User Manual
Table of Contents
- Software Description
- System Requirements
- Installing SenDraw
- Starting SenDraw
- Using Menus
- Using the Toolbar
- Basic Operation
- Troubleshooting
Software Description 
SenDraw is special-purpose software for creating Reed-Kellogg sentence diagrams. Reed-Kellogg diagrams visually map sentence components. SenDraw was a course project of EEL 5881: Software Engineering I, taught by G. Walton, Ph.D. during Fall 1999 in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Central Florida.
The developing team members were: Qingcai Guan, Ying Chen and Wenwei Sun. The client was Beth Rapp Young, Ph.D. in the English Department of UCF.
SenDraw V1.0 and SenDrawA V1.0 is free trial software.
System Requirements
NOTE: This program does not work on a Mac.
The following are required to ensure correct functioning of SenDraw:
- CPU: 80386 (or higher)
- RAM: 8MB (or higher)
- Disk Space: 20MB (or higher)
- Video: VGA or higher at 800 x 800 resolution
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 95 or higher
- A mouse
- Optional: Zip File Utility for unzipping the zip file to install SenDraw. However, SenDraw can be downloaded from the Web site without needing this.
Installing SenDraw
Move the downloaded file into the desired directory (creating it first if necessary). Open or Run the file in directory. If it is the zip file, follow the prompts provided by the Zip File Utility being used. There should be one file: SenDraw.exe or SenDrawA.exe
Starting SenDraw
SenDraw Icon
You can start SenDraw by double-clicking the SenDraw program. The splash screen displays for 5 seconds before the main program loads.
Using Menus
Sendraw has 6 menus on the menu bar: File, Edit, View, Element, Window, Help. There are two ways to open the menus. If you wish to open the menu by using the menu bar, navigate your mouse on the individual menu choice on the menu bar and then click and the menu items will display. If you wish to open the menu by using the keyboard, hold down the ALT key and press the underscored letter associated with the particular menu. For example, holding down the ALT key and pressing the F key will open the File menu.
File Menu Items
File Menu Items Screen shot
- New: Selecting New will open a new file
- Open: Selecting Open will open a File Dialog Window so you can browse to an existing file and open it
- Close: Selecting Close will close the file you are currently working on
- Save: Selecting Save will save the file using the name you used before (or the default name if you haven't saved it before)
- Save As: Select a name for your file and save it
- Print: Print your document out in the printer without asking any questions
- Print Preview: Show you what your document will look like when printed out. NOTE: If you are using SenDrawA, the slanted and vertical text may appear incorrectly in Print Preview, but it will print correctly
- Print Setup: Set up your printer and your paper. Letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) and portrait orientation are recommended
- Recent Files: Lists up to 4 files that have been most recently accessed. You can open these files by clicking on the menu item
- Exit: Exit the program
Edit Menu Items
The functions list in the edit menu are currently not available in version 1.0.
View Menu Items
The View Menu allows you to decide whether or not you want to display the toolbar and status bar. If an item on the menu is checked, that bar is displayed. If the item is not checked, the bar is not displayed. To change the checkmark, highlight the toolbar or status bar on the pulldown menu.
- Toolbar: The toolbar stays on top of the screen and allows you to easily access elements such as Print, Save. The toolbar also allows you to insert sentence diagramming elements
- Status bar: The Status bar is located at the bottom of the Sendraw menu and assists you in the functions of each menu item or toolbar item
Element Menu Items
Element Menu Items Screen shot
- Line names and Curve (Horizontal, Vertical, etc.):Select an element name, you will be allowed to draw the shape you selected
- Parentheses: When you select parentheses, a submenu will appear with two choices: Left and Right. By selecting them, you can draw left or right parentheses respectively
- Style Selecting Style will allow you to choose the line style by clicking on the corresponding radio button and then clicking on the OK button. Note: The dash line style can only be applied to horizontal, vertical and slanted lines
- Text: Selecting Text will allow you to choose between horizontal, vertical, and slanted text
Window Menu Items
SenDraw allows you work on different documents at the same time by opening multiple windows.
Window Menu Items Screen shot
- New Window Selecting New Window will open a new window with the same contents as the current window
- Cascade Selecting Cascade will layer all the currently opened windows. One window will appears on top and all of the other opened windows will be covered, showing only the title bar
- Tile Selecting Tile will enlarge the SenDraw window
- Arrange Icons This has no actual effect
- Windows List In the lower part of window menu, the currently available windows are listed. You can set focus onto a window by clicking on its name
Help Menu Items
In the Help menu, there is only one choice: About SenDraw… When it is selected, a dialog box with a brief copyright description will appear. No on-line help is available. If you encounter problems while using SenDraw, consult Troubleshooting.
Toolbar
Toolbar Screen shot
Most of the functions listed in the menus have corresponding buttons on the toolbar. Clicking on the toolbar button has the same effect as selecting the corresponding menu item. From left to right, the buttons on the toolbar correspond to the following menu items:
- The first three icons on the toolbar are New, Open , and Save. These are also accessible by selecting the corresponding item from the File menu
- The next three items on the toolbar, Cut, Copy, and Paste, are also located under the Edit menu, but all three are not available in this version of SenDraw
- The next item on the toolbar, About SenDraw…, is available on the Help menu
- The rest of the icons on the toolbar are available from the Elements menu
Basic Operation
Creating a New Object
In order to draw a line or a shape, select the line or the shape you want either by clicking the corresponding menu item, or by clicking on the corresponding button on the toolbar. Next, move the mouse cursor to where you want the line to begin. Click and hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor until the line's desired ending point has been reached. In order to insert text into your document, you must first select the text style by clicking the text style icon on the toolbar or selecting the text style from the Element menu. Next, move the mouse cursor to the position where you want to start your text. Click the left mouse button and a text dialog box will show up. Click inside the text edit area, and type in the text, then click on OK button.
Modifying an Existing Object
An existing shape or text object can be modified. In order to do so, you should move the mouse cursor onto the desired object you want to modify. Click the right mouse button, and then an object operation menu will appear. Note: When you are selecting a horizontal or vertical line, the mouse cursor needs to be exactly on the line to be modified.
Object Operation Menu
- Move: This command will allow you to move the selected object.The mouse cursor will change to a double arrow cross shape. The selected object will move with the mouse cursor. You can drop the object into the new position by clicking on left mouse button, or you can drop it in its original position by clicking on the right mouse button
- Delete: This command will delete the selected object
- Resize: This command will allow you to resize a selected shape. When this command is selected, the mouse cursor will change to be a double arrow cross. One end of the selected shape will move with your mouse cursor while the other end is fixed. Once the object has reached desired size, click the left mouse button to confirm the object's new size. Note: This operation does not apply to text and some shapes. In these cases, the resize option will not be accessible
- Send to Back: In some cases, one shape may be completely covered by another shape that was created more recently. If you want to send the most recently created shape behind the earlier shape (think of moving the top paper in a stack to the bottom of the stack), then you would use the command "Send to Back". Doing this makes it easier to select the shape you want
Troubleshooting
I use a Mac, what can I do about SenDraw?
If you use a Mac, you won't be able to run SenDraw on your computer. However, you can create sentence diagrams using alternative graphic programs or Microsoft Word or other software.
How do I get the text to flip on the vertical dotted line?
It is not be possible via SenDraw to turn the conjunction the right way, so just make sure that the words are on the right lines.
I can't get it to stop treating the sentence as a whole. I want to move one word and it picks up the whole sentence.
To move words as separate pieces, you need to type them in separately and move them where you want them.
How do I download the Excel worksheet and SenDraw files? There is an "Unexpected File Format."
The "Unexpected File Format" message means that your browser can't do anything with the files. But that's OK. Just click "save to file"and then you can open the files outside your browser (e.g., use SenDraw to open the SenDraw file).
How do I download someone else's diagram?
You will need SenDraw to read the file. When you try to download it, the browser will tell you it is an "unexpected file format." You will then choose "save to disk." Then, you have to start SenDraw and open the file.
When I printed my diagram, SenDraw printed the diagonal lines going in the wrong direction.
The solution to this problem is to download the SenDrawA version of the program. SenDraw reacts differently to different printers.
I downloaded the attachments, and now I can't open them correctly. What do I do?
First, check the file name. Some browsers will sometimes attach a filename without a three letter extension. So instead of filename.doc, your computer will just see filename [no .doc]. When that happens, your computer calls the file filename.html, and it will not be able to open the file in SenDraw. Right click on the file and select "Rename" in the popup menu, and rename the file with a .sdr extension. (Make sure to select "All files" under file type, or else it will not accept the file name.) Then start SenDraw and open the file.
Sometimes browsers will add .attach to the end of your filename, even if your filename has a three letter extension. So your filename may look like this: filename.sdr.attach If that happens, change the filename to remove the .attach. Then start SenDraw and open the file.
Another option is saving the attachment to your desktop without doing anything to change the filename. Then, right click on the file icon that appears on your desktop. Select "Open with" and then find "SenDraw" through the "Choose Program" option. However, you will probably have to repeat these steps every time you want to view it; it doesn't default to opening in SenDraw after the first time you open it.