[comp.windows.ms] ToolBook from Hypercard conversion?

hadgraft@civeng.monash.edu.au (Roger Hadgraft) (08/28/90)

I have heard a rumour that a conversion utility exists for converting Hypercard
stacks into ToolBook applications. Can anyone confirm the rumour?
--
Roger Hadgraft                  |  hadgraft@civeng.monash.edu.au
Lecturer in Civil Engineering   |
Monash University               |  phone:  +61 3 565 4983
Clayton, Vic. 3168. Australia.  |  fax:    +61 3 565 4944 or 3409

rogerson@PEDEV.Columbia.NCR.COM (Dale Rogerson) (08/28/90)

In article <42281.26daa0ee@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au> hadgraft@civeng.monash.edu.au (Roger Hadgraft) writes:
>I have heard a rumour that a conversion utility exists for converting Hypercard
>stacks into ToolBook applications. Can anyone confirm the rumour?
>--
>Roger Hadgraft                  |  hadgraft@civeng.monash.edu.au
>Lecturer in Civil Engineering   |
>Monash University               |  phone:  +61 3 565 4983
>Clayton, Vic. 3168. Australia.  |  fax:    +61 3 565 4944 or 3409


In the last issue of PC Magazine a clone company is giving about a bunch
of discount coupons for various Windows software.  Their ad has pictures of
some of the Windows programs you can get at reduced prices.  One fo the
programs pictured is a program for concerting from Hypercard to ToolBook.
So I would guess that it exists in some form.  In a slightly related topic,
has anyone heard anymore about WindowCraft - it is supposed to run Hypercard
stacks directly?

-----Dale
	Rogerson-----

tomt@ashtate (Tom Tullis) (09/07/90)

In article <42281.26daa0ee@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au> hadgraft@civeng.monash.edu.au (Roger Hadgraft) writes:
>I have heard a rumour that a conversion utility exists for converting Hypercard
>stacks into ToolBook applications. Can anyone confirm the rumour?


I just recently purchased a copy of ConvertIt! from Heizer Software
(Pleasant Hill, CA, USA, Phone 415-943-7667) which does in fact let you
convert HyperCard stacks to ToolBook books.  It seems to work as
advertised.  So far I have only tried the conversion on a sample stack
they provide and on one somewhat larger stack I developed.  They both
worked, although both the export process on the Mac and the import under
ToolBook are incredibly slow.  But it's certainly faster than re-doing
everything under ToolBook!  The technique they use is to create a text
file (in a format called the "Hypermedia Interchange File Format" (tm),
or HIFF) that describes the contents of the HyperCard stack in a readable
way.  You then transfer this text file to the PC and import it into
ToolBook using their conversion utility.  Apparently they are promoting
this HIFF as an open standard that others can use for converting
hypermedia documents between different formats.  A spec of HIFF is
included with ConvertIt!

Tom Tullis
tomt@ashtate.A-T.com