in red as predetermined colours. If the parameter introduced in the Verify field is atEnd, it will check all the cards in that frame, but it will be essential to have previously filled in all the gaps in all the cards. If the parameter introduced in the Verify field is anytime, it will only check the active card at any time.

(MultipleChoice): it highlights both the right and the wrong answers and shows the right answers which haven't been ticked. It also shows a dialogue box with the score obtained in the exercise. If the parameter introduced in the Verify field is atEnd, it will check all the cards in the frame, as long as at least one checkbox from the Answers panel has been ticked. If the parameter introduced in the Verify field is anytime, it will only check the active card at any time.

winEMail:
it opens the email application, with a new mail and the address which has been predetermined in the Value field as To. The mail address must appear after mailto,

i.e. Value=mailto:malteduser@malted.com

You can also send the content of a text media, by writing Media.MediaName.TEXT, so that the mail address should appear as follows: Value=mailto:malteduser@malted.com?body=MEDIA.medianame.TEXT.

It is essential to write a dot after TEXT due to technical reasons.

winPlay/winOpen:
It opens the file which has been predetermined in the Value field, i.e. text/integration.rtf

winRecord:
It opens the audio file that has been predetermined in the Value field using the Windows sound recorder, within the current project, i.e. audio/audiofile.wav


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