Thanks for trying out PreviewMaker, I hope you like it and find it a useful tool in making preview screenshots that will show off your Kaleidoscope creations. However, PreviewMaker is not freeware. If you use it more than a week or post scheme previews generated with this application, please support the shareware cause (and me!) buy registering this application for a mere US$5.00. Non-registered users will be asked to remove all screenshots generated with this application. Consult the Registration Information document for more details.
Apple —> About PreviewMaker: Shows the About Box for PreviewMaker.
Apple —> PreviewMaker Home: Takes you to the PreviewMaker Home Page.
File —> Close: closes the active window.
File —> Quit: quits PreviewMaker.
Edit —> The Edit Menu has the standard OS items. There is nothing PreviewMaker specific here.
Extra —> Remote Control: opens the Remote Control window in case it was closed via its close box.
Extra —> Utility Window: opens a utility window that shows the scheme’s Generic, System, and Control Panels folders. These icons will not be 32 bit (REALbasic has yet to implement icns, and no plugin can be found), they will be icl8 icons.
• The easiest way to learn this little app is to play with it — it’s so easy, a third grader could use it!
• Load whichever scheme you wish to generate a preview for.
• Launch PreviewMaker.
• Two windows will appear: the main PreviewMaker setup window, and a floating utility window labeled Remote. The Remote simply toggles the utility window off and on as well as quit the program..
• Enter the scheme’s name in the scheme name field.
• Choose what type of layout you would like by clicking the specific radio button.
• A new window will appear, showing off various controls from your scheme, depending upon which format you chose.
• Open the utility window (Extra —> Utility Window) if you want the folder previews.
• Use your favorite screen capture utility (I prefer ExposurePro) to take a shot of the window.
• Added an Apple Menu item to take you directly to the PreviewMaker web site.
Version 1.0 (Final)
• Extensive code clean-up.
• Changed the remote window. The setup window hides as soon as a preview window is generated, and it reappears when that preview window is closed. By using the remote to toggle the setup window on or off, one could accidentally open any number of windows in the background. The nature of this application is to generate ONE preview at a time—I made it so that one could not open multiple windows. Disabling this end-user option solves the multiple window problem, and cleans up the interface.
• Previews are no longer available via menu items. I did this for the exact reasons detailed above. It takes the same amount of time and energy to “see a preview before I generate one” that it does to simply generate a preview. If you don’t like the layout, simply close that window and try another.
• Tweaked the interface to abide by Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, particularly in text display and control placement.
• Ended the four month beta test cycle, and have received a clean bill of “No Bugs Here” from both PPC and 68k users. (To this, I knock on wood and cross my fingers...)
Version 1.1b2
• Added two more window previews, now showing off the Alert, Caution, and Note icons.
• Cleaned up some of the coding, making for smaller chances of crashing on some older systems.
• Introduced the shareware registration into the application.
• Replaced the “About PreviewMaker” splash with a cool picture instead of boring text.
Version 1.1b1 (December 16,1998)
• Changed the version numbering to compensate for the major revisions.
• Added four new preview layouts, for a total of six different previews.
• Added a “remote control” to show/hide the main setup screen so the background will be less cluttered for your screenshots.
• Added menu commands to get a preview of the window styles before you generate a preview.
• Added menu commands for all other aspects of the application.
• Added a floating utility window option that displays the Generic, System, and Control Panels folders.
• Updated the methods for drawing windows which (I think) fixed the crashing bug some were experiencing.
• Minor tweaks and other subtle improvements.
• I added a button on the Remote Control to open up the Utility Window.
• Disabled the main set-up window’s close box.
• You can no longer open multiple generated layout windows. To see what a window layout looks like before generating, use the Preview menu to see which suits your taste. After you’ve found one you like, generate the preview window and proceed as usual. For screenshot purposes, I see no reason to generate multiple windows.
Version 1.0b3 (December 15,1998)
• Added a second preview layout with new controls like little arrows and disclosure triangles.
• Minor tweaks and subtle improvements.
Version 1.0b2 (December 12,1998)
• Minor tweaks and subtle improvements.
• Edited the Read Me and changed the About window.
Version 1.0b1 (September 26, 1998)
• Initial beta release at the Kaleidoscope Hotline Server
