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T/Maker Download for Windows & Macs

My Email: roizen at ix.netcom dot com               

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Roizen       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T/Maker

You are invited to download T/Maker with no strings attached. Feedback is always welcomed. Passing a link to others is appreciated.

There is a tutorial built-in, but reading the home page carefully and looking at all videos (home page and tutorial videos) gives a better perspective. T/Maker is more a "watch and learn" than a "read and learn" sort of application. The tutorial does have some information which is not covered elsewhere. There are some examples included in the download.


This version is currently set with a maximum of 26 columns and 200 rows. There are examples to play with and modify. You can also fetch a screen to play with in the Teach Me Menu. And you can start with a blank screen if you like. Most everything is simple. A little practice getting used to the calculation trail syntax is the best way to spend your time. The other stuff (formats, graphs, lines) can be mastered in minutes. You should be able to import data from a spreadsheet you may be using now via the common CSV format (comma separated values).

The T/Maker Download

T/Maker is written in java and runs on Mac / Apple Computers, Windows, and a number of other platforms. The progam itself is TMaker.jar. That file along with a number of examples and required special files of various cursors (T/Maker has a lot) are all combined in one file which is TMaker.zip.
Writing the program in java represents an incredible saving of development time for me and provides a similar look across the different environments. To run on these machines, the JAR file requires something called the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) which is different for each operating system. You may already have it. You can start by downloading the zip file to see if that is the case.


To begin with Windows: Create a new folder (say, C:\tmaker). Use a right mouse button on the download line below and select "Save As" to put the zip file in the new folder you created. Then, after the download, use another right mouse button on the downloaded TMaker.zip file and choose the "Extract All" option. To run the program, double click the file TMaker.jar in the list of files extracted. There should be somewhere around 70 files in the directory after the extraction. You might also wish to create another directory to store your own tables. It can be selected with T/Maker's "Save As" menu item in the File menu.

To bein with a Mac: A click on the line below put the zip file in a download directory in a folder named TMaker. From there I just found and clicked on the TMaker.jar file and it came up running fine. I did not need to ask it to extract the files. That appeared to have been done automatically. If not unzipped with all files extracted, the correct cursors will not appear.

TMaker.zip  Download (click line)

Windows: use a right mouse button on the desktop and choose to create a New / Shortcut. Browse to find the TMaker.jar file and click it. Be sure to set the start up directory as well to the directory with the jar file and support files. If not, the special cursors may not show. Click OK. You should then have an icon on the desktop you can double click to start T/Maker.

Mac: Sometimes when I run the program just after doing the download, the special cursors do not appear. The solution is to close the program and run it again. Then and thereafter it works fine. I have no idea why it does not show them on the first run.

If you do not have the
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) , you will have to download it from Oracle.

Note that T/Maker is NOT a browser plug-in. Enabling anything in your browser is not required nor recommended. WildWords is a desktop application with no connection to the internet to spy, pester, advertise, or self-update.

Getting The Java JRE

To do the download, you may need an Oracle account. It's free. There is no credit card entry required. The are a few lines of information you need to fill out first. Your account, if needed, is confirmed with a follow-up email. Once you have a java JRE, you won't need to get it again and may use it with other java programs that you trust. Updating the JRE now and then seems to be recommended. Once you have an account with Oracle, you can use it to download and install a JRE on other machines you have or on a friend's machine in a matter of minutes.

I hesitate to say much because instruction pages and instructions at Oracle come and go like the weather. You would prefer to get the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for desktop applications. You don't need the full Java Development Kit (JDK) unless you are developing java programs yourself. Version 8 appears to be recommended in most cases.

The best starting link I could find today (2/6/25) is:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

There are instructions to follow. Read the "which download do I choose" section for your machine.

If the above link has disappeared you can try a Google search with the phrase below and see if something similar turns up. You could also clarify the machine you have.

"java jre downloads for all operating systems"

When the JRE is installed you should be able to click or double click the WildWords.jar file and run it.