-- card: 4415 from stack: in
-- bmap block id: 0
-- flags: 0000
-- background id: 2583
-- name: XrefText/M


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XrefText/M

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OK, I finally got the interface religion.  XrefText/M is an alternative to  XrefText6, the latest in the line of XrefText >hypertext< stacks that more closely follows the Macintosh interface through the use of menus (Note the menu bar should now include a menu titled XrefText/M, provided by use of Nine-To-Five's "Menus for Hypercard" XCMDs and XFCNs, via the Developer's Stack.)

It's a wonder I didn't stumble onto this approach sooner.  It does not rely on (or show off with) the key feature of previous XrefText stacks - the tricky little HyperTalk-driven "sticky-buttons" within text fields.  This results in two things:

1 - The ability to set up reference cards with more than one word in them, which is a very significant improvement that is made possible by not relying on the "sticky-button" approach.  It may not be as neat, but I do feel that utility should take preference over "neatness."

2 - The closer adherence to the more traditional Mac interface way of selecting an item (in this case the words that make up the reference), then performing an action on or with it via menu commands.  This is a matter of some discussion in some parts, especially among interface purists who fear that HyperCard could lead to the loss of our beloved "consistent user-interface."

XrefText/M now performs the reference and navigation actions via the menu commands, as well as replacing the smaller XrefText buttons with commands in the same menu.  Select the XrefText Help menu item for operational details.

• Old XrefText fans will find that the original Option-Click and Command-Click will still work as a short-cut, but are only guaranteed on 1-word references.