Element parameters
dialog box |
If you choose Edit parameters on the element pop-up menu, press Ctrl+Shift+P,
or double click the empty area to the right of learning buttons at the bottom of the element window, a dialog box with editable element
parameters will open.
This dialog provides the following fields:
- Element title - title of the element
- Element number - it is the physical
position of the element in the collection
- Interval - the interval between the last
repetition and the next repetition (in days)
- Next repetition - date of the next
repetition
- A-factor - current A-factor
associated with the element (A-factors reflect element difficulty)
- Ordinal - current ordinal number assigned to the element
- Forgetting index - current forgetting index requested for the element
- Category - field that makes it possible to
move the element to another category in the
contents window (if there are categories defined)
- Comment - field that displays the comment
associated with the element. If you want to write a multiline comment, use Ctrl+Enter
to being a new line (Enter will accept the setting and close the dialog box)
- buttons at the bottom of the dialog window:
- History - button for displaying the window
with the element's repetition history
- Difficulty - display the difficulty of the
element and its components
- OK - accept changes to element parameters
- Cancel - discard changes to element
parameters
- Help - get this page of help
You are most likely to use the element parameters dialog
box in the following circumstances:
- Changing element's ordinal
(open the dialog and type in the new ordinal). You can also change individual ordinals by
editing them in the element data window
- Changing element's forgetting
index (open the dialog, press Alt+F, and type in the new forgetting index).
You can also change individual forgetting indices by editing them in the element data window
- Moving the element to another contents category (open the
dialog, choose another category in the Category field, and click OK)
- Adding a comment (type it in the Comment field)
- Viewing the history of repetitions for a given element
(click History). You can also view the history of repetitions by
double-clicking the element data window
- Viewing the details of difficulty estimation for a given
element (click Difficulty)
Elements that are tasks have the Task tab
enabled in the element parameters dialog box:
The Task page includes the following task
parameters (this page is inactive for items and topics):
- Tasklist - the tasklist to which the
displayed task belongs. You can move the task to another tasklist by selecting the new
tasklist in this combo box. You can edit tasklists using the tasklist
manager
- Description - description of the task that
will be displayed in the tasklist manager. This description is
also used by default as the title of the task element and as the initial contents of the
rich text component that is used to describe the task in details. If you want to write a
multiline description, use Ctrl+Enter to being a new line (Enter will
accept the setting and close the dialog box)
- Value - value of the task
- Time - time needed to execute the task
- Priority - task priority expressed in value
earned in unit time (priority=value/time). Note that the deadline function may
modify the actual value of Priority on a given day
- Max - maximum priority, i.e. priority
without considering the deadline function. This value is not used in sorting the tasklist
- Introduced - the date on which the task has
been introduced into the collection
- Deadline - the deadline for executing the
task (see Deadline function below)
- Half-Time - the time at which the priority
of the task will reach half of its maximum value before reaching the maximum on the
deadline date (see Deadline function below)
- Deadline function - the function that
determines how the priority of the task changes with passing time
- None - Priority is always
equal its maximum value displayed as Max. This function is typical for
reading lists where there are no reading deadlines
- Standard - standard deadline function in
which the priority increases gradually to reach Max/2 at Half-Time
and Max at Deadline. If there is a deadline for a task,
usually it becomes truly urgent only directly before the deadline. Your phone bill payment
might be a typical example of standard deadline function
- Post-Date - priority is zero until the Deadline
and Max after the deadline. This function is
useful for tasks that cannot be done before a certain date or which make no sense before a
date. An example of post-date task might be buying a ticket that will become available
only on a certain date
- Decline - priority declines gradually from
its peak value of Max to Max/2 at Half-Time.
This function can be used for tasks that gradually decline in value. Responding to an
e-mail is often subject to declining priority. Very often, the older the e-mail the less
sense it makes to respond to it
- Post-Decline - priority declines gradually
from its peak value of Max at Deadline to Max/2 at
Half-Time. This function can be used for tasks that gradually decline in
value after some date. An example of a post-decline tasks is sending congratulations on
the occasion of an appointment to a new position. It does not make sense before the
position is actually taken over and it gradually becomes obsolete after the fact