robertj@yale-zoo-suned..arpa (Rob Jellinghaus) (11/14/87)
In the most recent issue of "Macintosh Today", in the "Product Briefs"
section, there's a description of this product:
"An image- and note-filing system that stores bit-mapped MacPaint-style
graphics and object-oriented MacDraw-style graphics is available from
Affinity Microsystems Ltd. AffiniFile, a desk accessory that works as
a front end to HyperCard, lets users import data into HyperCard files
or read information from HyperCard files while accessing other programs.
As files are created, an index to notes or graphics arranged by topic
and subtopic names is formed. Alias Links, the program's search module,
is similar to a book index, allowing users to assign several labels to
the same notes or graphics so that they can locate all references to a
topic. List price: $79.95, available now. Affinity Microsystems Ltd.,
1050 Walnut St., Suite 425, Boulder, CO 80302; (800) 367-6771"
This sounds like a really interesting idea. I guess it's sort of a
data-extraction DA that lets you pull stuff out of stacks from within
other programs. I wonder, though, how necessary it is, what with Multi-
Finder (yes, it exists) and all that.
Has anyone out there used this thing? Is it incredibly handy for all
us HyperJunkies, or is it only useful for certain kinds of things?
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with Affinity Microsystems Ltd.,
and am posting this out of pure curiosity about the usefulness of this
product.
Rob Jellinghaus | "Lemme graze in your veldt,
jellinghaus@yale.edu.UUCP | Lemme trample your albino,
ROBERTJ@{yalecs,yalevm}.BITNET | Lemme nibble on your buds,
!..!ihnp4!hsi!yale!jellinghaus | I'm your... Love Rhino" -- Bloom Countymkg@lzsc.ATT.COM (Marsh Gosnell) (11/19/87)
The product brief in Macintosh Today is a little confusing. As the author of AffiniFile, I'd like to make a few points clearer. AffiniFile is a DA that stores notes and b/w or color graphics. While it can be used as a "front end" to Apple's HyperCard as mentioned in Macintosh Today, it can be used with ANY Macintosh application. AffiniFile works just fine all by itself to store notes and color graphics as a desk accessory. In addition, it can act as a "front end" to Apple's HyperCard, as mentioned in Macintosh Today, or to any other Macintosh program, via the Clipboard or AffiniFile's Import and Export functions (called "Customs"). As a DA, AffiniFile gives access to information, whether from another program or from notes the user enters, even while using other programs. Also, while both the Alias Link and the Find functions facilitate finding information, they are quite different. Alias Links are synonyms of topics, so that notes may be listed by several different names in the scrolling Topics Index. The Find function, however, allows you to enter words or numbers to search for. You may choose to search through the Topics Index, through the notes text, or through both. There are lots of other features in the program, such as date stamping, cross-referencing, and attaching specific AffiniFiles to applications, but I hope this helps to clarify the Macintosh Today article. Marsh Gosnell AffiniFile author
moriarty@tc.fluke.COM (Jeff Meyer) (11/24/87)
In article <18923@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> robertj@yale.UUCP writes: >This sounds like a really interesting idea. I guess it's sort of a >data-extraction DA that lets you pull stuff out of stacks from within >other programs. One qualification -- a friend gave the makers of AffiniFile a call, and they said that the wrong impression was given in the MacWeek article -- AffiniFile cannot DIRECTLY snatch information from a HyperCard stack -- it must first be imported into the proper format for AffiniFile. This was something of a disappointment to me, as I thought I could it to turn HyperCard into a Picturebase-like Clip Art database, thus getting all of HyperCard's bitmap graphics compression ability without having to rely on MultiFinder for access. However, now that I've got 2.5 Megs and MultiFinder, I'll probably go that way anyhow, and use Picturebase for storing object-structured art. I've glanced at AffiniFile, though, and it appears to be a VERY nice organizational DA. Rumor has it that it puts Acta to shame... "On the other hand, it takes real moral fiber to remain a Republican when there's no money in it. And things *are* looking grim on the financial front. Even worse for the President, they're getting confusing." -- A. Whitney Brown Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer INTERNET: moriarty@tc.fluke.COM Manual UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, hplsla, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty CREDO: You gotta be Cruel to be Kind... <*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>