HCGS Article 5

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

Using the "Scripter's Tools" Stack
     
     Gareth Jones
 
(Revised 2 July 1996)
     
     (Note: this is one of a series of articles written to celebrate the 
rebirth of HyperCard IIgs as part of the GS system software. Contact the 
club's GS Disk Librarian for information about how to obtain a copy).
     
     	One of the stacks included with HyperCard IIgs is Scripter's 
Tools. A "scripter" is anybody who writes instructions in HyperCard's 
built-in programming language. The stack organizes sounds, scripts, XCMDs 
(External Commands) and XFCNs (External Functions) so that they can be 
located quickly and copied to other stacks.  
     	Scripter's Tools seems intimidating because it holds so much. It 
initially contains 19 XCMDs, 7 XFCNs, 18 sounds and 7 scripts. For anyone 
who wants to master HyperCard, however, the contents of this stack are 
indispensible.
     	As every worker knows, it is handy to have all your tools 
organized and in one place. There is no reason not to achieve this by 
adding more tools to the Scripter's Tools stack as you acquire them. As 
there is no documentation on how to add tools to the stack, this article 
will describe how I did it. The procedures for attaching XCMDS and XFCNs 
are the most elaborate, so I'll describe them first. Then I will show how 
to add sounds and, finally, scripts.
 
Adding Sounds
     
     	First, you have to attach the sound to the Scripter's Tools 
stack. Some stacks, like Scripter's Tools itself, provide buttons for 
exporting their resources. If you can't find such a button, use the 
shareware stack HyperUtility to copy resources from any stack to any 
other. Or use the application RMover from the HyperCard IIgs Developers' 
Disk. Your final option, if none of these is available, is to write your 
own script to perform the move, using the tools in Scripter's Tools. 
     	You can copy a resource sound to Scripter's Tools from another 
stack in the same way that you copy an XCMD or XFCN, by using 
HyperUtility or a similar stack.  Once you have done that, just open 
Scripter's Tools and click the "Update Tool List" button. That's all: It 
will find any new resources and add them to its lists of sounds, XCMDs 
and XFCNs. Double clicking the name of a sound will play it for you.     
     
Adding XCMDs And XFCNs
     
     	You can copy an XCMD or XFCN to Scripter's Tools from another 
stack in the same way that you copy a sound, by using HyperUtility or a 
similar stack.  After you copy the resources to Scripter's Tools, open 
the stack and click its "Update Tool List" button. Each new XCMD and XFCN 
will have its name added to the appropriate list of resourses with an 
asterisk displayed in front of it, indicating that the stack does not 
have a card that describes it. The next task, obviously, is to add these 
cards. Do this by simply clicking the tool name with the asterisk. The 
stack will present you with a dialogue box that gives you a choice to 
cancel or continue. If you choose to continue, it will create the card.
     
     Adding Scripts
     
     	You do not add a script the same way that you add the other 
tools. Instead, open Scripter's Tools, click on the "Scripts" button, 
then click on the name of any script. Once HyperCard has taken you to the 
card describing that script, follow these steps:
     
     1. Select "New Card" from the Edit menu.
     2. Press Option-left arrow to return to the previous card
     3. Select "Copy Card" from the Edit menu
     4. Press Option-right arrow to return to the new card
     5. Select "Paste Card" from the Edit menu.
     6. Type in the name of the script you want to add and a description 
of its syntax and use in the appropriate fields.
     7. Click the bent arrow icon on the card to return to the first card 
in the stack.
     8. Click the "Update Tool List" button. The new card will 
automatically be added to the list of scripts. 
     	The script itself can be copied from whatever stack or word 
processing document it is in and pasted onto the appropriate card. 
Alternatively, it can be typed in directly. When you have finished, click 
the "Description" button on the card and type in a description of what 
the script does, what variables it needs, and anything else you want to 
remember about it.
     
     Another Tip
     
     	Since there are a number of sounds already attached to this 
stack, why not drag the stack into the Sounds folder in your System 
folder? Every sound in the stack will be automatically available to the 
Sounds Control Panel when you reboot your computer, so that you can use 
them as beep or warning or "task accomplished" sounds. In addition, any 
sound you add to the stack is available to be attached to your other 
HyperCard stacks. The sounds are loaded into memory during the boot 
process, and take up some of your computer's memory, so it isn't a great 
idea to add every sound you create or encounter!
     
     Conclusion
     
     	HyperCard IIgs is meant to be customized to fit your needs and 
personality. That is why it was designed so that the scripts, sounds, 
artwork and icons in a stack could be altered by a user. This article 
discussed how to alter the contents of just one stack: Scripter's Tools. 
I hope that it encourages people to add to, subtract from, and generally 
customize other stacks.  
     ?1;0c