WindowTalk
Volume Number: 5
Issue Number: 12
Column Tag: Kelly's Corner
ScriptEdit™ and WindowTalk 
By Dave Kelly, MacTutor Editorial Board
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACTUTOR
This issue begins another year of MacTutor! A hearty thanks to all of MacTutor’s
advertisers and readers.
You have probably noticed that my column has taken a different twist over the
past few issues. I’m looking through a pile of software to make your development
efforts easier and I’ll try to keep you informed of some of these as time and space
permits. The products that I mention here are not necessarily endorsed by MacTutor
or myself (although some of them are on my best software list), and is not necessarily
the only product of its kind, but each one has caught my attention for some reason or
another.
ScriptEdit™
ScriptEdit™ is an ingenious way to make HyperCard script programming easier.
Before I tell you about it, I’d like to tell you a few reasons why I don’t like
HyperCard’s built-in editor. I’m sure that everyone that has ever done HyperCard
script writing has some or all of the same complaints (maybe even other complaints
too). Some things could have been better to begin with, but we all know that Apple
always saves room in the commercial market for improvements. HyperCard’s editor
consists of a large dialog with a text edit field in which you can type and edit text that
comprises HyperTalk scripts. First complaint: the edit menu is not allowed from
within the editor. This isn’t too bad since the keyboard equivalents for Cut, Copy, and
Paste commands still work. Secondly, only one script may be open at a time. This is
awkward when working with a complex stack. Thirdly, the find function is limited.
You must position the insertion point to the beginning and then select cmd-F. There is
no replace function for replacing text. If you don’t mind all of that, you probably are
doing just fine with HyperCard’s built-in editor.
The ScriptEdit™ consists of three different parts: The ScriptEdit desk accessory;
an XCMD that provides HyperCard-to-ScriptEdit communications; and two special
HyperTalk scripts that link the desk accessory and XCMD together and correctly
activate ScriptEdit when it is selected from the Apple menu. In addition, there is a set
of sample scripts provided for starting up ScriptEdit™ in a variety of ways. My
favorite is to use the pre-defined script which uses one of the function keys on the
extended keyboard to open the ScriptEdit™ DA. These scripts and XCMD are installed
by clicking a button in the ScriptEdit™ install stack. Of course the DA must be
installed in the system (or via Suitcase II or Master Juggler). Once the ScriptEdit™
scripts are installed in the home stack, ScriptEdit™ may be invoked by sending
messages to HyperCard by typing in the message window or implementing a script.
Examples:
ScriptEdit “background button Home”
ScriptEdit “card TheXCMD”
ScriptEdit “cd btn Test”, “cd btn About”
ScriptEdit Name1, Name2
The ScriptEdit™ object window opens and displays the objects available in the
stack. You can use HyperCard’s menus or the object window’s navigation commands
(left/right arrows) to navigate through different stacks while using ScriptEdit™. For
convenience, the object window has filter buttons to select what types of objects to
display.
Just about every feature in ScriptEdit™ is an improvement over the built-in
editor. Here is a summary of the features:
• Now you can have more than one script window open at one time. The number of
script windows is only limited by available memory. This enables you to edit
scripts side by side.
• Each window can retain its own font and size information (one font and size per
window).
• Find and Replace includes searches which “wrap around” to continue searching at
the beginning of the script when it reaches the end. Find/Replace can be done on
all open windows or on all scripts in the stack.
• The ScriptEdit™ XCMD provides a direct interface with HyperCard so that script
commands may be used to customize the editing environment.
• Any standard text file can be opened with the ScriptEdit™ DA. This makes it easy
to import a script from somewhere else to include in your stack.
• Each script window contains pop up menus with standard HyperCard messages,
controls, commands, functions, properties, and constant that can be selected to be
automatically inserted into your script. This can be a time saver for someone
who is not fully familiar with all of the HyperCard statements. The info bar can
be hidden if desired to display more of the script to edit.
I ran into only one problem in using ScriptEdit™ and this problem is only a
problem for users of 32-bit Color Quickdraw. The problem is that ScriptEdit™’s
hierarchical menus don’t work when 32-bit QD is installed. A quick call to Somak
Software was answered by a helpful voice which told me that the problem is fixed with
system version 6.0.4. If you don’t have 6.0.4 then I suggest that you don’t use 32-bit
Color QD when using ScriptEdit™.
I fully recommend ScriptEdit™ to anyone who is sick of the HyperCard built-in
script editor. There was only one thing that I disliked about it; when ScriptEdit™ is
active, you can’t use the paint tools or otherwise change a card or background. This is
only a minor annoyance and won’t keep anyone from producing better scripts.
ScriptEdit™ is available from:
Somak Software, Inc.
535 Encinitas Blvd., Suite 113
Encinitas, CA. 92024
(619) 942-2556
Price: $79
includes HyperCard version 1.2.2 and Font DA Mover 3.8.
NOT COPY PROTECTED!!
While we’re talking about HyperCard enhancements, I’d like to mention one more
which adds 26 XCMDs and XFCNs that lets you build windows and windoids.
WindowTalk when used with HyperCard scripts provide access to control modeless,
inter- or intra stack windows created in ResEdit.
For a limited time, WindowTalk is available as a shareware product which
includes documentation and sample windows and windoids. If you like WindowTalk and
want to use it, you pay $39 (plus $5 for postage and handling) and they send you a
special installer stack that can inject the necessary resource and the tutorial window
into your own Home stack or into another stack. The shareware version requires you
to replace your Home stack (by changing its name) and using a new home stack in
which WindowTalk has been installed. The shareware stack is set up so that there is
just enough bother in using it that the installer stack is needed, thus insuring that the
shareware fee is paid.
Available from:
Third Wave Computing, Inc.
4412 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite F-1000
Austin, TX. 78759
1-800-284-0486
NOT COPY PROTECTED!!