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  1. You're welcome, Chief!

    The PDF doesn't seem to want to open in a browser, but it could just be timing out due to its size. I re-uploaded the file to see if that helps. Direct download seems to be okay, although it's defaulting to continuous view which is annoying.

    If anyone has any trouble downloading it, let me know and I'll post an alt link. 🙂

  2. Okay, third attempt at uploading did the trick. The PDF no longer defaults to continuous view. So unless you prefer that view, you might want to download the file again.

    Now, if I can just remember to hit "Save" when I edit an entry next time. DOH!

  6. Better to do a Save As … instead of looking it in the browser. I was having the same problem last night with a different file, and it was a small one. Sometimes the plugins are finicky.

  7. Same here. When I clicked on the link, Adobe downloaded the file then claimed it was broken. When I right-clicked and saved-as, it worked fine.

    Thank you so much for this! The Teachers Handbook's can be a challenge to find.

  8. Thanks so much! Now, not to be greedy, but The Teachers Handbook for Functional Dictation would be very useful if you have it. The explanations and rationale in the prefaces are very persuasive in recommendations of the 'functional" approach.

  9. Hey Phil. Sounds like a winner to me. So next up will be Functional Method Dictation: Teacher's Handbook. And no need to worry about being "greedy"; I'd be happy if I could at least pay the interest on the debt I owe this group! 😉 It'll take a few months though.

    Thank you Debbi, Ralph, and Cricket, for your kind words. 🙂

  11. Great vacation reading! Many thanks for posting this.

    Much of the advice he gives about using the key rather than making the student struggle and sound it out is how they teach kids to read these days. Keep it fun and flowing, and repetition. I wish I'd had this book back when I started.

  12. Does the "Functional Method Teacher's Handbook" have anything to do with the Gregg Simplified Edition?

    I have the two Functional Method books and believe they are associated with the Anniversary method. All these book titles are very confusing to me. Are you guys talking about a book simply called "Functional Method Teacher's Handbook" or does it have "Simplified" in the title? I thought that the Anniversary and Simplified were two different versions of shorthand.

  13. The Teacher's Handbook that is posted is for Anniversary. There are teacher's manuals for the Functional Method and regular books in all series (except Centennial and Pre-Anniversary, which do not have a Functional Method book).

    For a clarification of what the Functional Method is, click here. I posted the answer under my old nickname (msn-chuck).

  14. To clarify, what I need to know is, will the Functional Teacher's Manual for Anniversary shorthand have any reference to "Simplified" in its title? The book I'm looking at online says it's the Functional Method Teacher's Manual but also adds, "Simplified". I thought that "Anniversary" and "Simplified" were two different versions of Gregg shorthand. If the book I'm looking at is in fact the Simplified version, it's not what I'm learning as I have the two Anniversary Functional Method books which make no reference to "Simplified". Thanks in advance.

  15. Hi gsmember,

    Anniversary and Simplified are two versions of the system, often called editions. Anniversary came out in 1929. Simplified came out in 1949. See the home page of the group for the dates of other versions. In general, if you can read an older version, you can read the newer one.

    If the book does not list the version or edition, it's probably Anniversary or earlier. Go by the date of publication.

    Simplified is still under copyright, so most samples posted here are Anniversary or older.

    Functional is a different way of teaching the same material. There are Functional books (including Teachers Manuals) for both Anniversary and Simplified.

  16. Hi gsmember,

    Anniversary and Simplified are two versions of the system, often called editions. Anniversary came out in 1929. Simplified came out in 1949. See the home page of the group for the dates of other versions. In general, if you can read an older version, you can read the newer one.

    If the book does not list the version or edition, it's probably Anniversary or earlier. Go by the date of publication.

    The publisher calls them editions, but we often call them versions since edition can also mean updates to the books (more plates or improved explanations) without updating the system.

    Simplified is still under copyright, so most samples posted here are Anniversary or older.

    Functional is a different way of teaching the same material. There are Functional books (including Teachers Manuals) for both Anniversary and Simplified.

  17. No, the Functional Teacher's Manual for Anniversary won't have any reference to Simplified. It probably won't say Anniversary, either, since at the time they didn't know there would be another version.

    The books probably have some similar passages in the early chapters, so use something later if you want to compare.

  18. The next best thing to having the book is having the pdf, which someone posted a link to on this forum, and for which I am very grateful!

    It works great on my Macbook but not great on my iPad….just takes forever to load. Does anyone have a fix for this as I'd be so happy to have it work well on my iPad.

  19. I thought it was downloading into my iPad but now that you mention it, maybe it just opened. Can you tell me what steps you took to download the pdf into your tablet, or if you know, what steps I take to do that on my iPad? (I should know how to do this….)

  20. Thanks for that info. I finally figured out how to download and save the PDF file for the book. Now, the most important question of all….

    On various pdf docs I've seen, there is a column to the right that lists all the pages so we can go quickly to one of those pages instead of having to scroll through 200 pages to get to where we want to be. How do I get that column, or does it have to be built into the pdf by the person who made it available in the first place. I wait with trepidation for your answer.

  21. Are you referring to the bookmarks? I had those set visible by default whenever the file is opened. However, I have no idea whether any of these hand-held devices actually present the bookmarks. So all I can tell you is that they're definitely in the posted file.

  22. Greggstudent, thank you soooo much for making that book available via pdf! Yes, on my Macbook I've got the bookmarks and also the active links to the 'Keys' to the reading assignments. Oh boy, how that helps! I got the Readdle Docs app for the iPad and downloaded the book, but it wasn't bookmarked. I'll write the developer and ask about this. Thanks again!

    Oh….mcbud, do you have the bookmarks and link to the keys in your pdf on your tablet?

  23. Well, I just downloaded a different app called "iAnnotatePDF" and after I downloaded the Functional book, it looked not only beautiful in that program but had all the bookmarks!

    I am happy! And I'll be even happier if the Broncos win tonight. But I'm not betting….I've lost every bet I've ever made, so my daughter is getting rich and I'm getting poor. Well, I'd better go read my Functional book now! 🙂

    Thanks again for everybody's help!

  24. The teacher's manual that Joel posted correspond to the two books you have (Anniversary). There would be no mention of Simplified, simply because Simplified Gregg was not invented in 1936 when this manual was published, but in 1946.

    If you are looking online at a teacher's manual for the functional method, but of the Simplified series, it is a completely different book. The Simplified Functional Method came in two editions. You can see the book covers Gregg Shorthand Book Covers.

  26. Believe me when I say I feel your pain. Because I knew how that felt when I didn't think I could get the bookmarks either. You just need to get an iPad. Really, this thing is phenomenal. I really dislike Apple for making me buy it though. I couldn't help it, and they knew it.

    Go ask how long you have to wait to have that feature! I'm sure others are not happy about that either.

  27. In my tablet (I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1), I just save the PDF once it is loaded the first time. So the initial download may be slow, but subsequent ones should be quick as I just point to the local document.

  29. I'm not an Apple person and I love my tablet!!!! The bookmarks thingie is not a problem, as Adobe is working on it. There are other readers out there for Android.

  30. I know what the waiting feels like. Comcast is in the testing phase for letting us watch TV with wifi on our iPads (any tablet I suppose). It'll be nice when that's possible. Although I don't particularly love TV, I sure do love football.

    Do you know if PDF's for just the answer Keys to the two Functional Method books were made?

  33. This isn't a 'reply' per se and I don't see how to start a new thread so here's my question. Is anyone aware of an article of some kind that discusses the difference between the Pre-Anniversary and the Anniversary forms of Gregg shorthand? I'd like to know what the difference is.

  35. This site explains the different versions of Gregg Shorthand:
    http://gregg.angelfishy.net/

    Gregg kept evolving and changing his system over time. The main difference between Anniversary (1929) and Pre-Anniversary (1916) is major changes in the shorthand rules and techniques. A lot of shortcuts, prefixes, and suffixes were removed from the 1916 version for the 1929 version. The focus leaned more toward secretaries and away from court reporters who were using stenotype machines. Court reporters needed faster shorthand speed than did secretaries.

    Here are the versions for Pre-Anniversary and Anniversary Gregg Shorthand:
    1888 1st Version – Liverpool limited press of 500. This was a small pamphlet.

    1893 2nd Version – First US version. This was a small pamphlet.

    1898 3rd Version – Title was "Gregg's Shorthand" – First Textbook

    1902 4th Version

    1916 5th Version – Often Referred to as "Pre-Anniversary" – This version has the most shortcuts, prefixes, and suffixes of any Gregg Shorthand Version.

    1929 6th Version – Anniversary Edition – Many of the shortcuts, prefixes, and suffixes from 1916 were removed for this version.

    1949 7th Version – Simplified Edition – This version had fewer shortcuts and brief forms than Anniversary Shorthand.

    There are later version that do not interest me too much.

    Versions 1 through 4 (1888 to 1902) are available as PDF downloads on this page:
    http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Printed+in+Gregg+Shorthand%22

  36. This Internet Archive site also has the 1918 Pre-Anniversary (1916) version of a Xmas Carol and other Gregg Shorthand Novels:
    http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Printed+in+Gregg+Shorthand%22

    The above link contains only books that I put on the Internet Archives.

    Here are other PDF files on the Internet Archives:

    Rip Van Winkle Circa 1915 (1902 Manual):
    http://www.archive.org/details/ripvanwinkleprin00irvirich

    Alice in Wonderland – April 1919 (1916 Manual):
    http://www.archive.org/details/aliceinwonderlan00carriala

    The Great Stone Face – Jan 1912 (1902 Manual)
    http://www.archive.org/details/greatstoneface00hawtrich

    Letters From A Self-Made Merchant To His Son – 1903 (1902 Manual):
    http://www.archive.org/details/l00ettersfromselfmloririch

    Letters From A Self-Made Merchant To His Son – 1918 (1916 Manual):
    http://www.archive.org/details/lettersselfmade00loriiala

    The following Web Page has Anniversary versions of Diamond Necklace, Great Stone Face, and Xmas Carol:
    http://gregg.angelfishy.net/annireading.shtml

    The PDF of Xmas Carol from the above page is missing pages 76 & 77, which can be found here:
    http://greggshorthand.multiply.com/journal/item/1546?mark_read=greggshorthand:journal:1546

  37. Thanks, McBud, for that info on starting a new thread. I needed that. And thanks to you and all the others who have made these pdf's available. I am so enjoying reading now. This really inspires me to complete the 21 chapters of the first Functional Method book so I can read all these great stories in shorthand! I think I know about half the alphabet by now, so I could read about half these stories, right? 🙂

    Thanks again!

  40. Actually, you'll be able to read a lot more than that. The texts teach the most common sounds first. If you know the 500 most-common words, you'll be able to read a large percentage (I'm not going to go look it up) of running text. The rest of the words are used less often.

    When writing, saving a fraction of a second on the word "the" will make a huge difference. The same improvement on the word "shorthand" will make a medium difference. There's no sense working on "disestablishmentarianism".

    (Well, there is some sense — it will speed up several prefixes and suffixes which are used often.)

    Still, it's probably more efficient to stick with the material graded to the text for now, unless you need a change and want a challenge.

  41. Is there a pdf that shows the 500 most common words? Or does the 5,000 most common word book show those in the beginning?

    I'm getting a little better at remember at a glance words like 'the', 'a', 'they', 'cannot', 'after', 'before', etc, and a very few phrases. But I'm more anxious to learn them quickly than I am able. It's pretty slow going for me, and I'm discovering the real necessity of reading a good bit every day to not lose my memory of what I've learned. The repetition is indeed necessary. This is work, huh? But there's a real payback after it's done, and I think it's really worth doing. That's not to mention that it IS fun sometimes too! 🙂

  42. Thanks for the reminder about the lists in the beginning of the Anni book. I think I know those but it's good to have them in one place for review.

    Say, how do you guys get a "head shot" next to your posts? I went to the head shot area and it was a strange screen with some words in a list on the left but nothing about head shots.

  43. Work on just the problem words for a bit, then go back to doing them in context. Here are things I've used successfully:

    Make your own charts of common words. I think it's safe to do this much before you start writing, since it's not enough to start bad habits.

    Once you start writing, make column of the words down the side of the page. Then write the shorthand down the next column. Fold under the longhand column and write the longhand words in the next. Repeat. You can get several sets on one page this way. Actually writing the outlines is more effective than just visualizing them, but visualizing is better than nothing.

    Read the grids in the Anni book in many directions. Every other column, diagonal, backwards — challenge yourself. If your copy doesn't have the grids, they're on Andrew's site.

    Make lists of related words in a sensible order. Maybe same line done shortest to longest. I have a set of words with s,p and e (sp, esp, sep, spe). Point to and say the words in the same order several times. When you see one of them in context, rather than going to the key recite the words in the family. It will be one of them.

    Hope this helps!

  45. I went to that post and then followed the directions and it just took me to that same strange page with some words down the side with nothing to do with head shot or avatar or anything closely related. Maybe that page isn't showing up properly? I had the same thing happen when I went to a familiar site the other day. Didn't look like a site at all, just words in one row down the left side. So it'll prolly stay a mystery.

    cricketb, thanks for the tips. I don't see any harm in writing down some of them even though we're not supposed to do any writing until lesson 22 in the Functional books.

  47. I'm sure if things were working right I'd see that "Customize My Site" button, but there's nothing on the right side of the page and nothing in the middle, just words that go in a straight line from the top of the left side of the page straight down through about a forth of the page down. It's very strange looking, so it's probably something going on with my computer. I may try to call Apple Care tomorrow and see what they say, then hopefully get a solution. Thanks for your directions and I'll come back and let you know if I get this working.

  48. Do the following:

    1. Go to http://gsmember.multiply.com. That is your personal page.
    2. On the right hand side, click on "Customize My Site." This will change the view of your personal page so that you can edit portions of it in the "Site Customization" view. The whole page now will have boxed areas that you can edit.
    3. Click on the Edit button that is on top of the avatar. A window will pop up that reads "Headshot. Select one of your previously uploaded headshots or upload a new one. Headshots may not contain adult content or nudity."
    4. Click on Browse to load a picture from your computer.
    5. Select the picture. This will bring you back to the "Site Customization" view of your personal site. Click on Done to save.

    I hope this helps.

  51. I may have to dismember myself from here soon. As hard as I try I just can't navigate this site. I need a normal forum format but I understand my chance of finding one for shorthand is slim to none. I made a new post last night about the ole timers sharing their learning experiences but it appears to have gone to Multiply heaven. I really do appreciate all the help I've been given here but find it sort of silly to have to ask new questions in this Functional Method thread or some other thread that's got nothing to do with what I need to know. I also appreciate all the wonderful PDF's I've been able to download. Maybe I can use this site for that kind of thing only. I wish I could look forward to coming here but instead I get a kind of dread…. Anyhow, thanks from the bottom of my heart for all the help you've given me and keep up the good work and I will drop by now and again.

  52. mcbud, Yes, the problems I'm having with navigating and posting are frustrating, and they're not quirks, it's the format of this particular site. I'm so used to the ease of posing on, may I say, 'normal' forums that this one discourages me from coming back. I've never seen anything like it. But you'd better believe I'll lurk. Just know that if I post to ask a question, it'll probably be in the wrong place. And yes, I will contact customer support, a great idea!

  53. No problem. Just be aware that a user that does not at least lurk the site for over a year is automatically removed from the membership list.

    You mentioned the problems that you've had with your computer and this site. Besides the usual Multiply quirks, I haven't heard any other users with posting and navigating issues, other than the first ever post of a member (not the first reply) being moderated. What you have described are not quirks: something is not right. Whether it is an computer issue or a Multiply issue, I don't know, but I would be equally frustrated if I could not participate. It would be good if you contact Multiply customer support and tell them about your problem. They are usually very responsive and they would be able to help you out.

    Good luck!

  54. Okay mcbud, javascript was already activated. But I got confused because when I went to "General" at the top of the page I didn't see anything that said "Add to". So I just put those words you said below into the address bar and hit Return. A different sort of page did come up with the same posts that I see on the Learner's Corner page but in reverse. But when I click out of Multiply and back in, everything is just the same as before. I must be doing something wrong.

  55. I did a quick Google search, and there have been reports of problems with iPads and Multiply. The issue is related to the implementation of javascript. It appears that the problem arises when javascript is turned off in the system: edit boxes will not appear and people cannot blog. There are a couple of solutions. First, make sure that javascript is enabled. To do this, tap Settings in the home screen, select Safari from the settings, and touch the Javascript toggle to activate it. Next, to post something in the group, click on Add to general in our group. When you get the new screen, type the following on the address bar: javascript:document.body.contentEditable=true. Hit enter. This should activate javascript for the page. If this does not work, users have reported that the Puffin browser for iPad works well with Multiply and with flash too.

    It appears that in their infinite wisdom, Apple has made the implementation of javascript a pain in the neck on the iPad.

    Give this a try.

    Incidentally, I'm typing all of this using my Samsung tablet, so I can attest that it appears to be an iPad issue, and not a problem with tablets in general.

  56. Try this.

    On our main page, look at the "All Messages" box. Click where it says "Add to blog." You will come up with the Compose window. On the address bar, type the "javascript:document…" line and hit Enter. You should be able to edit.

  57. Okay, I did it. Nothing much changed so I think this problem of mine is the Format of this forum and there's nothing I can do about that except write to Multiply. Wanna bet me a quarter it'll do me any good?

    But thank you for ALL the help you've given me!

  58. You're welcome. The Multiply User Support group may have some answers for you. I see other users there with iPads and Safari, and they are posting with no issues. I don't think there is something wrong with the format of this group, but that something is not right about your particular iPad and Multiply, that is for sure.

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