*XHome™ is a Copyrighted FreeWare Waldo™ utility program.*
XHome version 1.0.5 supports names 20 characters long and the use of any characters except commas and Waldo formatting characters: asterisk,verticle bar, caret, Yen, tilde, section.
XHome version 1.0.4 adds auto--Resource--ReName to the Load Resources function as well.
§NOTE:§Only version 1.0.4 and later are compatible with XTools and XToolsJr!
XHome by itself will allow you to create floating windows of pictures and record sounds and, best of all used with the ARTWAY program Waldo™, you may attach them to HyperQueue Spots for playback! No programming knowledge is required! If you can cut and paste graphics then you don’t need to be an artist either. Waldo is a ShareWare program from ARTWAY that takes plain text and turns it into HyperText MultiMedia documents--add sound and pictures and so-much-more.
Please support the ShareWare philosophy by registering your copy of Waldo!
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*Welcome to the latest Waldo utility from ARTWAY!* XHome’s operation is very simple and straight forward. All functions are performed from the XHome menu.
Before you use XHome make a “working copy” of XHome. Only work with a copy of XHome. System 7 users should convert XHome into a Stationary document. (Select XHome-single click on XHome because double clicking will run XHome. Choose “Get Info” from the File menu. Check the box “Stationary pad.” ) When you double click on a Stationary Pad then a “copy” of it is automatically launched. Always use a fresh copy to create a new XHome for each Waldo you are working with. Create 1 XHome for each Waldo. Make as many cards as you want in an XHome. Make a card for each picture you want to create.
§Authors§, depending on the sophistication of your readers you may want to include a full copy of XHome with your Waldo, OpenBook publishers also, so that your readers will be able to add their own XRes to your Waldos.
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*You may draw pictures* (also paste color and grayscale pictures from other programs) and convert them to PICT resources. (PICT resources are invisible parts of the “resource fork” of a HyperCard stack.) Then choose “display” from the “Resource List” menu item. When pictures are “displayed” their name appears in the “Windows” menu. Note that even though you have created a PICT resource it will not be in the Window menu until you have displayed it. It will remain in the menu until you have closed it from the windows menu or by clicking on its close box.
You may also record sounds using any Macintosh sound input device. (Be sure to use the Sound Input Control Panel to choose your input device and port and set the correct sound level.
You may not use any illegal name for a resource! Names may include any lower or uppercase letters and numbers. Names may only have one word and must be 20 characters or less. Names may not include any Waldo formatting characters or commas!
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Now *what do you do* with these resources? Choose “Create XRes Stack” from the XHome menu. XHome will create a stack. You should name the stack the same as your Waldo document. XHome will add the necessary “.res” to the end of the name. XHome will transfer all resources into the new stack AND write the whole script for the stack. XHome will also create a list in the stack of all the resources (click on a resource name to display it). Use this list later as a reference. This stack’s resources are to be accessed from within Waldo--please read Waldo documentation for XRes stacks.
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*You may load resources from other stacks* and in this version they will be renamed if they have illegal names ( no commas or Waldo formatting characters).
§Note:§Some sound resources from other stacks may load correctly but will not play--they are probably not real HyperCard sound resources.
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*XTools™*. XTools is a set of functions in another stack that you access from within XHome. XTools will allow you to create interactivity in your pictures (live buttons). XTools allows you to create animations. XTools allows you to play sounds at the same time you display pictures. All of the scripts for these functions are compiled by the XTools stack. XTools is available separately from ARTWAY.
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*XToolsJr™*. XToolsJr is a subset of XTools functions. It’s functions are in another stack that you access from within XHome. XToolsJr allows you to create a Sequence of your pictures and sounds. XToolsJr allows you to select the position on the screen to display pictures. XToolsJr allows you to play sounds at the same time you display pictures. All of the scripts for these functions are compiled by the XToolsJr stack. XToolsJr is available as FreeWare from ARTWAY.
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Currently *XHome only supports PICT and snd* (sound) resources. You as the author may add any resources into a XRes stack manually but you will also be responsible to write a script to access the resource.
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*More on Pictures*
The source of the pictures may be:
1) A“screen shot” (see your Macintosh manual about taking screen shots). Screen shots can be imported into a color paint program and colorized.
2) A picture you copied from another stack.
3) A picture you copied from graphics program (color if you want to).
4) Pictures drawn on XHome’s card (you can make new cards using the standard HyperCard menu command). You can paste a picture from another source (another program, stack or card) onto a card and if you wish modify it using HyperCard’s paint tools.
5) Import a PICT resource from another XRes stack or XHome stack.
6) Copy bitmapped text and use the clipboard function to create a resource.
§NOTE:§Currently XHome can not modify a picture already converted into a PICT resource. So always, with the exception of color or grayscale pictures pasted from another program, leave a copy of all pictures on a card of XHome so that you may modify it later and create a new resource. This will be very important if you want to later create buttons or animate the picture with XTools.
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*Resources in XHome & Waldo*
§NOTE:§There are several resources in XHome and in Waldo that perform functions native to them. You will not be able to load a resource using the name of one of the local resources. If the resource you want to load uses the same ID number as one of the resources already in XHome, or Waldo, then the resources will be assigned a new resource number. So always call a resource by its name and not its number. The resources that may be loaded into WALDO are: snd, PICT, XCMD, XFCN. The resources that may be loaded into XHome are: snd, PICT. Check the information screen (the balloon button on the Front Page of Waldo--the about XHome menu item in XHome) for the names of the resources in ARTWAY stacks.
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*|Menu Items|*
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*Resource List*
This menu item presents a list view of all snd (sound ) and PICT (picture) resources in XHome. (This list excludes the resources used by XHome itself). From here you may display (or play) a resource, you may rename a resource and you may erase a resource. Use the Command key (apple key) to select noncontiguous items from the list. Use the Shift key to select contiguous items from the list.
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*Window Style*
Here you may choose the style of window you want your picture displayed in. Zoom is the default style and allows you to resize the window. All of the styles have close boxes in the upper left hand corner of their title bar. All window styles are maintained when creating XRes stacks.
To view the styles of current resources choose the Window Style menu item and select any style (you are just going to view the windows style list you don’t have to change anything) you will be shown a list of PICT resources only and window styles (plain or roundRect not the default zoom) will be show to the right of each item in the list. Choose “Cancel” to exit without any changes.
§NOTE:§ From this list you may only choose one item at a time.
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*XTools...*
These extra functions for XHome are available direct from ARTWAY and will allow the creation of interactive buttons, animation, sound with pictures and more. These functions will be accessed from within XTools when loaded.
XToolsJr is a subset of XTools functions. It is accessed from the XTools menu item.
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*Create Resource*
From this menu you may create resources--sound or picture.
If you want to create a PICT (picture) resource then just draw or paste a picture on a card in XHome. (Create as many card in XHome as you need.) Pictures may be: drawn in XHome, pasted into XHome, loaded from another stack’s resources. (Black & white, color and grayscale images are ok.) You are given the option “clipboard or card.” If you have drawn a picture on the card in XHome you are on then choose “card.” If you have copied a picture into the clipboard then choose clipboard. A PICT resource will be created and displayed in the default zoom window.
If you choose to create a snd resource then you will be presented with a floating sound tools palette. To record a sound you must have a microphone or a MacRecorder (from MacroMedia) or some other sound input device installed. You should open up, and keep open during creation of the snd resource, the sound control pannel in the system folder (refer to your Macintosh documentation for instructions on using the sound control pannel). Refer to your HyperCard manual if you want more information about playing sounds in Hypercard.
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*Create XRes Stack*
This function will take all of the resources in a XHome stack and create a XRes stack for use with Waldo. Be sure to name the new XRes stack exactly the same as the document it will be read with--XHome will automatically put the “.res” after its name. To be used the XRes stack must be at the same “level” as the document loaded into WALDO or in the case of Waldo OpenBook™ it must be at the same level as the OpenBook. Refer to Waldo Documentation for more information on XRes stacks.
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*Load Resource*
This function will load external resources (PICT and snd only) from other HyperCard stacks. It will load resources with illegal names and then rename them to legal names! ( See elseware in this documentation about naming resources). Note that some sound (snd) resources will load but not play--they are probably not real HyperCard sound resources.
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*About XHome...*
This menu item will display information about ARTWAY, the name of the external resources in XHome and that XHome uses. It also contains basic instructions for XHome.
