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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 4:53pm | IP Logged
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So I've finally caught up to the rest of the world now that I have a decent printer and I bought Startwrite. Is it just me (probably) or is it a sort of finicky program? I have a feeling I'm really missing something, but I'm finding it a little more than open and go. Does anyone have any tips for a startwrite newbie? Is the maximum number of pages you can insert really 8? Why doesn't it seem to automatically paginate?
Now, I am not the most technical of geeks, so I have a feeling that this is easy if I had a little more knowledge.
(Also, I have to say that my inability to make HWOT numbers bigger than the midline is driving me crazy! Shew! Just had to get that off my chest!  )
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 4:58pm | IP Logged
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I just bought this and need to install it...and figure it out in the next few days!
I am watching this thread with great interest.
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Aug 10 2011 at 8:17pm | IP Logged
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I only ever make one page worksheets at a time... so I guess I am not much help.
I just open, set the size and text, write what I want to the bottom of the page, then print it.
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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I think you're right, Angela - it isn't the most visually intuitive program. Maybe that's not a good description either...I did find everything I needed to print within relative ease (I was printing my first sheet within 15 minutes), but it's not as smooth and hand-holdy as I might be used to (I have a mac and everything is super visually intuitive on the mac).
I have the older version (Startwrite 5). I was hoping the new upgraded version (Startwrite 6) might be a little more intuitive and visually pretty. I was also REALLY looking forward to being able to type in more than one page of text....but alas....the new version is not available for mac yet, so I'll just be content and keep working with Startwrite 5. It sounds like maybe you have the newer version since you're typing in 8 pages of text at a time...but that is the ceiling? 8 pages?
Interesting.
I would say that your initial assessment is probably accurate, this isn't as open and go as it could be, but I don't use it for much of anything except printing basic copywork sheets and it does fine for that. I find that its usefulness really becomes evident when you get to cursive copywork because I COULD NOT find another program ANYWHERE else that would print my copywork selection in cursive (font and style of my choice) with attached letters.
My favorite features are:
** font selections (to include cursive)
** ability to change line styles (some children are encumbered by extra dotted lines/different color lines, and some children really enjoy the guides...I like that they're optional for me.)
** ability to change font size!!!!!! (I think this would be so useful especially for a child that really NEEDS larger font. At a certain point, all penmanship books move to a smaller size font, but some children's eyes may not yet be ready for it. Love this feature!)
That's about all I manipulate! If a child wants to decorate their copywork, they generally do so by hand on their paper and add the copywork to their copywork notebook anyway. I don't use the images included in the software package because I have one child that would be COMPLETELY distracted by anything superfluous on the paper....adding an illustration after-the-copywork is one thing....having an image there before the copywork would be a SIGNIFICANT distraction for one of my children.
Sorry, Angela. I know this isn't the insight and instruction you were looking for! Maybe someone else has Startwrite 6 and can help with your specific concerns!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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anitamarie
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 12:41pm | IP Logged
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There must be something funky about the new version and the HWOT numbers. I have the older version and it doesn't have that problem. Maybe email for Tech Support? Good luck!!
Anita
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Mimip
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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I was actually going to come here and ask a question about Startwrite too!
Is anyone else having problems with the first letter getting cut off of every line???? I tried changing the margins but does not help, any suggestions?
Oh and I have a love and hate relationship with Startwrite. Agree with all of Jen's points and most especially love the change of fonts capability.
What I did that REALLY helped was to write a cheat sheet or sample sheet. Here is what I did.
1. I wrote out one line (ours was: The girls went to the store.)
2. Then I used the same line with ALL the examples of every variation of formatting. I started with the type. We use Manuscript, Modern Cursive and HWOT (both manuscript and cursive). So the paper has the same line in all 4 fonts.
3. Then I have another sheet with the same line in Manuscript in the 8 size fonts that I used. This way I know what size is what.
4. Then I have a sheet with all the line variations as well as the degrees of black lines and tracing.
5. I label all of these as soon as they came out of the printer and placed it into a duotang folder in page protectors.
I cannot tell you how much time this has saved me every few weeks when I sit to write things out. I'm waiting for the next version like Jen is for the Mac but so far this will have to do.
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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JodieLyn
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oh yeah.. it's rather persnickity. I have an older version hmm looks like 5 as well. I find it easiest to write out what I want (or find it somewhere) and c/p in blocks. It is annoying to have to add pages instead of having the text wrap onto a new page automatically.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 2:18pm | IP Logged
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Jen, I've done 7 pages with the older program.. you just have to manually add each page as you want them.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Angel
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| Posted: Aug 11 2011 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I'm glad it's not just me. For the record, I'm using version 5 for Mac. (I like my new Macbook.  ) I can manually add 8 pages, but after 8 it won't let me add more.
I was trying to make a set of number pages for my 5 year olds. They like to do more than 1 page at a time, and I thought if I had all the number practice pages together as one file I could just print the whole thing out. Instead I have two files. Oh well. I guess it just isn't set up for making whole books. But as long as I know I'm not missing anything, I'll just deal with it. Less frustrating that way!
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Erin
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Angela
We are kindred spirits  I just bought it too, and understanding isn't coming easy. Let your older two loose on it  Ds 12 listened to the tuts and he worked it out and printed some sheets, but alas he lost interest in teaching me. I had planned on sitting down and listening and seeing if I could figure it out this weekend. Hopefully I can come back with good news.
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Erin
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Erin
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| Posted: Oct 04 2011 at 11:42pm | IP Logged
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Angela
How are you going figuring it out?
I'm quite frustrated with it to be honest. I can't get any audible sound, nor can I get the words to be solid, only dots. I really wanted to be able to copy and paste poems into the program, leaving either a blank line under each printed line, or a stanza and then a stanza of blank. I've written to the company but haven't heard back yet. Really hoping the problem is me. Oh if only I could figure it out.
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Erin
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: tips for using Startwrite?
