[This is a copy of the online Help in StoryProject, provided here for your convenience.]
Help
To hide Help press Command-H again
Scroll down or click on a heading to go there:
Menus: File, Edit, Go, Font, Style
StoryProject window: Entry field, Buttons
Tips on usage
Troubleshooting
File menu
Close Character
Closes the Character window if one is open.
Export...
Exports all entries into a new Microsoft Word text document at a location you specify.
The document can also be opened with SimpleText, or any other wordprocessor.
Quit
Quits StoryProject. All your work is automatically saved.
Edit menu
Undo
Undo is not available in StoryProject.
Cut, Copy, and Paste are available when entering text in a dialog box.
Clear All Entries...
Clears all entries from StoryProject. Displays a confirmation dialog beforehand.
Turn Moving On/Off
Toggles the Moving mode on or off.
When the Moving mode is on, you can move an entry in the entry field by first clicking it, then clicking the empty line where you wish it moved.
Clicking the area outside the buttons and the entry field in the StoryProject window has the same function.
Information...
Displays information about your story project. Ratio of Event entries to the whole, the number of entries, and the number of words are displayed.
Go menu
Find...
Searches for a given text string in all entries. The search is case insensitive.
Option-select to search for all instances of the text string in 2 second steps. Clicking the mouse stops the search.
Only string searching is available: you cannot limit your search to whole words.
Find Again
Searches for the next instance of a text string previously found with the Find... command.
Replace...
Replaces a given text string with another in all entries.
If the Replace field is left empty, all found instances of the text string are deleted.
Only string searching is available: you cannot limit your search to whole words.
This command should only be used for case sensitive replacing of unique strings, such as character names.
Show Character...
Displays a new window featuring entries that contain a given character name.
Option-clicking a character name in the entry field has the same function.
Scroll
Continuously scrolls through all entries. Clicking the mouse stops scrolling.
Font menu
Lets you chose the System font in which entries are displayed. You must have the font installed on your Macintosh for it to work.
Style menu
Lets you chose the style and point size in which entries are displayed.
Entry field
Maximum entry length is 124 characters, about three lines of the input dialog box.
When the Moving mode is off, click an entry to edit it, or Option-click a character name to display all entries containing it in a new window (the same as choosing Show Character… from the Go menu).
When the Moving mode is on, move an entry by first clicking it, then click the empty line where you wish it moved.
Buttons
Click in the area outside the buttons and the entry field to toggle the Moving mode on or off.
Turn Moving On/Off in the Edit menu has the same function.
Activity
Click to enter a human activity.
For example: "Charity fundraising." or "Ken Marshall is a golfer."
Keyboard shortcut: Command-A
DialectiC
Click to enter a dialectic conflict.
For example: "Beauty is terror." or "Jaqui drops college to get ahead in music."
Keyboard shortcut: Command-D
Bond
Click to enter a bond.
For example: "Fred stole to make ends meet." or "Jealousy is the glue of their marriage."
Keyboard shortcut: Command-B
Problem
Click to enter a problem.
For example: "The brakes were faulty." or "Tia saw him in Chelsea. Where was he going?"
Keyboard shortcut: Command-P
Task
Click to enter a task.
For example: "Major Pitts: Get them!" or "Ron must be enticed into helping."
Keyboard shortcut: Command-T
Event
Click to enter an event.
For example: "Jake hurt his hand." or "We reached Zürich at midnight, in a state of shock."
Keyboard shortcut: Command-E
Pop-up menu button
Click to choose the entry type you wish displayed in the entry field.
Tips on usage
Colour
You can save RAM and speed up StoryProject by turning off its colouring. You do this by decreasing its memory partition in the Finder to between 1050K and 1350K. (Colouring turns on automatically if the memory partition is set to 1400K or more.)
Screen Inversion
StoryProject is designed for easy viewing on an inverted screen. If you find black text on white background tiring on the eyes, you are encouraged to use a screen inversion utility, obtainable from online software archives.
Scrolling
You can use the keyboard Up and Down arrow keys to scroll through the entry field. Hold down the Option key simultaneously to jump page up or down; Command key to jump to the start or the end of the field. Extended and Design keyboard equivalents also work (as does the Help key).
Note Pad
The Note Pad utility in the Apple Menu makes a useful companion to StoryProject. You are advised to use it for jotting down longer pieces of writing. StoryProject can export all Note Pad pages into one Microsoft Word text document at a location you specify. (You can open it with any wordprocessor.) For this, there is no menu command; press Command-Shift-N.
Troubleshooting
Your use of StoryProject should be trouble-free, but there may be times when the program encounters errors. There are three possible symptoms.
Locked screen
Your screen may lock, with no processing going on and with the cursor moveable but having no effect when you click the mouse. Press Command-. and see if it helps. If it does, it means there is an error in your entries. You are advised to export your entries, clear them from StoryProject, and begin anew. (This error cannot occur during normal operation.)
Error messages
You may receive an error message that will read like this:
"This operation can't continue because
an error has occurred: <error> in <handler>."
The <error> part will specify the nature of the problem. In most cases, such as "Out of memory" or "Too much recursion", increasing the program's memory partition (by about 100K) or just restarting it will clear the problem. If the error is incomprehensible, however, re-install the program and ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements to run it.
System freeze
If the program freezes or crashes the system, then the cause of the problem is outside StoryProject. It is most likely a conflict between a system extension or control panel and HyperCard. It helps to understand that HyperCard Player is the software engine behind StoryProject. Follow the usual procedure for locating the source of the problem, i.e. restarting without extensions, testing them, etc.
Minor bugs
If you close a Character window with the mouse, the Close Character menu item in the File menu will not gray out, which it is meant to do. This is a harmless bug. If you then select the menu item, it will gray out without ill effect.
Cut, Copy, and Paste keyboard shortcuts work only within StoryProject. To transfer text between StoryProject and another application you must select the menu commands with the mouse.
