CALUMATH PAGE MAKER
Quick Introduction

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Creating A Web Page

The Main Menu contains a list of the types of items that can be created. Click on an entry in the Main Menu and a submenu appears, listing the objects in that category that can be created. Click one of these items and you will be taken to a screen to create the object.

After you have created one or more objects, click View at the top of the page to see the page you have created. Click Edit at the top of the page to edit items you have created already.

Creating a CALUMATH web page is a cyclical process. You create items, then view the progress of your web page using View. After viewing your page, you can add more items or click Edit to make changes to an already created item.

Never try to do two things at once If you are creating an object, finish creating the object (or cancel creating it) before you try editing your page or viewing the page. If you are editing an object, finish editing it before you try creating a new object.

There is a special shortcut if you need to edit text, such as paragraphs or titles, that you have created. When you click View to look at the web page you are creating, a button labeled Click Here to Edit Text appears at the bottom of the page. Click on this button and then click on the text you want to edit. This will take you to the screen where the text was created. Note that the Click Here to Edit Text button only appears while you are constructing the page; it does not appear after your page is completed.

Editing A Web Page

If you want to change an object you already created, click Edit and a window will open that lists all the objects you created. Look for the item you want to change, click on it, and you will be taken to the screen where the item was created. Note that the window that opens shows you the entire structure of the page you are creating, along with relationships between the items. For example, items you graph on a set of axes appear as children of the axes, and a point that you highlight on a graph appears as a child of the graph.

If You Do Something that Ruins Your Web Page

Each time you click View you can see the page you are creating. CALUMATH also keeps track of the versions of the pages you have created. If you do something to ruin your web page, you can go back to a previous version by clicking Previous Version. When you click Previous Version, a dropdown menu listing the number of times you have viewed the web page appears. Select a number and click the Load This Previous Version button to go back to that version of the page. If it is not the version you want, repeat the process and choose a different version. Note that the different versions are not saved on your computer; once you close your web browser and exit the CALUMATH Page maker, all of your versions are lost. The only way to keep a version of your web page is to save it by following the Saving Web Pages instruction above.

If Something Malfunctions

Sometimes you may encounter a bug and the CALUMATH Page Maker malfunctions. All you have to do is save the web page you are constructing, close the CALUMATH Page Maker, reopen the CALUMATH Page Maker, and reload the page you saved using Load Page. If you cannot save your page because View is not visible at the top of the CALUMATH Page Maker, click to make it visible. This button is also contained in the Help window, which you can access by clicking the Help. If you click this when the program is working correctly, you will cause the CALUMATH Page Maker to work incorrectly.
A Good Thing About Firefox: If something doesn't work correctly and you opened the CALUMATH Page Maker with Firefox, you can check for JavaScript errors by clicking the Tools entry in the FireFox Menu Bar and clicking the JavaScript Console entry. This takes you to a window that tells you if there is a JavaScript error in your web page. Sometimes this can help you catch a simple mistake that can be fixed easily. For example, if you define the constant Distance = 10, but later spell it as Dstance (without the i), the JavaScript console might say something such as Dstance is undefined, which indicates that perhaps you misspelled Distance.

Creating Buttons

There are two parts to creating a button. You must create the button itself, and you must also create a Button Action. A Button Action contains the things that you want done when the button is clicked. When you create the Button Action, you are taken to a screen where you choose the Button that you want the Button Action to be associated to. After you click Finish Button Action you are prompted to add items to your button action. The next items you create are added to the Button Action until, when prompted with a pop-up window saying Continue Button Action?, you click Cancel.

There are three types of buttons, a Button, a Click On Graph Button, and a variety of Preprogrammed Buttons.

  1. For Buttons you create one Button Action; the items in the Button action are done when the user clicks on the button.
  2. When the user clicks on a Click On Graph Buttons, a set of axes is prepared to receive user clicks. These buttons have two Button Actions, one for when the user clicks on the button, and one for when the user clicks on the graph. The Button Action for when the user clicks on the button is optional, often it is used to create a Pop-Up Message Window instructing the user that they should click on a set of axes.
  3. There are also several Preprogrammed Buttons: a Tangent Button, a Highlight Button, and Point Button. These buttons are preprogrammed to draw tangents on graphs where the user clicks, highlight points on already constructed graphs, and plot points anywhere on a set of axes where the user clicks, respectively.

If you finish creating a Button Action and then realize you want to add more items to it, use the Add To Button Action menu.

Container Objects: Button Actions, Routines, Conditionals, For Loops, and New Windows

A Button Action contains the things you want done when a user clicks a button. In this way, a Button Action is a container; inside the container you create the things to be done when the button is clicked. The other items listed above are also containers in the same way.

  1. A Routine consists of a series of objects you want created or steps carried out. After giving a name to the Routine, you are prompted to create all the items you want the Routine to do. In this way, a Routine is a container for a group of items you want created or carried out. Please note that creating a Routine is different than executing the Routine. When you want the Routine to be executed, use the Execute A Routine sub-menu. Routines are important if you want to allow the user to drag objects around on a set of axes. The Routine tells the web page the steps you want carried out (for example moving a graph) as the object is dragged.
  2. A Conditional is equivalent to an if, or if-else, or an if-else if-else statement in computer programming. In creating a Conditional, you state a Comparison. If the Comparison is satisfied, the remaining items in the Conditional are done, if not, the remaining items are not done.
  3. If you want your web page to open an additonal, secondary window, you use the New Window menu. After giving a name to the New Window, you are prompted to create all the items you want to appear in the New Window.
  4. A For Loop is equivalent to a for loop in programming. Using it, you can repeatedly do a task or create an object. After giving a name to the For Loop, you are prompted to create all the items you want to be part of it.