Balloons.ext is an external package for use with 4th Dimension. It is a freeware utility that enables localized Balloon Help and changing Balloon Help messages during runtime. With the package, you can display text from string resources and 4th Dimension variables. You can also display styled text and pictures.
T o i n s t a l l t h e p a c k a g e
Copy the package with the 4D External Mover into your structure file. The package will work with 4D Server, 4th Dimension 3.0 or higher and System 7.0 or higher.
T o u s e t h e p a c k a g e
You do not need to call any external procedures. The package installs itself automatically during startup. You can specify Balloon Help for objects in a layout by clicking the 'Balloon Help' button in the object info dialog. See the 4D Design Reference for details. You can specify dynamic balloon help the same way as you would do it for static text elements.
R e s o u r c e B a l l o o n s
To display the contents of a STR# resource, say string 1 of resource 15000, you set the Balloon Help text to
:15000,1
The STR# resource should be in your structure or .res file, otherwise no balloon will be shown.
To display the contents of a PICT resource, say resource 15000, you set the Balloon Help text to
:P15000
To display the contents of a styled text resource, say resource 15000, you set the Balloon Help text to
:T15000
Styled text resources are a combination of 'TEXT' and 'styl' resources. They can be created easily with ResEdit.
To display the contents of a 'STR ' resource, say 15000, you set the Balloon help text to
:S15000
V a r i a b l e B a l l o o n s
Displaying variables enables you to change the balloon help message according to the state of your program. For example, if a checkbox is checked you might display a different help message for it then when it is unchecked. This significantly improves the effectiveness of balloon help. To display the value of a 4D variable, say myVariable, you set the Balloon Help text to
<myVariable>
The balloon will show the value of process and interprocess (◊) variables of type C_STRING or C_TEXT. If the variable is not defined (e.g. in Design Mode), or not of the correct type, the balloon will display the name of the variable. If the variable is of type C_TEXT, only the first 255 characters of the text will be shown.
Balloons.ext is freeware; it may be freely copied and distributed, provided that this copyright notice is preserved on all copies. The software may not, however, be sold or distributed for profit, or included with other software which is sold or distributed for profit, without the permission of the author.
C o m m e n t s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s
The balloons external has been tested with 4D 3.1.1 on several Macintoshes, including Power Macs. However, I cannot warrant that it will work on all hard- and software configurations. If you encounter any bugs or have any suggestions, please e-mail them to the following address.
