Doing a Q&A session with TeleScript AV

Here's how to do it:

1. Set your machine up for Extended Desktop. This is a standard part of the operating system. From the Windows Desktop, press <Windows Key+P>. A menu will appear (normally at the right edge of the screen). Select "Extend" from the menu.

This will provide you with two independent displays. You can move the mouse from one to the other. The one with the task bar and the Windows Start menu will be the "Operator's Monitor" and the extension will be the "Prompting Monitor". I would suggest that you use a preview for your local use and loop out to the monitor that's on stage. Otherwise, you'll just be guessing what's on that monitor. If you use composite video for stage monitors, a splitter or a DA should work fine. I can't be more specific without knowing your setup.

2. Start WordPad (Windows Start/Accessories/WordPad. This is the Windows standard RTF editor. Don't use MS-Word because it locks the files that you're working on and you won't be able to read them from any other program.

Keep WordPad on the Operator's Monitor with a window size that allows you to position other windows on this screen.

3. Start a new file in WordPad call, for example, Questions.RTF. You can type a few lines into this just for the sake of identification.

4. Open TeleScript AV. Position TAV on the Prompting Monitor. Set these preferences (Tools/Preferences):

On the MISC tab --
a. Check "Use Runlist"
b. Uncheck "Autohide for prompting"
c. check "Keep Runlist on top"

On the Script 2 tab:
a. Check "Default Typeface"
b. Check "Default point size"
c. Check "Default colors"
d. check paragraph alignment and line spacing if this is important.
e. Check "Apply selected attributes to scripts as they are loaded."

On the Script 1 tab / New script font:
Set the "default attributes" -- text color, Font, etc. This is what will be applied by the preference selected on Script 2.

4. Create a new runlist, then open the script, Questions.RTF. Display the script on the editor (double click in the runlist.)If the Runlist is not diaplayed, press <F2>. Move the runlist onto the Operator's Monitor.

5. Prompt the script (<F5>)

HOW TO DISPLAY A NEW QUESTION:

1. Type the new question in your WordPad script. Add new questions at the top -- not at the bottom... for example:

Questions:

New Question

Old question 3

Old question 2

Old question 1

etc.

After you've type the new question in WordPad, press <Ctrl+S> to save.

2. To display the changed script, in TAV, double click the script name in the runlist... it will RELOAD the script and display your new question on the prompter.

3. If you do this properly, you won't have to hide the prompter. However, if you DO want to hide the prompter, press <Ctrl+Sh+D> (you must have clicked on the prompter screen to set keyboard focus -- otherwise Windows will send the keypress to whatever application is focused.) Press <Ctrl+Sh+D> again to show the screen.

Here's the operating flow:

<Ctrl+Sh+D> -- show question
<WordPad> -- type new question... press <Ctrl+S> to save
<Tav -- Runlist> Double click "Questions" in runlist. Click Prompter screen to focus keyboard.
<Ctrl+Sh+D> -- show new question

As I mentioned... if you just leave the old question on the screen and add new questions at the top, the new question will just pop onto the screen when you double click the file in the runlist.