After what seemed like forever to those of us who use HyperCard, Apple released version 2.0. We'll assume that if you are reading TidBITS, you understand more or less what HyperCard can do and how hard it is to pin down its abilities. Apparently, most 1.2.x stacks should convert to 2.0 without a hitch, although some externals may have problems.
The feature list, which is what you've all been waiting for, includes the following:
Variable card sizes from one square inch to 18 square inches.
Multiple windows, multiple fonts, sizes, and styles within a single text field.
Hot text (i.e. sticky buttons) implemented with three new HyperTalk functions, clickText, clickLine, and clickChunk, and a new text style.
Better printing capabilities.
Faster, more powerful HyperTalk environment that can run in the background under MultiFinder and includes a modeless script editor, a run-time compiler, and debugging tools.
Menu bar support and modeless dialogs
HyperCard 2.0 should be available in early July. The software alone is free and is available from the usual places such as user groups and dealers. If you want the manuals, it costs $49.95.
Information from:
Apple Press Release
Related article:
MacWEEK -- 08-May-90, Vol. 4 #18, pg. 1