Introduction
A journal entry records a single I Ching reading represented as two hexagrams (or one if there are no changing lines). A journal entry tab displays an entry as a single scrollable page. You can open a journal entry for viewing by clicking on a hyperlink in the search engine results. The information is laid out on the page from top to bottom as follows:
1. A decorative banner with two paper tags displaying information on the entry date, the journal name and where the entry appears in the list of search results. This information changes if you roll the mouse cursor over a hexagram.
2. The question to the oracle.
3. The hexagram(s) received.
4. Any thoughts on the reading you may wish to record.
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5. An optional section containing hyper-links to related readings (entries).
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6. An optional section showing advanced hexagram relations derived from the hexagram(s) received. (See application preferences)
Mouse Rollovers
Rolling the mouse cursor over certain areas in an entry page cause hidden buttons to appear. These areas are located as follows:
- Right hand side of banner area.
- Near the page margins to the right and left of the hexagrams figures.
Holding the mouse cursor over a button for a few seconds brings up an label explaining the buttons purpose. Rolling the mouse over a hexagram figure cause the banner tags to display information related to that hexagram.
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Creating an Entry
From the Entry menu select New entry or alternatively press Ctrl-N on the keyboard. An entry form will be displayed in a new tab. A date and question box will appear. By default the current date displayed is set. A set of navigation links is displayed to enter your hexagram results and comments.
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Entering your hexagram
After entering your question click on the hexagram link. Assuming you have manually performed a divination ritual using the yarrow stalks, coins or other method, you can now enter the results of this reading. Two hexagram figures are displayed on the hexagram editing page. The left one is the primary hexagram. The one on the right is the result of any changing lines being applied to the primary. By default hexagram number 1 is displayed but you can change it to any hexagram by clicking on the lines of the left hexagram which will invert to ying lines. Clicking again will invert them back to yang. Click on the lines of the right hexagram to indicate any changing lines.
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Performing a divination
Performing a manual divination is optional. My Ching also provides a simulation of the coin and yarrow method. Click on one of the two buttons showing a Chinese coin or a bunch of yarrow stalks to activate the divination process. Details can be found in the help section titled Hexagrams.
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Entering comments
After consulting the text of your preferred I Ching translation for an interpretation of the answer to your question, you may wish to record any thoughts, ideas or sections of the text that struck you as being particularly pertinent to the question. Click on the comment link to enter these in the comment box. Paragraphs and headings should be separated by an empty line.
Paragraph headings
You can create a large font heading in the comments by enclosing the text with two equal signs for example:
=My Heading=
When you save the entry, the text is displayed with a large font and a different color to the paragraph text. The color can be changed in the application preferences.
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Inserting hyper-links
You can place hyper-links into the notes section in one of two ways:
1. Put a URL on a separate line as for example:
http://myching.software/en/hexagram/1.html
2. Using the Wiki markup notation with two square brackets.
For example:
[http://myching.software/en/hexagram/1.html Hexagram 1]
When you save the entry the link text will be displayed as: Hexagram 1. For the time being, links are limited to being on a separate line. You cannot place links in the middle of a paragraph.
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Saving
When you have finished don't forget to save your reading by clicking the save button or selecting Save entry from the Entry menu. (Ctrl-S on the keyboard)
Editing an Entry
After clicking on a search engine result, the entry will open in view mode in a new tab. Change to edit mode by selecting Edit entry from the Edit menu or clicking on the Edit button. (Ctrl-E on the keyboard) You can then change any detail of the entry.
Linked readings
Journal entries can be linked together as a group of related readings using the 'link entry' feature. Journal entries which are related will have a list of hyper-links at the end of the page in a section titled Related Readings. Clicking on one of the links will open the related reading in another tab.
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Creating links
To link two entries, open each in a separate tab by clicking on the search results pages. Select one of the tabs and then click on the Entry menu and select the sub-menu Link entry to. You can then choose from a list, the entry you wish to link to. The Link entry to option maybe disabled for any of the following reasons:
- The entry in another tab is from a different journal to the currently selected tab.
- The entry in the current tab is already link to something.
- There are no other entries opened in a tab to link to.
Removing a link
If you wish to remove an entry from a group of related readings, open it in a tab and then select Remove link to related from the Entry menu.
Moving an Entry
You can move an entry to another journal by selecting the sub-menu Move to from the Entry menu, and then selecting a journal name. In the case of an entry that is linked to a group of related entries, you will be asked to confirm that all the related entries will be moved together.
