WordAloud software "free" to English schools

WordAloud^® - teaching English and literacy worldwide

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

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The WordAloud Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Care needs to be taken to remove WordAloud and also any different version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) before installing or reinstalling WordAloud. WordAloud will only run with version 1.1.8 of JRE, which is provided as part of the installation.

2. How do I input my own text into WordAloud?

The simplest way of inputting text is using Notepad. Create a text file in c:\cloudw, and write your text. Then you can read the file quickly using the "File..." to open the file in WordAloud. Check you can do this before the next step - writing more text into the file.

After you swap back to Notepad to add some more text, you need to save the new text (select "Save" on the file menu). Then swap back to WordAloud, press z (or click on the Ref button) to refresh the page, and you can read the updated file.

You can also use a scanner to move text onto the computer hard disk, convert it into a text only file and then use WordAloud to read it.

By the way, you can quickly swap to and fro between WordAloud and another window using Alt+Tab.

If you want to input text in Microsoft Word, you can do the same as above, but save the file as a text file.

Another way of reading what you've written is to highlight the text you want WordAloud to read, then press control+c (or select Copy from Edit menu), which puts the text on the clipboard. Then swap to WordAloud, and press the Clip button or type 'x'. WordAloud will just read out the text from the clipboard.

3. Abbreviations

If you have a version of WordAloud with a file in c:\cloudw called abbreviations, please rename it to abbreviations.ss

You may follow the style used in abbreviations.ss to add your own abbreviations.

4. Pronunciation

Following the format of dictionary.ss you may add your own pronunciations.

5. Which operating systems does WordAloud run under?

Windows 98, Windows 98 (Second Edition), Windows Millenium, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

6. What processor is required?

WordAloud will run on a 100 MHz CPU, but more processing power improves performance and faster parsing of files when you open them, and a smoother running display.

7. How much hard disc space is required?

about 7MB

8. What RAM is recommended?

WordAloud will run with 16 megabytes of RAM.

9. How do I check the CD for viruses?

First disable the "Auto insert notification" feature within Windows 98, to prevent the installation software from running automatically when the CD is inserted into the computer, by going to Device Manager.

You can do this by clicking on the Start Menu/Settings/Control Panel/System/ and the Device Manger tab or by right clicking on My Computer, selecting Properties, followed by Device Manager.
Click on the “+” by CD-ROM, followed by double-clicking your particular CD drive.
Click the "Settings" tab " and deselect "Auto insert notification".
Click on OK and reboot your computer.

Then place the CD in the computer and run your Virus detection software

10. What do I do if the program stops?

Try pressing the Up cursor key, but if you are already at the top level, the try Down and then Up. Or you can click on the corresponding buttons on the screen.
If this doesn't work, and the keyboard doesn't seem to have any effect, it is necessary to close the application down and restart it.

11. I get "out of environment space" error message

Check your c:\config.sys file to see if it has has an entry such as
shell=c:\command.com /e:1024 /p
If does not, add it. If it does, try increasing the 1024 to 2048.
Re-boot the computer it you make any change to the config.sys file.

12. Which type of file can WordAloud read?

WordAloud can read any plain text file (a file with a .txt extension) or HTML file (with a .htm or .html extension). Other text files, such as Microsoft Word files and PDF files, need to be converted into plain text of HTML format in order to be read.

13. How can I change a Word .doc file into a WordAloud readable file?

Simple, go to 'File/Save As' and then select 'Text only' from the list of options in 'Save as type'.

14. How can I change a .pdf file into a WordAloud readable file?

To change it into an HTML file email the file as an attachment to pdf2htm@sun.trace.wisc.edu
To change it into an text file email as an attachment to pdf2txt@sun.trace.wisc.edu

After a few minutes check for new email and the HTML or text version of your file will be there.

15. JRE Problem with Pentium computer?

We have found that if you attempt to install WordAloud on a Pentium IV computer the version of Sun's Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software which we have been using to date (18/12/01), may cause a "jre invalid instruction" error message and WordAloud will not run. Sun has released an updated version of their JRE which solves this problem. If you have had this error message with your Pentium IV computer we suggest that you download the current version of the WordAloud evaluation software from our web site as this now contains the updated JRE.

16. Where should I send any comments?

Use the feedback form.

17. Where should I go if I have a question which is not answered above?

Use the feedback form.