HyperSenseÒ
Multi-Purpose Authoring for Everyone!

This document contains introductory material as well as information on exploring the demo release of HyperSense.

Ordering Information

HyperSense is a product of Thoughtful Software and is available from:

	Alembic Systems International
	
See the information accompanying this CD-ROM for pricing and ordering information.

What is HyperSense?

HyperSense is the easy to use HyperCardÒ-compatible authoring environment that unlocks the power of NEXTSTEP for everyone.  It lets you make your own Interactive Documents.

What is an Interactive Document?

A HyperSense Document can be as simple as a one-page memo or as complex as a complete multimedia application.  Here are some ideas of things you can do:
	· Create Hypertext Books
	· Design Educational Courseware
	· Construct Software For Yourself And Others
	· Prepare Multimedia Presentations
	· Develop Interactive Business Training Systems
	· Lay Out And Publish PostScript Documents

By simply dragging buttons, fields, graphics and other elements into place, you can create Interactive Documents like these:
· Your own Custom Database or Multimedia Catalog, complete with pictures, sounds and text.
· An Interactive Book, which lets you click on "hot" areas of a picture or page to jump to another page, show pictures or play recorded sounds.

What about complete multimedia applications?

The SenseTalkä scripting language gives you the power and flexibility you need to create sophisticated applications.  Yet SenseTalk's power is easy to use.  SenseTalk scripts are remarkably similar to standard English, making them easy to read, write, and understand.  Our online reference tools and the ability to easily copy and modify pre-written scripts will have you creating your own custom applications in no time ± even if you don't know anything about programming.

If you've used HyperTalkÒ on the Macintosh, you'll feel right at home with SenseTalk.  But once you've experienced the advantages of HyperSense's superior development environment, you may never want to use anything else.

Is HyperSense just for programmers?

No.  It's true that experienced programmers will find HyperSense to be a useful tool for developing both prototypes and finished applications, quickly and easily.

But HyperSense is not designed primarily as a programming tool.  HyperSense offers different things to different people.  As a general-purpose tool for creating and manipulating multimedia documents and applications it can serve the needs of many different types of users.

By combining a rich document architecture with the ease of drag-and-drop creation, plus a versatile, English-like scripting language, HyperSense offers a unique combination of power, flexibility, and ease of use that is unmatched by any other program.

What else?

Well...

If you've ever wished for software that would enable you to create a document that was not merely text and graphics, but could interact with the reader;

if you've ever used a program that was almost just what you needed, but you wished you could make a few changes to make it fit your needs;

if you've wanted a program that would allow you to easily create a database for storing and organizing your information, but would give you the flexibility to change the structure at any time, including the ability to have different sets of data items on different records;

if you've ever had ideas for programs you'd like to see, but didn't have the time or inclination to learn an arcane programming language in order to create them yourself;

if any of these ring true for you, or if you simply wish you had a program that would let you experiment with different ideas and quickly develop prototypes...

... then HyperSense was created with you in mind.

Why not take a look and see for yourself what HyperSense can do!

Installing and Using the Demo Release

The version of HyperSense contained in this demo release is the complete application, in Multi-Architecture Binary (MAB) format.  If you launched the demo directly from the CD-ROM, you may want to quit HyperSense and install it on your hard disk, in order to increase the program's responsiveness.  To install and use the HyperSense demo release, simply copy HyperSense.app from the CD-ROM into one of the Apps directories on your hard disk (~/Apps or /LocalApps if you prefer).

The demo release contains several demonstration documents within the .app package, including the nearly complete online manual, and occupies slightly more than 8MB of space on your disk.

Note:  Using this release on machines with small screens (less than 1024 x 768 resolution) is not recommended.

To launch HyperSense, double-click HyperSense.app in the directory where you installed it (or put it on your dock or shelf if you like).  A panel will be displayed indicating that HyperSense is not registered and offering three choices.  Click the button labelled "Demo Mode" to proceed.

A panel which briefly describes the restrictions of Demo mode will be displayed.  Click the "OK" button in this panel.  If you did not previously install a Home document, you will be presented with an alert panel indicating that a Home Document (Home.sense) does not exist, and asking whether you would like to create one.  Click the "Create" button in this panel.

Important Note:  If the "Home.sense" alert panel is NOT displayed the first time you launch HyperSense, but instead a Home document is displayed without the alert panel ever appearing, it indicates that you already had a Home document, possibly from an earlier release of HyperSense.  If this happens, quit HyperSense and remove the old Home.sense file from your home directory, then restart HyperSense and follow the steps outlined above.  This will ensure that you are using the Home document included with the demo package and will be able to access the demonstration documents.

Demo Mode Restrictions, and Limitations of This Release

The primary restriction placed on the use of HyperSense in Demo mode is that every document is treated as read-only.  HyperSense gives full access to read-only documents, allowing text to be entered and changes to be made to the document without restriction.  However, the changes are never saved to the disk, so the next time the document is opened it will be exactly as it was at the start of the session.  A small padlock icon is displayed in the title bar of each read-only document to remind you that any changes you make will not be permanent.

For the most part, you will be able to take full advantage of HyperSense and the demo documents included in the package.  For example, the PasteMaster document can be fully used in Demo mode as a multi-entry, multi-page auxiliary pasteboard ± simply click one of the "Store" buttons to record whatever is currently on the system pasteboard for later use.  Click the "Use" button to restore an entry to the pasteboard, ready to be pasted into any document of any application.  However, the entries will be lost when you close the document.  When using a licensed copy of HyperSense, this would not be the case, and you could store any number of entries permanently, for later re-use.

This is a pre-release version of HyperSense.  In this release, portions of the online manual (particularly those dealing with SenseTalk) are incomplete.  The SenseTalk Browser (available from Script windows and from a button at the top of the SenseTalk chapter of the online manual) gives a brief but thorough overview of the language.  A good book on HyperTalk will provide more details on most commands.  This release also contains only a limited set of sample documents, and does not include the utilities for translating HyperCard Stacks into HyperSense Documents.

If you'd like to evaluate HyperSense more fully, contact Thoughtful Software and request a temporary evaluation license key, which will remove most of the limitations of this release, allowing you to create and modify documents.

Accessing the Included Demo Documents

Most of the demonstration documents included with this release are directly accessible from buttons located on the first page of the Home document.  Simply click any of these buttons to open the associated document.  A few additional documents may be accessed from buttons within other documents, so all of the demo documents may be accessed (either directly or indirectly) from the Home page, if you do a little exploring.

A variety of different documents have been included, to give you a feel for some of the many things HyperSense can be used for.  These should not be considered an exhaustive sampling by any means, but merely a glimpse of the possibilities.  If you are wondering whether HyperSense would be useful for a particular purpose but don't see anything similar presented here, please call us (303-221-4596), or send a question by e-mail (to info@thoughtful.com), and we will do our best to realistically assess how well-suited HyperSense is for your particular needs.

To begin learning about HyperSense, a good place to begin is with the Tour of HyperSense.  Once you have explored in it thoroughly, you may browse freely through the other available documents.  After you've gotten a feel for what it's like to use HyperSense documents, you may want to try creating your own.  The online manual contains a short tutorial (Chapter 4) that will help you get started.  Please remember that nothing will be saved to disk when using the program in Demo mode, however, so you will need to complete the entire tutorial within a single HyperSense session, or else start over at the beginning if you must return to it at a later time.

The HyperSense documents included with this distribution are:

AddressBook.sense
	This document is a simple example of a database type of application for storing names and addresses and other contact information.  Notice that the first page has a button labelled "Map" which does not appear on the other pages.  Clicking on this button brings up the document called "Map.sense".  Also notice that some pages have TIFF images on them.
	
Brochure.sense
	The HyperSense brochure was created using HyperSense.  We've included it here as an example illustrating the use of HyperSense for doing basic page layout, and so that you can read it or print it out if you wish (note: this release of HyperSense will print only a single page at a time, so you'll have to print the two pages separately).

DDM.sense
	The Defaults Database Manager is a graphical front-end to the NEXTSTEP defaults database (an included help file explains its use in more detail).  DDM illustrates one use of the SenseTalk doShell command to interface with UNIX command line utility programs.
	
Eyes.sense
	This one is just for fun, although it illustrates some useful concepts in SenseTalk scripting.

Help.sense
	This is the HyperSense on-line manual.  It contains a complete reference to the features of HyperSense, as well as tutorial and introductory information.  In addition, as a HyperSense document itself, it illustrates the use of HyperSense to create a fully indexed reference work.

HSTour.sense
	The "HyperSense Tour" offers a quick introduction to HyperSense ± what it is; how a document is structured; how to use it.  This is a good place to start your exploration of HyperSense.

HyperCalc.sense
	A simple calculator implemented in HyperSense.  This document is accessed by a button on the frame of the AddressBook.  Unlike most calculators, since this one is created in HyperSense you can easily rearrange the layout, or add additional buttons for specific functions that are important to you.
	
Map.sense
	The Map document (accessed from the first page of the AddressBook) contains only one page, but illustrates one use of multiple layers on a page.  By calling up the LayerPanel (type Command-Shift-L), you can see a list of all of the layers on the page.  Clicking on the switches at the bottom of the page will alternately hide and show some of the layers.  Moving the hand cursor over one of the cities (when the Cities are showing) will display a different layer containing data about that city.  Pointing to the heading at the top of the page will display information about the County.  Clicking on the button labelled "Newspaper" will open another HyperSense document (Newsletter.sense).
	
Mathematics.sense
	This example presents one idea for a simple tutorial, with sound and graphic reinforcement.  For best effect, this document requires a NEXTSTEP system with audio capabilities.

Newsletter.sense
	This document is another example using multiple layers on a single page, and shows the potential for using HyperSense for simple layout applications (the capability of flowing text automatically from one field to another is planned for a future release).  With the LayerPanel open, you may Command-click on the names of the three layers (click while holding down the Command key) to hide and show the individual layers.

OtherTools.sense
	This panel, accessed by selecting "Other Tools" from the Tools menu, is a multi-page palette of drag-and-drop tool elements for creating your own documents.  In addition, it is itself a fully-customizable HyperSense document.  The Commands button at the top of the window will display several other buttons which make creating custom palettes easier (click anywhere outside these buttons to hide them again).
	
PasteMaster.sense
	If you work with text at all, you'll find this to be a handy place to store frequently-used phrases or paragraphs, or for those times when you are juggling paragraphs and wish you had more than one pasteboard.  Simply copy some text to the pasteboard (using Command-c from any application) and click one of the "Store" buttons.  To retrieve that piece of text later, click the corresponding "Use" button to restore it to the pasteboard; then paste it wherever you need it (using Command-v).  This little application is a perfect illustration of HyperSense's usefulness for creating small utility programs ± it was conceived, designed, created, and refined in about an hour.  [note: when running in Demo mode, anything stored into PasteMaster will be lost when the document is closed].

WindowFrame.sense
	This document illustrates and explains several of the basic components of a HyperSense document:  Stacks, Pages, WindowFrames, and StackViewers.  By exploring the objects in this document, you should be able to get a better grasp of the rich document architecture which HyperSense offers.