ResGenie is a combination of 19 externals (145k) and over 250k of hypertalk scripts. ResGenie is meant to be used, but not open, during the creation of your stacks. ResGenie overcomes the 32k stack script limit to allow you to have total access to all ResGenie scripts at all times that you are using it. Like a good genie, it is always nearby and ready to serve you when you call. You must open ResGenie™ in order to initialize its globals. If you simply start using ResGenie™, you will not be able to use it properly. If you want to always use ResGenie™, let me know, and I'll create a Home Card script to launch and close ResGenie™ when you start HyperCard.
If the small green ResGenie palette is not visible, simply press controlkey and "G" or "H" to call up ResGenie. (This is the palette that opens when you first launch ResGenie.):
It is meant to be two things: small, and easy to see. This is the first version of ResGenie. It's pretty good, but it's not a mature product yet...so, it's a "green jin", not a "blue jin."
Keyboard Shortcuts:
Control key+:
B = Browse another Stack
G or H = ResGenie palette
I = Import Pictures
K = Kill Resources
M = Move Resources
P = Picture List
R = Resource List
U = Using List
These controlkey handlers are in the stack script, and you may modify them for your own use. You may not upload a modified version of ResGenie™ to any bulletin board or shareware distributor.
If you click on "Stack," you'll get this palette:
From left to right these buttons are/do:
1. List stack picture resources
2. List stack sound resources
3. List all stack resources
4. Convert a PICT in the clipboard to a file PICT
5. Import a PICT file into your current stack as a resource
6. Import a PICT resource from any file or stack as a stack resource
7. Import a sound from any stack, any sound file (such as AOL's "Online Sounds" file, or any system 7 style sound file (the kind that play from the Finder when double-clicked) into your current stack as a sound resource.
I have included a system 7 file sound with this package for you to experiment with.
8. Record a new sound into your current stack. You will be able to record sounds with the standard sound manager dialog, saving sounds as 1:1, 3:1, or 6:1 compressed sounds.
If you click on "Manager," you'll get this palette:
From left to right these buttons are/do:
1. Browse another stack's resources. (Allows you to see a complete resource list and preview sounds and pictures from any stack.)
2. Stacks-in-Use. Creates a list of stacks currently being used. Allows you to start using new stacks or stop using stacks by double-clicking on the names. (You can't stop using ResGenie™ this way, even thought its name always appears-if you did, you'd be dead in the resource water).
3. Record a sound into any file: let's you record *into* any file or stack, including files such as AOL's online sounds or online one files.
4. Rename resources:
Allows you to rename resources in your current stack, another stack, or any file at all. Appropriate filters have been added to keep you from naming two sounds the same. This external is a bit shaky, so I have also added some workarounds for opening and closing the stacks (when you are working on stacks as opposed to other files) so that the newly re-named resources will be useable right away.
5. Move Resources gives you this dialog:
As you can see, you can copy resources between your current stack and any other stack or file, or between two third party stacks or files (or combination) without ever leaving your current stack. You'll be presented with a standard file dialog box to choose your other files to copy to/from. When you have made your selection, you just doubleclick on the name of the resource that you want to move (and it goes to the other file). Full filtering protects you from copying over existing files. This is a modeless copying system...
6. The kill resources button presents you with this dialog:
Again, make your choice, and you'll be presented with a window listing resources. Doubleclick the name of the resource you want to remove. You'll be given a second chance dialog before the deletion is completed.
This is also a modeless deletion system.
If you click on "Pictoids," you'll get this palette:
There are 2 basic types of “Pictoid:”
Resource, and Path-based
Resource pictoids will display your stack's resource pictures, and path-based pictoids display PICT or QuickTime files that you locate with a standard get file dialog box.
The PICT type pictoids all use the colorizeHC xcmd to display pictures. Pictoids all contain a complete method for adding these pictures to your card, your background, or your stack levels. They allow you to set up your stack in a wire frame version so that you can place all the frames where you want them, preview how it will look, and rearrange if necessary. You can then add your pictures to your stack by option clicking on the pictoid frames. You can also convert your pictoids to ordinary buttons (you'll get a dialog asking you if you want to do this) when you add them to your stack. The first time you add them, you should probably leave them as pictoids and then go through your stack to check its appearance. This way, if you want to remove a picture, you can simply hold the shift key down and click on them again. This will remove your picture from the card or background that it is on—with an unlimited undo support.
Each ot the ten types of pictoids will ask you to locate their picture the first time you click on them. If they are resource pictoids, they will present you with a “Cheat sheet” list of your stack's current picture resources. Double click on picture names until you have the one you want. If you don't have any picture resources, then the name of the pictoid will remain "Help." Import some picture resources and then click again. You'll now be able to have it display resource pictures.
The ten types of Pictoids are:
Normal PICT (non-scaling, opaque)
Transparent PICT (non-scaling, transparent)
Normal Scaling (scaling, opaque)
Transparent Scaling (scaling, transparent)
These are repeated for path-based and resource, so 4 x 2 =8
QuickTime
QuickTime Viewer (has the arrows at the bottom)
QuickTime acts like a path-based pictoid. You can preview movies in your sf get dialog box before you choose them. It will also present you with a dialog asking you for the sound volume to play your movie with.
QuickTime Viewer will always present you with a quicktime sf get dialog box and always play this movie once at sound level 5...handy for looking at your movies before settling on one for a particular card.
The “Update Stack” button allows you to choose a stack to update for color. It will add all the necessary scripting to a currently existing stack in order for it to display colorizeHC type pictures and colors. You should do this on copies of stacks, since it is not perfect. I have, however, converted an old HyperCard database of mine that had a very complicated set of card, bg, and stack scripts and over 1780 cards. The update worked without a flaw, althought it took 6.5 minutes to do it in. Of course, the stack wasn't designed with color in mind so it didn't do much good to add it in...
“Clear Colors” will erase all current colors temporarily. Handy for when you get carried away with your Pictoids.
See the “Pictoids” document for more information....
If you click on "Crayons," you'll get this palette:
Crayons are my implementation for adding colorize colors to your cards, backgrounds or stack levels. It didn't make sense to me to try to copy the characteristics of a color paint program within HyperCard. It seemed to me that people who were going to create stacks for display had more in common with desktop publishing. You want to be able to preview your work in an outline fashion, have unlimited undo, and be able to drag your colors and pictures around 'til you get them just right. Then you would want to save them....
Clicking on any of the colored buttons will create a “Crayon” of that color which you can then drag into place. Once there, you can turn it on and off by clicking on it, move it like any other button, add it to the script of your card (or background, if you placed it there), or remove it from your card or background. When you add Crayons you will also be asked if you want to convert them to normal buttons or delete them altogther (leaving only your color). If you delete a Crayon with the button tool, it will erase itself on the way out. If you have added your Crayon color to the current card or background and chose not to change it into an ordinary button at that time, and if you simply delete it without using the option click method to delete it, it will erase its rect on the way out: but, the color will not be removed from your card. Just go to the next or previous card and return, and your color will be back in place.
The colorwheel button allows you to create a custom color Crayon. You might even want to create a stack with your own custom color Crayons to use on particular projects. Just cut and paste them to use....I plan to add many more colors to the Crayon palette as time allows.
The eraser button temporarily erases all colors. You can also click on Crayons to toggle them between colored and un-colored. They will display their names when not colored.
See the section on “Crayons for more information.”
If you click on "New Stack," you'll get this dialog:
This dialog allows you to create and go to a new stack that will have the color scripting already in place. If you click the “Make Standalone” box, the colorizeHC XCMD, and its two related functions (maxdepth, and colorpicker) will be installed. Any stack that you upload as a color stack will probably need to be made “standalone” color for now, since most people do not have these externals installed in their HyperCard application or Home stacks. If you install Jon Wind's QuickTime XCMD, please make a note of that somewhere in your stack. If you use this external in a commercial application, then you must first obtain his permission. Here is the original text from his stack:
QTPlay is a quick and dirty XCMD that plays QuickTime™ movies under System 7, in a modal window. It may be used freely in non-commercial stacks or applications. Written approval from West Publishing Company is required for use in commercial applications.
Jon Wind
West Publishing Company
610 Opperman Drive
Eagan, MN 55123
If you click on "Messages," you'll get the message watcher.
If you click on "Variable," you'll get the Variable Watcher window.
If you click on "Help"
You'll get a brief online set of reminders for how things work.
If you click on "About"
You'll get a couple of dialogs with information about your copy of ResGenie™. Please register your copy of ResGenie. Doing so ensures that future versions will be much better, support more QuickTime features, have more colors, do better things with sounds, and include some clip-art color palettes that I will commission if the money's there. You'll also be helping out me and my kids, and we need the bucks.
Please mail your shareware registration form and $10 to:
