The Kanji Sketch Pad - Part Two


Buttons on the Main Window

Most of the following discussion applies to the full ($5) version of the Kanji Sketch Pad. The freeware ($0) version, shown above, is designed to help beginners learn their kana (hiragana and katakana) and get started on learning their kanji, and it has the same underlying drawing and memory models as the full version, but the user interface is simplified.

Users should upgrade if they want to take their Japanese writing skills to the next step by personalising their mnemonics, linking to online content (on and kun readings, and examples of usage), and managing their learning targets. To allow all that, the full version comes with a few more buttons but, to keep the interface simple so you can focus on your kanji, these extra buttons are hidden by default, and the start-up interface, shown below, looks much the same. To access the extra features, click on the Expand button with the two arrowheads.



Claim
Claim knowledge of an item. Clicking this button tells the Kanji coach that you know an item quite well, and don't want to be tested on it for a while. This option is only available if you complete the kanji successfully without any errors.


Difficulty Level
Medium by default. Click to cycle through easy, medium, and hard, using the same colour-shape code used for ski trails.


Expand or Collapse
Toggle the button panel to show or hide the advanced features.


Next
Move onto the next kanji. This button will have a red star instead of a blue triangle if the current kanji has not been completed.


Once you have expanded the button panel, a few more options appear.



Search
Search for an item in your list by kanji or keyword. If the kanji or keyword features in the joyo kanji list, but not your own personal list, you will be offered the chance to add that item. (Note that you can also paste any kanji into the input field of the main window.)


Edit
Edit your vocab list, or the mnemonic for the current item.This button also opens up access to several additional features found in the mnemonic window.


Open
Open a new vocabulary file. Your vocab file is automatically saved and opened with the name 'KanjiPad.voc' when you start and stop the applcation, and copies are stored in the backup folder. If two users share a computer, the most recent user's data will be stored in the KanjiPad.voc file, so other users will need to open their own file explicitly.


Save
Save your vocab list with a personalised name, such as Johnny.voc.

Multi-user management will be streamlined in the next Beta version of the Kanji Sketch Pad.

These are several more buttons you need to know about, described here, but that's it for now.

Contact Cerebware with any questions! Happy kanji drawing.

Index
Part One - Overview
Part Two - The Main Buttons
Part Three - The Mnemonic Buttons
Part Four - The Text Editor
Part Five - The Pad's Hot Zones
Part Six - Learning Targets
Part Seven - Usage and Readings