by: Lynn Ginsburg
Digital intimacy is becoming a reality as products like Authorware coax multimedia users to get off the sidelines and into the game. Authorware lets you create interactive information that invites viewers to explore data beyond superficial levels. It can be used to create a variety of applications, including kiosks, CD-ROM publications and computer-based training.
Authorware also excels in breaking down barriers for the authors of interactive titles. While its $4,995 price tag suggests a powerhouse application, you won't need programming skills to get up and running quickly. That's because the high price also buys an incredibly well-designed piece of software that unravels the mysteries of interactive authoring.
Authorware's central paradigm is its flowline, where you order the objects that make up your project. The program automates many of the routines that require either programming or scripting in other applications. Using the program's object-based design, I relied on icons to easily accomplish complex operations. From the central toolbar, you drag and drop icons to create basic animations, perform functions, manipulate variables and create paths based on either user-response or author-defined controls. You rarely need to stray from these icons to wade through menus.
Multimedia elements, text or commonly used functions can also be stored in drag-and-drop libraries for easy access. A file can be associated with up to 20 libraries, and libraries can be linked to many different files. When a file associated with multiple libraries is updated in one library, it's automatically updated in all the others to which it's linked.
Authorware uses an ingenious method to get you started immediately with tools and functions that you may not yet fully comprehend. When you add a new icon to the flowline and use a hotkey to run your interactive application, Authorware stops at the new, undefined icon and displays a dialog box that lets you fill in options for that feature. To create a simple animation sequence, for instance, I just dropped a "motion" icon onto the flowline. The resulting dialog directed me to select and move the object that was to be animated, and asked for a playback rate. Choosing the object and defining its animation path was a simple drag-and-drop operation. Similar dialogs are available for most tasks, including adding multimedia elements, creating controls for navigating the application and performing system functions such as exiting the program.
Because much of the logic and functions of interactivity are built into Authorware's tools, many familiar actions are also reduced to drag-and-drop and dialog box options. For instance, if/then functions are usually among the most complex interactive operations in authoring programs; these functions typically require extensive scripting. With Authorware, I just filled in dialog boxes to set up an if/then scenario for an interactive quiz that branched based on the user's responses.
Hyperlinks are also easy to create. When I wanted to quickly create links to some audio clips and text, I just double-clicked to mark the text I wanted to link, added red and a hand icon to identify the hot-text or screen areas, and indicated the object I wanted to link in a dialog box.
Besides ease of use, cross-platform reliability is another of Authorware's strengths. Like its sibling application, Director, Authorware offers compatibility between Windows and Macintosh. You can also integrate Director productions into Authorware applications, and even send Director's Lingo commands from within Authorware to Director movies, and receive information back in turn.
Authorware is a good bet for novices, but its depth and diversity of toolsets also make it an excellent tool for creating complex navigations, variables and functions. The program is best used for putting together the "big picture," and making all of the minute details function smoothly as a whole. Director, on the other hand, is ideal for controlling details, and for scoring and coordinating a wide array of multimedia production elements. Authorware's price may make it prohibitive for those who want to dabble, but its innovative design and awesome power make it an excellent choice for the serious interactive author.
--Info File--
Authorware 3
Price: Commercial, $4,995 (includes Director); Education, $995
In Brief: Authorware 3 is a powerhouse multimedia authoring program that's equally suited to novices and professionals.
Disk Space Required: 40MB
System Resources: NA
RAM: 8MB
Macromedia
800-326-2128, 415-252-2000