HCGS Article 4

[gareth@vcn.bc.ca (Gareth Jones)]

Using RMover
     
     Gareth Jones
 
(Revised 2 July 1996)
     
     It is easy to move a sound or an icon from one HyperCard IIgs stack 
to another. However, HyperCard IIgs is a self-contained universe. Unlike 
HyperStudio, it cannot open standard sound and icon files.
     
     There are ways to bridge the gap between HyperCard and everything 
else. For example, Triad Venture sells disks under the collective name 
"The HyperStuff Collection" to solve such problems. Triad's 
"SoundConvert" disk allows sound files in a number of formats to be 
attached to HyperCard stacks. Their "ClipArt Plus" disk performs similar 
useful conversions for icons and Print Shop IIgs graphics.
     
     As good as the Triad Venture products are, many GS users may find 
them a little too expensive, considering that HyperCard IIgs itself is 
now free. I stumbled upon a useful program that will do many of the same 
tasks for much less money, however. It is called "RMover1.1d1," and 
although its "About" dialogue box claims that it is for demonstration 
purposes only ("Please do not distribute."), it is distributed on the 
"HyperCard IIgs Developer's Disk" that sells for $15 (U.S.). If you are 
interested in ordering a copy, telephone The Byte Works at 505-898-8183 
and ask about item APDA 34.
     
     RMover is a GS-specific application program that can copy resources 
from one file to another. To show how RMover works, I will step through 
the process of attaching a system sound to a HyperCard IIgs stack. 
     
     Start the process by double-clicking the RMover icon to launch the 
program. The RMover screen looks much like Installer, Apple File 
Exchange, and some other Apple utilities. It has two windows, one on the 
left and one on the right, which are initially empty. There are also a 
few buttons, of which three are labelled "Open," "New," and "Type." (See 
Figure 1).
     
     Click "Open" on the left side of the screen and select the sound 
file that you will be attaching to a stack. The pathname of the file 
should appear above the left hand window, replacing "No file."
     
     Now go over to the right side of the screen and click the "Open" 
button there. Select the stack that you will attach the sounds to. I 
suggest that a good one to start with will be ScriptersTools, which is 
one of the stacks that comes with HyperCard IIgs.
     
     The screen now shows the pathnames of both files, but the windows 
are still empty and several buttons are dimmed and unselectable. You need 
to select the type of resource that you wish to display clicking the 
"Type" button and selecting "rSoundSample" in the dialogue box that 
appears. (See Figure 2). "rSoundSample" is the very last item in the 
list. Once this has been done, the two main windows should display the 
sound resources in the files you have selected.
     
     The actual copying of resources (sounds or not) is straightforward. 
You need to select one or more of the items in the left window and then 
click the ">Copy>" button. (See Figure 3).
     
     If you have finished with your resource copying at this point, then 
that's it. You can exit RMover, launch the ScriptersTools stack, and 
click its "Update" button to add the sound to its list of resources. Your 
new sound will now have its name displayed in ScriptersTools for playing 
or for attaching to any other HyperCard IIgs stack. If you would like to 
attach sounds from some other file, however, click the "Close" button on 
the left, then "Open," then select a new sound file to copy from.
     
     As you noticed while selecting a resource type, RMover is not 
limited to copying sounds. Among other possibilities, you can copy icons 
into a HyperCard stack from HyperStudio or from the "Desktop" file in 
your "Icons" folder. You could also do the reverse.
     
     It is probably a good idea to go slow on these other possibilities 
until you do some reading up on GS resources, however. RMover does not 
allow you to renumber or rename the resources you are copying. RMover's 
ability to move sounds, however, has been completely reliable and safe so 
far.