Setup for Lessons with Multiple Pictures

There is a common setup procedure for creating lessons containing multiple pictures. The setup panel fills the right side of the ACORNS window application. On the top of the panel, there is a secondary toolbar. Click here for a detailed description.

Step 1: Insert at least four pictures

You need to first insert at least four pictures and record audio into each image before you can execute (play) a lesson. One way to execute the insert image command is to click on the edit menu and then select the image option from the insert submenu. An easier way is to simply click on the ACORNS application toolbar. A third way is to drag and drop; when you have an operating system folder open, select one or a group of pictures; next drag to the ACORNS application frame and release the mouse. All of the pictures will insert into the lesson. If you choose to insert using the first two of these approaches, a file chooser dialog will appear, which is similar to chooser menus that other application programs use. Browse to the folder containing the pictures, and then click on the desired picture. Note that if the folder contains lots of pictures; it sometimes takes a while for the list of files to display. After adding a picture to a lesson, you can add additional pictures by repeating the procedure just described.

Remove a picture

Should you want to remove a picture from the lesson, first click on the one that you want to delete. You will see its border turn red as a result. Now you can remove the picture in two ways. The faster method is to click again on the picture and while the mouse is depressed, drag the mouse off the ACORNS application frame. When you release, the picture will be gone. There is also a longer way to do the same thing. The other approach is to click on the edit menu, then click on remove, and then on image. The picture selected (with the red border showing) will be deleted from the lesson.

Step 2: Attach audio to each picture

To execute a lesson, there must be at least one sound clip attached to each picture. You are not limited to one sound clip, however. Any number of sound clips can be attached. First select a picture by clicking on it. This will cause its border to turn red. A sound dialog will then appear which will enable you to attach audio to a picture, or modify what you did previously. For more information, there is a help web-page called Recording and Maintaining Audio. that describes this procedure in more detail.

Step 3: Execute the lesson

Once you have inserted at least four pictures and attached at least one audio to each picture, your lesson is ready to execute. To execute, click on the icon that looks like a lightning bolt ().

Note: Recovering from errors

If you make a mistake, ACORNS can help you recover. For example if you remove a picture inadvertantly, click on the undo icon on the ACORNS toolbar at the top of the frame. The picture will return. The undo operation can also recover from changes made when you record sounds, and attach them to one of the pictures. After undoing, the redo button becomes active. You can redo an operation if you change your mind.