All Pictoids accept the same modifier keys to perform these actions:
Click = toggle picture on or off
Option + click = Add picture (card or background)
Shift + click = Delete Picture (card or background)
Option + Shift + click = Change Attributes
Commandkey + click = Change Picture
Adding a picture will begin a script checking cycle, followed by permanently adding the picture to the card or background. If the pictoid finds a problem with the script, it will notify you and offer to fix it. You can choose to let it fix the script for you or not, but if you don't the picture will not be added.
Additionally, you will be asked if you want to convert the pictoid to an ordinary button. If you answer "Yes," you'll get this dialog:
You may wish to keep your frame as a regular button so that you can associate an action with clicking on the picture. The rest of the options are fairly self-explanatory. Deleting the button from this dialog will not erase the picture as the button deletes itself.
All pictoids reveal their workings in the top lines of their scripts:
A path-based pictoid will have four lines:
(Line 1 being the correct colorizeHC command, line 2 being the full path to the picture, line 3 being a path to the folder where your stack is (and you may wish to place picture files there), line 4 being the name of the PICT file.)
(Line 1 being the correct colorize command, and line 2 being the name of the picture resource.)
These scripts update themselves as you move or change the attributes of your pictoids. Make sure that you toggle the pictoid on and off fully before copying a command from the pictoid script for direct pasting. Otherwise, you may end up with the pictoid's previous position. Pictoids take care of updating themselves when you use the option click method to add them to your cards or backgrouds.
-- ,HD:Desktop Folder:HyperDemo:Moon Movie, <-- This (item 2 of line 2) is the full path name of my current movie
-- HD:Desktop Folder:HyperDemo: <-- This is the path to movies
-- Moon Movie <-- This (word 2 of line 4) is the name of the moov file that I will open
-- 125 <--this is the volume selected
(Line 1 is the correct play command, line 2 is the full pathname, line 3 is the path to the current stack (where you might put movies), line 4 is the name of the movie, and line 5 is the volume selected. (125 = volume 5, where 1 = 25, and 10 = 250.)
• QuickTime Browsers just have a simple script to open and play movies each time they are clicked on.
You can even preview sounds or movies with the QuickTime dialog:
Changing attributes allows you to change your pictoid from scaling to normal or from transparent to opaque and back again if you choose. Obviously, you can simply copy existing pictoids to make new ones or to show new resources. Or, you can always use the palette to “draw” them on to your card or background. In the case of a QT pictoid, you can adjust the sound volume by the shift-option-click method.
Placement:
A few rules apply to pictoids. Card pictoids will overlay background or stack pictoids (as you would want them to), and on a card, the pictoids you add first will be covered or partially covered by any that you place on them and save afterwards. In other words, the sooner they go in, the deeper they are in the layer.
BTW: There are some other colorize types I didn't bother with. One of them was a centered type. Basically, this just places the picture in the middle of your card. This is the mathematical center, so a picture might technically be centered, but it rarely looked that way. Center your own pictures according to your eyeball and your results will be better. As far as picture fx, accomplish these in a real paint program and then save them as PICT files to import or display. The fewer colorize commands you execute when opening a card, the faster it will open and the less memory it will take.
Transparent pictures will have their white areas filled by any color or picture behind them. You can also use the pictoid button to create effects by changing button attributes. The best way to find out is to just start experimenting.
A scripting guide is available for registered users. You may also want to look at the original colorizeHC stack from BungDabba Productions for further information. Some of my methods are a little tricky, so make sure you understand the message passing order before you start trapping the messages in your stacks. You'll know you failed to grasp how things work if you get a dialog that says "Too much recursion."
