Acces Directions

Selecting Problems in Acces

To select problems from the catalog in Acces:

Type the three-character database code in the first column.
Type the two-letter category code (shown at the top of each catalog Page) in the second column.
Type the desired problem number in the third column.
Tab three times to move forward through the three columns labeled Directions, Workspace and Commands or Control and Enter moves to the next line. You do not need to fill in the other columns. They are for customizing your document. To learn more about them, consult your Reference Manual.
To see how the problem will appear in your document, choose Utilities > Preview

Databases

Control + L brings up the list of databases

· TX3 –

· TX6 –

· TX7 –

· TX9 – Texas Elem Math (TEKS/TAKS)

· TX8 – TEKS/TAKS Elem Reading

· T8s – Elem Reading Spanish Version

· T9s – Elem Math Spanish Version

Catalogs

Catalogs are part of the installation – you MUST have Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the catalogs – Catalogs are in the following directory:

XP machines C:\acc\Catalogs

NT machines D:\acc\Catalogs

To access the catalogs go to Start – My Computer. On an XP teacher workstation double click on the C:drive and for a NT teacher workstation, double click on the D:drive. Locate the folder labeled acc and double click on it. Next, double click on the catalogs folder. Inside the catalogs folder you will find the .pdf documents which correlate with the databases. Double click on the database you want to use to see the questions.

Access Helpful Hints

· “ (quotation marks in a cell) repeats the entry from the cell above

· Control + Enter goes to the next line

· Category and Problem number must come from the catalog (Remember that Directions, Workspace and Commands can be left blank, they will “fill in” with default values.)

Problem – Select By… Write a script and then fills in Database for you.

Use…(hyphen) if you want consecutive numbers or can use

(comma) if you want certain numbers

Problem – Auto advance

Turn on process by going to Problem>Auto advance and putting a check mark in box to make auto advance active. Choose the number of problems to be advanced in each skip. Shift>F2 turns auto-advance off.

Document Type

There are 5 types of documents that can be created in Acces. Go to Layout>Document Type to make choice.

Main Options

These choices change depending what type of document is selected. Go to Layout>Main Options to make choice.

Headers

Headers appear at the top of the document. Allows for the title of the document and any special instructions. Go to Layout>Headers to make choices.

Numbering

In this section teachers may change how the problems are numbered. TAKS style is numbers with a period after the number. For students who need larger fonts for reading disabilities, this is where you make that change. Go to Layout>Numbering to make choices

Multiple Choice

The answer choices in TAKS testing are listed vertically. You can create a free response test by changing Layout to hidden. This does apply to the entire document so make sure all the questions can be free response. The Numbering>Counter option should be capital letters with no punctuation for grades 3-8. Third grade can choose ovals under label style to use TAKS formatting. A modification option in multiple choice is to make Max Choices 3 for students who need fewer answer choices. Go to Layout>Multiple Choice to make choices.

Preview and Printing

To preview the document go to Utilities>Preview.

To print the document go to Utilities>Print. In the print window that opens, make sure you choose yes to print the answer key. The answer sheet gives the correct answer as well as database, category and number for each question.

Help

The help section does not work in Acces. The manuals are in the acc folder on either the D:drive on NT machines or C:drive on XP machines.

Saving

The names of the documents created can only have 8 characters with no spaces. Save documents to either your personal drive (F:drive for NT or G:drive for XP) or the school shared S:drive. The file extension is .acc

Things I wouldn’t Change

File>Preferences

Problem>Extract

Layout>Fonts/Pictures or TeX options

Utilities>Format

Weekly Calendar Options

Go to Layout>Document Type and choose Weekly Calendar
Fill-out database with desired questions
Go to Layout>Main Options. Choose the date you want the calendar to begin. There are three options for the 6^th square on the calendar. Skip leaves the square blank. Saturday or Sat/Sun allows for a 6^th question that may be used for a bonus.

Layout>Headers allows you to put a title on the document and give any directions needed for the assignment.
Layout>Numbering is the same for any document.
Layout>Multiple Choice is the same for any document.

Monthly Calendar Options

Go to Layout>Document Type and choose Monthly Calendar
Fill-out database with desired questions
Go to Layout>Main Options. Choose the month, year and how many days per week you want the calendar to have. The calendar can be on 1 to 3 pages depending on the questions and graphics.

Layout>Headers allows you to put a title on the document and give any directions needed for the assignment.
Layout>Numbering is the same for any document.
Layout>Multiple Choice is the same for any document.

Flashcards Options

1. Go to Layout>Document Type and choose Flashcards.
Fill-out database with desired questions
Go to Layout>Main Options. Choose from the following options. Make sure to check Utility>Preview to make sure the flashcards look acceptable.

Layout>Headers allows you to put a title on the document and give any directions needed for the assignment.
Layout>Numbering is the same for any document.
Layout>Multiple Choice is the same for any document.

Overhead Options

Go to Layout>Document Type and choose Overheads
Fill-out database with desired questions
Go to Layout>Main Options.