Distractors > Individual Distractors

• Adding distractors to text segments can be done individually, segment by segment, or it can be done automatically. The menu Distractors > Individual Distractors allows for the nearly unconstrained creation of distractors. This command also allows you to modify the textual segments themselves (in the case of an orthographic error, for example). Selecting the horizontal view (View > Horizontal View or the button on the toolbar) generally makes it easier to follow the process of distractor generation. The following explanations will pertain to the horizontal view. However, the vertical view is often useful as well.
  
  
• Once a given textual segment has been selected in the horizontal view of the integrated editor in Zigzag Generator, perform one of the following operations:
  
  
• Select the menu Distractors > Individual Distractors.
  
• Click on the button on the toolbar.
  
  

The window called Individual Distractors will appear.

• When the row <empty> is selected, click on the button Modify. A second window called Modify Distractor will open. Insert your choice in the distractor field and click OK.
  
  
  
  The new distractor appears in the window called Individual Distractors.
  
  
  
  
• It is also possible to modify a textual segment containing an orthographic error unnoticed in the first step of the generation process. When the text segment row is selected in the window Individual Distractors, click on Modify. The following window will appear:
  
  
  
  Confirm your choice by clicking on Yes.
  
  
• To reverse the order of presentation of a target-segment and a distractor, use the arrows pointing up and down respectively. To erase an already existing distractor, select it and click on Erase.
  
  
• You can create distractors by checking or not checking the box marked With Target. If the box is checked when you click on the button Modify, the suggested segment in the Modify Distractor window will be identical to the target-segment. This option can be useful when the distractor to be generated is relatively long and only slightly different from the target-segment. For example, to create a distractor approximately forty letters long which is different from the textual segment by only one letter, it is useful to keep the option With Target checked. That said, the suggested distractor must be changed in some way, and an error dialogue box will remind you of this:
  
  
  
  Click on OK and modify the distractor.
  
  
• After having added the distractor(s) to a textual segment, you can navigate to another text segment simply by using the mouse to click on the segment in the integrated editor of Zigzag Generator. The newly selected segment will then appear in the Individual Distractors window.

  
  
  
  
  
  Summary Table of Commands