PICT graphics (resources) inside a TeachText text document
The following instructions are based on information supplied by Chris Del Grande of Apple Customer Support, from a 1988 Technical Note from Apple.
As you may know, the TeachText application supplied with the current Macintosh product line is capable of reading either standard text documents or PICT graphic files. However, you can also create a text document that has PICT graphics within it, too. Any graphic element(s), such as boldfaced text, photographs, line art, etc., can be embedded in a TeachText text document (you can see an example of this effect in the Read Me that comes with System 7.x). The only requirement is that the graphic elements be saved as PICT resources within the actual text document; as such, you will need ResEdit (or a similar utility program) to install the graphics. Also, you must be using TeachText 1.1 or later (although the likelihood of someone still using a version so old is very low, to be complete I will include the requirement here). Finally, note that any graphic(s) you place into a TeachText text document in the manner described herein will be automatically centered on whatever line you place them on.
1. Create your text document. For every instance where you will be inserting a graphic, select a blank line, then type option-spacebar. This will insert a special character, called a nonbreaking space, which the program will then use as a “placemarker” for your graphic(s). You must also type additional “Return”’s for every line (above and below) that the graphic would take up in your text.
2. Next, create the graphic(s) you wish to use and make sure that it/they can be copied to the clipboard as a PICT. Adobe Photoshop® and some other graphics programs automatically convert anything on the clipboard into a PICT, but if your graphics program is not capable of this, copy the graphic to the clipboard, then to the Scrapbook, and then BACK to the clipboard in order to convert it to a PICT.
3. Using ResEdit, open your TeachText text document. You will be told that the document has no resource fork, and you are told that opening the document will add one; click “OK.” Next, in the Resource menu, choose “Create New Resource.” When the dialog box appears, type “PICT” (or scroll down the list of available choices until you reach “PICT”); again, click “OK.” ResEdit will automatically open a new “PICT” resource for you. When you get to the final resource preview screen, choose “Paste” from the Edit menu. You should see your graphic appear in the new window.
4. Next, choose “Get Resource Info” from the Resource menu. When the info window appears, select the field that says “ID:” (if it isn’t already selected) and change the value from 128 to 1000. Close the info window to make the change.
5. For any other graphics that you wish to place in the TeachText text document, after you’ve pasted the graphics into new resources you must re-number the resources sequentially (i.e. 1000, 1001, 1002, etc.) in order for TeachText to recognize them. Close the document within ResEdit and save the changes.
6. Finally, open the TeachText document with TeachText and adjust any spacing/returns as necessary to improve the appearance of the graphic(s). For some reason, even if you make a change TeachText “remembers” the original version until you’ve saved the changes to the document; therefore, after each group of changes if you want to see the actual effect that they will have on your document you must close the document, save the changes, and then re-open it.
As far as I know, there is no limit to the number of graphics you may insert into a document this way. Remember, though, that PICTs are much larger than static text; as such, a document with more than one or two graphics embedded within it can be substantially larger than a text-only document would have been. Also, remember that color graphics take up more space than black-and-white graphics.
One more goodie: after you’ve polished your document, you might consider changing the creator signature of the document from “TEXT” (the standard TeachText editable text document signature) to “ttro” (the standard TeachText read-only text document signature). This has the benefit of ensuring that the average layman will not change your “Read Me”’s, etc., but it also gives you the snazzy newspaper icon you’ve probably seen from time to time on other Read Me’s. You can use ResEdit’s “Get Info for xxxxx” command in the File menu, or you can drag-and-drop the file over a small application called “TEXT->ttro”, by Laurence Harris (available on America Online; Mr. Harris’s AOL address is ‘LHarris’).
Oh, well, I hope this works well for you. Have fun !!!
