HyperCard GS v1.1 Tips

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.