Special Numbers User Guide - How To Play
Special Numbers always runs in landscape orientation, so you will need to rotate your device if you are holding it in portrait orientation when you launch the app.
To play an activity, tap its name or thumbnail picture in the opening view. You will need to scroll down the list of activities to see them all.
For iOS users
Each activity has the same set of buttons along the top:
Activities
Stops the activity and returns to the opening view.
Padlock
Press and hold for more than 3 seconds to lock the app into the activity. This hides the Activities and Settings buttons, and makes the activity automatically restart from the beginning when finished. Press and hold again to unlock.
Instructions
Plays short audio instructions and/or displays written instructions for the activity. This button is hidden if you set Instructions to None in the common settings (see Chapter 3).
Restart
Restarts the activity from the beginning.
Settings
Displays configurable settings specific to the activity. To configure settings that apply to all activities, use the Settings button in the opening view instead.
In the opening view, as well as the list of activities, you will also find:
Settings
Displays configurable settings common to all activities, as well as providing access to the settings for each individual activity. Settings are described in detail in Chapter 3.
Quick Start Guide
A short overview of how to get started is included with the app (no Internet connection is required).
Online Documentation
Takes you to the Special iApps website. This will launch Apple's Safari app: you can prevent this by disabling Safari in the Settings app (in General > Restrictions) or by running Special Stories using Apple's Guided Access facility.
Manage Profiles
By using profiles, you can replace sounds and text with your own recordings and words, have different settings for each child, and transfer customisations between devices (see Chapter 10).
Reset
Allows you to reset all the settings in the app back to their original default state. After confirming that you wish to reset the app, you have to reconfirm by typing the word “Reset” into the box that appears: this is to reduce the chances of a child resetting the app unintentionally. You can disable the Reset button completely, by turning off the Editing option in the app's Settings app, as described in Chapter 3.
In version 2.7.0 and later, a Child Safety Gate (parental lock) guards access to Settings, Online Documentation and Manage Profiles. If you prefer, you can disable the gate, as explained in Chapter 3.
For Android users
Each activity has the same set of buttons along the top:
Back
Stops the activity and returns to the opening view.
Restart
Restarts the activity from the beginning.
Instructions
Plays short audio instructions and/or displays written instructions for the activity. This button is hidden if you set Instructions to None in the common settings (see Chapter 3).
Menu
Displays configurable settings specific to the activity. To configure settings that apply to all activities, use the Settings option from the menu button in the opening view instead.
In the opening view's menu you will find:
Settings
Displays configurable settings common to all activities, as well as providing access to the settings for each individual activity. Settings are described in detail in Chapter 3.
Profiles
By using profiles, you can replace sounds and text with your own recordings and words, have different settings for each child, and transfer customisations between devices (see Chapter 10).
Help
A short overview of how to get started is included with the app (no Internet connection is required).
Reset
Allows you to reset all the settings in the app back to their original default state. After confirming that you wish to reset the app, you have to reconfirm by typing the word “Reset” into the box that appears: this is to reduce the chances of a child resetting the app unintentionally. You can disable the Reset button completely, by turning off the Editing option in the app's Settings, as described in Chapter 3.
A Child Safety Gate (parental lock) guards access to Settings, Profiles and links from Help. If you prefer, you can disable the gate, as explained in Chapter 3.