The easiest way to learn how to use PreviewMaker 2 is to load a Kaleidoscope scheme you would like to work with, launch PreviewMaker, and play around. But for the sake of a "manual," I'll hit the high-spots of this program.
System Requirements:
Suggested:
Macintosh PPC 603 or better, MacOS 8.6, 3MB of RAM for optimal performance, 15 inch monitor running millions of colors with resolution greater than 640x480 — and Kaleidoscope 2.
Minimum:
68k Macintosh, System 8.1 (haven’t tested MacOS 7.6), 3.6MB RAM for application.
Launching PreviewMaker:
After you launch the application, the splash screen will show for 1 second, then nothing will happen — PreviewMaker will wait for you to choose what you want to do via the assorted menu items, like view window samples, icons, or generate previews for scheme screenshots.
Much of PreviewMaker is accessed through menu or keystroke commands:
Keyboard Shortcuts:
Command-W: Close
Command-Q: Quit
Command-1: Bevel-Button Window
Command-2: Control Samples
Command-L: icl8 (Large) Icons
Command-S: ics8 (Small) Icons
Command-I: icns (32-bit) Icons
Command-G: Generate Previews
Command-F: Folder Palette
The Menus:
The first menu item of real use is the "Examples" menu item—these items will launch various window samples.
As you can see in the screenshot, Bevel-Button, Control Samples, Movable/Modal Alerts, Movable/Modal Dialogs, Finder-Like windows, and Utility Windows will be displayed to show off the different aspects of the loaded Kaleidoscope scheme.
This menu item is fairly self-explanatory. The first item, "icl8 (Large) Icons," displays 118 patchable icl8 icons by ID number and name. If the loaded scheme patches the icons, they will be displayed.
The "ics8 (Small) Icons" menu item displays 159 patchable ics8 icons by ID number and name. Again, if the loaded scheme patches the icons, they will be displayed.
The "icns (32 bit) Icons" item is a bit misleading right now — selecting it will bring up a dialog telling you that 32-bit support has yet to be implemented because the REALbasic development team hasn't added icns support to REALbasic yet. As soon as they do, PreviewMaker will be updated.
Here is where the original PreviewMaker is hiding out. The "Generate Previews" window is where you enter the scheme's name, choose a layout option, and generate the preview. You can also display an optional "Folder Palette" showing 3 sample folders from the scheme. The last menu item, "Layout Examples...," lets you look at the 12 layouts (preview them) before you actually generate the final preview.
Again, the best way to learn how to use PreviewMaker is to experiment and explore — it really is an easy and intuitive application, and it takes no time at all to master it.
If you have any questions, you can email me at: help@maurym.com for support.