Fireworkz is part of the Z family of applications from Colton Software. It is compatible with documents created in other members of this family such as Fireworkz Pro (as Fireworkz, but with additional database facilities) and the earlier Wordz (a stand-alone word processing application) and Resultz (a stand-alone spreadsheet application).
You can use Fireworkz as a word processor to write letters, reports, books, invitations, shopping lists, schedules and other documents.
You can use Fireworkz as a spreadsheet to perform calculations, analyse figures, and produce colourful charts.
Fireworkz further combines these two functions enabling you to do even more that you could with separate word processing and spreadsheet applications - incorporate live results in your reports, or automatic mail-merge to your friends or customers, for example.
Once you have learned how to use Fireworkz on one platform, RISC OS for instance, you should find it easy to use on any other platform, such as Windows, as it has been designed to be as similar as possible on each platform.
This User Guide assumes that you are already reasonably familiar with the way your computer works. If you are new to computing, or to RISC OS or Windows, you are advised to familiarise yourself both with the relevant terminology and the basics of using your computer. You will need to know how to:
You should understand terms such as directory, double-click, and dialogue box.
You will find all this information in the RISC OS User Guide and Windows documentation provided with your computer.
The tutorial chapters in the Getting Started Guide also provide a reminder of these skills.
Technical terms used in this guide are explained when they first appear, and in the Glossary at the end. However, you should also refer to the documenation which came with your computer for the basic vocabulary used to describe parts of your computer and the tasks you can do with it.
This User Guide provides a complete reference for all the menu commands, dialogue boxes and on-screen buttons in Fireworkz, so that if you have any questions while you are doing your own work you will quickly be able to find the answer.
Separate sections cover each subject in detail.
When working your way through this User Guide, you will see that certain stylistic conventions are used to make it easier for you to see what you should type in and what you should choose from menus.
Certain buttons, options and commands always appear in the text in bold type. These include:
In some places there is text for you to type in. This is always shown in a typewriter-style font, like this:
Type this text on your computer exactly as you see it.
When the text given represents what you will type, for example, the name to be given to a file before saving it, this is shown by using italics, such as:
Type filename in the dialogue box which appears.
There are set terms used to describe many of the parts of your computer, the objects displayed on screen and tasks you will carry out.
The three buttons on your mouse each perform separate functions, and their names reflect this. Their names are:
Many actions using the mouse are performed by clicking or double-clicking an object. To do this, position the pointer over the required object (e.g. the Fireworkz application icon) and press and release Select (the left mouse button) once or twice respectively. As the User Guide covers both RISC OS and Windows, Select will generally be referred to as 'Select (the left mouse button)' in the following chapters.
Pressing Menu (the middle mouse button) with the pointer inside a Fireworkz window displays the main menu, from which you may choose an option by pointing at it and clicking with Select.
Adjust (the right mouse button) can be used to access some short-cuts and more sophisticated functions.
There are set terms used to describe many of the parts of your computer, the objects displayed on screen and tasks you will carry out.
Fireworkz on Windows uses the left button of the mouse (or its equivalent on alternative pointing device which you use, such as a trackpad). When you are called to click on an object, this means click and release the left button of the mouse. As the User Guide covers both RISC OS and Windows, the left mouse button will often be referred to as 'Select (the left mouse button)' in the following chapters.
For some special operations you will need to press the Ctrl key and the left mouse button.
When Fireworkz was designed in the early 1990s, the right mouse button was reserved for use by OLE, and has since been used for context menus. Fireworkz does not use this mouse button on Windows.
When Fireworkz is installed on Windows, by default it will be installed in the directory
%ProgramFiles%\Colton Software\Fireworkz
where %ProgramFiles%
corresponds to the
Program Files
directory on your system drive.
As Fireworkz is a 32-bit application, when installed on a 64-bit system
%ProgramFiles%
is replaced by %ProgramFiles(x86)%
(i.e. the Program Files (x86)
directory on your system drive),
although the former is used for consistency throughout the User Guide.
The User Guide occasionally refers to the Examples directory. The Examples directory is provided in the Fireworkz Pro package, and also in the Fireworkz for Windows package alongside the Fireworkz installer, but must be installed separately for Fireworkz on RISC OS if you wish to access its contents — please see the Installation chapter in the Getting Started Guide.