Inspiration 8 IE: tutorial

Transcription

1 Inspiration 8 IE: tutorial Edition 3a, June 2006 If you would like this document in an alternative format please ask at The Library Help and Information Point where a folder of examples is available. On request we can provide documents with a different size and style of font on a variety of coloured paper. Electronic versions can also be supplied. What is Inspiration? Inspiration is a useful piece of software that can help you create concept maps easily and effectively. It provides you with the tools to create a picture of your ideas or concepts in the form of a diagram or mind map. When you use visual representations of ideas, it can be easier to see how one idea relates to another. Diagrams also make it easier to recall details at a later date, and are a good way of clarifying your thinking. You can convert your diagrams into a written outline which forms the basis of your written work. Inspiration is available on all PCs in the Library at Headingley Campus and Civic Quarter. For availability at Harrogate College please ask staff. Starting Inspiration 1) Click on the Start button 2) Move up to Programs 3) Then move across and click onto Inspiration 8 IE Inspiration will now open with the Inspiration Starter screen. Figure 1 Inspiration Starter screen Copyright 2006 Leeds Metropolitan University Learning & Information Services Screenshots reproduced with the permission of the software provider, Inspiration Software Inc. ( IT guide

2 From here you can choose to: Create a diagram Create an outline Create a mind map Open a file that you have previously created Find a template for creating a diagram Learn to use by watching training videos and seeing examples. 4) Choose Create a diagram The 3 Inspiration views Diagram view In Diagram view you can create many types of visual diagrams. The kind of diagram you create in Inspiration depends on the idea you want to develop. Figure 2 Diagram view 2

3 Map view Create mind maps in Map view to show your ideas in a branched view. Outline view Figure 3 Map view When you use the Outline view, you create a hierarchical structure for a report or plan. An outline helps you organise written documents by providing a framework for your ideas, and by letting you order the flow of information. Figure 4 Outline view 3

4 Exercise 1 Diagram view Entering main idea or theme 1) Click inside the Main Idea symbol 2) Delete the words Main Idea and type Library Zooming in Figure 5 Main Idea You can use the zoom button located at the bottom left of the screen to increase or decrease the size of the diagram. Zoom in Zoom out Fit to window Figure 6 Zoom button Saving your work 1) From the File menu, choose Save As 2) In the Save in: box choose the location where you want to save the file 3) Type a name for the diagram in the File name: box 4) Click on the Save button Remember to save your work regularly Expanding main idea and creating links 1) Select the Library symbol 2) Point to the Create button on the toolbar but do not click it yet Figure 7 Create button As you move over the points of the Create button the points become highlighted to show the direction that the new symbol will be linked in 4

5 3) Click on the bottom point of the Create button and a new symbol will be created below the Library symbol 4) In the new symbol type Campus Libraries Add an idea symbol to Campus Libraries 1) Select the Campus Libraries symbol 2) Click on the right point of the Create button 3) In the new symbol type Civic Quarter Figure 8 New Using RapidFire to get ideas down quickly symbol linked to Library You can use RapidFire when you want to brainstorm or capture ideas quickly without worrying about their order or position. 1) Select the Civic Quarter symbol 2) Click on the RapidFire button Figure 9 RapidFire button 3) Type Social Sciences then press the Enter key 4) Type Health, then press the Enter key 5) Type Cultural Studies, then press the Enter key 6) Click on the RapidFire button again to turn it off Figure 10 RapidFire Note: if you want to change text you have already typed double click on the text. Use the arrow keys to move to the part of the text you wish to change. You can then make changes in the usual way type over existing text or delete it. 5

6 Adding an unconnected idea If you have an idea you wish to add but are initially unsure where it fits in your diagram you can add it as an unconnected idea. Later, when you have decided where it fits in your diagram you can connect it to existing ideas. 1) Click in an open area of your diagram (where there are no symbols) 2) Type Headingley Campus A symbol with the text Headingley Campus appears which is not connected to the rest of your diagram Figure 11 An unconnected symbol Linking unconnected symbols Once you have decided where your unconnected idea fits within your diagram you can connect it. We will connect the Headingley Campus symbol to the Campus Libraries symbol. 1) Select the Campus Libraries symbol this is where we will link the Headingley Campus symbol 2) Click the Link button Figure 12 The Link button 3) Click the Headingley Campus symbol The Headingley Campus symbol will now be linked to the Campus Libraries symbol 4) Click the Link button again to turn it off 6

7 Moving symbols around You can move symbols around by hand to achieve the layout you want. 1) Select the Headingley symbol 2) Hold the mouse button down and drag the symbol to the left of the Campus Libraries symbol To move a group of symbols hold down the Shift key and select each symbol you want to move. More Rapidfire Figure 13 Linking unconnected symbols We can now add some more ideas to the Headingley Campus symbol using the RapidFire button. 1) Click on the Headingley Campus symbol 2) Click on the RapidFire button 3) Type Sport and then press the Enter key 4) Type Education and then press the Enter key 7

8 5) Type Computing and then press the Enter key 6) Click on RapidFire to switch it off Picture symbols Figure 14 Diagram progress Inspiration has hundreds of picture symbols that you can use in your diagram. This can help to show your ideas more clearly. 1) Select the Sport symbol 2) On the symbol palette click on the Select Library button (the down arrow at the top of the palette) If you cannot see the Symbol Palette select the View menu than choose Symbol Palette Figure 15 Select Library 8

9 3) Move to the Fun category 4) Choose the Sport library 5) Click on the Football picture 6) The symbol will change to a picture of a football This is what your diagram should look like now: You can insert your own pictures, for example those you have taken with a digital camera or saved from the Internet. 1) Select the symbol you wish to replace with your picture 2) Go to the Edit menu 3) Click on Insert graphic 4) Browse to the file you want to use and click on Open Your chosen graphic will now be inserted Adding text to a link Figure 16 Picture symbol You can also add text to the line which links the symbols together. 1) Click on the link (line) between Campus Libraries and Headingley Campus 2) Type 3 miles from city centre Figure 17 Adding text to a link 9

10 Adding notes to a symbol You can add notes to a symbol to allow you to expand on the text in the symbol. 1) Select the Civic Quarter symbol 2) Click on the Note button Figure 18 Notes button A note now opens below the symbol 3) Type My course is based at this campus Adding Hyperlinks Figure 19 Note attached to Civic Quarter symbol To move the note click and hold down the mouse button in the title area and drag it to a new position. To hide a note click the cross in the top left corner of the note You can add hyperlinks to websites from the text in the symbols of your diagram. 1) Select the Library symbol 2) Click the Hyperlink button on the toolbar 10

11 3) In the Link to box type Figure 20 Hyperlink box 4) Click OK 5) Click on the word Library and Internet Explorer will open and display the Library Online homepage Positioning the diagram on the screen 1) Click on the Position button on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen Figure 21 Position button The pointer will change to a hand 2) Click and drag the diagram to reposition it with in the window 3) Once the diagram is in the required position click the Position button again to switch it off Alternatively you can use the scroll bars to reposition the diagram. Now save you work. Position button 11

12 Exercise 2 changing the look of your diagram You can customise the font style, font size, and colours in your diagram to suit you. Formatting text You can change text style, size and colour in symbols, links and notes using the Formatting toolbar. Bold, Italic and Underline buttons Font box Text size box Text colour button Figure 22 The Formatting toolbar - text options To change the font 1) Select the symbol you want to change 2) Click on the arrow on the Font box and select a font To change the font size 1) Select the symbol you want to change 2) Click on the arrow on the Text size box and select a size To change text colour 1) Select the symbol you want to change 2) Click the Text colour button and select a colour To change text to bold, italics or underline 1) Select the symbol you want to change 2) Click on the required button on the toolbar (see Fig. 19) 12

13 Change the colour of individual symbols and notes Fill colour button Defaults button Line colour button Figure 23 The Formatting toolbar - colour options Change the colour 1) Select the symbol or note you want to change 2) Click the Fill colour button and select a colour Change the colour of multicoloured picture symbols 1) Select the symbol you want to change On the Formatting toolbar the existing colours of the symbol are shown 2) Click the colour you wish to change and choose a new colour to replace it Repeat this for each colour you wish to change in the picture Change the line colour 1) Select the symbol you want to change 2) Click the Line colour button and select a colour Change the colour of a link 1) Select the link you want to change 2) Click the Line colour button and select a colour Change the look of all symbols (symbol defaults) You can change the defaults for symbols, links and notes. Default settings are those that are applied as standard to your diagram. The default options which can be changed are symbol shape, font, size, text colour, line colour, fill colour as well as other style options. 1) Follow the steps outlined above to alter the look of a symbol, note or link 13

14 2) Click on the Defaults button Figure 24 Formatting toolbar Default button 3) Select Set Default All new symbols, notes or links will now follow this formatting To apply your new default to existing symbols 1) Select the symbol you wish to change 2) Click on the Defaults button 3) Select Apply Default The select symbol will now change to match your default formatting. Now save your work Figure 25 Example of how the diagram can look after formatting changes 14

15 Exercise 3 Outline view Switching to Outline view 1) Click on the Outline view button Figure 26 Outline view button The screen now changes to show your diagram in outline view. Outline view does not show all of the symbols and links but just shows the text in a conventional hierarchy. A hierarchy is where your ideas are shown as topics and subtopics. Here s what your Outline view should look like: Selection control column Outline toolbar Subtopic Quick control Note Quick control Figure 27 Outline view 15

16 Adding a topic 1) Select the Campus Libraries topic by clicking in the Selection control column (see Fig 27 above) The Campus Libraries topic will be highlighted 2) Click the Topic button A new topic is inserted ready for you to type in 3) Type Harrogate College Moving topics You can change the level of a topic. The topic Harrogate College which was added should appear at the same level as Civic Quarter and Headingley Campus, therefore it should become a subtopic of Campus Libraries. 1) Select Harrogate College by clicking on the Selection control column (see Fig 27 above) 2) Drag the topic up to below Campus Libraries in the outline list Figure 28 Dragging Subtopics 3) Release the mouse button when you reach the desired location 16

17 Adding a subtopic We can now add a subtopic to Harrogate College. 1) Select the Harrogate College topic by clicking in the Selection control column (see Fig 27 above) 2) Click the Subtopic button 3) In the new topic created below Harrogate College, type Further Education Hiding subtopics To show a more streamlined version of your outline you can hide subtopics. 1) Click on the Subtopic Quick Control (the arrow in the left hand column) to the left of the subtopic you wish to hide (see Fig 27 above) 2) The subtopic will now be hidden 3) Click on the Subtopic Quick Control again to make the subtopic reappear Adding notes Figure 29 Subtopic button Note text is a good way to record additional details about your ideas. 1) Select the Headingley Campus topic by clicking in the Selection control column (see Fig 27 above) 2) Click the Note button Fig. 27. Adding notes in outline view A new line appear where you can type your note text 3) Type I can also obtain books from this library 17

18 Hiding and showing notes text You can hide notes text in a similar way to hiding subtopics 1) Click on the Note Quick Control to the left of the Civic Quarter topic to hide the notes for that topic (see Fig 27 above) The notes will now be hidden 2) Click on the Note Quick Control again to make the notes reappear Changing default font Font style, size, colour and other options can be changed in outline view in the same way as in Diagram View. See the section Changing the look of your diagram above. Changing prefixes Figure 30 Note Quick Control Prefixes are the numbers or letters which appear before your topics to show their order within the hierarchy. There are several different prefix styles available. 1) Click the Change prefix labels button on the Formatting toolbar and select a new prefix style Figure 31 Change prefix labels button Now go back to diagram view to see how the changes you have made have affected your diagram. (Click on the Diagram button on the toolbar). Transfer to use in other programs Transferring to Microsoft Word You can transfer both diagrams and outlines into Microsoft Word. This is useful if you wish to view your work on a computer which does not have Inspiration installed on it. 18

19 1) Once you have decided that your work in Inspiration is complete save it in the usual way 2) Click on the Transfer button The Transfer Options window will appear Figure 32 Transfer Options Choose the options you would like to transfer to Microsoft Word. 3) Click OK Your Inspiration work will now appear in Microsoft Word. You can then save your work in Microsoft Word in the usual way If you have transferred information from Outline view you will be able to edit and amend this in Microsoft Word. If you have transferred a Diagram you will not be able to amend this in Microsoft Word but will need to return to the original Inspiration file to make any changes and then transfer it again into Word. Exporting diagrams for use in other programs Diagrams and Outlines can also be exported in a variety of formats for use with other programs. 1) Once you have decided that your work in Inspiration is complete save it in the usual way 2) Go to the File menu and select Export 19

20 You can export outlines and diagrams to many different file formats 3) Click on the Graphics File tab Figure 33 Export options 4) Choose the required file format 5) Click Save 6) Select where you would like to save the file to and click Save again Printing from Inspiration You must be in Diagram view to print your diagram and in Outline view to print you Outline. When printing from diagram view, Inspiration will automatically fit the diagram onto one printed page. 1) Go to the File menu and select Page Setup The printing options can be changed before printing to suit your needs 2) Once you have chosen your options click on Print Preview to check how the printed page will look 3) Once you are happy with the preview click the Print button 20

21 Getting help If you would like further help with using the Inspiration software, there are more in-depth guides available in the Disability Resource Areas. You can also use the built in help menu. To access this: 1) Go to the Help menu 2) Choose Inspiration Help 21