All DatabasesMacTech Vol 04-1988
HyperCard 1.2
Volume Number: 4
Issue Number: 6
Column Tag:
New HyperCard 1.2 Features
By Fred Stauder, HyperCard Editor, Zurich, Switzerland
They are listening!!
Last month I told you to be patient with your wish lists. Well the good folks at
Apple have answered some of your wishes. Hypercard 1.2 will have announced by the
time you read this issue. The main emphasis of this issue will be the new Hypercard
features in 1.2, also Don Koscheka joins us in bringing you XCMD Cookbook.
New Features in Hypercard 1.2
First of all Hypercard 1.2 is not the final version of Hypercard, it is however an
indication from Apple that they are committed to the evolution of the Hypercard
paradigm. If you expected all the bells and whistles in this release you will be
dissapointed. However Hypercard 1.2 does address lots of important points.
HyperCard stacks can be write-protected
This is a very important feature that allows you to get some performance
improvements where they are criticle, such as a terminal stack. You can, for example,
open it locked and have a save button that unlocks the stack and saves the field to
another card.
You can recognize a write-protected stack by a padlock icon appearing to the
right of the menu bar. When a stack is write-protected, you can’t type into any fields
(even if they’re not locked) and you can’t use certain menu items (they’re dimmed).
You might be able to make temporary changes to a card if the userModify
property is set to true. But as soon as you leave the card, the changes will disappear.
A stack is considered write-protected under the following circumstances:
• The stack is locked
• Can’t Modify Stack is checked in the stack’s Protect Stack dialog box.
• The cantModify property is set to TRUE.
When the stack is locked, HyperCard automatically puts a check into the Can’t
Modify Stack option; you can’t uncheck it.
Stacks on File Servers and CD-ROM
HyperCard 1.2 allows more than one user to browse stacks on file servers. Any
number of users have access to a stack when the stack is locked (but no one can make
changes to it); only a single user has access to a stack on a file server when the stack is
unlocked.
A stack is considered locked if any one of the following conditions are true:
• The stack is on a CD-ROM.
• The stack is on a file server in a folder whose access privileges are set to Read
Only.
• The Locked box is checked in the stack’s Get Info box in the Finder.
• The stack is on a locked 3.5-inch disk.
Note: A locked stack is considered write-protected (see next card), but checking
Can’t Modify Stack in a stack’s Protect Stack dialog box does not lock it (even though it
does write-protect the stack). Only locked stacks support browsing by more than one
user.
Auto Tabbing in Fields
The Auto Tab option lets the Return key move the insertion point to the next field
on the card when in the last line of a non-scrolling field. Auto Tab is a property of card
and background fields. When Auto Tab is checked in the Field Info dialog box of a
non-scrolling field, pressing Return with the insertion point in the last line of that
field moves the insertion point to the next field on that card. Normal tabbing order is
followed. Remember field order can be set by bringing the field closer or further, the
order can be checked by the field number in the field info box.
Setting up form type cards is now much easier where entry can be done entierly
via the keyboard.
Choosing Button and Field Tools
The shortcut for the browse tool is command-tab. Two new tool choices have been
added. To choose the Button tool command-tab-tab, and to choose the field tool
command-tab-tab-tab. See --ScriptTips AutoScriptEdit-II for an alternative.
Line Spacing Shortcuts
In earlier versions of HyperCard you could press Command-Option > and
Command-Option < to increase or decrease the space between lines of text (the
textHeight property of a field or of paint text).
In version 1.2, you must add the Shift key to the formula: The main reason for
this is to be compatible with international keyboards.
First, select the field whose line spacing you want to change. Then press
Command-Shift-Option > to increase the spacing between lines
Command-Shift-Option < to decrease the spacing between lines
Each shortcut increments or decrements the line spacing by 1 (for example,
from 16 to 17 or from 17 to 16).
New Hypertalk Commands
Find Command
Find Whole and Find String are two new options for the Find Command. Find
Whole (or Shift-Command-F) lets you search for a specific word or phrase (including
spaces). It searches for characters at the beginnings of words. Find String lets you
search for a specific string of characters (including spaces), but it ignores word
boundaries.
Hide Picture Command
Hide Picture hides the picture of a specified card or background. Hide Card
Picture and Hide Background Picture hide the picture of the current card or
background. This is very useful as an extra graphic layer.
Lock and Unlock Screen Command
Lock Screen has the same effect as setting the property lockScreen to true: it
pr events HyperCard from updating the screen. Unlock Screen has the same effect as
setting the property lockScreen to false: it allows HyperCard to update the screen.
Unlock optionally allows a single visual effect.
Select Command
The Select command lets you select buttons, fields, or text in a field. Select Text
and Select with a chunk expression let you (a) highlight text in a field or (b) position
the insertion point in a field.
Show Picture Command
Show Picture shows the picture of a specified card or background. Show Card
Picture or Show Background Picture shows the graphics of the current card or
background.
clickH and clickV Function
The clickH returns an integer equal to the number of horizontal pixels from the
left side of the card window to the place the mouse was last clicked
(item 1 of the clickLoc). The clickV returns an integer equal to the number of
vertical pixels from the top of the card window to the place the mouse was last clicked
(item 2 of the clickLoc).
Referenced by (11):