6February 1998


1 : Getting started

Launch the application (double-click the fish icon), then click the text tool, in the Tools window.



Note: Since this is a work in progress, your current interface may not match screen shots entirely.

If you aren't sure which is the text tool, move the cursor over the larger buttons in the Tools window until the message (in the bottom of the tool box window) reads "Text object." The cursor should now resemble a bold "T" with a small arrow. Drag a rectangle in the document window to create a Text frame. Click inside the frame that appears to add text.



The text frame can be moved by dragging from the blue border of the frame. It can be resized by clicking the perforated corners (top right, bottom left and bottom right).

2 : Properties and states

Click the tabbed left corner of the frame, and the text properties window will appear.




The palette is tabbed into three sections: Default, MouseDown, and MouseEnter. These are the states of the object.

MouseEnter refers to the object when the cursor passes over the object.

MouseDown refers to the object when the mouse button is clicked while the cursor is over the object.

Default refers to the object when it is not effected by the cursor.

Each of the tabbed sections of the palette contain properties for the object; the location (x,y), size, color and visibility are all properties that can change depending on the object's state.
With the state still set to Default, click the Color button. A color palette should appear. In it's current state, clicking a color will colorize the selected text. To change the background color, click the toggle button in the top left corner of the window, and choose a background color for the object from the color palette.

Note: Although background color can change with the state of the object, text color, as well as typeface and size, is consistent from state to state.

Suppose you would like the color of the object to change when the cursor is rolled over it. To do this, click the MouseEnter tab from the properties palette, and select a color from the color palette. If you wish, click the MouseDown state from the properties palette, and set a background color for when the object is clicked. To test your work, click the small "PLAY" arrow in the Tools window. Test your object by rolling over it, and clicking it. When you are done, click the "PLAY" arrow once again (it should now be a square) to further edit the document.

3 : Controls and targets

So, what if you want to manipulate the properties of an object when the mouse is rolled over another object? Create a second text object, first of all; then click the small icon in the top left corner of the properties window. In the pop-up menu, select "Edit remote..."




The properties window will disappear, and the remote properties window will appear in its place. Notice this window looks similar to the properties window, yet there are two fields at the top: control and target. The object hilited selected as Control will have a yellow border instead of the blue border it once had. It cannot be edited now, because it is the controller and the controller and target objects cannot be the same. Select a different object as the target, either by clicking it in the document window, or selecting it from the target popup menu in the properties window. Edit the target as you wish, then click the "PLAY" arrow once again, to test your work.



4 : Pages and objects

You may wish to split up your information on several different pages, and use bitmaps or text as buttons to navigate through the document. Pages exist in a different dimension from your objects; In reality, objects are attached to your document, not to pages. When your document opens a different page, only those objects that are applied to that page are initialized. Any object in your document can be applied to any page. Object properties are consistent from page to page.



To begin adding pages, select "Document setup" from the Tools menu.
Note: If you would like the properties window to open automatically when an object (or the page) is clicked, select "Auto properties on" from the Tools menu.



The Current page and Total pages options allow you to navigate and extend your document. Page objects allow you to apply and remove objects relative to this page. Removing an object does not delete it from your document; it simply detaches it from the current page. Page properties allow you to set page specific properties, such as color.

Add a few pages, and apply different objects to different pages. Note that when an object is created, it is applied only to the page on which it was created. If you want it to appear on any other pages, it must be applied to those pages, using the Add object pop-up menu.



Apply one of your objects to every page in the document. Click the object, and (if auto properties is on) it's properties window should appear. Select the MouseDown state and scroll down to the Go To Page property. Selecting an option from one of the page menu options (1,2,3) will go directly to that page, regardless of the current page the object is attached to. Selecting a relative option (Next, Previous) from the menu will consider the current page before choosing a page to go to. For example, selecting Next will always go to the next page, until the end of the document is reached.



Select the Next menu option, and click the play button to run your document. Clicking the object should take you from page to page, until the end of the document is reached.

You can attach a Go To Page property to both or either of the MouseEnter and MouseDown states of an object.