Special Spelling User Guide - Managing Profiles
Special Spelling supports the use of multiple profiles. Each profile has its own list of words, pictures and sounds, and you can switch between profiles, add and delete them, copy words between them one at a time, and export and import profiles individually. Initially, the app has just one profile, containing its standard 96 words.
All the activities will use whichever is the currently-selected profile and, except where noted, the app won't change which profile is currently selected. If you don't need more than one profile, you can largely ignore this feature, unless the written and spoken words are not appearing in the desired language.
As well as its list of words, pictures and sounds, each profile has:
A name
The initial built in profile is named Profile 1, and additional ones you add are at first named Profile 2, and so on. However, if using more than 1 profile, we strongly recommend you change the names of the profiles to something more meaningful to you, as explained below.
A language
By default, built in words and sounds for any profile are displayed and spoken in the matching activities using whichever language the tablet or phone itself is configured to use. Special Spelling comes with built in words and sounds in English (British and American), but word lists can be created in any language, although some of the activities were designed specifically for English.
Author, copyright and notes
These are blank for a newly-created empty profile - you can edit them.
You can explicitly set the language for any individual profile, to override this default by any one of the languages supplied with Special Spelling. To use your own content in a language not supported by the app, select Default as the language in the app, and set the device's language to the desired one.
Words and sounds you add yourself are not translated for you.
To manage profiles, tap the Actions button in the main view, then choose Manage Profiles. Initially, there will be only one profile shown, Profile 1, and there will be a check (tick) next to it to indicate that it is the currently selected profile.
To add a new profile, tap the + button. You will be presented with a choice of 3 options, which determine the initial list of words in your new profile:
Default
Tap this to create a new profile containing the standard list of 96 words.
Empty
Tap this to create a new empty profile with no words. You can add new words or copy them from another profile later.
Copy "Profile 1"
This will create an exact copy of the existing profile, including any words, pictures and sounds you have previously added to it. If you already have more than 1 profile, there will be an additional option to copy from each one.
Once you have more than 1 profile, you can at any time tap the checkbox for the one you want to be used subsequently in the matching games. In the screenshot above, we have set At School to be the currently selected profile. When you create a new profile, it is automatically selected for you.
To change a profile's name, or to inspect or change its language, tap its ⓘ or > button to the right.
Here you can enter a new name, and select any one of the available languages. The first language in the list is always named Default: selecting this means the profile will use the device's current language, as described above. Selecting any other language will use that regardless of the language the device itself is set to use.
You can change the name or language of any profile at any time, whether it is the currently selected profile or not. Changing these does not change which profile is currently selected in the activities.
When you have made your changes, tap the Save button at the top to return to the list of profiles.
Note to English speakers outside the US: there are 4 recorded English voices built into Special Spelling: three British and one American. If you don't initially hear the one you want, set it explicitly in Special Spelling.
Once you have more than one profile, there are a number of other things you can do:
Rearrange and delete profiles
Tapping the Edit or padlock button at the top right when viewing the list of profiles allows you to move profiles up and down in the list, and to remove any you don't need. Once you have only one profile left, the Edit button is disabled and you cannot delete it: you must always have at least one profile.
Deleting the currently selected profile will select the nearest one left in the list and make it current.
Edit the contents of each individual profile
Which ever profile is currently selected is the one you're working on when you make any changes from the Word List view, and other profiles are unaffected. So, for example, deleting a word from one profile doesn't delete the same word from any other profiles it may be in.
Copy words between profiles
In the Word List view, if you tap the ⓘ or > button to the right of any word, you'll see a Copy button at the top. Tap this to copy the word (text, picture and sound): you'll be presented with a list of all the existing profiles, and can choose which one to copy the word to (this includes the currently selected profile - choosing this will mean you'll get 2 copies of the same word in the word list for that profile).
The word is copied to the end of the requested profile, which automatically becomes the currently selected profile. If you copy a built in word (not one you have added yourself), the copy will assume the language of the profile you copy it to.
Export individual profiles
On iOS, tapping Export Word List in the Extra Actions view will allow you to choose which profile to export. On Android, in the Sharing view (as described in Chapter 7), you can choose which profile to export. If you use exporting as a backup mechanism, note that you need to explicitly backup each individual profile separately.
Exporting a particular profile does not change the currently selected profile in the activities.
Import individual profiles
When importing a word list (see Chapter 7), you get a choice of replacing any one of the existing profiles on the device or adding as a new profile. In cases where you had the same edited profile on 2 devices, but then made different changes to its word list on both, the option to import as a new profile means you can then manually reconcile your conflicting changes (e.g. by copying new words from one to the other).
When you import a profile, it automatically becomes the currently selected profile.
Please Note:
Using the Reset > Erase Contents and Settings option in the Actions view deletes all profiles, not just the currently selected one, and reinstates the original standard profile with default language. A warning alert is displayed before this happens, in case you tapped the button accidentally. To prevent your child accidentally deleting all the profiles when they are using the activities, turn the Enable Editing option off in the app's Settings, as explained in Chapter 3: this will also prevent profiles being edited, but it will still be possible to select different ones.