Basic Concepts
My Ching is designed to store I Ching readings as a series of journal entries in one or more journals. Each entry stores the date, question, hexagrams received, and any comments or notes you might like to add.
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The other purpose of My Ching is to connect you with the best of the many resources available on the Internet, that are relevant to the interpretation and understanding of each I Ching hexagram. These include, commentaries, translations, interpretations and shared experiences. In this sense, My Ching can be thought of as a web browser specialized for users of the I Ching.
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Tabs
My Ching is designed to be similar to a web browser, where you open different pages of information in separate tabs. By default the search tab is always open and can be used to search for entries (readings) in the currently selected journal. Clicking on a result hyper-link will open entry as a journal page in a new tab. Clicking on the leftmost button in the search tab will open a tab for entering a new reading.
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Journals
By default there is always one journal named General which you can use to store all your readings as journal entries. But if you prefer you can organize your readings into separate journals for different topics or time periods. Click on the journal menu to create a new one. Examples of topic names might be Career, Relationships, Social, Events etc.
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You can only have one journal open at a time. The current journal is marked in journal menu and is named in the top left of the search tab. The search engine operates on the currently selected journal.
Related readings
It is possible to link related readings together and then navigate between them by a list of hyper-links situated at the bottom of the page. Open two journal entry tabs side by side and then select Link entry to in the Entry menu. This links the right-hand tab entry to the left-hand entry.
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Hidden Buttons
The journal entry page has a number of hidden buttons which only appear when you move the mouse over them. Hiding them gives you the feeling you a viewing a journal page on paper.
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To find the buttons move the mouse cursor to the following areas:
- On the right side of the decorative page banner.
- At the edge of the page to the left and right of the reading hexagram figures.
Holding the mouse cursor over a button for a few seconds will reveal a label informing you of the buttons purpose.
Hexagram Information
In any journal page, rolling over a hexagram with the mouse cursor will change the text in the "paper tags" area to show the hexagram title, number and Chinese name. If it is a primary hexagram, one or more small circles will indicate the ruling* line(s). Right clicking on any hexagram brings up a menu of on-line resources for that hexagram. Clicking on one will open it in a new tab.
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Searching
The search engine operates on the currently selected journal. The quickest way to learn about the basics of search is to look at some examples. Open the Sample journal in the trial version, now click on the 'drop down' arrow button just to the right of the search box text area. You will see a list of previous searches. Play around with them and see what they do.
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Clicking on the search button when the input box is empty, will list every entry in the journal. You can apply the search terms currently showing, to any other journal by selecting it from the journal menu.
Clicking on a hyper-link opens the journal entry in a new tab. You can immediately view the next search result by clicking on the hidden button to the right of the hexagram figure(s) at the edge of the page. A similar button on the left navigates in the opposite direction.
Artwork
If you are lucky enough to have a large computer monitor you can enjoy the hexagram artwork linked to each journal reading by clicking the maximize window button, usually situated in the top right corner of the application window.
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Footnotes
* A ruling line is a line that has special significance because of its position and type. Usually the steps of change text has a more auspicious message than the others. In the Wilhelm translation these are indicated by a small circle.
