Friday, November 01, 2002

More cool things for AW 6.5


Hot on the heels of Wednesday's note about the new spell-checker in AW 6.5, Ron Lubensky has realeased two great new KOs for Authorware 6.5. I'll let him tell you in his own words:-

"With the release of Authorware 6.5 I'd like to introduce two items that may be of interest, available from http://www.clickcraft.com/aware:

"1. The Find & Fix Command does just what it says. Have it search for icons in your file based on a range of criteria, including your own custom "find" script. Then have it modify the found icons or their neighbours. You can set it to change the icon properties or you can write a "fix" script that does more substantial work. The command settings and scripts are saved as XML and can be reused later or transmitted to somebody else using the Find & Fix command. There are lots of options and subtleties to it, so I've included a Help file too. I use it constantly in my own development work, saving me heaps of time. Experiment with it and see if you find it useful too.

"2. AW6.5 now uses the same WinterTree spell checker that all the other Macromedia products use. I've created a Spell Check Knowledge Object that makes spell checking available to your own commands, Knowledge Objects and even applications. It can check the contents of string variables and WinCtrls.

"In addition, most of the Knowledge Objects and Commands previously available have been updated to Authorware 6.5. If you migrate your developments from AW6.0 to AW6.5 and used one of my products, you should obtain the newest version so the wizards can open. Your existing registration codes remain valid."

Nice work Ron!!!



Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Little Extras in AW 6.5


Icons
Did you know the AW 6.5 now supports the use of full-colour desktop icons? I stress desktop icons to make it plain I do not mean the icons you use to build your flow! Those who like to use the new XP icons will love this feature. MicroAngelo is the favourite tool for editing your icons.

Spell-checker
Did you know Authorware 6.5 has a new spell checker? Hmmm. Missing from the documentation is it? Well "Gee whizz" I hear you say. Before you dismiss it as insignificant, take a lool at it. Open an existing AW 6.5 file and launch the spell checker by selecting Xtras > Spelling, or Alt+X+S and have a play. In particular, take a look at what is hiding behind the options button. Phonetic suggestions anyone.

P.S. ...
More ammunition for those that say Flash is the answer to every problem. Flash has no spell checker ;-)

Sunday, October 27, 2002

New stuff for Authorware - alMessageBox


Do these guys never stop? Andrew Poulos and Apurva Lawale have a little production line of great u32s for Authorware. Their most recent addition is alMessageBox, a great little utility that offers more power than the in-built MessageBox KO and functions of Authorware 5 and 6. "it displays a message box, much like a normal message box, except that you get an additional 16 icons to choose".