[comp.sys.mac.hypercard] importing text to non-scrolling fields; button question

bri@garnet.berkeley.edu (Brian Reilly) (02/20/90)

Does anyone have a good way to import a text field automatically to
non-scrolling fields on separate cards?  I tried several different ways
and came up with an easy way where the text gets cut and pasted automatically
to fit the size of the card field.  Are there other ways?

Also, can anyone describe how to simulate an inactive button with gray text,
like inactive menu choices?  I have seen this somewhere before but can't
remember it.

Brian Reilly			Division of Language and Literacy
bri@ucbgarne.bitnet		UC Berkeley School of Education
bri@garnet.berkeley.edu		Berkeley, CA 94720

sirkm@ssyx.ucsc.edu (Greg Anderson) (02/22/90)

In article <1990Feb19.215621.3645@agate.berkeley.edu> bri@garnet.berkeley.edu (Brian Reilly) writes:
>Does anyone have a good way to import a text field automatically to
>non-scrolling fields on separate cards?  I tried several different ways
>and came up with an easy way where the text gets cut and pasted automatically
>to fit the size of the card field.  Are there other ways?

It depends on what you're trying to do.  If your goal is simply to insure
that text gets cut and pasted automatically to fit the size of the card
field, then it sounds like you've already solved your problem.

I have an XFCN that I use to put text into _scrolling_ fields on multiple
cards.  This XFCN splits text every time it finds an occurance of a given
string at the beginning of a line.  (For example, the HyperUnix Readmail
stack splits a users /usr/spool/mail/x file every time it finds the word
"From ", thus insuring that each piece of mail is on a different card.)

>Also, can anyone describe how to simulate an inactive button with gray text,
>like inactive menu choices?  I have seen this somewhere before but can't
>remember it.

HyperCard doesn't support greyed-out buttons, but you can hide buttons
easily.  Hidden buttons are invisible and unselectable--therefore, to
disable buttons, I simply hide them and paint the disabled appearance
on the card or background behind the button.  When the button is visible/
enabled, it obscures this image.  This solution looks nice and works well,
but it's a pain because (a) you have to paint the text of each button
individually, and (b) if you ever decide to move the button, you have to
move its disabled bitmap image seperately & line the two up to the pixel
in the new location.

>Brian Reilly			Division of Language and Literacy
>bri@ucbgarne.bitnet		UC Berkeley School of Education
>bri@garnet.berkeley.edu		Berkeley, CA 94720


  ___\    /___               Greg Anderson              ___\    /___ 
  \   \  /   /         Social Sciences Computing        \   \  /   /
   \  /\/\  /    University of California, Santa Cruz    \  /\/\  /
    \/    \/              sirkm@ssyx.ucsc.edu             \/    \/